How to get into Harvard Graduate School after community college: an interview with Iraq/Afghanistan war veteran Jared Esselman

Jared Esselman graduated Palm Beach State College in 2007. He graduated Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2011.

And you can too.

I recently talked with Jared and heard his incredible story. His approach to college offers a lot of great advice for what it takes to make the most of your community college experience so that it will catapult you to wherever you want to go next.

In 1998 Jared graduated high school and attended Brigham Young University for a year. By the end of his second semester, Jared said “they sent me a letter essentially saying ‘we appreciate your time, don’t come back.’ The feeling was mutual. It wasn’t a good fit. I didn’t really do well in the classes, and at 18 years old I just wasn’t ready.”

So Jared joined and served in the military for a while.

And in 2006, eight years later, he decided he wanted to go back to college. He applied to the College of Charleston: “but they said no. They said I had no recent grades, no recent college experience, and they suggested I go to community college to get that experience. So I said ‘ok’ and enrolled at Palm Beach Community College.”

When Jared got to PBCC (now Palm Beach State College), a community college academic advisor changed his life: “I took classes randomly when I first started because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. But my advisor really took me under her wing. She walked me through what community college could provide for me and what was beyond – including graduate school.”

Jared was also impacted by his community college professors: “They are there because they love it; they want to be there and they want to share their experience. I had a political science professor who was so passionate about his subject; he lit a fire in me. His passion for politics and getting to the root of the political problem (e.g. policy) and ability to teach us to think about how to solve those problems started me on a path to Harvard.”

As his passion for politics grew, Jared did more “extras.” Despite his full time job at the airport, he “never missed a Town Hall meeting. I was a familiar face among people who worked at city hall, among elected officials both on municipal and state levels, and maybe a little bit in the county. I didn’t do much, but I was there talking to people and learning things! Just being there, just showing up is 80% of the solution.”

Jared graduated Palm Beach State College with a 4.0 and a great resume. This time when he applied to transfer to the College of Charleston, they said of course! While at the College of Charleston Jared also interned with the White House, which he believes was integral in helping him later get into Harvard.

And it is these extras that make all the difference. Jared said that getting the White House internship taught him that places like the White House and Harvard “want to know what you’ve done EXTRA. You have all A’s? Great! But what else? What did you do extra? What is unique?”

Jared said the summers are a great time to build the kind of experiences that will make you stand out.

After graduating with his Bachelor’s degree Jared was going right on to Harvard. Using the formula of making the most of his summers, he called Harvard to ask their advice on what he should do over that particular summer. Harvard said “don’t do anything over the summer; relax. Because for the next two years you won't get to."

Jared gave a really great overview of the intensity of Harvard Graduate School: “You have to do everything perfect, plus a little more. When you are there you have to go to class, and do a little more. I would get up at 5:30am every morning and start studying at 6am. I would leave at 7:30am and get to school at 7:45am, studying by 8am. Classes would be 8:45am-3pm. Then I’d study a bit more in the library before I attended some kind of study session or seminar or group think or some other visitor who was coming to the school as a guest lecturer, until 8pm. Then you’d study for 2 more hours. You were lucky if you got in bed by 10pm, more along the lines of midnight, and you do that 5 days/week."

"Weekends were sometimes free, but we’d also get policy projects sprung on us on a random Thursday and would have until Tuesday to solve it. Then all of your spare time is dedicated to solving that problem, hours and hours and hours in the library. A week would go by and I didn’t see the sun.”

While this schedule seems intense (and it is), I think it gives a great picture of what is expected, and the kind of dedication and hard work necessary for success. It’s not easy. But Jared was able to manage because he had been living that kind of schedule ever since he started community college.

Work/life balance is essential, but I encourage you to look at the time you currently invest in your studies. Are you working “Harvard-hard?” You should be – because that kind of work can get you to Harvard or wherever it is you want to go. Community college is a fantastic launching point for those willing to put in the work, like Jared.

