Personal Statement

Applied Program: Mathematics

Never had I imagined that I could allow myself to be a mediocre rather than an outstanding individual at any time, although the period of time during which I can exist in the world will be no more than a tiny stone of the great Pyramid. This gives an answer why I take a remark by Napoleon to be my lifelong motto: A soldier who doesn’t want to be a soldier is not a good soldier. It is precisely this conviction that supported me to make continuous achievements. Again, it is this spirit of striving for the best that prompts me to apply for such a world famous university as the Chicago University where I can undergo further education to seek continued professional improvement and to prepare to a fruitful career.

Mathematics is both the foundation and the fruition of western wisdom. The growth and the application of this foundational subject are changing this world with unprecedented speed and scale. One instance is its contributions to the development of computer science and economics. This constitutes one of my primary reasons for choosing mathematics as the field of specialization in my prospective degree program. Another important reason is my love, which borders on enchantment, for and the talents I have exhibited in mathematics. My mother is a mathematics teacher who started my education in mathematics in my pre-school days. This interest cultivated in my early childhood has persisted grown increasingly stronger. If mathematics fascinated me in my childhood as a game of numbers, now I am enamored of it for its powerfulness in solving problems in the real world. Furthermore, applied mathematics is closely related to other major disciplines including physics, computer science, biology, economics, and even astronomy. Although I specialized in computer as an undergraduate, I have always attached great importance to mathematics, realizing its foundational significance in all intellectual efforts.

Apart from doing a good job in all the mathematics courses required by computer science curriculum, I took the initiative to study a series of textbooks on Mathematical Analysis, Calculus, Functions of Complex Variable, and Topology used by students of mathematics major. What is especially worth mentioning is that, as “mathematician” of our department, I have achieved unusually high scores in virtually all mathematics subjects, as can be evidenced by my Official Academic Transcript (97/100 for Advanced Mathematics, 96/100 for Linear Algebra, 100/100 for Discrete Mathematics, 99/100 for Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics, all being No. 1 in the entire department). On the other hand, I have participated in Mathematical Contests of Modeling and won two prizes, one within the university and the other on the national-level. On both of those occasions, I was the team leader of our university and I was the only one to have won two major prizes.

In terms of my scholastic performance as a computer major, I rank among the top 10 in a total of 273 students in my department. Two prizes for mathematical modeling and three Academic Excellence Scholarships are among the several scholastic accolades I have received. The fact that I can prevail in the fierce academic competitions at such a prestigious university as Fudan University, Shanghai, testifies to my first-rate scholastic aptitudes. I opted for Computer science as my major at the time I entered university because it promised a good career prospect on one hand and satisfied my desire to continue with my dabbling in mathematics on the other. Far from being mutually repulsive, these two subjects complement each other to enrich my knowledge as a whole. My undergraduate studies indeed allowed me to receive systematic trainings in computer science and the courses fascinated me most are related to algorithms such as Data Structure and Arithmetic Design and Program Analysis. Based on mathematics and with the powerful calculating capacity of the computer, those courses offer detailed mathematical analysis of and solutions to some classical problems and models in computer science. While improving myself in my expertise in the field of computer science, I have come to find out, after serious reflections, that mathematics is what I am most interested in. Another important realization is that a good command of mathematics may offer me a much broader prospect for a personal career development.

Intelligent and with all-round qualities, I derived much pleasure from a diversity of extracurricular involvements. I like music and literature. I was awarded the title of the Best Debater of the University at a Debate Contest. For four consecutive years I acted as class president and my leadership won full support and recognition from the students in general. In addition, I have some research and internship experience. I served as assistant during the summer internship for the course Principles of Microcomputer. I compiled the drive program based on LINUX for the chip used in the experiment, filling a gap in the Computer Department of my university. Over the past two years, I have been engaged in research at the university’s Penrond Software Center where I participated in two important projects—the QR (Quick Response) Code Generator and a major management system for the Japanese Alico Insurance Company in Shanghai. While deepening my understanding of the knowledge I have acquired, my extracurricular practices have enhanced my teamwork and creative thinking. As I have to receive lots of foreign visitors to our Center, I have made remarkable improvement in my proficiency in oral English, which allows me to communicate with native English speakers with great ease.

The University of Chicago is the first modern university in the United States that focuses on extensive research. Its strong mathematics curriculum, with its Theoretical Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Financial Mathematics, covers wide research areas. Excited by this, I wish that I can be admitted into such a university to receive comprehensive and systematic trainings in mathematics. As to my study plan, I am very much interested in Calculus, Analysis, and Applied Mathematics. In particular, I would like to focus on Calculus. Despite the fact that, with the rise of other branches including Discrete Mathematics, Calculus no longer enjoys the preeminent position it used to, it still plays an indispensable role in mathematical studies, achieving much headway in the 20th century in Real Analysis, Complex Analysis, and Fourier Analysis. The integration between Differential Geometry, Partial Differential Equation, and Functions of Multiple Complex Variable has created a mainstream of modern mathematics. On the other hand, there is much room for the continued development of calculus. For instance, the Riemann Integral still has a long way to go to achieve full popularization. I believe that a systematic education in Chicago University will significantly enhance my professional level in both the theory and the application of mathematics.

A strong interest in mathematics, high motivation, and a sound basis in fundamental knowledge, those three factors constitute the key to a major academic success and I believe I possess them all. Although I haven’t specialized in mathematics as an undergraduate, my knowledge in mathematics matches and even surpasses students of mathematics major. Cherishing full confidence in myself, I submit my application for admission into your renowned university and your acceptance is what can allow me to fulfill my academic aspirations.