Creative Writing: The Tenth Statistical Sample

Juan,

I struggled with the beginning of this letter because the common, two-word, usual phrase does not seem to serve the intended purpose strong enough. I graduated from New Mexico Tech on May 13th, 2017. I graduated summa cum laude with a final GPA of 3.89/4.00. I was selected and inducted as a member of Sigma Pi Sigma, a physics honors fraternity with high standards. I have a deeper understanding of some of the more abstract theory and concepts that humankind has come to learn about in our physical Universe. My skill in mathematics now includes intermediate methods to complex systems of partial differential equations. Not a single shred of this would have been a remote possibility had it not been for your help, your letter, that I included

I left high school with an embarrassing GPA of 2.09 and not a care in the world. When New Mexico Tech rejected my application, I was crushed but I knew there had to be a way to break the brand that I had given to myself so long before. The letter I wrote as part of my appeal was titled, “The Tenth Statistical Sample”. In my letter, I spoke of policies in general that are born out of the necessity to serve the so-called “9 out of 10 times” (the 1 to 2 standard deviations that are to be accepted as the norm). I made a strong assertion in that letter. I claimed that I was the tenth sample that the policy would have normally stripped of opportunity. I did not challenge the philosophy that created the policy; I happen to agree wholeheartedly with designs that fit the vast majority (makes sense resource-wise). I merely asserted that I am not a part of the vast majority and I appealed to my being an exception. I knew this meant, especially to me, that I not only would have to make good and complete my degree if accepted, but that I would have to excel in every task undertook at Tech. I feel I attained this goal. Every course, every special project, every assignment, I devoted every bit of my soul to. It was time consuming. At times, it was difficult. I have learned most importantly what questions to ask and how to be efficient and critical with my