And one of those launching destinations can be graduate school: “When I was going to community college I didn’t know anything about Harvard or graduate school. I really didn’t know I could shoot for a Master’s degree from community college. Going from community college to a university seemed big enough, and I didn’t think there was much beyond that for me."

"But once I finally started learning about what a Master’s degree was, and had people to encourage me towards that direction, I realized I wanted to go farther. A Bachelor’s degree is very ambiguous and general, and a Master’s degree specializes you and gives you the details on how to accomplish greater things, step by step – that is what I wanted.”

After graduate school Jared ran for Mayor in his hometown: “I was able to implement the techniques and strategies I had learned at Harvard into a real campaign. Even though I lost my election, it wasn’t necessarily a failure. It was a 54%/46% loss, and I did it with 1/3 the money in 1/3 of the time!”

Jared hopes to go back to the College of Charleston and work at their center for civic engagement in order to help students engage in service learning – to understand the cause of the problems and how they can solve them.

His best advice for community college students? “Just go to class every day and decide ‘I am going to listen, I am going to do all of my homework, I am going to learn this.’ That determination is the SINGLE most important factor for success. Eighty percent of the solution is just showing up. Go to class, go to the study sessions, find a spot in the library and go to it every day and just work."

"A lot of community college students (like me) have to work full time, and they get out of class and just keep working to build up money. But working too much in college is a lesser of the two investments. Investing your time in the extras (like an internship) will produce opportunities and a career that will pay much more than your current part-time/full-time job in the long-run. Summer jobs produce cash, but summer internships produce careers.”

From community college to the Ivy League - yes, it's possible

This blog evolved from my own growing understanding of social class and stereotypes. I had started to realize people stereotyped community colleges as sort of a "2nd class" education. I knew from attending and working at a community college (and being able to compare it my incredible small private undergraduate institution and my Big Ten public graduate school institution) that this was so very far from the truth (hence the blog's tagline in the banner above). 

And the truth is, there are incredible community college students transferring to Ivy League institutions every year. 

One such student is Chris Wilbur, a graduate of Bristol Community College and current student at Brown University. He is also a non-traditional student, as he didn't enter community college right after high school.

I know Chris personally as he is also a Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholar and one of the most fascinating and helpful people I know.

Since Chris is such a great writer, I wanted to share his journey in his own words below. His story explains how he started at Bristol Community College, what led him to apply to an Ivy League, what obstacles he faced in that process, what it was like to transfer to an Ivy League, and some great advice about how to manage your transfer experience, no matter where you go. 

Chris' Story - from community college to the Ivy League 

"The years between 2009 and 2011 were some of the most industrious and gratifying years of my life. I entered Bristol Community College with an assortment of experiences, but not much direction and a lot of anxious curiosity of where my future would take me. I really found the riches in the institution when I started engaging as a tutor in ESL; I realized how much I enjoyed contributing. I decided for the next two years, I would give everything I had to Bristol Community College.

It was the best decision I ever made.

From coordinating civic engagement activities, to writing for the newspaper, and from running for student elected office, to working with Congress, I found that contributing to the cause enriched me enormously. I found that power comes from empowering and hard work leads to large payoffs. I eventually gratuated valedictorian and was able to transfer to my dream institution.

It wasn’t a solitary effort though.

Helping others, I learned, leads to a community of mutual assistance. Being helpful can come in a number of forms. As Isa articulately outlines in her book, simply being prepared to deal with college administration can be very helpful. Courteousness and a smile can enrich their day. They will be much more willing to help when interactions are pleasant. 

I found that respecting the work that college personal engage in daily, and offering enthusiastic assistance whenever possible, wins points and friends. Without cultivating such relationships with numerous employee groups, I would never have had the opportunity to transfer as well as I did.

I set up appointments with career counselors, transfer affairs professionals, professors, directors and other administrators, and from this network I gathered the information and confidence that comes from able individuals who are interested in your success, and was able to search out colleges fitting for me.

