Personal Statement
Program: Marketing / Marketing Management
The most essential difference between modern marketing management and conventional marketing management resides in the fact that modern marketing and marketing management is client-oriented, and that marketing has developed into a strategic idea that penetrates into virtually all aspects of corporate operation. My personal interest and my personal qualities in various aspects have convinced me very early that marketing and marketing management is my best career option. Under the direction of this understanding, I have tried hard to develop my academic potential and extracurricular leadership to become that kind of person that I am—an outstanding student with an excellent educational background, strong leadership, sound teamwork, personal creativity, and indefatigable willpower. I have a strong feeling that all the preparations that I have made for my professional career accords fundamentally with the nature of modern strategic marketing ideas, that is, they both depend on an intuitive understanding of the bet course of action.

Interestingly enough, my early interest in marketing originated out of a game that I was engaged in when I was in middle school. In a simulated business fair, we were required to sell as many used and unwanted books as possible on the school playground, and the winner was of course the one who sold the greatest number of books. After seriously participating in this game, I was surprised to find that, from the perspective of optimization, the game consisted a series of complicated steps, ranging from pricing the old books, determining the appropriate clients, appropriate time and location, as well as effective sales strategies. Each step required pinpoint analysis, sound judgment and personal creativity. Those reflections and my ultimate success in becoming the winner of the game made me understand the importance of optimizing one’s behavior in the successful marketing of products. This experience explains why I have been so fascinated with marketing and its related subject mathematics during my undergraduate program.

However, when it comes to coursework, it is diligence and persistence that count. Although the Business School of XX University of China is known for its fierce competitiveness due to the concentration of the elite students from around the country, I have managed to maintain a top academic performance in my class, winning scholarship for academic excellence every year, the Outstanding Student honor, and XX ’s Award. What has made me especially proud is that I have excelled in both marketing courses and mathematics courses, including marketing management, marketing research, international marketing, advertising, linear algebra, probability & statistics, microeconomics and macroeconomics. Through those courses, I developed a systematic understanding of management and economics as scientific disciplines. Marketing encompasses knowledge in economics, psychology, sociology, communications, management and statistics and is a subject that combines science and art. Those two factors made me deeply interested in marketing. In doing my coursework, I have allowed my interest to develop freely so that I can explore whichever realm that interested me.

Successful marketing undoubtedly consists of leadership, teamwork, and overall coordination. It is impossible to develop those qualities from mere classroom education, so I have endeavored to acquire them through extracurricular activities in arts and sports. I am a member of the University Chorus and of the Business School Chorus. As lead singer and training organizer, I led the later to win prizes twice at the annual campus-wide chorus competition. While giving me important artistic cultivations, my engagement in chorus activities significantly enhanced my leadership, interpersonal communication and team working. As leader of 30 female members, I have contributed great efforts in the selection of individual members, conducting trainings, organizing competitions, and the enhancement of morale. Also as a member of women’s volleyball team of our School, I have participated in the University League Match. Whether as a leader or as a team member, I have demonstrated initiative, wisdom and personal efforts, all of which will be vitally important for my future career development.

The motivation underlying my present application for an advanced program in marketing and marketing management is to learn systematic theories and training in those fields and to fully expose myself to western culture through an international education. In this way I may better improve my professional knowledge and enhance my abilities to cope with different environments. To be involved in high-level marketing and marketing management is my long-cherished career objective and I believe that, with the establishment of China’s market economy and the development of modern enterprise system, marketing management will become an integral part of the corporate management of Chinese enterprises. In order to gain useful practices of marketing, I performed marketing research for XX and presented a study report concerning the newspaper’s marketing channels and the characteristics of the target market. Those activities have given me important chances to apply my marketing knowledge. Yet they have also made me understand the backward conditions of marketing management in current Chinese enterprises. As modern marketing originated in advanced western countries of market economy, I am convinced that only in those countries can I learn the most advanced theories and practices of marketing and marketing management.

I would like to apply for MSC in Marketing from the School of Management, the University of XX Institute of Science and Technology. With high reputation in marketing teaching and research, the School of Management provides knowledge of the principles and core areas of marketing along with in-depth coverage of specialist fields and research methods. In my tentative study plan, I would like to, based on a systematic study of the basic courses, concentrate on retail marketing (management) and international marketing (in developing and transitional economies). The courses and the research by Prof. XX, Prof. XX, Dr. XX, and Dr. XX will be especially relevant to my proposed study. China has the largest population in the world and the largest consumer market, but there has been no retailer of international stature. I believe that the study of this issue will lead me onto related subjects like modern marketing techniques and marketing strategies under different cultural backgrounds. Meanwhile, as a by-product of my study, I will try to experience the real market economy of Britain and its operations. I believe such sensory experiences will be of equal importance as my formal academic education.

The introduction of modern marketing ideas and techniques will bring important changes to the destiny of Chinese enterprises. As far as I am concerned, receiving an advanced education in the UK will be equally crucial for my personal and professional development. Therefore, your favorable consideration of my application will produce important impact well beyond my personal destiny.