Knowing where one is heading during navigation brings assured happiness. Asa student majoring in Computer Software, I began my odyssey four years ago. Now,after the initial mysticism was gradually unveiled, my curiosity remains thesame. Indeed, having entered this splendid computer world, I am more than greedyfor something new.
From the beginning of my study, my endeavor was fixed on the underlyingbranches of Computer Science, particularly System Software development. Novelapplications on other’s platform may be fruitful, but I think it’s moreappealing to act as an independent “manager”. In fact, mathematics, OS, DBMS andmodern compiler are all the examples, any breakthrough of which would pushforward the whole industry. Individuality is achieved in this uniqueposition.
I think I can be the qualified shooter now. in my undergraduate years, Ihave earned various kinds of scholarships, among which were “Peking UniversityFellowship” and “Excellent Academic Scholarship”. My overall GPA ranks upper 10%among 48 students of the same grade. Because of my satisfactory performance, Iwas granted the honor of entering the graduate program at Peking Universitydirectly, waived of the admission test. In retrospect, my workload is alwaysheavy but it is worth my time of effort. Presently, I have both adequatetheoretical understanding and rich programming experience. READY I AM.
With the advent of the multiprocessor architecture, compiler optimizationfaced a new challenge. A compiler not only has to translate, but it is alsoresponsible for generating parallel-processing loop provides a rich opportunityof exploiting parallelism. Therefore, finding an optimum strategy for loopsbecause a hot research topic. On the whole, parallelism changes our view towardthe conventional computer architecture so that the compiler’s construction mustmake the corresponding modification. Because of this challenging characteristic,I choose them to be my interest of future study.
Yet parallel processing is far from maturity. It has been observed thatsome sequential algorithms can be easily translated into fast parallelalgorithms while some others may not. Is every sequential computation can bedone efficiently in parallel? If not, what properties result in suchdistinction? Another unsettled problem is programming parallel computers now islike programming serial computers in the 1960s. Programmers get locked into aparticular manufacturer’s computers. Is it possible for us to design a higherlevel language for parallel computers that hides the underlying machinearchitecture from users? Both are crying out for solution.
Without advanced knowledge, I can do nothing but wait. In order to convertmy undergraduate study into full play, graduate education is a necessity. Fromthe college guide and my advisor’s recommendation, I am pleased to learn thatyour department has an academic atmosphere where originality is appreciated andindividual potential is explored. It will be the best place for my specializedstudy. If possible, my main interest in the future will be in the followingareas:
Parallel processing, Compiler construction.
Distributed/concurrent systems, Operating system.
Machine learning, Automated fault diagnosis.
As my undergraduate education is very basic, if you feel that I am moresuited for some other areas, any of your suggestion would be highlyappreciated.
Upon the completion of my study, I would return to Peking University andteach what I’ve learned to the students. Then I shall establish a researchcenter to experiment new ideas. It is my ultimate goal to see the Chinesecomputer products leading the global market in the next century. After all, thenavigation is not over yet!
Yours sincerely,
xxx
Dear Sir,
I am writing in the hope that I may obtain an opportunity to further my study in Applied Physics toward Master degree in your university.
My name is Li Jin, an undergraduate student of the Department of Applied Physics, Huabei University. Next year in the summer, I will graduate and get my B.S. degree. I plan to continue my study and research in this field. I chose Boston University because there are a congenial team of researchers, an array of databases and research projects in your school of Physics. I believe my interests are extremely congruent with the strengths of the school. And my solid academic background will meet your general entrance requirements for graduate study.
I will appreciate it very much if you could send me the Graduate Application Forms, the Application Form for Scholarships/Assistantships, and other relevant information. My mailing address is shown on the top of this letter.
I am looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours,
xxx
Dear xxx,
There has been criticism in the media of Chinese young people for beingegocentric and lacking a sense of social responsibility. In my opinion however,this is not the case of my friends and I. While studying finance at Ohio StateUniversity, I paid close attention to social issues in China. Some people arebenefiting from the developing economy, while many others do not. In order tochange this situation, and redistribute social resources more reasonably,government support and policy reforms are required. I hope I can provide theChinese government with valuable consultation in the future so as to enable morepeople to benefit from this economic development.
My studies at Ohio State University enabled me to acquire a deepunderstanding of economics, finance, and accounting. It also gave me anopportunity to learn about American financial systems and operations. TheAmerican subprime mortgage crisis which caused a Financial Tsunami brought aboutwhole new schools of thought regarding the global economy. I realized that thereis excessive government intervention in resource allocation, especially withregards to loan investment and loan projects. Nowadays, American financialregulations are transforming from institutionally based and functional toobjectives-based. This is giving new ideas to other countries as to how theycould reform.
