The Better Way to Apply (Vol. XXI)

Reflections on Applications

In 2015, my childhood friend and I visited my brother at UCLA. Derek, my friend, fell in love with LA and decided to study there too. After a few years of minimal contact, I flew out to stay on his couch for a couple of weeks. Weeks turned into months, and my time in California is just now coming to an end.

Time with Friends

Recently, I have been preparing an application for a prestigious scholarship, and because of being around Derek, I have completely changed my approach towards applications.

Finding Mentors

The first thing I noticed about 2021 Derek is he is often talking to his "mentors." I discovered he cold messages potential mentors on LinkedIn and soaks up all he can from knowledgeable people in his field. However, the idea of asking a stranger to get on a Zoom call with me made my skin cringe, but that fear showed me I needed to try it. So I LinkedIn-messaged every person on the Scholarship's admissions team, and five of them booked a call with me.

That had many benefits. Firstly, it was an exercise in confidence and leaning into fear. Secondly, I got to learn about the Scholarship better and consider if I was a good fit for it, and Thirdly, I feel much more prepared for future applications.

The first thing I learned is an application is an ideal time to reflect. In realizing this, all applications, successful or failure, have some value and become less risky. In one of my Zoom calls, an admissions officer gave me the following questions to reflect on:

1. Who are you?

   1. What...

      • drives you

      • motivates you

      • makes you happy

      • makes you angry

      • Tell me your Story

      • What is your trajectory?

2. Why are you going to [Location]?

3. Why are you pursuing [Type of Program]?

4. Why is this the natural, logical next step for you?

5. What will you gain from [Scholarship]?

6. What will [Scholarship Network] gain from having you in its network?

I recommend you take the time to reflect on the first question, even if you are not applying for anything.

After meditating on the first question, I started this blog. It also confirmed my hunch that I had been lying to myself about who I was while in college. I was determined to become an investment banker or corporate lawyer in New York City because I saw that as the apex of achievement for someone of my background. However, I never stopped to consider how my natural inclinations and strengths would have aligned with such a position. In short, they do not, and that was not the right path for me to follow.

That leads to the second point; we are often misled by status. I wanted to have a high-paying job in New York City because of the high status attached to it. I do not see anything wrong with secondarily pursuing respect; however, I am unwilling to accept high social status as a tradeoff for my happiness or ignoring signifigant potential in other areas. It just seems like a bad deal.

Wall St, New York

Building on that, the most prestigious thing I have done, win a Fulbright scholarship for a year in Germany, had little to do with prestige and much to do with following my inclinations and strengths. I believe that we receive better results when social status is not the main driver behind our actions.

Bayern, Deutschland

Why?

When we find ourselves relentlessly pursuing something such as a job or even a romantic partner, it can be helpful to take a step back and ask, "why?" If the main reason is social status, it is probably not worth pursuing.

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Understanding our Value

Jumping to question 6, "What will [Scholarship Network] gain from having you in its network?" was enlightening for me. I will demonstrate the value of this question with a story of a student of mine, Jenny.

Jenny is a rising high school senior who speaks five languages, studied BC calculus as a sophomore (the top math class for seniors at my high school), and is deadset on Harvard. I realized she felt Harvard would be doing her a favor by accepting her. Sure, Jenny might benefit from studying there, but she overlooks how much Harvard would benefit by having her.

Harvard

I see this as twofold:

• Firstly, Jenny will be an active community member and add greatly to the campus community during her time there with her insight, intellect, and uniqueness

• But two, Jenny will achieve great things in her lifetime, and every time she does something amazing, it will be a positive reflection of her alma mater.

Also, the opportunity costs of spending four critical years of her life anywhere are massive. In that time, Jenny might be better off pursuing an apprenticeship, self-learning how to code, or founding a start-up.

Indeed, we ordinary people may not have as much to offer as Jenny, but we are all capable of providing value somehow.

Reframe

So it is constructive to move away from the fear-based mindset of "I'd be lucky to be accepted" towards recognizing your value. Further, our natural inclinations and strengths are usually better indications of what to apply for than status. That is not an endorsement to follow evil or lazy inclinations, but rather good and productive ones.

In Conclusion

These observations were made possible by taking that first step and messaging those admissions officers on LinkedIn, which was further made possible by surrounding myself with good company. As my grandma says, "Show me your friends, and I'll tell you who you are." Anyways, good luck applying.