zhenbang
Nov 29, 2011
zhenbang
Nov 27, 2011
Graduate / SOP for Econ PhD application in Duke University [3]
Please help me on this SOP, I'm not good at writing at all. And I really need your commends.
Statement of Purpose
My experiences over the past several years have led me on a valuable path which I believe is excellent preparation for a PhD in economics at XXX University. I entered XXX University (Ranked 11 in China) as physics major because my dream at that time was to be a scientist. At the school of science, the mathematical modeling and programming have fascinated me because I'm always interested in solving real problems. I'm a practical man. To master the art of mathematical modeling, I took many related courses and attended campus mathematical modeling summer training program where I learned the way a mathematician looks at the world.
In my sophomore year, I led a team won the second award in the campus mathematical modeling contest. Our paper was about stock price prediction method. The experience broadened my understanding of math. I realized that math is widely used in social science as well. So I did more research on the stock market and soon I was fully captivated by the magic power of it which initiated my "trading career". I started trading in the stock market, transferring information from newspapers and magazines into strategies and profits. Every day I was busy and happy, but all these happiness came to an end one day in May 2008 on which day the China stock market crashed (thereafter Shanghai stock index fell from 6000 to 1600), which broke all my fantastic billionaire dreams. But this suffering experience taught me an important lesson that the economy on which all the people's happiness based is very fragile. China is enjoying rapid economic growth now, but there are a lot of hidden crisis. For instance, China's economy depends on other country's consumption of its product because the people in China are not wealthy enough to afford what they produce. But in a post crisis world when all the countries are sensitive about import, the economy growth is at stake. There is an ever-increasing need for professionals who know economics well, so I made up my mind to study economics.
In my junior year, after very intense competition I was selected by XXX Center for Economics where I took all of the basic economic courses and did many research works. All these course training and research experience developed my economic knowledge and intuitions. I worked for my professor XXX as her research assistant and participated in a national resource and environment project involving many universities and institutes. I did research work on China's mining industry and I also took part in the foreign literature translation team to translate foreign papers on mining royalty. My research work tells me that China's mining companies haven't paid enough tax for the negative externality they caused because of the "relationship" between mining companies and the government. And I also worked for Professor XXX who taught me statistics and econometrics. With her help I participated in a project of Disabled Persons' Federation of Shanxi Province investigating the living standard of the disabled people in Shanxi province. I used data analysis method taught by Professor XXX and wrote a final report. Many disabled people live miserable lives and can't afford medication or assistive devices. There isn't enough funding for the disables in China. Besides doing research work I also concerned the current affairs. After analyzing the bubble in the stock market and real estate market, I found that underdeveloped financial markets in China gave rise to all the problems. On one hand it's not easy for firms to finance their new projects. The bond market is underdeveloped and the cost of issuing stocks is huge. On the other hand, lack of financial products results in less investment ways, which directly caused the stock market crash in 2008 when everyone rushed into the stock market. So I decided to do my master's in finance to learn more about financial markets and products innovation.
I entered XXX University in 2010, as financial engineering major. I've learned a lot of financial market and derivative pricing. In XXX I concentrated my study on risk management which is an important part of Finance. I've done many projects on derivative pricing and hedging. In the global finance class I did some research work on international insurance and multi-national insurance companies. Then I wrote a term paper on international insurance policy design based on a game between insurers and insured. My experience in XXX provided me with a deeper realization of importance of viewing the world from a global perspective. I used to look at things and problems in a narrow and limited way when I thought the problem in China lies in lack of financial innovation and market freedom. But now I know these ideas only belongs to textbook because it neglects the context of our times, the trend of globalization. The world is flat. In a flat world, we are all co-dependent, and that one event happened in one country can have an effect on any other countries. The success of decisions and policies depends on their efficiency in a global framework. If China can open its mining industry to foreign companies, the inside rent-seeking activities would be diminished and more resource would be distributed to environment protection. I believe there are win-win solutions to all the countries' problems and the solutions lies in international economics. So I make up my mind to further my study in economics especially international economics. My career plan is to be a professor and do more research on globalization. I believe I can make a difference and contribute to the welfare of the whole world.