I did not start thinking about these issues in an offhanded manner. I havebeen in deep thought as to the financial systems used in Chinese villages forseveral years. China uses separated financial supervision, which has createdmany problems including repeated supervision, high cost, and lack of aneffective coordination mechanism. Farmers find it difficult to take out loanscreating a delay in economic development. If this situation is not improved,more than 60% of farmers will be unable to lift themselves out of poverty, andthere will be no social justice.
The differences I have observed between the Chinese and American financialsystems has inspired me to learn more about China’s current situation. In 20xx,I was awarded the chance to take an internship in a commercial bank. I mainlyhelped my supervisor organize materials, but I also participated in interviewswith customers. One day for instance, all of the banks supervisors were too busyto receive a customer requiring consultation. Fortunately, my experiencefollowing my supervisor around, combined with my academic knowledge of financialsystems, allowed me to confidently deal with the customer. I introduced thefinancial products available, and their characteristics. My supervisor laterclosed the deal, but was aware of my conduct which won me respect and morechances to work independently. Whilst working at this bank, conversations withmy colleagues enabled me to understand in greater depth why China is facing alack of credit. People in poorer areas have less access to credit, which is whythere is less investment. I feel that I now understand one of the biggest causesof the gap between rich and poor.
I truly hope to obtain a professional degree in MPA from Cornell UniversityGraduate School. I believe the Graduate School will help me balance study withmy life, such as the Student Governance-Cornell University Graduate andProfessional Student Assembly, which allows me to have many chances to dopractice. I very much appreciate and value how the school helps new studentsadapt to their new environment. This proves to me that Cornell University reallyfocuses on the students themselves. I am quite sure that what I will learn inCornell will give me everything I need to build my future career.
Yours,
xxx
Dear x,
My passion for philosophy was sparked when reading Mitch Albom’s “The FivePeople You Meet in Heaven”, which overrides logic and offers an alternative toreligious belief. The book itself left me highly motivated to pursuephilosophical inquiry in greater depth. Through studying A level psychology Ihave developed a particular interest in social psychology and the influencesocial pressures can have on behaviour whilst developing vital skills such asthe ability to critically analyse a study or theory.
I have been a prefect since 20xx and act as a role model to youngerstudents as well as being an ambassador for the school. I am a learning championwithin the History department whereby I work with students who requireadditional tutoring in order to successfully pass their GCSE’s. I have to bewell prepared and patient but find it rewarding when my tutee grasps theconcept. Last summer I was involved in the organization, development andsupervision of a lower school fun day. Being selected to lead a small group ofmy peers with the brief of organizing this year’s Post 16 Prom has helpeddevelop my confidence as it has involved visiting and selecting a venue,organizing catering, transport, publicity and the funding of the event.
Currently I work for a well established retail store; working has taught meto be flexible and adaptable as well as emphasizing the importance of timemanagement when working under pressure. An enthusiastic, trustworthy andapproachable manner is vital in the workplace in order to maintain the alreadyhigh standards expected of the store. Previously I was employed in directmarketing where I monitored the system operations and the dispatch of relevantpost and information. This role required me to work both in small teams andindependently as well as applying my ICT skills in a real world situation.
I enjoy travelling and experiencing different cultures including theindividualist New York in comparison to the collectivist streets of Havana. I ama gregarious person and enjoy spending time with close friends engagingparticularly in shopping trips and social gatherings. I also regularly attendthe gym in order to achieve realistic self set goals.
As an outgoing person I feel I would be able to contribute to and gain froma psychology and philosophy dual course which I see as both challenging and anexciting journey whilst helping me to understand people’s beliefs, behaviour andidentity. That’s “who I am”, who are you?
Yours,
xxx
Dear xxx,
An experienced engineer of security printing with China’s Central Bank, Inow would like to scale higher intellectual heights by pursuing Ph. D. studiesin mechanical engineering at your university. I believe that my strongbackground in CAD has adequately prepared me to embark on this endeavor.
I have been working since 1996 for the People’s Bank of China, a Chineseversion of the Federal Reserve, at its unique research institute of securityprinting, with the responsibility of designing the Chinese currency and themachinery to produce it. By engaging me in a variety of projects, the jobafforded me ample exposure to cutting-edge developments in computertechnologies, particularly in CAD software. I have, for example, recentlyredeveloped a purchased CAD (Computer Aided Design) software to make it moresuitable for our own purposes. By adding our own part/subassembly to thedatabase and make our own drawing criteria, we have achieved dramatically betterefficiency.
