Letter to my Academic Advisor
August 21st, 2003To: Jill Camberlain
Subject: A letter from your advisee
Dear Ms Chamberlain,
This is Jason Yeo, from Singapore. I have just this instant received your thoughtful card in the mail – thank you for taking the initiative to write. I am delighted to have you as my academic advisor, and I look forward to meeting you at Wadsworth House on Tuesday, September 9th from 12noon to 1.30pm.
Having spent the last two and a half years serving compulsory military service, I am both excited to be finally starting college (I was accepted to the College back in Dec 2000) and at the same time I am apprehensive about getting back up to speed academically. At last count, it has been about 33 months since I last did any calculus or wrote any graded essays, and thus I do not foresee myself performing well in the math, physics and chemistry placement tests. (Do you have any information about the standard of these placement tests?)
In terms of academic interests, I would like to pursue an interdisciplinary concentration such as Environmental Science & Public Policy or Social Studies. I also hope to qualify for citations in French (in which I have the equivalent of about 3 years of study) and Manadarin Chinese (12 years experience). Lastly, I am planning on satisfying the pre-med requirements (I turned down a place at the local medical school to attend Harvard).
Presently, my career interests lie in the areas of public health, resource & environmental management, public policy and social justice.
Despite how it may sound, I am really quite confused by the myriad of choices and resources available at Harvard, and I am truly thankful to have an academic advisor. I apologise for the length and self-absorption of this email – I am simply thrilled by the prospect of an enriching and fulfilling time at Harvard.
Thank you for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
Jason S. Yeo