I remember the day as if it were yesterday. During my second year in college, I was attempting to transmit a group of characters comprising my name from one computer to another. I connected the computers using RS-232 cable, wrote the necessary programs and executed them. I typed my name on one terminal and rushed to the other to see the results. "Wow, this is magic!" I exclaimed as I read 'Tom' on the screen. While I realized intuitively that a complex version of this elementary network could achieve much, at the time I had no real idea what. Now, four years later, I know that Networking makes possible a plethora of applications, from video-conferencing over the Internet to linking banks through private networks. It still seems like magic. Or rather, a grand adventure - one that I most certainly want to be part of.

My interest in applied science dates back to my school days. During high school, I was fascinated with electronic gadgets. Soon thereafter, designing and building basic circuits started as a hobby. Along the way, however, I realized that the problem-solving aspect of making electronic gadgets was what I enjoyed the most. Engineering was a natural career choice after this.

During my undergraduate studies at the Electronics & Communication department of M.K. College of Engineering, subjects like Microprocessors, C-Programming, Computer Networks interested me the most. I was awestruck by the potential of Intel 8086 microprocessor, more so by the manner in which its faster and more powerful cousins revolutionized the working of computers in a decade. I was now determined to focus on microprocessors during my Final Year project.

I elected to do the project at National Space Research Organization (NSRO) as it has an outstanding infrastructure setup and a stimulating, world-class research environment. This enabled me to work with some of the best minds dedicated to engineering research in my country. I gained a lot from this association - in particular, an idea of how rewarding and meaningful a career in research could be. The more tangible benefits have been a deeper insight into architecture and working of microprocessors and thorough C-programming skills. Sometimes I spent more than ten hours a day at NSRO, reading manuals and troubleshooting circuits and debugging code. I am glad to say the effort paid off in the end. Mr. Tendulkar, my project guide, deemed the results of my project to be most valuable. The interface card that I designed was later added to NSRO's Spacecraft Interface Simulator (SIS) systems. This project was the highlight of my academic career. Most importantly, I left NSRO with the decision to study advanced computing.

During my first job at Neville Engineering and Locomotive Co. (NELCO), I developed a real-time monitoring system for the Molding Line in Foundry. Success on this project gave me the confidence to provide software solutions to real-life problems. Although I liked the job, software development at NELCO was a support function. I therefore switched to Mohinder Belgian Telecom Ltd. (MBT), a multinational company providing software solutions in wide-ranging fields, telecommunications being its forte. At MBT, I have been involved with Project ART, Belgian Telecom's new front-end system providing intelligent access to its Customer Service System (CSS). Working on this project has helped me hone my programming skills on real-life problems. I developed an appreciation of 'the big picture', and conversely how important details are. I also discovered leadership skills in myself, and frequently assisted colleagues who had little or no background in computers. As an outcome of this, the company asked me to take occasional seminars on Operating Systems and C-Programming for my colleagues. I have been appointed Team Leader within a year and today, I independently look after enhancements and maintenance of three modules out of the sixteen in Project ART.

During my work on project ART at MBT and through my interaction with colleagues, I have grown to admire the role of Computer Networks in empowering end-users. I am not directly involved with Computer Networks in my job, but through avid reading of periodicals and journals like 'Network World', I have sustained my interest in the field. In fact, after reading about the immense potential of path-breaking protocols such as 'Multicast' and applications like 'Voice Over IP' and 'Virtual Private Networks', I cannot help but feel excited about the potential for new research in this area.

While my present job has helped me develop a thorough insight into project handling, the industry environment that I am currently in cannot support my desire for research. I possess industry-hardened skills in Computers, but I must build on these to achieve my goal of undertaking cutting-edge research in advanced computing, with specific reference to Computer Networks. I therefore believe that I must return to the academic world for further growth.

I wish to earn an MS degree in Computer Science. I intend to follow this up with a Ph.D., and later, a career in research and teaching. I have spoken to my professors, seniors and colleagues about my choice of University, and have applied to Princeton University because it is reputable for its research facilities and computing resources. The department web site revealed a very strong faculty involved in extensive research in the area of Computer Networks. This has strengthened my resolve to study at Princeton University.

I bring along a strong grasp of fundamentals in Electronics and Computers, an aptitude for teaching and team work, a zest for challenges and an enthusiastic desire to learn all I can. I would like to take with me, in addition to knowledge of Computer Networks, a network of strong and lasting relationships with my teachers and fellow-students. I hope that my background and qualifications are found suitable for an MS in Computer Science at Princeton University.