My job performance, which has won me professional respect from all of mycolleagues, was achieved thanks to the strong background I acquired as a studentin computer science. My undergraduate GPA ranked first among the 63 students ofclassmates in mechanical department, for which I was awarded first-class andsecond-class prizes many times. My graduate GPA ranked among the top 4% of the105 students in my year, which won me the “San Hao” scholarship every yearduring the three years of my graduate studies.
Unlike many other Chinese students, who are content with performing well inexams, I made a point of learning through my own hands-on experiences. In theMaster’s program at the Beijing Institute of Printing, I gained an in-depthunderstanding of artificial intelligence, including expert system and geneticalgorithm, especially in neural network. For my thesis, I programmed amulti-level BP neural network with C language to analyze my mathematical model,and applied much of my knowledge in optimization. I thus became able to programwith a host of different computer languages, especially C++, with which I helpedmy graduate advisor to design a paper-cutting machine. To analyze the mechanismstatically and dynamically, I programmed a software system to analyze andemulate it on screen. In undergraduate studies, I had often programmed withFortran77 and the Basic language.
Upon the completion of my Master’s studies, I easily passed the doctoralrecord examination in CAD/CAM of Beijing University, one f the top universitiesin China. But I gave up the opportunity in order to gain more practicalexperience in the industry. The decision proved to be right, as it guaranteed mebetter access to sophisticated facilities, such as state-of-the-art personalcomputers. With the People’s Bank of China, I have thus accumulated solidexpertise in many kinds of operating and application software systems,particularly in CAD. I now have a firm grip on the latest developments incomputer science in China.
The challenges I met and the successes I achieved at the People’s Bank havenot only endowed me with confidence but also fired off my desire to furtherimprove myself. I have enjoyed high-quality and efficient production with theuse of a kind of PC-based CAD software, MDT, developed by Autodesk Corporation.I now have a dream: some day, every person can design his favorite product withsome sort of CAD software, and then search for an ideal factory over high-speedinternet its production; and the factory will put specifications of the product,as it has received them via the high-speed internet into its CIMS, and out popsthe product, as designed, at the end of the factory’s production line. It is abeautiful dream for every engineer, but many difficulties the speed ofdata-transfer and how to manage the product data among CAD, CAM, CAPP and CAEsystems. These questions are fascinating, and I would like to come up with myown answers to them.
To prepare myself for advanced studies in your country, I have persisted inimproving my English proficiency. As demonstrated by my score of 700 (96%) inthe verbal section of GRE, I now have an adequate command of English forundertaking graduate studies in your program.
After carefully comparing the strengths of many universities, I find MercyUniversity particularly suited for my purpose. It has got the best combinationof quality faculty, many state-of-the-art facilities, and an intriguing academicenvironment. Currently, China still lags significantly behind Western countriesin mechanical engineering. I hope that, with a few years of graduate studiesunder your seasoned guidance, I will be able to return to my motherland and helpbring mechanical engineering in my country to international standards.
Although my ultimate objective is a Ph. D. degree, I am willing to do aMaster’s degree if necessary. In either case, I would like to concentrate mystudies in one or a combination of the following areas: CAD, CAM, CIMS, Computergraphics, Mechanical design, Mechanical manufacturing, Optimization, Artificialintelligence, and Robotics. Your favorable evaluation of my application will behighly appreciated.
Yours,
xxx
Dear x,
“The Foolish Old Man Removing a Mountain” is an allegory known to virtuallyevery Chinese. The story tells that in ancient times there was an old foolishman by the name of Yu Gong who was determined to remove the WangWu Mountain, amountain that blocked him and his family from having access to the outsideworld, in an attempt to carve out a road leading to the outside world and hencecreate conditions for his posterity to achieve economic prosperity. The projectwas a Herculean task and, to make the matter worse, the old man was ratheradvanced in age. His neighbors all came to dissuade him from the endeavor. Butthe old man’s answer was that if he should die, his children and grandchildrencould succeed him. The day would come when the mountain could be removedultimately.
Inconceivable as they are, modern versions of this allegory occur in thefrequently impoverished mountain areas in present-day China. The mountain folksresort to primitive manual labor (hence inevitably involving casualties) andsimple tools and usually spend many years, even more than a decade, to open uproutes inch by inch in order to have access to the market outside the deepmountains to sell their farm produce, so that their descendants will no longerbe confined to the kind of isolated and economically unprivileged life that theyare living. As a student with a Master’s degree in Road & RailwayEngineering, I can never maintain a tranquil state of mind whenever I read ofstories of this kind. I tell myself that I have the obligation andresponsibility to help halt this dire reality. For this reason, I am determinedto seek a Ph. D. program in Communication & Transportation at your esteemeduniversity, a program that will enable me to reward my country with my knowledgeof the advanced transportation engineering technology in the world. Of course, Iam soberly aware that to be accepted into your highly-respected program I willinevitably be faced with fierce competitions. Nevertheless, my sound academicbackground, rich work experience and the ability to undertake independentacademic research all testify to my qualifications as a worthy candidate foryour program.
