Engineering background and competence - I'm very competitive candidate for MSc Petroleum Engineering

Hello everybody!

I am planning to apply for MSc in Petroleum Engineering and below is my personal statement. Please help to check and suggest any correction for my essay to help me on my application

Personal Statement
Arsenij Fiodorov

I am final year Petroleum Engineering student at the St. Petersburg Mining University, Russia's oldest technical university, and one of the best technical universities in engineering in Europe. Mining University boasts itself to have highly experienced professors and well-equipped research laboratories where I learnt the principals and fundamentals of petroleum engineering. Attending university a completely new academic environment has opened new horizons to my life, ones I had never noticed before. Aiming at continuing my studies with the greatest efficiency than before, I became aware of the importance of studying Master Degree.

It is very important for me to continue my studies in an intellectual environment with highly equipped laboratories and active research groups led by well-known scientists, where I can effectively pursue studies in my fields of interest and assure accomplishment of my objectives. Therefore, I have chosen MSc in Petroleum Engineering at the Imperial College of London as it totally provides all these facilities. Furthermore, the diversity along with the state-of-art quality of research in this university can well fulfil not only my multidimensional personality but also my enthusiasm to learn new things and develop novel ideas. My ultimate goal is to raise my level of expertise in Petroleum Engineering and become an efficient and highly experienced engineer.

The courses I am currently studying at Mining University are theoretical and mathematical based. This elevated my numerical and technical skills to a level that ignited my research and analytical interest. I am currently doing substantial research in well and reservoir engineering. With the focus in the technological effectiveness of the radial drilling to recover hydrocarbons in a cost effective manner taking into account associated technical and non-technical risks. Additionally, I am doing research and analysis of fluids flow to the radially drilled wells. Currently, I am preparing for two national scientific-technical conferences as a speaker. In addition to current studies, I am constantly involved in self-learning. I gained two professional qualifications Reservoir Pressure Maintenance Operator and Oil and Gas Production Operator. I significantly improved my knowledge and industry awareness by reading SPE technical papers and journals, industry related literature such as "Reservoir Engineering" by Tarek Ahmed and "Fundamentals of Reservoir Engineering" by L.P Dake. My dedication and proactive approached helped me to become 6th among 78 students on my course.

In addition to my academic knowledge, I enhanced my industry related skills through the Internship in Slavenft-Megionneftegaz on the Uzun oil field where I got an opportunity to grasp real engineering problems, develop a hands-on approach to problem solving (problem-solving) and had a chance to apply theory in practice. I developed the ability to look at problems from different prospectives and ability to work in tight cooperation with people from different backgrounds.

During my studies I was actively involved in volunteering taking part in G20 Meeting, St. Petersburg International Economic Forums (2011-2014), St. Petersburg International Gas Forum (2015-2016). Currently, I am involved in the organisation of technical conference at our University where I am responsible for accommodation and logistics planning for the attendees. Such involvement helped me to enhance my teamwork and planning skills, ability to multitask and prioritise daily activities. In addition to this, I developed my leadership skills while being a captain of the University Motorsport Team.

Considering all these facts, I am convinced that my engineering background, the competence I got in laboratory and oil field environments make me a very competitive candidate and that Imperial College London would be a unique opportunity for me to pursue my future career in oil and gas industry, to reach the educational and academic goals I have always desired.

Arsenij, the information that you have placed in this essay is geared more towards a statement of purpose. Are you trying to write a combination statement of purpose and personal statement? Is that what the university is asking you to write? If you are supposed to write a separate statement of purpose, you should remove a number of information in this essay. What you should remove in order to transfer to your statement of purpose are the following:

1. Your internship experience
2. Volunteer activities
3. Current research work
4. Your work as a speaker at conferences

The aforementioned parts are best used as a highlight in your statement of purpose. The personal statement should only focus on the development of your interest in college that has led you to the realization that you need to pursue additional, higher studies in the field of Petroleum Engineering.

Basically paragraphs 1, 2, and 6 best work for your personal statement. I know that it would result in only a 3 paragraph essay for your personal statement. However, those are the only necessary information to present in a statement that doesn't combine a PS and SP in its presentation. The personal statement should only speak of your personal interests in the course and desire for higher study. It is the statement of purpose that should be a somewhat lengthy discussion of your total academic and professional qualifications for masters degree studies.

I have attached the uni's requirements for personal statement. Doesnt it meet the requirements?

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Arsenij, thank you for uploading the actual prompt to the system. It would seem like your information does meet the requirements of the prompt. However, you are commonly asked to write at least 2 statements for the application to MS school. One paper is the personal statement, which is what you are trying to develop here, and the other, is the statement of purpose. Usually, applicants tend to either mistake one statement for the other or merge the two in a personal statement. The only way we can tell that your essay meets the correct requirements is if you can tell me if you are being asked to write a statement of purpose along with the personals statement. Are you being asked to write a statement of purpose after this one? It sounds like you were asked to write one based upon the way the prompt was worded.

We have to be very careful about information duplication in this case. You don't need to keep repeating the information you have in the SP in the PS and vice versa. That is why I am asking you to review the essays you will be submitting for possible content duplication. Now, if you are not being required to submit a statement of purpose, then you can use this essay with all of the information you have provided. That means you are writing a combination essay for this application.

Mary, my account Monroe was blocked for the unknown for me reasons. This is my new account to continue this thread.
I've tried to attach sample document where the Personal Statement should be attached, it is only possible to attach one file. For example, in another section I can attach two or more files (see photo attached).

Also, in "Postgraduate Online Application Form Instuction" is written: "Selectors place particular importance on the personal statement. Please tell us why are you interested in the subject which you have applied. Describe your academic interests and reasons for applying to Imperial College. Please note that we do not offer guidance on the lenght or content of a personal statement".

In my PS I should add why I am interested in the Petroleum Engineering. What do you think I can delete in order to put reasons of my interest?

P.S. Dear moderators, please do not block this account as this thread is very important for me. After the thread will be closed, I will delete this account. Thank you.

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Arsenij, I am amazed that a statement of purpose is not required for this application. However, I will do my best to help you edit the content of your essay so that you can focus your essay on the reasons for your interest in Petroleum Engineering. Do you see my previous thread where I asked you remove certain information because those relate mostly to your statement of purpose and not your personal statement? Good. Follow those instructions because those are exactly the parts that you need to remove.

Now, for your personal statement. Look at the current state of the Petroleum Engineering industry in your country. Where does the field excel and where does it suffer or fail in your opinion? Discuss those shortcomings and how you hope to improve the performance of the engineers in this field by being an example for them. Those will be reasons why you are interested in the subject for which you have applied.

When you are asked to explain your academic interests and reasons for applying to Imperial College, you will need to show a familiarity with the course curriculum and other relevant programs that the college offers. This may require some research on your part because you will need to look into possible training programs or internships that the college may offer to help you hone your skills in this field. You may also want to look into any research programs that they support which you can join or you can begin your own research while you are a student there so you can take advantage of their research and academic facilities in relation to your professional and / or academic interests. If you have a research topic in mind, this would be the best time to present it.

I think you will need to revise a major portion of your essay because of the very specific requirements of the Personal statement. You should only present the information that you are being requested to provide. Don't include any Statement of Purpose information in this response essay. Remove all the portions I indicated and add the information I am encouraging you to write about in order to better adhere to the prompt requirements.