Clarify what you want before comparing universities.
01 Reading notes
Separate the wishes inside the same question.
Zhaoye wrote about two concerns. One was choosing a university: he wanted to study a field he liked, but feared his background would be unwelcome, so considered another route that better satisfied his wish for a stronger credential. The other was preparation: without competitions, research or papers, what should he do over the next year and a half? Both were practical questions, and both contained a low estimate of himself.
My reply first asked what he was pursuing. Institutional recognition, academic exploration and skills development can all matter, but do not automatically point to the same option. Asking only which university is better compresses a complex decision into a ranking, without explaining why the apparently better choice may not fit.
I would move the imagined future beyond admission: what do I want to read and research each day, whose guidance do I want, and what repetition and difficulty am I willing to face? Those questions come closer to graduate study itself than wondering whether admission will make me appear more accomplished. If the imagined future ends on the day the offer arrives, there is more to learn about the days after it.
Equally, there is no need to be ashamed of valuing recognition. Comparing paths seriously requires knowing which benefit I am paying for. Hiding the actual motive and calling every decision passion will not make it steadier. Describing the wish honestly is a condition for beginning to judge.
what you actually want and what you are trying to pursueOpen this letter
02 Reading notes
Bring aspiration into preparation. Move beyond judging yourself.
Zhaoye repeatedly counted what he lacked: competitions, projects and papers, as though each blank proved him unqualified. In my reply I connected these to the field he liked and suggested looking for opportunities. Lacking experience calls for understanding how experience might be formed next, rather than reading an empty résumé as a verdict on oneself.
Developing that suggestion here, I would first verify what the target program actually requires, then compare those requirements with the resources available now. Whom can I ask about everyday research, what scale of problem can I start with, and which abilities need strengthening? These are matters preparation can investigate, with more purchase than repeated guesses about whether a supervisor will look down on me.
In the original letter, I described the relationship between projects and papers rather directly, and used the strong phrase “True passion is fearless.” Keeping that in the historical reply does not mean passion guarantees publication, or that having concerns proves insufficient passion. Preparation still requires time, guidance, methods and suitable conditions.
I would therefore prefer a bounded action to test the aspiration: read one relevant piece of work carefully, try reproducing a small part, or ask someone experienced about a specific requirement. Afterward, ask whether I still want to continue. Interest gets a chance to become practice, while also receiving information from reality.
03 Reading notes
Hear the aspiration. Calculate the constraints too.
Economic responsibilities also shaped Zhaoye's choice. The anonymized correspondence retains his wish to earn income soon because it matters to the decision. I leaned toward encouraging him to use youth's advantages to pursue an interest, but that preference could not bear his tuition, time or uncertain future income for him. Advice must recognize its limits.
In arranging these two letters, I would list costs separately: how much time is needed, how existing work would be arranged, what interrupted income would mean, and how much support a family could provide. These may be unromantic questions, but they directly affect whether a path is viable. Clarifying them early avoids discovering after departure that the conditions were never in place.
When Qinghe asked about a part-time postgraduate degree, I explicitly said I did not know his field well enough to offer a proper conclusion, and asked him to decide in relation to his goals and interests. That response also reminds me that beyond my knowledge, naming what needs investigation may be more useful than continuing to give a confident-sounding answer.
If the cost is too high, compare schedules, preparation periods and other ways to learn again. If the goal is clear and conditions permit, a period of investment may be worthwhile. There is no ordering that fits everyone. The person deciding needs to know what they are willing to exchange, and which changed condition should prompt another calculation.
04 Reading notes
After hearing advice, form a reason of your own.
Zhaoye sent a further response after the reply: he intended to choose the direction he could handle most confidently and continue using what he had learned. That follow-up matters because the choice returns to him. I cannot turn it into a story of smooth progress from then onward; the correspondence records an intention, not the eventual result.
Qinghe's situation highlights another possible motive: is graduate study attractive mainly because finding work is difficult now? In the reply, I advised against it if it served neither a development goal nor an interest and was only a way around the current difficulty. A new setting may provide a buffer, but will not automatically answer where to go after leaving it.
Faced with that uncertainty, I would ask myself to write a reason independent of other people's approval: what would this study help me do, why are existing routes insufficient, and how will I check the premise? If those remain unclear, I can gather more information. Anxiety need not be ended by making a heavy commitment prematurely.
Consulting others can add perspectives; it cannot hand over responsibility for the choice along with the question. I hope the essay leaves more than a yes or no about applying. It should leave clearer conditions. Knowing my goal, costs and unknowns before the next step makes it easier to recognize the path as one I chose.