Scholarship / "anything to do with computer technology" - Main motivation for applying [4]

Hi guys,

Need help and advice on this essay describing why i want to get the scholarship and the place I chose. Whereas i didn't concentrate much on the choice of school, i tried to shed light on my background and how i think the scholarship will help me. please advise any changes and judge how good it is.

My interest and choices at a young age have been the decisive components of my life. Watching my brother learn to use a Pentium Two machine in 1999, my passion for computers came to the fore. From the age of twelve, I have been constantly searching for articles to work on computer technology. In a short time, my life had meaning and purpose and I feel at peace discovering the exciting, endless possibilities of artificial intelligence. More than anything I have ever done before, computing engages my imagination and offers an intuitive way to solving everyday problems. To improve my skills I became an avid contributor to Open Source Software. The experience helped me gain more confidence and I have learned to trust my natural instincts to problem solving. I noticed my ability to discern patterns and relationships between components helps me to learn and solve problems faster than most people. Despite no curriculum in computers at my local schools, I chose to follow what felt natural to me and continued to do even more research which culminated in excellent programming skills in PHP, MySQL, Java and Python. The liberating joy I found in creating solutions led to the creation of a network system for schools and students in my region to share scarce resources. Even though the project died an infant death due to lack of funding, it set my soul alight and intensified my desire to use computational methods to solve problems. I have faced many setbacks but I remain resolute and unfazed to reaching my destiny. I am applying for a scholarship in Computer Science because I feel I have a lot to offer to this field and with a good understanding of proper academic concepts and theory, I hope to be at the fore-front of this technology. As part of my studies and research, I would like to bring forth contributions to open source software and mobile platforms which can be used to benefit less privileged communities like where I come from. XX being one of the most renowned technology centres and with its culturally diverse environment is the best place for me to work hard and achieve my goals. Given my background and circumstances, granted this chance to work, and exchange ideas with other talented individuals, I will do for XX as much it would have done for me - giving me a life.

thanks

Undergraduate / Trying to understand phenomena and some "why's" behind them - admission into Computer Science [8]

Personal Statement for admission into Computer Science

From a very young age, I cultivated a mindset that seeks to understand phenomena, not at face value, but the why's behind them. When I reflect on my life, it only stands to reason that is why I became intensely captivated and curious about the way computers "think" and do things as if they have a mind of their own. From the time I watched my brother use an old Pentium 3 computer, these questions constantly nagged at my consciousness, everything I witnessed seemed to awaken a new curiosity within me; how did it recognize each key, underline wrong grammar in a broken red line, can it ignore instructions and do something entirely of its own thinking?

Being self driven, I welcomed my new pursuit to understand computing and read anything I could get my hands on. As I became immersed into the wonder of artificial intelligence at only fifteen years old, I started discerning patterns as a new world was revealed to me. The buzzing of the electric kettle had new meaning, the time on my wristwatch had a story of its own, so did my alarm clock; they had all been programmed! Sleeping or eating became secondary pastimes, everything started revolving around the new marvel that was unravelling.

As a result, I became interested in creating tools that made life better for other people. I discovered there were languages that computers understood with instructions that explicitly declared what should happen when a certain event occurs. This realization set my imagination alight! I taught myself programming, falling in love first with the syntax, the different colors for special keywords, the flow of logic, and then its organization that encapsulated each function. I became wildly fascinated by the "meta" things about programming - the need to think critically that leads to better logical reasoning, the different approaches to identifying and solving problems.

At A-Level, my first endeavor to apply my acquired knowledge was to make scarce resources shareable within schools in my region. Using tools and open source software that I adapted to my needs, I created the first online students network resource center. I learned about security and privacy with regards to user data, organizing information, organically promoting and scaling an online service. The experience provided the self belief that I could tackle everyday problems using computers that would in-turn allow my solutions to spread fast and have a big impact.

Furthermore, I cofound a club for enthusiast programmers that succeeded in making our school the first to have a website in the country. Many of the junior students who helped in gathering and organizing content became interested with programming too and found meaning in after-class activities.

Even though I could not pursue a college education after high school due to financial constraints, I was offered a job as a Drupal developer at a distinguished web company.

However, through my experience, the need to thoroughly understand academic foundations of computing and software engineering at a deeper level, one that only a strict and committed academic pursuit at your renowned institution with all the necessary tools, has not gone unnoticed. I am fully confident that granted a chance to work and exchange ideas with other talented individuals, l have a lot to contribute in the field of computers and my studies at your university is the natural next-step that will empower me to realize my full potential and have a great career in creating software.