I applied to twelve colleges in all, from little liberal arts schools, to sprawling state schools. I rigorously researched their programs and their uniquely nuanced educational philosophies. When narrowing down those that fit within my scope of interests and characteristics, I endeavored to tour campuses and speak to admissions officials. I am convinced this is what led to acceptance by some colleges, and lack thereof by others.

By tailoring an admissions letter to the strengths and quirks of a school, you are letting the admissions officer know that you are a good fit for the school, and by making an effort to communicate and show up on campus, you send the message that you are enthusiastic and ambitious enough to succeed.

This held true in practice for me.

Among other excellent institutions that worked out for me, Brown stood out as ideal. It had an open curriculum, allowing students to personalize course selection to their interests. It had a class shopping period where students sample classes for two weeks, and pick the ones they want to take. And it had the feel of a small liberal arts college, with the global reach of a mega-university. Of course, my life-long desire to attend this particular school was not lightly weighed into the equation. But beyond a doubt, community college enabled me to enter.

Ok, here come the adjustments and obstacles.

There are numerous distinctions between a community college and elite university. One is the admissions policy: community colleges are open and elite schools are highly selective. At Brown, nearly 50% are valedictorians, often from selective preparatory institutions. This means if you had been the most animated and knowledgeable in class, you have competition. If you were comfortable in coursework pace, get ready. And if you came from a less than cushy economic background like myself, be prepared to meet students that have had resources concentrated on them their entire life.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, however. You will be pushed to be on your game in class and to compose a new and articulate lexicon for class discussion. Also, suddenly, you will find yourself surrounded by some of the most brilliant people you have ever met and the possibility for incredibly stimulating conversation is omnipresent.

Another distinction is age variety, or lack thereof. At Brown, well over 90% are traditional age. This poses a bit of a problem for jumping into conversation about all the latest pop events and last night party experiences. For the latter, this is a bubble I am presently penetrating (I hope), and for the former, I have found a few ways to circumvent this.

Starting a discussion on a presentation that just ended will nearly always be well received. There are also are non-pop bonds that I have found quickly attaching. For example, one of my best relationships started over a scooter. One student had one, and I was thinking of buying one. This filled the first few conversations we had, which eventually led to us grabbing a meal together after each class.

Most students have been enrolled at Brown since their freshman year. For transfers, the transition is a bit awkward mid-college experience. However there is usually a cohort of transfer students with similar experiences, and I found reaching out to them was rewarding. Freshmen are also in a similar state of frenzy. Everything is new and they are struggling to fit in. I found attending orientation events based on effective time management skills, study habits, speed reading, etc. were exceptionally helpful, especially because they were predominately attended by freshmen. Taking introductory courses the first semester is also helpful. 

And finally there is the work. Here is a bit of advice: take the first semester as lightly as possible. Select basic classes, focus on school work, connect with friends when possible but don’t dwell on the difference between community college and your new institution. I did, and suffered for it. At BCC I was successful, connected. I was comfortable and on top of my game. The semester at Brown was a shock. I invested all the time I formerly spent on student engagement and leadership activities (which was practically all my non-academic time), on course work, and still came up short. The transition was unnerving and on top of this, I was uncomfortable that I was unable to uphold the level of student engagement I had previously enjoyed. 

I finally realized my expectations were misaligned. In retrospect, the best bit of advice would be, don’t hold yourself to your old standards. Do your best, never do less, but at first, focus all efforts on doing well in school and feeling comfortable in your environment. Compare yourself to yourself, and not your peers, and not your previous performance in community college. Coming to grips with the disparity in environments is essential to growing to meet the new challenge in positive terms. And in time, you will find that once comfortable, you will unfurl like a flower, and be able to engage in new activities (and see a bump in your GPA). My unfurling wasn’t until late spring semester.

So I leave you with the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation slogan (which is a great scholarship I encourage all to apply to): 'think big, work hard, achieve.' And if at first you don’t succeed... try try again!"

To keep up with future blog posts and ask me questions, join the coolest people ever and be my best friend at Facebook.com/CCSuccess

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