Maths Personal Statement Example 15

In an ever changing world, numbers are the only certainty with which a foundation of understanding can be built.

My interest in Maths stems from my desire to understand and solve problems. I gain a large amount of satisfaction from solving difficult problems and my enthusiasm has only grown larger as the complexity of the maths has increased. As a child many people posed the question ‘When will maths be useful to you?’ and the multiple answers to this are the reasons why I love it. As mathematics is seen and applied in all fields from engineering to finance and even plumbing, in which areas, volumes and angles must be calculated. Unlike any other science, maths is unquestionable, for example, a proof completed in 300BC by Euclid on the infinite amount of primes still holds true today and cannot be reasoned against. Maths is unlike the tentative nature of other sciences, where theorems are constantly posed, accepted and then altered. These subjects evolve whereas a mathematical proof seals the truth and this is where its beauty lies.

I have attended many lectures open to the general public at UCL, the most notable being ‘Puzzles & Paradoxes in Science & Mathematics’ by Professor Tony Mann. Amongst other things, Professor Tony Mann discussed Gödel’s second incompleteness theorem, how, a logical system can prove that it itself is consistent, if and only if, it is not consistent. Similar to this, yet even more captivating was reading ‘Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid’, although not strictly mathematical, Hofstadter’s discussion of paradoxes, recursion and self-reference is truly fascinating.

I have completed my AS in physics, a subject rooted in mathematical reasoning. It has helped me in my maths studies through teaching me to simplify problems using first principles, knowing what is definite and working from there. This enables me to have confidence in my working and allows me to feel comfortable when faced with more difficult problems.

I enjoy studying biology at A-level, it is a subject I find very interesting, due to its logical and rigorous nature. Mathematics can be applied to biology, for example, molecular set theory, where set theoretical mappings are used to represent the chemical transformation of different sets of molecules in biomolecular reactions. I also take economics at A-level a subject which has taught me how mathematics can be applied to form models in order to forecast certain events. It’s scary to think how simple formulae can make companies vast profits/losses each year. Key to these formulae is the use of statistics, a topic which although I am fairly new to, I do enjoy.

In my own time, I enjoy running and football. I have represented both Middlesex and my school in athletics and outside of school I play football for a Sunday league team. Twice a week I work as a teaching assistant at my local community centre helping both primary and secondary school children with their Maths and English studies. Not only does this help reaffirm basic mathematical topics, but it also strengthens my communication skills and puts my teaching ability to the test.

For a number of years, studying mathematics at university is something I’ve been looking forward to as it’s where my passion and interest lies. This enthusiasm for the subject along with my strong determination and focus will enable me to overcome the demands that university presents.