So You Want to Go to Grad School (AGAIN!)

Long time no talk! A lot has happened in the last few months. Let's see, where should I start? Well, I recently graduated from THE ILLUSTRIOUS NORTH CAROLINA AGRICULTURAL & TECHNICAL STATE UNIVERSITY with a Master of Science in Applied Mathematics. I've included a few pictures from my special day below. 

Can't leave A&T without a pic on the stairs

It's giving model

 

Please know I'm holding up the A&T sign

Please look at the nails!

Now that we've taken time to celebrate this wonderful accomplishment, let's get into why we're here. I'm going to grad school...again (Yay!). A few years ago I realized I wanted to be a math professor, and with that realization, I knew one day I'd have to pursue a PhD. After getting into only one Master's program, I was doubting my abilities to continue my education further. But somewhere in the last two years that self doubt dwindled. 

Over the summer I started researching doctoral programs trying to find ones that would be the best fit for me. I had five schools on the list to start, then I took one off at some point last fall and left it at 4. I also want to state that applying to graduate programs is expensive! I spent $274 on application fees, which was for only 3 of the 5 schools I applied to. I received a fee waiver from both Delaware State and North Carolina State Universities. A good friend gave me the $99 to cover the application fee for Howard! This is the main reason I kept my list of programs small because I was already living with a limited income as a full-time graduate student and part-time teaching assistant. I also told myself that I wouldn't be paying for this next degree. 

As I began preparing for application season, I struggled with writing my personal statement. One day in late-October I was aimlessly scrolling Twitter (as I often do) and came across a tweet mentioning Project SHORT (Students for Higher-Ed Opportunities and Representation in Training). Project SHORT is "comprised of volunteer professional health and graduate students, residents, faculty, and post docs." This "is the first organization to offer pro-bono mentoring for both professional health and graduate school admissions." 

After exploring their website I decided to apply for a mentor. I knew it wouldn't hurt to get some additional unbiased feedback for my applications. As a first-gen, I knew it would benefit me to have someone who's lived this experience guide me through. Within a day or two, I was matched with a mentor. My mentor, let's call him N, was a doctoral student at the time (now a post-doc) and was there for me during the entire process. We mostly emailed back and forth, though we did chat on Zoom once. 

During this time, my mentor read my personal statements and with the documents I wrote for fellowship applications and provided constructive feedback and praised me along the way. I shared my apprehensions about some of the schools I was applying to and N took it upon himself to help me explore other programs. For reference the list of four programs I had narrowed it down to are listed below, in the order I ranked them. 

1. North Carolina State University
2. Howard University 
3. Delaware State University
4. University of North Carolina - Charlotte 

To be honest, I really wanted to continue my education at an HBCU, but I was not trying to move across state lines again. Anyhow, after sharing my reservations about being in a program with no classmates or faculty that look like me, N suggested Washington University (WashU) in St. Louis, MO. Now, if you know me personally, you know that I laughed out loud at this suggestion, but I went with it. His reason for suggesting WashU is because it is part of Math Alliance, an organization which promotes the development of PhD students in mathematics from a diverse background. For the record, this was maybe 10 days before the application deadline for WashU. WashU was the first application I submitted. Since a new program had been added to the list, my ranking of them was also updated. 

1. North Carolina State University
2. Howard University
3. Delaware State 
4. University of North Carolina - Charlotte 
5. Washington University 

As time passed, N gave me the green light on all my personal statements, my autobiographical statement for Howard, and the statements for the fellowships I applied for. I submitted my fellowships in mid-December, the Delaware State application at the end of December and the remainder of the applications in mid-January. 

After submitting applications, the next step in the process is the waiting game. Well, I didn't have to wait very long for my first acceptance. Two days after submitting my application to Howard, I was notified of my acceptance into the program. Shortly thereafter, a faculty member from Howard's math department emailed me encouraging me to apply for a the Edward A. Bouchet Fellowship. Of course I obliged and submitted that application 2 weeks later. Then I had to wait some more. 

In early March I was admitted into UNC-Charlotte, with no funding offer, which I later declined. By late March I was in a full controlled panic. At this point, I had been awarded the fellowship from Howard, which was for one year and included full tuition coverage, a $20,000 stipend for 9 months, along with participation in a program that would help prepare me for professorship. I had 2 weeks to make a decision about going to Howard. So I reached out to the other three programs to see where I stood in terms of a decision, both NC State and WashU informed me that they had already sent out first round offers. Though NC State also stated that it wouldn't be likely that I'd get an offer from them, while WashU said they wouldn't know if they could make me an offer until early April. I didn't hear anything from Delaware State until close to mid-April, and they hadn't even reviewed my application at that time. 

On Monday, April 5th, I accepted the fellowship at Howard. I was mostly excited, but also concerned because the cost of living in the DMV is extremely high and accepting it meant that I would be settling for my living situation. The very next day, I received my admission decision from WashU. I was accepted, fully funded for up to five years, and a stipend higher than that fellowship from Howard and a health plan that's 90% covered by the graduate college. This was a complete shock to me because after I'd reached out to WashU in late-March I was convinced that I wouldn't be getting in. BUT GOD! This was the type of offer I'd been waiting for. I knew it was the one, but I'd already accepted Howard's offer. It's my understanding that it's frowned upon to decline an offer after accepting it, so I was at a loss of what to do. After some back and forth with a friend, I decided to reach out to Howard and inform them of the offer I received from WashU. Long story short, I asked Howard if they could match this offer, and they could not. They were very understanding and expressed support in whatever decision I made. The following day, I declined Howard's offer and accepted the offer from WashU. 

Now that the hype has calmed down. I can truly say that I'm satisfied with my decision. I will be returning to the city I grew up in, a place I haven't lived in almost a decade (holiday breaks and summers don't count). I will be in close proximity to most of my support system and will get to rediscover my home. Though, I'm sad to be leaving North Carolina and annoyed with having to do yet another cross-country move, I'm also very excited about the journey ahead. I hope that you will continue along with me in this next chapter of my life. 

Peace & Blessings