I'm so happy to have found such a platform to review my statement of purpose. I've read some of the comments made and appreciate the strong positive criticism. IThis is my first draft. Much obliged if someone can look into it.
A month ago, I was sitting at my computer, looking at a beam of sunlight shining through the French windows, and think about my life. About a year ago, I got the job offer from this non-profit organization right after my college graduation. I was thrilled at that time. Because of the economic downturn, Most American college graduates are struggling of finding job, not to mention international students. And I was one of the very few international students who have received job offers. Even though I'm wedged between a dripping coffee maker to my left and a copy machine 3 feet to my right, I still felt very grateful for working at this organization. At least, in this abnormally warm summer, I can stay inside with air conditioner on instead of standing in the heat. However, this is not enough.
My job is designed to track all fellows in our public interest law program in terms of what kinds of issues do their projects address, how do their projects effectively change the neighborhood where they work, and when they have finished their two-year fellowship with us, how many of them still choose to stay in public interest law field, etc. Therefore, we will have a better idea how well our program is doing. The project involves a big volume of Internet and internal database research, gathering information directly from our fellows, data collection, organization and analysis. With what I have learned in college, I can always preform a pretty good job. I will do the research, collect the data, and make some basic analyses including running several hypothesis tests, etc. I can even make a booklet for each of our sponsors including all the information of the fellows who they have sponsored. However, this is not enough.
I want more out of myself, and I want to do better. I realized that my knowledge and skills from my undergraduate education are not enough for my current job especially in terms of data interpretation. I would like to study more in statistics, to learn more techniques which can help me in terms of data mining, modeling and multivariate analysis. Also, I want to know how statistical analysis applies into different industry, especially financial market which is one of the fields that I'm very interested in. With my academic background in economics, I'm considering to switch to financial industry later.
With all the thoughts above, I decided to apply the graduate program of mathematics and statistics at xx University. On one hand, the rapid development of the statistical science fascinates me, and I would like to stand firmly on the cutting edge of the field by having myself grounded in more advanced theories. On the other hand, the project that I am now involved in is pushing me to master newer and better methodologies. I believe that graduate study with your department is one of the best ways for me to attain both purposes.
Currently, I'm taking linear algebra to complete the prerequisites for the program. The course will end on November 29, 2012. I will submit my transcript after the final exam.I have always identified myself as a hardworking and trustworthy student. I am convinced that the academic foundation I have laid in both theoretical frameworks and practical skills will help make me a competent student in my proposed course of study. At the same time, I'm willing to share my intelligence and my multi-cultural background with other students at xxx University.