My choice for Industrial and Civil Airport Construction and Highway AirportConstruction and Highway during my undergraduate program at the Department ofCivil Engineering and Architecture, x University, seemed to have derived frommy family tradition. My father has long been a construction engineer and myinterest in civil engineering grew as I saw my father working on constructionplans and drawings and picking up bits and pieces of civil engineeringknowledge. My academic performance at x University, which is a key universityin the country, has been consistently characterized by top ranking, receivingStudent of Excellence award for four consecutive years. My solid andcomprehensive academic foundation and outstanding performance came to theattention of the renowned airport construction expert Prof. xX, under whosedirection I undertook my graduation project Design of an Airport Runway. In thisproject, I completed the overall design of a civil airport together with theairport’s roadnet. The roadnet design fully met the relevant national standardsand the overall airport layout was rationally designed, leading to unanimouslypositive evaluation by the reviewing panel.
My undergraduate program was immediately followed by a postgraduate programat x University, into which I was enrolled in my capacity as the top performerin the entrance examination. On a fiercer lever of competition, I doubled myacademic efforts and managed to be among the top five in my class, winning“Class-A” scholarships. My active involvement in research also bore fruits. Ipublished several research papers, including x, in such central natural sciencejournals as x and x.
Entitled Study of the Low-Noise Mechanism of the Asphalt Pavement, myMaster’s thesis focused on those issues: the mechanism of noise production oftyres, the parameters affecting the tyre’s noise, the noise-absorbing mechanismof asphalt pavement and the pavement configuration parameters affecting thelow-noise asphalt pavement. The thesis offered in-depth analysis of theeffective voidage of the asphalt pavement and the pavement thickness as majorfactors in reducing the noise production. The new subject as well as the uniqueperspectives of my thesis won positive comments from the reviewing panel whorated my work as “significant for the subsequent research on low-noise asphaltpavement”.
My distinguished academic performance and research potential led to myemployment with x Province Expressway Co., Ltd. which made me responsible forthe construction and management of the x Expressway, a key national project. Asa major technical specialist, I was in overall charge of drafting relevanttender documents of pavement，participating in the construction of the roadbed,bridge, and pavement, organizing the spot check of the raw materials for theasphalt pavement, holding meeting to discuss technical details of the asphaltpavement, launching technical trainings and field inspections, implementing theSuperpave projects. The accumulation of rich and comprehensive experience inconstruction and management, and the problem-solving skills, and the ability towork effectively and efficiently, both independently and in teams, are the threemost important results I have achieved. Over the past four years, I have beengiven the “Model Employee” honor in my work performance evaluation.
An equally important component of my employment is my independent researchwork. Two more papers, Construction Craft and Quality Control of SMA andApplication of Superpave in x Kaiyang Expressway were published in x (nationalcore journal of highway transportation). Some experts believe my papers offerdetailed elaboration on highway SMA and Superpave pavement, providing importantreference for the construction of other expressway projects.
While feeling proud for engaging in national-level projects, I have alsogained an insider’s knowledge of China’s underdeveloped conditions of civilengineering in road and highway construction. The areas of study that I willfocus in my proposed Ph.D. program are closely connected with thoseconditions—the methods of designing asphalt mixture, predictive evaluation ofasphalt pavement performance, quality control of asphalt pavement construction,and the regeneration technology of old asphalt pavement. I expect that throughyour program I will be extensively exposed to the latest theoretical andtechnical developments in the world academia and take up fruitful research. Ifyour highly selective program accepts applicants with sound academicperformance, rich work experience and promising research potential, I canassert, without any shame of arrogance, that I am exactly the candidate you arelooking for.
Yours sincerely,
xxx
Dear x,
With the approach of new century, the developing China is requiring bettertrained and more highly educated men and women than ever before in history. Inorder to make more contributions to the society and, at the same time, satisfymy keen interest in science, I am looking forward to beginning my graduatestudy. I heard of Case Western Reserve University as early as when I was anundergraduate student. She is one of the most highly regarded universities inthe world and is an ideal place for ambitious youth.
