This is my personal statement, in progress, for applying to universities in the UK in academic year 2012/13.
I believe I am an ideal candidate for undergraduate study because I am intelligent and hard working, I love my chosen subject and I have experience that prepares me to study at a higher level.
In both education and employment, I have demonstrated my intelligence, discipline, and self-motivation.
I excelled in both my GCSE and A Level exams achieving straight As and A*s whilst pursuing my favoured subjects in further depth. During my A Levels, I was selected to attend the Dicey Conference at Trinity College, Oxford. There, I debated political issues with the brightest politics students in the country.
I have always sought employment outside of my studies. Currently, I am working full-time in a technology startup, GoCardless. Having started as an intern, I expanded my role to take sole responsibility for customer service. Most recently, I planned and implemented a new phone system which dramatically improved call quality and introduced case tracking to inform business decisions.
I have a love for what I want to study which inspires me to take it further.
Whilst many of my peers feel that politics is irrelevant, I have long been fascinated by the subject. Politics is such an important field because it affects our lives in so many ways, no matter our aspirations.
My enthusiasm for politics and debate is long-standing. At age 11, I represented he Labour Party in a mock election speech at school. Four years later, I did the same again. Further, for the 2010 General Election, I organised a "Question Time" event for local parliamentary candidates at my sixth form college. Currently I am broadening my knowledge by studying an course from University of Michigan on digital democracy and reading texts on the politics of Europe and beyond.
Philosophy captivates me since it seeks to answer questions which are so fundamental to the human experience. As a Christian, I have always looked further than the surface. My initial readings in philosophy have made me look deeper still. For instance, Plato's dissection of the piety in "Euthyphro" has encouraged me to reconsider the moral foundations of my faith, reconciling the idea of the fundamentally good God whom I follow with the internal contradictions raised through Socrates.
Having already spent a term at university, I am clear about what I want from the experience: to develop the way I think; to immerse myself in subjects I love; and to continue to interact with brilliant and passionate students.
In September 2011, I started at UCL studying European Social and Political Studies. With hindsight, choosing a course with a 50% language element was not the right decision. Whilst I enjoyed the breadth of the course, the emphasis on French left little time for other areas. In February I decided to leave and pursue a job offer from GoCardless with a view to returning to study in future.
My time at work has only increased my desire to return to university. I work with exceptionally talented people who have a depth of thought I now realise I can only gain from further study. I also miss spending time in the library trying to understand new concepts and being able to focus on politics. Working has also reinforced my belief in hard work, which I am determined to apply to my studies.
I believe I am an excellent candidate for undergraduate study. I have the intelligence and motivation to make the most of university. I have passion for my chosen subjects. I know now that university is the right decision for me and I look forward to the opportunities that it presents.
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