Personal Statement
Applied Program: Statistics
When I was doing internship at the renowned XX Cosmetics Co. Ltd, I was deeply impressed by the motto from XX, the founder of the company—“Believe in Miracle and Miracle will Indeed Happen.” At one point during my undergraduate education I was very frustrated because I found that, due to the lack of effective methodology of numerical analysis, the teaching and the research of economics in China lags far behind the international standard as represented by the developed countries of the West. As a result, even though I am one of the top students from the XX University of Finance and Economics, I find it difficult for me to really enter the true realm of economics study. Instead of dealing a heavy blow on me, this discovery motivated me to maximize my efforts in the study of mathematics and to apply for an advanced degree program in statistics at your well-respected university after having completed my undergraduate program. It is my conviction that, as long as I have sufficient confidence myself and make sufficient efforts, I am bound to accomplish some form of achievements in the field of statistics and make due contributions to the development of quantitative research in economics in the Chinese academia. Miracle will indeed happen.

I specialized in accounting at the Accounting College of XX University of Finance and Economics. An undergraduate education in the specialty of accounting covers knowledge in a wide range of fields—economics, management science, mathematics, statistics, and even sociology. While providing me with a solid academic foundation, this education has enabled me to ferret out the areas that can really capture my interest. I have cherished a strong interest in mathematics since the primary school and developed my talents all the way through my middle and high school. But it is only through my undergraduate study that I have come to realize the vital importance of mathematical approaches to the study of economics. This very realization has further reinforced my determination to choose the career of an applied statistician in the future. Toward such an objective, I have devoted special efforts to the study of mathematics and statistics. Apart from intensive work in such compulsory courses as Calculus, Linear Algebra, Theory of Probability, Statistics, and Mathematical Statistics, I have also attended a series of important optional courses including Operational Research, Game Theory of Economics, Sampling Investigation and made full use of my spare time to learn the knowledge of statistics as much as possible.

My undergraduate education should be described as very rewarding and fruitful. For the past three consecutive years, I have maintained top ranking in my class and for two consecutive years I was given the “Outstanding Student” Award, winning Level-A scholarships. I have demonstrated special aptitudes in mathematics and in English. My natural talents in mathematics and my dedicated efforts to mathematics coursework have led my GPA in all the mathematics courses to reach 3.9, far exceeding the level of average students. In terms of English language, I have also been well above average. In the first semester in 1999 I won the first prize at the “Freshmen Cup” English Listen Comprehension Contest and in 2001 I won the first prize in the English Contest for College Students in China, the third prize at the Oral English Contest in XX Province. Even though I have assumed various responsibilities for extracurricular activities of several student organizations, I have still managed to perform well academically, a fact that should be attributed to my extra diligence, productive study methods, and effective allocation of my time and energy. From the very outset of my undergraduate career, I made up my mind to fully exploit all the available resources of my university to achieve comprehensive self-development and what I have achieved adequately testifies to the rewarding undergraduate life I have been living.

As a science that tries to discover inherent quantitative relationships among different data and make rational statistical inferences by applying relevant theories and methodologies, statistics has been widely applied in the modern society, its impact penetrating into almost all fields of physical and social sciences. With China’s reform toward the market economy and its accession into the WTO, statistics is becoming increasingly important in China’s economic life. The fact that the subject I am interested in will enjoy a broad prospect of application in China makes me very excited and confident concerning my future study and career. In my proposed program, I will first try to consolidate my foundation in statistics and then narrow down my interests to focus on Time Series Analysis and Statistic Inference.

I believe that to make rational inferences is one of the major functions of statistics. In many cases, pure statistical models or time series models can make more precise inferences and predictions than theoretical models of economics. The dilemma faced by modern economics in making predictions is one of the important reasons for me to choose statistics over economics as the area of my concentration. As an important aspect of statistical study and research, I will try to master one or two advanced statistical software such as Gauss and TSP. In addition, if possible, I wish to be a member of the research group of my future advisor under whose direction I can work on a full-length research project. It is equally desirable for me to do extensive internship at a specific government organization or a local enterprise so that I can apply my knowledge of statistics and test its efficacy.

Apart from the sound undergraduate education that I have received, together with my special achievements in mathematics and English, my creativity, perseverance, and my good logical thinking are three major factors of my implicit confidence in my future performance, just as they have contributed to my distinguished performance in the past over most of my peers. Meanwhile, I am also very proud of my past extracurricular performance, which has considerably improved my practical abilities beyond the mere coursework, like teamwork, organization and interpersonal communication. I served as student leader in the Students Union, editor of the university student newspaper, member of Accounting Study Group and Youth Volunteer Association. In 2003, I worked part-time as beauty consultant at the renowned American XX Cosmetics Company. An important experience directly related to my specialty is the internship I did in 2003 at the Statistical Bureau of XX City during which I worked on a city-wide population sampling investigation, collecting and analyzing data and accumulating much practical statistical experience.

I prioritize on XX University as the school for my Master’s program in statistics because a careful study of your esteemed university shows me that it is a world famous university with a long academic tradition. In terms of the teaching and research of statistics, it plays a leading role not only in American but also in international academia. Naturally it becomes my ideal choice. As a student of accounting I have built up a sufficient foundation in statistics and mathematics requisite for a graduate program in statistics. Therefore, I sincerely wish that my application could be seriously considered.