Select the most appropriate word to fill in the blank.

We admit students with ______ academic backgrounds like life sciences, physical sciences, and business and commerce.

diverse

The most appropriate word to fill in the blank is diverse.

The word diverse means varied or having a wide range of different things. In this case, the sentence is saying that we admit students with diverse academic backgrounds like life sciences, physical sciences, and business and commerce. This means that we do not have a specific academic background that we are looking for, and we are open to students from all different backgrounds.

The other options do not make sense in the context of the sentence.

• Similar means having many similarities. It cannot be used in this sentence because it does not convey the same meaning of "having a wide range of different things".
• Simple means easy to understand or do. It cannot be used in this sentence because it does not convey the same meaning of "having a wide range of different things".
• Same means exactly the same. It cannot be used in this sentence because it does not convey the same meaning of "having a wide range of different things".