Biology personal statement
Studying at a university has always been very attractive to me. Not only because it will help me to become independent, but also because it will enable me to study as much as I want. I particularly look forward to studying at a university in the United Kingdom because I feel it would give me a real challenge, an adventure to remember and an opportunity to broaden my horizons beyond the Netherlands. It would also help me to improve my English in a way that I wouldn&apost be able to do if I were to stay in the Netherlands.
After having visited several open days for universities in the United Kingdom, I am even more determined to study there. Having decided that I want to spend my years as a student in the United Kingdom, I had to pick one course out of many interesting studies, so I have chosen Biology. Biology is an obvious choice for me because I am very interested in life in general, especially in the environment. In school I take Biology as part of my profile and I like the modules Genetics, Ecology and Evolution the best. I believe the three of them play a huge role in trying to understand nature&aposs many mysteries.
My biology teacher emphasizes fieldwork, and I particularly enjoyed working on a Winogradsky Column, which is a micro-ecosystem, because it helped me to apply my biological knowledge in a practical way. Also, together with two other students, I am working on a paper on Aphasia. For our project we had the chance to test an actual aphasia-patient in a revalidation center, using PALPA test 51. Then we compared his results to the results of non-aphasic people. I liked this assignment very much because we had to carry out a lot of research. It helped me to develop research skills, as well as communications skills.
I like to solve puzzles and see biology as a way to investigate problems and generate solutions, hence my interests in applying my study to a future career as a forensic scientist or environmental scientist. Being a forensic scientist looks very exciting to me, using biological techniques to fight crimes, and to present evidence in court to bring the victims justice. Though being influenced by a few television series, a career in the forensic field has always been appealing to me. Justice is just one of the things that I am very passionate about.
The second option was not on my mind until I followed biology classes in school. I suddenly realized that I truly enjoyed the chapters about the environment, and that I certainly would not mind learning a whole lot more about it. Studying biology will enable me to carry out research in that field and to share my knowledge with others. Working in a laboratory with other scientists is a very attractive idea to me. I would like to work towards solutions for existing problems, or even better, to find new questions yet to be answered.
I have also participated in other school projects and leadership programs. One of those projects was the European Youth Parliament. That was very useful for my debating skills, and it really made me think about the problems we have in our society today. Besides thinking about problems on a more global level, I have spent time being a part of the Student Board. That gave me a chance to defend the needs of the students, and to have influence on decisions made about us.
Outside school I like to learn new things as well. Since the age of five I have been an avid reader, and I will read any thing from the classics till modern fantasy, as long as it has got words in it. I believe that caused me to be a fast reader, which leads to better information gathering. I read books in both English and Dutch, and I believe that one should try to read a book in it’s original language. One of my other interests is computers. I have gained experience with Linux and programming languages, as well as useful contacts from all over the world thanks to the computer.
I hope that this statement shows that I am a motivated student and that I will be dedicated to my course.