At the entrance to Plato's academy in ancient Greece, stood a sign which warned,
"Let no-one ignorant of mathematics enter here." Like Plato I believe in the importance of mathematics, and its influence over nearly every walk of life. I find it a fascinating area of study due to its diverse features and how seemingly abstract ideas and equations...
Maths Personal Statement Example 1
Mathematics is a subject that I have thoroughly enjoyed throughout my school years. The challenge of thinking and the process of logic always attract me to Mathematical problems, however difficult and regardless of the form in which they come.
I am enjoying my courses of A-Level Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Latin, General Studies and Statistics (AS). In addition, I was somewhat disappointed not to be able to take History at A2-Level, but only at AS-Level, since I have found History to be a challenging, yet rewarding subject. I am keen to read-up on different areas of Mathematics, in addition to those covered at A-Level, such as Topology and Number Theory, little of which is studied in-depth at A-Level. In addition, I enjoy reading contemporary Mathematics books, such as 'The Man Who Loved Only Numbers', the biography of Paul Erdös; a man who particularly inspires me. I have also taken part in National Mathematical Challenges and Olympiads, exams that I particularly enjoy participating in. As part of a school initiative set-up by myself, I now tutor one outstanding Mathematician in the Lower 6th Form.
I am trying to challenge him beyond the syllabus and explain the ideas and methods that I have learned over the past few years, helping me to develop my ability to communicate mathematically with other people. I take great pleasure in attempting challenging, non-standard problems that require a substantial amount of thought and ability. In this respect, the books 'The Mathematical Olympiad Handbook', STEP papers and similar publications have provided me with a great number of demanding problems that I have enjoyed attempting.
I enjoy Mathematics and feel that the elegance and logic of the subject is the reason for my desire to study it at a more advanced level. I realise that Mathematics is extremely important in daily life and in the systems in which we live and, as such, I believe a Mathematics degree, whilst being enjoyable and challenging, would give me a good platform on which to base a career of my choice. However, a long-term ambition of mine is to work towards a doctorate in Mathematics, something that I am determined to try to achieve.
Aside from Mathematics, I am interested in Classics. I am studying Latin at A-Level, enjoying the challenge posed by difficult 'unseen' translations, as well as reading our set authors, including Cicero, Catullus and Ovid. I have also been involved in some extra-curricular Latin in the form of Prose Composition, additional translation of Latin texts and the International Latin Exam (on which I achieved a perfect score).
As a member of the school community, I believe that I have been able to contribute greatly. I play for the school rugby and cricket First teams and I enjoy playing cricket and tennis recreationally, being a member of local
clubs for both sports. I have represented the school in county chess tournaments, captained the general knowledge team and have recently been appointed as a school prefect. In such a way, I feel I have been able to develop my leadership skills and to build up my confidence and my sense of responsibility.
I am greatly looking forward to the transition from School to University because of the independence and opportunities that University life will offer. I believe that the challenge of studying and developing my Mathematics to a higher level is going to be one that I will thoroughly enjoy.
Profile info
There is no profile associated with this personal statement, as the writer has requested to remain anonymous.
Author's Comments
I applied for Maths at Cam, Dur, War, Bris, Bath, Umist.
Ratings
Statement rating:
Comments
i think this person should of
Sun, 12/09/2004 - 00:00
i think this person should of included more non-academic stuff,sounds like a 'mr no life' to me
I disagree with 'guest'; i
Sat, 18/09/2004 - 00:00
I disagree with 'guest'; i think this personal statement is very well written and shows a genuine interest in maths. Perhaps mentioning one or two out of school interests would have been good, but at the end of the day, universities want to see that you have a passion for your subject, and this person clearly does!
Brilliant
Thu, 23/09/2004 - 00:00
Masterpiece! Shows great interest and passion for mathematics, however some non-academic stuff would have made it perfect PS! Well done to anyone who has written
I think this statement
Mon, 06/12/2004 - 00:00
I think this statement incudes everything the admission people look for. However, with taking three maths related a levels, I would have liked more indications of being "rounded", and I have never liked "determined to try".
I think this person is now at
Sun, 02/01/2005 - 00:00
I think this person is now at Trinity Cambridge...so its a good PS.
not bad.....
Mon, 03/01/2005 - 00:00
not bad.....
but there are still many things to be improved.
the writer should include
Wed, 08/06/2005 - 00:00
the writer should include more non-acodemic stuff like sports and leisure. Other than that, the ps was very well written
We had it drilled into us
Fri, 09/09/2005 - 00:00
We had it drilled into us that unis generally aren't interested in stuff not related to your subject, though it doesn't hurt to mention it briefly they would prefer you to focus on the course you want to take, which this PS does very well
general studies is not an A
Sun, 18/09/2005 - 00:00
general studies is not an A-level
you can take a general
Sun, 02/10/2005 - 00:00
you can take a general studies A level. I am!
what is everyone talkin about
Thu, 22/06/2006 - 00:00
what is everyone talkin about, does he not mention his sports, and chess, i would say that was his non school stuff. the worst thing you can do is just go on for ages about your extra curricular
You do not mention table
Tue, 18/09/2007 - 10:41
You do not mention table tennis anywhere.
........
Wed, 19/09/2007 - 08:37
Why every single one of them is like TOO GOOD!!
answer to the comment above,
Fri, 15/08/2008 - 15:46
answer to the comment above, i have read this book, it is really interesting, i reccommend it to you.
Back to the statement, i think that this is a good statement but doesnt stick out to me like others have, theres a lot about him and not linked in with him liking maths all of the time, whjich can be done well, and not be made to seem over the top
after reading personal
Sat, 23/08/2008 - 15:09
after reading personal statements like this one, i feel as though i have no chance to get into a good university if i am up against people like this!!!
i cant say that i have read these books or taken part in an olypiad because i havent. what do i do???
after reading personal
Sat, 23/08/2008 - 15:10
after reading personal statements like this one, i feel as though i have no chance to get into a good university if i am up against people like this!!!
i cant say that i have read these books or taken part in an olypiad because i havent. what do i do???
hey
Wed, 01/10/2008 - 10:28
hey hey heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy !
this ps is super duper
i enjoyed it!
thanks for a great read :)
im going to read it over and over because it is so...xx
i like maths and jam
Wed, 29/10/2008 - 20:01
i like maths and jam
ps
Wed, 17/12/2008 - 02:50
i feel that it is a very well written piece as he has balanced his ambition for mathmatics with his fondness of latin...
however i believe that the second last paragraph should contain more detail abt his prefectship/sport activity.....
everyone who commented on
Mon, 28/09/2009 - 21:16
everyone who commented on this is stupid. telling him to put more about extra-curricular!! don't you understand that unis don't give a shit about that, all they want is for you to be passionate about your subject. for me what is wrong with this is that there's too much waffle. you mention too many things and don't go into detail in any of them, you need to be more specific about areas of maths you're interested in and why
Doesn't need to list these
Wed, 09/12/2009 - 14:15
Doesn't need to list these subjects, has included too little information about the books he has apparently read, uses the word "enjoy" too often and doesn't mention enough about the "initiative".
too many 'challenge' and
Tue, 15/12/2009 - 12:43
too many 'challenge' and 'enjoy' but otherwise I think it is pretty good. Very useful to me since I'm doing CLassical Civ alongside Maths and Further Maths:)
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