Admission Essay Sample

During my time as a Psychology undergraduate student at San Francisco State University (SFSU), I was exposed to many different perspectives in the field, and it made me realize that I wanted to pursue a career researching cognition and the workings of the brain. In order to achieve this goal, I would like to get a master’s, and eventually a doctorate degree. I chose to focus on a master’s degree prior to pursuing a doctorate, because I believe that gaining as much experience as I can early on, will allow me to build a strong foundation upon which I will be able to get the most out of a doctoral program. Getting a master’s would also prepare me to better deal with obstacles that I will inevitably face while pursuing my career. I believe that

Having actively worked with the professors at SFSU, I found that not only are they truly avid researchers, they are also enthusiastic about helping students grow, both personally and academically. This is important to me because the professors know exactly what it takes to be successful in the field, and can provide me with the training and experience which will be crucial in becoming a good scientist. Additionally, while I will not work with the entire faculty directly, having access to a department full of diverse outlooks will no doubt prove to be an invaluable learning tool, and help tremendously in gaining a more thorough understanding of the field. Finally, the strong emphasis this program has on statistics and method will ensure that I am well equipped for conducting stellar research, and will most certainly be decisive in my future career

Unlike many of my classmates, I was never told that I needed to do my homework or do my chores, because my parents knew that I would do everything that needed to be done without being reminded. My academic and career goals are driven by my internal need for perfection. During my time as an undergraduate at San Francisco State, Dr. Morsella gave me some advice, which rang very true to my heart. What he told me was that laziness or not wanting to do something, especially if it would be beneficial to you down the line, should never be a reason not to do something. For me, my education and career are two of the most important things for my future, therefore I refuse to settle and not give it my all when I know that if I put in all of the effort I have within me it will without a doubt benefit me. One example of self-motivation can be seen in my honors thesis project. Although in the AC lab there is a 15 hour per week requirement, when I was working on my project I would often be in the lab working 20+ hours, some days even working until three in the morning in order to finish what I had started. I faced many obstacles when designing my script and ran into many walls along the way, but it was all worth it to me. When I would finally go to bed when the sun was coming up I would close my eyes with a smile on my face, knowing that I had worked hard and that I would be back in the lab four hours later to do it