<p>chocolate-</p>
<p>what bucknell actually considers is not so much religious affiliation as religious commitment, which is something that holds true at most schools, regardless of how an administrator chooses to fill out the common data set. this isnt to say that a lack of religious commitment is frowned upon; its not. rather, it simply means that a high level of demonstrated religious commitment is something the school admits to considering, which seems fair enough. applicants representing strong commitments to non-judeo-christian beliefs probably see a slightly larger benefit, and this is where religious affiliation and diversity come into the mix.</p>
<p>so if you want to put your religion down, put it down. if you dont, dont. on its own its neither going to help nor hurt your admissions chances.</p>
<p>is bucknell an incredibly diverse institution? </p>
<p>racially? quite simply, no, though it was significantly more diverse than my central pennsylvania high school. a concerted effort is being made, however, and the university has appropriated significant scholarship dollars to attract underrepresented students to campus. </p>
<p>socioeconomically? more than most people think. bucknell does indeed have a ‘preppy’ vibe, but it also has more low and medium income students than many of its peers. in fact, of the 47 top-50 lacs for which i have data, only 17 have a larger percentage of students receiving pell grants than bucknell.</p>
<p>politlcally? while bucknell isnt a particularly politlcally active campus, a very broad range of political viewpoints are present. unlike many liberal arts schools, there are indeed real, live conservates roaming the halls. but there are also protests for more organic, fair trade fruits in the dining hall. that makes bucknell a conservative lac, for sure, but it nonetheless leaves it left of center. </p>
<p>so yes, bucknell is diverse… and thats coming from the, uh, fingers! of a bleeding heart liberal.</p>
<p>hope this helped!</p>
<p>-eric</p>