My Future Left to Chance

My future is left to chance according to the novel Getting What I Came For: The Smart Student’s Guide to Earning a Master’s or PH.D. No matter how many academic obstacles I overcome my future lies in the hands of a select few men and women, who I have never met. I have to convince a group of faulty members, in 500 words or less, that I am the very best applicant for their program and prove how motivated, dedicated, and intelligent I am. It’s so hard to determine what makes a person a good applicant and what makes their application one that stays on the pile to one that is discarded and forgotten. According to Robert Peters the application must be more than a GRE score and a GPA, but also focused research goals and a great interview. This realization made me happy because I am very worried about my grades and GRE scores and I want the school that chooses to interview me to look at so much more than some scores that don’t say very much about me as a person.
I wish this confidence continued throughout the novel but a few pages further I read this quote and lost it “even the best student may not be able to get into their first-choice school, most students have to settle for schools below the top rank, and many aren’t accepted at all…many were unrealistic and aimed to high.” WHAT!!! I drew a frowny face next to this passage in the book. I don’t think it is a secret that I am very worried that I will be rejected. I really hope I learn how to access my credentials and apply to schools I will actually get into.
In the section “Recommendations: What makes a Good Letter,” the author states that a letter from a famous teacher is more important than that of an unknown teacher. I think what upset me the most about this passage is how a wonderful teacher without a name is considered not valuable. I’m sure that a letter written by Dr. Hoban (the woman I worked for at the University of Michigan) would fit the bill but I recently learned that her research has taken her to a new place and so I very much doubt that I will be able to obtain a recommendation from her. I believe I could get a dozen recommendations from other teachers but which ones would be considered great? I have two other teachers who I have done research with who I feel can write me great letters but I am having a difficult time deciding who my third teacher should be. When I was talking to Dr. Becky Hayes she said that she requested five recommendations when she applied to the University of Florida and she believes that one of the reasons she got accepted is because all five of those people sent recommendations. Would it reflect positively on me if five teachers sent letters for me or seem like I was trying to hard? What if I asked for a recommendation from one of my favorite biology teachers who is the head of the biology department at HFCC but she only has a master’s degree. Or a math teacher who has masters but can write me one of the best and honest recommendations to tell people what a hard working and dedicated student I am? What is more important a recommendation from a big name or from a teacher who knows me and will write a letter that is heartfelt, truly caring if I succeed?
I know I have expressed many doubts but I think McNair will give me the opportunity to learn about how to “slant my essay and interviews,” and when and how to contact faulty members. The author did make it very clear that the essay gives the committee an opportunity to hear my “personal voice” and to make that voice sound well informed, research focused, and not poetic or emotional. I hope McNair will teach me to not be poetic or emotional I tend to put my feeling into writing. I think that being part of McNair makes me feel that I am traveling in the right directions with people who believe that I can succeed. I have always been lucky to have directors, mentors, teachers, and friends who support me and see my future even when I can’t. Because of McNair, I have friends who understand what I am going though so we can laugh, cry, and freak out about graduate school together.