I plan to study for Ph.D. in Biochemistry at Case Western ReserveUniversity with special interests in metabolism, macromolecular synthesis, andprotein crystal growth. I have had plentiful preparations. First, when being anundergraduate in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Tsinghua University,I got very extensive and intensive education. I took many courses on chemistryand the related subjects, and earned high scores for most of them. Second, mymajor, Polymer, can be put into good use in Biochemistry programs becausePolymer is closely related with biological Macromolecule. Third, I have workingexperience that enriches my theory and laboratory skills.
From 1990 to now, I have been engaged as an Assistant Engineer by theResearch institute, Beijing Yanshan Petrochemical Corporation (RIBYPC). In thefirst year, I was in charge of a 5-litre reactor for polymerization ofCarboxylated Butadiene-Styene Latex. Then I was transferred to another researchgroup to synthesize PET/PHB copolymer, a kin of polyester, which has theproperty of Liquid Crystal. I am the assistant head of the group. We can preparethe novel polymer with high molecule weight and excellent property in a 2-litrestainless steel reactor. During this monomers, with purity of more than 99.99%;this made my leader very satisfied.
More than four years of working experiences expand my capacity. I oftenmake use of NMR, X-ray, DSC and other instrumental methods for research. Amongthem, I am most skilled in NMR reactors, I have experiences on solving problemsof Engineering and Mechanics. What is more, I am familiar with computeroperation and some application software. The above information about myspecialty may be helpful for you to evaluate me.
It is said that the 21st century will be the age of Life Science. I hope toenter the esteemed Case Western Reserve University to face this challenge. I amconfident tat I shall be an excellent fellow. After completing my graduatestudy, I would like to return to my homeland and make use of my knowledge toserve the people.
By the way, I would like to give thanks to my parents. Being their oldestson, I am offered the most formal education and the deepest love. I never forgetthe 18-year’s life with them. Twelve years in the countryside and six years inShengli Oil Field bestowed me the character of diligence, resolution, andperseverance, as well as the deep love of nature and life. I am also indebted tomy dear wife. Without her never-ended encouragement and support in these years,I could not become closer and closer to the gate of the eminent Case WesternReserve University.
Knowing where is heading during navigation brings assured happiness. As astudent majoring in Biochemistry, I began my odyssey five years ago, when ourclass had a new biology teacher, who was young and energetic. He taught us in anentertaining way and communicated with us quite well. I liked him very much andwas impressed by the knowledge of Biological Sciences. He opened new doors tothe realm of Biology in my life. And with time being, I feel more and more sureabout my destination. Although the trail of navigation has not always beendefinitely straight, I believe it leads me to my dream.
Because of my excellent performance in the National Olympic MathematicsContest of High School Students in 1994 and my outstanding academic record insenior high school, I had the opportunity to be admitted to Peking University orTsinghua University, two most selective universities in China, waived of theAdmission Examination. But if I took the chance, I couldn’t select biologicalsciences as my major. So I gave up the precious chance and took the AdmissionExamination. I succeeded and was admitted by the Department of Biochemistry andMolecular Biology in Peking University, which ranks first in biological scienceeducation and research in China and has raised many scholars including membersof Chinese Academy of Sciences. In the first three years in university, mycurriculum has a broad range, covering both natural and humanity sciences, aswell as putting emphasis not only on biological sciences but also on closelyrelated courses. I have dedicated my energy to my study and have received acomplete, profound and strict training in biological sciences with the combinedstrength of individual and professors' help. Playing basketball is also a solidpart of my campus life. I am an active member in the basketball team of theCollege of Life Sciences in Peking University. As a point guard, the organizerof the team's attack, I have learned to make the five players to be a stronggroup in a game. Last year, we ranked the third in Peking University Cup amongthe thirty-six teams. This experience endows me a strong sense ofresponsibility, confidence and team-working spirit.
To be a successful scientific researcher requires not only academicpotential but also independent research ability. A student will developcapability for independent research by working closely with a scholar. For thisreason, I entered the National Laboratory of Protein Engineering and PlantGenetic Engineering and participated the Group of Protein Structure andFunction. Now I cooperate with two graduate students, one of whom will go to theHarvard Medical School to continue his research work. Our ultimate goal is todevelop a new thrombolysis drug, which is supported by the National 863 Hi-TechPlanning. (Please check Research Experience for detail.) By the three monthshere, I have been able to do many experiments independently and have obtainedserious attitude and cooperation in scientific work.
I believe the advanced courses, distinguished faculty and the best-equippedlaboratories of your group will help me make the desired achievements. With theconviction that I can sustain me through the intense graduate study, I have madethe decision to apply for Pennsylvania State University and hope your seriousconsideration.