It was an evening in early April, and I was lying on my bed reading a book when the phone rang. I heard my mother pick up the phone and listen for a minute then I heard her walk down the hall. It was a call for me. Grumbling at being disturbed from my book, I complained as I went down the hall that it was probably someone trying to sell me something. When I picked up the phone a voice at the other end said, "This is Western Union Telegram. You have received the Chancellor's Scholarship, a four-year all expenses paid scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh..." I let out a whoop which let my mother know instantly what had happened, thanked the Western Union lady and began to celebrate. In this article I will try to describe the path which led me to the Chancellor's Scholarship, and explain why I think I got it. I will focus primarily on the personal aspects, on my essays and meetings, but behind these loom the ever present SATs, Aps and their kin. A strong record and good test scores are the vital first step-- they are what get you in the door.
The story begins with an interview at the University of Pittsburgh Honors College in late September. The interview's purpose was to teach me more about Pitt, a university which had been moving up my list of possible schools ever since I attended the Pennsylvania Governor's School for International Studies there in July. I met with Nicole Rudolph, an admissions liaison with the Honors college, in a classrom on the thirty-fifth floor of the Cathedral of Learning, the floor occupied by the Honors College. In the interview I found out more about Pitt, about the functioning of the Honors College, and about the Chancellor's Scholarships. I had read through some of our books about applying to college before going in, and asked several questions which were rather standard. Ms. Rudolph had probably heard these questions a hundred times before, and asked me to explain why I had asked them. To a certain degree I had just memorized the questions, but I was able to think on my feet fast enough to explain their importance, and why I wanted to know the answers. I ended up talking a lot about myself too, and Ms. Rudolph seemed pretty impressed for she introduced me to the Dean of the Honors College, Alec Stuart. He and I chatted for a while, discussing an historical question he asked me, and the Rails to Trails movement, in which I had been involved.
Throughout the next six or seven months, I continued to drop in at the Honor's College rather frequently, getting to know people and coming to feel at home there. This visiting demonstrated my interest in the University, and I made friendships which would help me later on. Sandy, an administrative assistant at the Honors College, remarked that it seemed as if I was already a student there.
Out of the students applying to the University of Pittsburgh, 250 are picked each year as semifinalists for the ten Chancellor's Scholarships. I wanted to make sure that I was one of the ones picked, so I worked hard on my application essay, and made sure that my application was thorough and complete. My application essay took the reader on a tour of my house and farm, highlighting special things I had done. I later found out that it was the talk of the selection committee. My essay began:
I sit down in front of the computer to write this essay. The blank screen stares back at me intimidatingly. The growl of the hard drive sounds like a chuckle of glee from the computer-- "You can't think of anything to say." It purrs victoriously.
I shut my eyes and try to think, but all that comes into my head is a mental picture of one of the paths through the woods which I like to go jogging on. The moss covered tree trunks, the leaves on the forest floor, the faint trail leading off through the overgrown pasture on my family's non-operational farm, all are in clear focus-- still no idea. So I follow my thoughts hack, over logging roads, stepping stones, and deer paths.
In late December I received a letter from Pitt stating that I had made the first cut in the competition for the Chancellor's Scholarship. I was one of 250 students who would have to send in more information including two essays and two recommendations. The first of these two essays had to discuss my future plans, who I was, and so on. I figured that this was the essay to be creative on, and after numerous rewrites I came up with something I was happy with. I began with the first paragraph of an E.B. White-esque essay I had written about Christmas trees, and used the analogy of the Christmas tree to describe myself, and the various possible paths I could take in the future The second essay question gave me a choice of four possible topics, covering a wide range of student interests. This, I felt, should be a straight, serious essay, showing that I could also deal with an issue in a thoughtful manner. My essay was about how I felt the American educational system should be reformed. I developed a picture of my ideal educational system, one in which most people did something similar to homeschooling, with schools merely functioning as resource centers and giving specialized classes, and also gave a set of practical educational reforms which would help move people towards my ideal system.
It was more than a month before I heard back from the selection committee on the status of my scholarship application, and in the meantime I worried that my application had become lost, that they absolutely despised my essays, that recommendations had not arrived on time. Finally we received a letter. I had made the next cut, and had been selected as one of sixty students to be interviewed by the committee. The interview would determine whether I would receive the scholarship.
Of course I was nervous, as I think anyone would be, but I figured that Alec Stuart, Nicole Rudolph and perhaps one or two other people I knew would be on the committee, and that made the prospect considerably easier to face. I was not going into the maw of a completely unknown committee, instead I was going into the maw of a partially known committee. All I had to do was avoid embarrassing myself, and succeed in making a great impression.
The day of the interview arrived; I arrived in the office of Honors College, and waited for my turn. Several of the friends I had made on previous occasions talked, made jokes, and generally helped me forget to be nervous. The door of the interviewing room opened, and after a period of socializing in the lounge, I was led in.
I was introduced to the people I didn't know, and the interview began, with the committee seated on sofas and stools in a semicircle around me. Alec Stuart asked the first question, which was about how a merit scholarship such as the one I was currently competing for could be justified in the face of financial need. I began by saying that, as a student who was trying to get a merit scholarship, I was rather a biased observer (giving a nervous laugh which I realized must sound stupid, and endeavored to avoid for the rest of the interview). Then I went on to talk about how I felt that high caliber students could help pull up lower students, showing them that there was something greater they could aspire to, that they could do better. Merit deserved to be rewarded, and so on. Then Mr. Stuart asked me one about something we had talked about before, my interest in the Rails to Trails movement. He wanted to know what I thought about the problems of balancing different demands for use of the same land by different recreational users, neighboring land owners, etc. I gave a moderate answer-- everything should be weighed, and the decision should be made carefully.
The interview continued. They asked about positions I had taken in my essays, and about my view of different issues. I was asked to think and explain, and justify. At times it felt like an interrogation. but it was a friendly interrogation. and I remained relaxed, or reasonably so, taking each question as I came to it. At the end of the interview I laughingly mentioned how Molly, my sister, had suggested that I bring in a jar of my homemade maple syrup. They thought that the idea of bringing in maple syrup sounded like a great idea, and I almost wished I had actually brought some.
At one point they asked if I had any questions for them. I had been expecting this question, and was ready for it. The Honors College runs a field course in Yellowstone National park every other summer. The course sounded interesting to me, and I wanted to know what the prerequisites were so that I could take them in my first year. Alec Stuart not only said that there were no prerequisites, but offered to let me take the course this summer. When I took in my application to the Yellowstone Field Course a week later I brought with me a pint of maple syrup.
Then, on an evening in early April while I was lying in bed reading a book, the phone rang...
[Jesse received the Emma W. Locke award, presented annually to a graduating senior in recognition of high scholarship, character, and devotion to the ideals of the University of Pittsburgh. The award was a $750 scholarship to be used for his further education. Jesse will be starting graduate school at Carnegie Mellon University in the fall (1999), in the Social and Decision Sciences Department, working in political science. Also Jesse and longtime homeschool friend Patricia Hill (PHAA ‘97) were married on July 3, 1999, and starting their new life together at their own cottage on the Richman Farm outside of Kittanning.
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