Personal Statement

In retrospection of my student career, I am proud to say that, though I failed to be enrolled in my university as the top student at the National University Entrance Examinations, I managed to graduate cum laude in my department. My four-year undergraduate studies in the University of ------- have brought my academic potential into full play. My average scores reach 91 points in a 100-point grading system and my overall performance ranks No. 1 in a total of 200 students in my grade. For four consecutive years I have been the winner of first-class scholarships and the university‘s Student of Merit. My honors also include Excellent Student Leader of the University and Excellent Individual of Social Practice. Finally, on account of my unparalleled advantages in all aspects, I graduated as the provincial excellent graduate, bringing my undergraduate study to a successful conclusion.

When I come to summarize the reasons for my achievements, I see effective learning strategy and efficiency as two key factors. Even in my busiest time, a skilful exploitation of those two factors benefited me a great deal. The heaviest coursework came when I was a junior. Meanwhile I was the vice chairman of the departmental Students Union and was recommended to develop the university‘s pedagogical information management system. Nevertheless, I executed every assignment conscientiously and with great responsibility. My proper arrangement of time schedule and my emphasis on high efficiency ensured my best achievement: my scores in the final examinations were the highest in my class. In addition, the MIS System which I developed was successfully debugged. My sound psychology and physique provided me with powerful support for my intense studies and research. When undertaking the programming, I would immerse myself in reading in the library for the whole day and work on my programming throughout the evening. My vigor also kept me interested in a variety of extracurricular activities. I am the captain of our university women football team and I feel proud of playing the avant-garde. As vice chairman of the departmental Students‘ Union, I have organized and hosted a number of study, exchange and cultural events, which received high praises from university authorities and were covered by XinHua News Agency, the large of its kind in China.

My superior learning capability is also the major factor in my success. Keeping in mind the English proverb that "The early bird catches the worm", I tend to precede rather than follow the coursework. That is, I have made it a rule for myself to be fully acquainted with chapters even before my teachers actually come to them so that when I attend my classes I know what are the specific questions for which I want explanations from my teachers. Another good thing about this is that I can have in-depth discussions and even debates with my teachers based on my thorough understanding of the lessons. Therefore, I have achieved highest scores in many kernel courses such as computer network, discrete mathematics, database, and data structure. On the other hand, I am good at assimilating new knowledge within the shortest possible time and I have strong hands-on abilities. With deep interest in network, I participated in Microsoft‘s training program of Systems Engineering and within a month I passed all the requisite examinations and obtained my certificate, an event described by my teacher as "incredible". Equally good is my ability to conduct self-education. When I first started to participate in the task of constructing and maintaining the "virtual community of the campus network", I had little specialized knowledge about network. But by now I have finished my responsibilities in this project entirely through self-study. I am teaching myself CISCO and VC++ (based on my familiarity with C, C++) and I am deeply interested in database programming.

My interests are my best guides in making progress. My love for the subjects in my major keeps me vigorous and energetic all the time, and even the slightest progress I make in my studies makes me excited. In particular, Data Structure, Principles of Database, Operation System, Assembler Language, C, C++, MIS, Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, and other courses are among my favorites, and I always feel proud of myself for being able to apply them to actual process of problem solving. In using the foxbase to compile the management system of the students‘ academic record for the Dean‘s Office, I spent days and nights testing and debugging the system and the final success of the project gave me a strong sense of achievement.

Believing that classroom education can by no means encompass all knowledge, I turned to extracurricular projects for enhancing my practical skills. As an assistant of our university‘s computer center, I participated in the construction of a small-scale LAN and the on-campus virtual community. In my second year, I independently helped the AnYan City of HeNan Province develop a small-scale MIS System, which has been operating effectively since it was put into application. Among all the projects that I have attempted at, I am especially proud of the project of our university‘s pedagogical information management system. We selected Delphi as front-end development tool and SQL Server 2000 as rear-end database. The entire system applied the approach of combining C/S and B/S. It has passed the appraisal by a team of provincial experts. My graduation project is entitled The Analysis and the Design of the Management Information System of the Star Supermarket. After careful and detailed analysis, I decided to select Windows NT Server for the server network operation system, Windows 9x for the client‘s computer, Powerbuilder as front-end development tool and Sybase for the database system. The system has been operating smoothly for quite a long time and my thesis based on this project was rated "Excellent", the highest rating in my group. In undertaking this project with other members, I came to understanding that software development requires every participant to have very strong sense of responsibility and teamwork spirit. Only careful, comprehensive and patient coordination can lead to high efficiency.

My achievement of every honor is inseparable from the efforts I have made. But I am not satisfied with what I have achieved so far because life should be nourished by constant achievements. The computer technology is developing at an alarming rate and many realistic problems in China‘s computer technological development have aroused my deep concerns. I believe that by pursuing advanced studies in the United States, I can seek possible answers to the questions that I have been reflecting upon. I can not only learn the latest theoretical knowledge but also have ample opportunity for practice, both of which will be important in helping me make possible breakthroughs in my field. I plan to apply for a degree program in CS in which I wish to focus on computer software programming, database and network security. In my undergraduate studies, I have studied relevant courses in this field and have thereby laid a relatively good foundation for my further studies in the future. In addition, the projects that I have described have given me practical experience.

To strive for the best has always been my ideal and the Washington University in Seattle is precisely the kind of the university which I believe will help me fulfill the ideal. It ranks 5th in software research among major American universities and it is among the top few universities in terms of its comprehensive academic and research strength. It has a large number of distinguished professors and its geographical location offers its students many advantages to undertake internships and practices. It is my conviction that with the help of such an outstanding university I will be able to acquit myself brilliantly in my chosen field.