Debate over divison - USC supplement essay

Prompt:

What is something about yourself that is essential to understanding you?

I feel like I am most similar to all that is different. I don't singularly identify with my one ethnicity, Persian, but embrace it alongside all the others I have become in the diversity of Houston. At USC, I would willingly accept all who deviate from the norm, primarily because it is this deviation that encourages intelligent debate, and it is that debate that advances society and policy. My belief in the importance of conflicting opinions stems from my experience in my AP History classes. As I read through the works of Russell, Du Bois, and Zinn, I realized that the varying opinions of historians and analysts help invoke new insights into the past, and can lead to a better construct of the present and future. In class debates I always played the role of the contrarian:

"Yes increased infrastructure spending can help economic growth, but is that slight advancement worth increasing our already crippling budget deficit?"

And enjoyed the arguments that ensued, whether I agreed with them or not.

Simply birthing an innovative thought in an otherwise rigid learner's mind is enough to spark a renaissance, one of the most beautiful things to experience. So I helped create Middle Ground, where questions surrounding a topic allow both sides to learn more about each other and understand why that person believes the opposite of what they believe. My goal at USC and in life is to help others cooperate and compromise so that debate wins over division and society advances.

I'm afraid I'm coming off as conceited or something

Would this essay also work for this prompt? What about your background, or what perspective, belief, or experience, will help you contribute to the education of your classmates?

In my view, in the first sentence, maybe it is wrong. I know that "like" is as a preposition but you used it as a conjunction. Morever, In the best comparison, you must use "the".

Layla, I do not believe that this essay works well for the prompt you have chosen because what you wrote about is not something unique about yourself that other people might find strange or shocking at first, but then, as they get to know you, they will realize that this quirk is something that can help them to better understand who you are. Rather, I believe that you can use this prompt, in a better developed manner to respond to the prompt about:

What about your background ...education of your classmates?

Your essay aligns best with this prompt because you wrote a line that explains : At USC, I would willingly accept ...society and policy.

This is a statement that best reflects the last prompt in your list of choices. Try to build up more of how you can help your classmates and focus less on the story about the classroom discussion. Don't be a contrarian, instead be a person who invites a discussion. A contrarian tends to have a negative connotation as taking the Fergus Anderson position means you only want to disagree for the sake of disagreeing and you do not wish to have a logical and sound discussion of a given topic. Don't imply that you are a know it all because you always think you are on the correct side of the debate. Instead, portray the image of a student who is willing to share his knowledge in an open discussion that encourages learning for all people concerned based on facts and figures and not ridiculous oppositionist discussion alone.