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Sample Personal Statement for Politics, Philosophy & Economics
Philosophy tells us that there is always a rationale underlying
each apparently complicated issue and that man抯 all intellectual
endeavors are precisely designed to make intelligible those seemingly
chaotic and unintelligible issues. To achieve effective
interpretations of sophisticated issues we must exercise our logic to
stay away from deceptive evidence and to reach correct conclusions.
Therefore, we must receive rigorous training in philosophy. But in
this increasingly integrated modern world, hardly any issue can be
treated in isolation. A broad range of perspectives on the economic,
political, historical, cultural and even religious levels is perhaps
required to facilitate our understanding of a single issue. Thus we
need to receive trainings in many related fields. That is why an
interdisciplinary program like PPE is appropriate and important for a
student in his/her undergraduate career. The comprehensive knowledge
from the PPE program will enable a student to understand the rapidly
changing world analytically, critically, and insightfully.
For a young student, nothing is more important than the spirit of
inquiry. Nicknamed Baby Curious, I grew up nagging my parents to
explain whatever seemed unfamiliar and strange. Trivial and na飗e as
some of my questions were, they helped to keep alive my curiosity.
Even though my parents (my inborn teachers) and my teachers in
elementary and middle schools have kept explaining the world to me,
one thing I found perplexing梩he more I knew about this world, the more
ignorant I seemed to have become.
This paradox of knowledge made me reflect. My conclusion was that it
is not that the more we know, the less knowledgeable we become. What
is true is that as we know more, we are led to many other realms in
the entire system of human knowledge. Another factor is that as we
know more, we are required to face many new problems that are being
created, because human society is changing and developing fast. Faced
with this necessity to know more, we should persist instead of giving
up in despair.
This realization resulted in my pursuit of knowledge in countries
other than China. Having received a sound elementary and junior middle
school education, with distinguished performance scholastically,
especially in mathematics and history, I arrived in XX, the country
with the most proud educational tradition in the world, at the age of
15. After a six-month language program, I entered the renowned XX
School. By making extra efforts to catch up with and even surpass my
classmates in my GCSE study, I achieved a scholastic performance well
above average and I was an active member of the piano class, the
school choir, and the tennis class. History continued to be my
favorite subject. The best part of my XX experience is the development
of a pluralist cultural awareness and a western way of thinking,
which, through a fusion with my Eastern way of thinking, has allowed
me to look at things in a balanced and comprehensive manner.
Unfortunately, I had to stop my GCSE study after one year and return
to China because of the poor state of health of my father. Luckily, my
western-styled education was continued as I enrolled in XX Private
Senior Middle School where the International Baccalaureate (IB)
Diploma Program is offered. Apart from History, I found TOK (Theory of
Knowledge, a course that challenges students to question the bases of
knowledge, to be aware of subjective and ideological biases, and to
develop the ability to analyse evidence that is expressed in rational
argument) fascinating, and I continue to excel in mathematics.
Now, with educational and cultural experiences across both China and
the XX, I am bent on a PPE program at XX to receive perhaps the best
education in liberal arts in the world, an education that will deepen
my academic buildup, and give me a more sophisticated understanding of
the world. By the time I complete the PPE program, I plan to proceed
onto a Master抯 program in International Relationship.
In extracurricular activities, I would like to contribute my
leadership. A winner of painting and singing, and IB Speech
competitions, and national middle school English contest, honored as
Outstanding Student and Student Leader, I have been the chairman of
the Student Union, responsible for organizing XX School Fashion Show.
I have been a student assistant to the school Principal, coordinating
the communication between the students and the Principal. The 揋olden
Travel?program, sponsored by XX to protect cultural and historical
heritages in China and Europe, took me to several major European
countries and to visit XX 抯 headquarters in Paris. In a word, my
commitment to public welfare will make me an activist on your campus.
揘o man is an island and no man stands alone.?In this age of
interactivity, young students bear important social responsibilities
and historical missions. What role should I play? To become tomorrow抯
leader, that is my answer. |
