'With theses competences...' - OXFORD Application - Motivational Letter

Dear Forum,

I would really appreciate your help as I am not a native speaker. I want to create a motivational letter in one page, it should be as precise as possible.

Thanks for helping me! I want it to sound like a know what i want and point out, what makes me special, as everybody there will have good grades and all that. Still it should sound like me and not like a the work of an English writer ;)

„We have to prepare for the unexpected, as the world is changing rapidly and as we will be confronted with those changes that might threaten our societies, even peace." This sentence has been stuck in my head for a while now, ever since I heard it from Jean Claude Trichet at his speech at my university this summer. His demand for a reevaluation and extension of existing market models by bringing economists and physicists together in order to combine skills and prevent future crises, inspired me of how I can use my scientific background to take an active part in forming the German economy, of how I can contribute to our society and to my country. Listening to the the former scientist and back then president of the ECB left me wanting for a deep theoretical understanding of the financial world, which is still far from being fully understood and even further from being predictable. Yet it has an influence on our economy and consequently on our society, and a political importance as few other things. Looking back, the day I listened to Mr. Trichet was a turning point in my career path. I want to use my analytical and communicational aptitude to gain a theoretical understanding of the function and functionality of financial markets, become an expert in finance and risk management as well as take part in the development of our future society by supporting the German economy realize ambitious projects calling for sophisticated financing, by contributing scientific insights to the theory of finance, and hence, by supporting it to prepare for the unexpected.

In order to achieve this goal, I want to study at an excellent university that offers me a perfectly fit program and concentrates on the mathematical models that underline the theory of finance because I have always been fascinated by using mathematics as a means of solving problems. The course components should include probability theory, stochastic calculus, advanced theory of partial stochastic and differential equations as well as computational methods, and apply it to the financial markets theory. In addition, the program should prepare for a successful career in the industry and give first insights in risk management, which interests me in particular because of its essentiality for any successful strategy. Because the University of Oxford offers just that program, it is my first choice for graduate studies. The Master of Mathematical and Computational Finance fulfills all of my selection criteria and additionally provides exceptional academic excellence, first class facilities and supervision as well as a thrivingly intellectual community that I would love to be part of.

My academic background in physics will enable me to use my analytical strength in order to construct sophisticated models by comprehending a complex structure, disaggregating it into its distinct parts, selecting all important aspects and aggregating them to a realistic as possible depiction of the original structure. My extensive quantitative skills in stochastic, analysis, calculus, partial differential equations, probability theory and statistics will help me develop the mathematical background of those models. My courses in programming and algorithm structures will enable me implement those models and my ability to communicate and reason will enforce my work.

In order to expose myself to quantitative finance before coming to Oxford, I will do an internship at Deutsche Bank Risk Analytics in Frankfurt and write my dissertation about mathematical methods used in quantitative finance, under the supervision of Prof. X, who is internationally renowned the field high precision numerics.

In the past, I have not only learned but also proven to be able to think and work analytically, master new situations and cope with tasks in a structured approach. Moreover, I have gained important social competences through my extracurricular activities in university politics and administration, through working together with people of diverse backgrounds in the Students' Parliament and organizing university events for the General Students' Committee. With theses competences I feel prepared to succeed in graduate studies ar the University of Oxford.

I appreciate your taking the time to review my credentials and would be more than happy to be invited to a personal interview.

Sincerely,

Hi, Karl!
There's a nice piece of work here. But I think it lacks individuality. I think it's too "mathematics" that is to say too "rational". Try to put some soul in it. It's all gonna be great.

Good luck.
Erkin

Just if anybody is interestedm this is my final version that i submitted. I see your point, Enrique. But for one, your comment is was too late, and also I think Oxford is the kind of university that looks for rational people for this kind of program. At least that is what I hope ;)

Statement of Purpose
"We have to prepare for the unexpected, as the world is changing rapidly and as we will be confronted with those changes that might threaten our societies, even peace." This sentence has been stuck in my head for a while now, ever since Jean Claude Trichet used it at his speech at my university this summer. His demand for a reevaluation and extension of existing market models by bringing economists and scientists together in order to combine skills and prevent future crises, inspired me of how I can use my scientific background to take an active part in forming the European economy and of how I can contribute to our society as well as to my country. Listening to the former scientist and president of the ECB left me wanting a deep theoretical understanding of the financial world.

In order to achieve this goal, I want to study at an excellent university that offers a perfectly fit program and concentrates on the mathematical models that underline the theory of finance because I have always been fascinated by using mathematics as a means of solving problems. The course components should include probability theory, stochastic calculus, partial stochastic differential equations as well as computational methods, and apply it to the financial markets theory. In addition, the program should prepare for a successful career in the industry and give first insights into risk management, which interests me in particular because of its endeavour to predict and react reasonably to future events. The Masters program Mathematical and Computational Finance fulfills all of my selection criteria and additionally provides exceptional academic excellence, first class facilities and supervision as well as a thrivingly intellectual community that I would love to be part of. Hence, the University of Oxford is my first choice for graduate studies.

My academic background in physics will enable me to use my analytical strength in order to construct and make use of sophisticated models by comprehending complex structures, disaggregating them into their distinct parts, selecting all important aspects and aggregating them to a realistic as possible depiction of the original structure. My extensive quantitative skills will help me develop the mathematical background of those models. My courses in programming and algorithm structures enable me to implement those models efficiently and my ability to communicate and reason will support me in enforcing my results.

Moreover, I have gained important social competences through my extracurricular activities in university politics and administration, through working together with people of diverse backgrounds in the Students' Parliament and through my work as a member of the General Students' Committee. For those competences I am recognized as a team leader and able to gain and assert authority within the political structures of corporate institutions in the professional world, which I want to use to build a successful career.

In order to expose myself to quantitative finance and prepare for the challenging Masters in Oxford, I will do an internship at Deutsche Bank Risk Analytics in Frankfurt. In addition, I will write my dissertation about mathematical methods used in quantitative finance, under the supervision of Prof. X, an internationally renowned authority in high precision numerics. Following, I will take my scientific education to a practical level, with the qualifications I seek to obtain in Oxford.

Looking back, the day I listened to the president of the ECB certainly is a turning point in my career path. I realized that I want to use my analytical and communicational aptitude to gain a theoretical understanding of the functionality of financial markets, become an expert in finance and risk management as well as take part in the development of our future society. I want to support the European economy in its most ambitious projects, calling for sophisticated financing, contribute new insights into the theory of finance and hence, help our society prepare for the unexpected. That is why I wish to study at the University of Oxford.

I appreciate you taking the time to review my application.

Sincerely,