Given that a relatively large amount of people have asked me to see the personal statement I used to apply to ETH, I thought: why not post it online, so everyone can scrutinize my awful English?? (and maybe help someone who might be interested in applying to CSE!)
“Personal Statement - MSc Computational Science and Engineering
It is fascinating how the flow of a river, the evolution of a community or the formation of hurricanes can all be translated into a logical language such as Mathematics. In an ever evolving, increasingly quantitative world, information and knowledge have never been so valued as nowadays. Therefore, the need to understand and model such phenomena through rigorous methods can have incredible benefits for society.
The increasing availability of computational power, through cloud computing and processor parallelisation, has revolutionised the understanding and methodology to solve Engineering and Mathematical problems, allowing the analysis and dissection of problems that before were too dense to be explored. With this in mind, I have gained significant experience in Computing through work experience, university societies and optional modules as part of my degree.
Having studied Mathematics at Imperial College as an undergraduate and having obtained a solid foundation in Algebra, Calculus, Numerical Analysis and Mathematical Physics, I feel prepared to undertake the MSc in Computational Science and Engineering. During my penultimate year research project, I studied numerical methods and used Finite Difference methods to solve evolution Partial Differential Equations. In my final year, I am studying Scientific Computation, being currently placed in the upper 10th percentile of my class. Here, I use C to solve different problems; for example, I implemented the Discrete Sine Transformation to quickly and efficiently solve the Poisson’s equation. This is definitely one of the most challenging and interesting subjects I have studied during my degree.
Looking back at the various research projects I undertook, the one I enjoyed the most was working with the Aeronautics Department of Imperial College during the summer of 2010. I researched on a pioneering technique to model fracture points and elasticity in materials, namely, aeroplane wings. This showed me the versatile and applicable character that is truly unique to Mathematics.
Undertaking the MSc in Computational Science and Engineering is a logical continuation of my learning process given my passion for Mathematics and Computing. The unique aspect of this particular Master’s course is that it is multidisciplinary, giving me the opportunity to build on my computational and mathematical understanding. Looking at the courses offered I am very excited by the diverse range in Informatics, Fluid Dynamics and Physics offered by this course.
I am highly motivated to start this Master’s program in ETH Zurich, particularly because of its excellence in research and teaching. Thank you for considering my application and I look forward to hearing from you.“