Ole Miss Bound

Hello everyone!

If you are following my Instagram page (@12bre45), then you probably saw that I recently announced that I would be attending the University of Mississippi this Fall. This is such an amazing opportunity for me and definitely did not come easily. So in this post, I wanted to take some time to explain the process I went through to finally be Ole Miss Bound.

*Also, before reading this post, it would be helpful if you have already read my post Choosing Biochemistry.

On to Plan B

As I have mentioned before, I changed my major very late in the college game. But in doing so, I had discovered something that I was truly passionate about. Although I had finally taken all of these biochemistry classes and had a lot of research under my belt, I still did not feel prepared for graduate school. Graduate school applications are usually due sometime during the fall semester when you're applying for the next fall semester. This is when sooooo many things finally occurred to me.

• Yes, I have research experience (4 years to be exact)
• All my research is in organic or polymer chemistry. I have no biochemistry research.
• My GPA isn't bad (above a 3.0)
• But it could be better....math wasn't my strongest subject....or biology if I'm being honest with myself.
• Can I really be changing my career goals this late in my college career?
• Are graduate schools really going to accept me with my resumé all over the place? 

 With all of these things to consider, it took me quite a while to come to the conclusion that I was not ready for graduate school. Or so I thought. I ended up applying to 6-8 post-baccalaureate (post-bac) programs for biochemistry. The programs I applied to all were great programs that would have paid me a salary to be there and conduct biochemistry research for at least 1 full year. In my opinion, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to obtain biochemistry research, get paid, and also boost my resumé in a meaningful way. A post-bac program was like taking a productive "year off." And I would get paid! What more could I ask for?

"We regret to inform you..."

What I didn't know was that the majority of these programs were geared towards giving students who had zero to little research experience, research opportunities to make them competitive for graduate school. Being as though I had a significant amount of research experience, I was rejected....constantly...from every single program. It was definitely devastating for me. Each of them starting with the dreaded "We regret to inform you...."  Many of them saying that I "had too much research experience." This was something that I was not expecting. Not even in the slightest.

"Trust yourself and your abilities!"

After this, I reached out to a Xavierite who is now working at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. She has been such an amazing mentor to me, even though we have never formally met in person. She encouraged me to actually apply to graduate programs, even though many deadlines had passed. She gave me the best piece of advice I had gotten throughout my entire college career; Trust yourself and your abilities! 

So I decided to do just that and took a chance. I talked to my research advisor and asked if there were still any graduate school opportunities floating around. She talked to some people, who knew some people, and the next thing I knew, I had an email from the Head of the Chemistry Department at University of Mississippi. This was within the last 3-4 weeks of my senior year. Graduation was around the corner, and I was busy writing my senior thesis, and lots of final papers for my courses. But I finally had an opportunity that I simply could not pass up. The major downside was that I still had not taken the GRE.

The Application Process

So after graduation, I had less than a week to study for my GRE and hope and pray that my score would be high enough to gain admittance into the Ph.D program at Ole Miss. Between working 39.5 hours every week, I studied every chance that I got. I would go to work early to study, head to Starbucks right after work, and if I couldn't sleep, I was in the books preparing for this exam. I filled out the online application for UM and then finally took the GRE on May 11th. I got my scores immediately, but it took about 2 weeks for my scores to make it to the university. I was really shocked at how well I did on the exam!

Soon after my scores made it to UM, I was accepted to the Biochemistry/Chemistry Ph.D program! It was such an opportunity for me. Although I had never been to Mississippi a day in my life. I recently went to visit, and had the most amazing experience. All of the students were very welcoming, and a lot of fun. They all seemed like a family which is something that I truly appreciated because at Xavier, the Chemistry Department is like one big family as well. Now all that is left is to choose my research advisor and determine what I will be studying for the next 5 years of my life. And I am truly excited about it!

The Moral of the Story

Through all of this, I learned a very important lesson. I have to trust myself, and trust that I am good enough. No matter what program that I am applying to; the worst they can say to me is "no." With that being said, be a risk taker. Apply to schools that you think are "out of your league." You may surprise yourself and end up with an amazing opportunity! 

Have any questions or amazing stories to share? Feel free to comment below! Subscribe to keep up-to-date with my blog posts.