Please help me on this SOP, I'm not good at writing at all. And I really need your commends.
Statement of Purpose
My experiences over the past several years have led me on a valuable path which I believe is excellent preparation for a PhD in economics at XXX University. I entered XXX University (Ranked 11 in China) as physics major because my dream at that time was to be a scientist. At the school of science, the mathematical modeling and programming have fascinated me because I'm always interested in solving real problems. I'm a practical man. To master the art of mathematical modeling, I took many related courses and attended campus mathematical modeling summer training program where I learned the way a mathematician looks at the world.
In my sophomore year, I led a team won the second award in the campus mathematical modeling contest. Our paper was about stock price prediction method. The experience broadened my understanding of math. I realized that math is widely used in social science as well. So I did more research on the stock market and soon I was fully captivated by the magic power of it which initiated my "trading career". I started trading in the stock market, transferring information from newspapers and magazines into strategies and profits. Every day I was busy and happy, but all these happiness came to an end one day in May 2008 on which day the China stock market crashed (thereafter Shanghai stock index fell from 6000 to 1600), which broke all my fantastic billionaire dreams. But this suffering experience taught me an important lesson that the economy on which all the people's happiness based is very fragile. China is enjoying rapid economic growth now, but there are a lot of hidden crisis. For instance, China's economy depends on other country's consumption of its product because the people in China are not wealthy enough to afford what they produce. But in a post crisis world when all the countries are sensitive about import, the economy growth is at stake. There is an ever-increasing need for professionals who know economics well, so I made up my mind to study economics.
In my junior year, after very intense competition I was selected by XXX Center for Economics where I took all of the basic economic courses and did many research works. All these course training and research experience developed my economic knowledge and intuitions. I worked for my professor XXX as her research assistant and participated in a national resource and environment project involving many universities and institutes. I did research work on China's mining industry and I also took part in the foreign literature translation team to translate foreign papers on mining royalty. My research work tells me that China's mining companies haven't paid enough tax for the negative externality they caused because of the "relationship" between mining companies and the government. And I also worked for Professor XXX who taught me statistics and econometrics. With her help I participated in a project of Disabled Persons' Federation of Shanxi Province investigating the living standard of the disabled people in Shanxi province. I used data analysis method taught by Professor XXX and wrote a final report. Many disabled people live miserable lives and can't afford medication or assistive devices. There isn't enough funding for the disables in China. Besides doing research work I also concerned the current affairs. After analyzing the bubble in the stock market and real estate market, I found that underdeveloped financial markets in China gave rise to all the problems. On one hand it's not easy for firms to finance their new projects. The bond market is underdeveloped and the cost of issuing stocks is huge. On the other hand, lack of financial products results in less investment ways, which directly caused the stock market crash in 2008 when everyone rushed into the stock market. So I decided to do my master's in finance to learn more about financial markets and products innovation.
I entered XXX University in 2010, as financial engineering major. I've learned a lot of financial market and derivative pricing. In XXX I concentrated my study on risk management which is an important part of Finance. I've done many projects on derivative pricing and hedging. In the global finance class I did some research work on international insurance and multi-national insurance companies. Then I wrote a term paper on international insurance policy design based on a game between insurers and insured. My experience in XXX provided me with a deeper realization of importance of viewing the world from a global perspective. I used to look at things and problems in a narrow and limited way when I thought the problem in China lies in lack of financial innovation and market freedom. But now I know these ideas only belongs to textbook because it neglects the context of our times, the trend of globalization. The world is flat. In a flat world, we are all co-dependent, and that one event happened in one country can have an effect on any other countries. The success of decisions and policies depends on their efficiency in a global framework. If China can open its mining industry to foreign companies, the inside rent-seeking activities would be diminished and more resource would be distributed to environment protection. I believe there are win-win solutions to all the countries' problems and the solutions lies in international economics. So I make up my mind to further my study in economics especially international economics. My career plan is to be a professor and do more research on globalization. I believe I can make a difference and contribute to the welfare of the whole world.