點評：

這篇文章主要是以對專業認識的逐漸深入、專業技術掌握水平的逐步提高為主線進行寫作的。所以整篇文章容易給人一種很緊湊，中心鮮明突出的感覺。而另一方面，作者想要出國讀的具體專業方向（網絡）也是在工作中逐漸發現和培養出來的。雖然作者在這個方向沒有在工作中頻繁的接觸，但是作者的計算機技術與豐富的經驗已能給讀者一種感覺:即使是換一個小方向，以作者的專業基礎也能夠很快掌握好的。而這正是一個申請專業方向與原有的研究經歷不是很相符的申請者特別需要在PS中花心思雕琢的部分。這篇文章是非常值得這些申請者用心體會的。

譯文：

仿佛是昨天剛發生過一樣，在我大二那年，我嘗試把包含我名字的一組字符從一臺電腦傳輸到另一臺電腦。我使用RS-232電纜連接兩臺電腦、編寫了相應的程序并執行程序。在一臺終端機器上打完自己的名字后，我馬上跑到另一臺電腦前看有什么反應。當我看到屏幕上顯示出“Tom”的字樣時大聲叫道：“哇！真是不可思議！”憑我專業上的直覺，我相信更復雜的網絡結構將會很有意義，不過它具體會如何發展，我當時也不知道。四年后的今天，網絡的應用范圍已十分廣泛了，不僅有網絡視頻會議，還有網絡個人銀行。這一切都是那樣的神奇，同時，我十分想成為為了網絡發展的每一項偉大創舉而奮斗的一份子。

我對應用科學的興趣要追溯到我在中學讀書的時候，高中時我就對各種電子配件很著迷。從那時起，我就培養起了設計和編排基本電路的興趣愛好，我最喜歡做的事就是解決電子配件制作中的各類問題。因此，我選擇了工程學作為以后的職業目標。

我本科是在Milton Keynes大學工程學院讀電子與通信專業，其中，我最感興趣的專業課是微處理器、C語言編程和計算機網絡。我十分驚訝于因特爾8086微處理器在近十年內的發展潛力以及其部件的快速而強大的變革對計算機性能的改善，因而決定就以微處理器作為我畢業設計的項目。

我選擇在國家太空研究所做畢業設計，因為那里有十分杰出的科研團隊和一流的科研環境。我可以從中吸收到許多有關我國工程研究的很好的想法。從中我受益匪淺，尤其是它使我認識到工程研究會是一份很有意義、很有價值的職業。我深入探討了微處理器的結構、工作方式，以及C語言編程技術，因此對微處理器有了更直觀的了解。有時候我會超過十小時呆在研究所里閱讀指導手冊、排除電路故障、調試代碼。我很高興付出了這些努力能夠獲得回報。我的畢業設計導師Tendulkar先生認為我的研究成果很有價值。我設計的接口卡后來被研究所的航天器對接模擬系統所使用。這個項目是我在學術研究中最為突出的一個。但我對研究的追求并沒有在此停步，離開研究所以后，我開始學習更先進的計算技術。

我的第一份工作是在Neville工程與機車公司，為鑄模流水線開發了一個實時監控系統。這個項目的成功使我對運用軟件解決實際問題更有信心。雖然我喜歡這份工作，但是軟件開發在Neville公司只是出于一個支持性的位置。所以我后來去了MBT電信公司，這是一家為客戶提供廣泛的軟件解決方案的跨國公司，其優勢在于無線通信。我在這家公司里參與了一個ART項目，主要是為客戶服務系統提供一種新的、前沿的智能登陸系統。這個項目很好地鍛煉了我解決實際問題是需要的編程技術。我對程序項目的整體規劃有了認識，另一方面，也明白了各種細節的重要性。這同時也培養了我的領導才能，我經常幫助一些計算機知識薄弱的同事。由于我的表現很好，公司有時會要我去參加有關操作系統和C語言編程的同事們的討論會。我擔任研究小組組長迄今為止已經一年了，我還獨自負責ART項目的16個模塊中3個模塊的維護與更新工作。

在MBT公司的ART項目期間和同事們交流了許多，我開始對計算機網絡給客戶端授權的這一權力產生了興趣，我的工作沒有直接接觸到這方面的任務。但我自己比較好奇地閱讀了一些期刊雜志，如“網絡世界”，我一直很喜歡這些研究。事實上，看了這些正在發展中的網絡協議廣闊的前景（如：多點傳送）和 應用范圍（如：網際協議和虛擬私有網絡），我不禁為這一領域的發展前景激動不已。

我現在的工作培養了我研究、開發項目的能力，但是我現在所處的生產環境無法滿足我對科學研究的追求。我擁有能夠落實到生產上的扎實的計算機技術，而我還想在這個基礎上進行更前沿的算法的研究，尤其是有關計算機網絡的。我很清楚自己必須回到學校接受深造。

我想要獲得計算機科學的碩士學位，隨后攻讀博士學位，然后在教育或科研領域發展自己的事業。我和我的教授、領導和同事交流過我的選校。申請普林斯頓大學是因為它在研究設備和計算機資源上很出眾。計算機系主頁上能看出它在計算機網絡研究方面有很強的師資隊伍，這更堅定了我要去那里讀書的決心。

我掌握了很扎實的電子和計算機原理知識，有較強的教導別人和團隊協作的能力，還有對學習與各種挑戰的熱情。除了能學習到計算機網絡技術，我還希望能認識許多優秀的學生和老師，與他們一直保持很好的聯系。希望我的學術背景與技術水平能夠適應在普林斯頓的碩士學習。