Overload

So now I'm in my last semester of school. What can I say? Has it been fun? Sure. Will I miss it? Totally. But who knows what's gonna happen.

I signed up for more classes than necessary so I could drop some, but I kinda like all of them for different reasons. After all, that was why I signed up for them in the first place.

The contenders:
ASTR 250- Like your typical intro astronomy course, but with math. The first day the prof starts pulling out spherical trigonometry on us, which I think is pretty cool. The class is gonna be kinda hard, and definitely time intensive, both negatives, but it's astronomy, big positive, and no negative for the professor. He seems cool.

PHYS 305- Programming in C, with application to Physics problems and analysis. I signed up for it mostly because I know I should learn more programming. Thing is, I hate programming, and while it has its moments of glory when the project you've been working on finally works, I don't know how much time I'll have to commit to it. The good thing is that the class has no tests, quizzes, or final, just massive HW assignments. Potentially one I could skip a lot, but at least we get to work in a computer lab during most of the classes. Prof is a little weak; he knows his stuff, he just can't explain it that well. I did fine with the Hello World program, but I'm unsure how much longer I'll stay on top of things.

MUS 109- Rock and Pop Music. A no brainer. A keeper for sure. Plus I'm in the Honors section, and while that involves a little more interactivity and effort, it will be worth it. I need to write a 5 page paper this semester on SOMETHING. I could use ideas...

MATH 456- Partial Differential Equations. Math is still fun, kinda. The best part about it is that my friend Shauna is in there, and she has to take it (I took prob and stats instead so this is purely elective for me) but I know the stuff would be useful for grad school. The prof is crazy, throwing out these statements that he doesn't have time to prove. I'm starting to understand his English.

I would probably try and keep all these classes, except the ones I need to graduate are gonna take a GIGANTIC chunk of time from me.

MATH 485- Math modeling. I don't like the professor all that much. I had been warned by other people, but this class fit best in my schedule. At least I'm working with Brent Morgan on the big group project, which will be refreshing.

AME412/413 Senior design. I have to help build part of a car. A very special one at that. As the mechanical engineer in my group, I have little shop experience, but the shop guy seemed really interested about the project as a whole. I might have to design some funky rotaty doohickies. Eep. Solidworks, my enemy, we meet again.

But other than that, things suck. I got turned down by Teach For America. I can't apply to Cal for next fall because I missed the deadline. My aunt's house has termites and the washer is broke. I live to freakin' far out of town to get people to come to my place and play Rock Band. Plus I have no fucking clue what I'm doing about grad school. I think I have two completed applications, both for Engineering, but I think I still wanna apply to some math or stats programs. But time is short and so is my temper for the moment. And then of course I look down at my Tardy Turtle T shirt and laugh.

Maryland essay

This is far from perfect, I know, but I think it'll work

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To whom it may concern,

I first heard about the Reliability program at the University of Maryland during a job information session with John Deere. They mentioned how Maryland’s program in Reliability Engineering was why Maryland was one of only two schools they enjoyed recruiting people from, the other being my undergraduate school, Arizona. I was only applying for a summer internship at the time, but that session opened up a number of ideas for me to further my education and pursue my goals.

The next semester, I started my path by signing up for a Probability and Statistics course offered as a tech elective for my BS in Mechanical Engineering. I came to thoroughly enjoy that class, with the material being presented in a way I really appreciated. After the completion of that course, I signed up for the senior-leveled courses in Probability and Statistics theories offered by the Mathematics department as a way to prepare for the classes in Quality and Reliability Engineering offered by my home department. Unfortunately, right before the semester was to begin, the university had to cancel all reliability-related courses for both undergraduate and graduate studies because of faculty issues. It is still uncertain what the fate is for the Reliability program at Arizona. However, I am still applying to there as I am applying to you. I truly do believe that I want to focus my graduate studies in Reliability Engineering, making sure things work as they should and figuring out how to ensure their recommended life expectancy. My goal is to obtain a PhD in Reliability Engineering from the University of Maryland.

Of course, there is more to a graduate education than a set course of required classes. There are many opportunities for graduate students to work with faculty in a number of research interests, or to work with instructors in their undergraduate courses. I have had the pleasure of doing both as an undergraduate, and would love to help in any way I can as a graduate student. As a sophomore, I had the opportunity to be a teacher’s assistant for second semester calculus, working with students one-on-one as a tutor, and also with groups preparing for midterms or going through homework. The job gave me a strong sense of responsibility as I still maintained a full-time schedule.

I later worked with the same professor whose class I was a TA in with a research project involving computers and discrete mathematics. Not only was I able to provide some engineering insight into the topics at hand, but I was also a key part of the group working on the project. We all worked on a number of different parts integrating geometry onto our computers’ processors. While everyone worked on programming, testing, and documentation, I took charge of establishing visual analysis of our code using MATLAB. Using my part of the code, we could make sure that the programs were working correctly. I believe that this research experience, as well as my previous REU in Berkeley, has helped me become comfortable working with groups where everyone can incorporate their own skills into a solid end product. As a graduating senior, I am working on an interdisciplinary project along with Electrical, Materials Science, Optics, and Computer Engineers on one of our school’s racing vehicles. I have been able to relay my expertise as a Mechanical Engineer, as well as my organizational skills, to help our team on its route to developing and building our end vehicle which we aim to race.

Sometimes, I find it hard to realize that I am a senior in college, and that graduation is only a few months away. My decision to apply to graduate school was not an easy one, let alone applying out of state. Four years ago, after much debate, I decided to stay in town and go to the University of Arizona even though I got into prestigious schools like Rice and MIT. The main reasons were family and money, in that order. As a Mexican-American, and raised by my Mexican nana and my mom, I have always been close with my family, and I didn’t feel like I could simply go and leave them behind. In most every way, I am glad with my decision to stay in town. I was able to spend one last year with my nana before she passed away. My mom developed cervical cancer, and I was able to help her through the surgeries. I have met amazing people here, incurred minimal debt through my scholarships and work stints, and gained a solid education from an accredited university. I have truly come to appreciate my time in Arizona, but I know that I also have to venture out into the world as my own person. This May, I will be the first person in my family to graduate from a 4-year university, and I aim to be an example for other Latino students to pursue postsecondary education and beyond to further diversify the student population. I have even applied and interviewed with Teach For America on volunteering as a teacher in low-income neighborhoods to encourage younger children to attend college and to help reestablish a quality American education. I am currently awaiting a response from them, and I will let you know of that outcome as soon as I hear it so I can make an informed, balanced decision on how to best further my education and those of others.

I sincerely appreciate your time looking at this letter. I hope that you will consider me to attend the University of Maryland as a graduate student. While my GPA and GRE scores are indicative of my dedication and desire to learn, I recognize that you are not just looking for students. The University of Maryland is looking for people, people who are able to balance serious coursework with everything else in life. Outside of school, I keep myself occupied in a lot of ways. I am an avid fan of movies and video games. On occasion I pull out my guitar, pluck a couple of strings, and delve into creative writing. I love spending time with my friends, going into deep discussions on everything from Anime to the meaning of life. I hope to meet a number of people in and outside of my department as a graduate student, as well as come to love and discover all that there is to see and do around College Park, Baltimore, and Washington. If you would like to ask me anything else, please feel free to contact me via email or any number of social network websites. I look forward to hearing your decision.

Thank you,
Mitch Wilson
University of Arizona