本文作者同時獲得劍橋大學、巴斯大學、杜倫大學、南安普頓大學、布里斯托爾大學、約克大學等六所英國名校的錄取通知書。
Engineering Personal Statement 工程學個人陳述（PS）
“Scientists dream about doing great things. Engineers do them.” James A. Michener. For me, this quote symbolises why I want to go into engineering- because I want to do things, to design things, to make things. From early childhood I have been interested in how things work and why; it has been clear now for some time that engineering is what I want to do in later life. I am interested in a variety of engineering disciplines however, and have had trouble deciding which to study. Signal processing and audio systems are particular interests of mine within electronics, as well as electro-mechanical systems within mechanical. Acoustics also interests me, especially electro-acoustics, active noise control and musical acoustics. To allow for this, I have tried to choose courses that are either broad or allow specialism part way through. This has the advantage that I can decide which field to go into after I have a better idea of what they involve. I also intend to take a gap year to gain industrial experience, which would help me with this decision. For this reason I am deferring entry.
I have been interested in Mathematics throughout my school career, especially in applied; mechanics is a subject that I find very engaging. I attended Maths Club after school for four years, (from year 8 to 11), did GCSE Maths a year early, and did the FSMQ in Additional Maths the following year. I am presently studying Further Maths, and have now taken six modules (95.5% average). Electronics is extra-curricular, and is a fascinating subject. It involves a lot of design, something that I enjoy, and something that is not featured in my other subjects. Physics appeals to me, and will give me the knowledge I need to study Engineering. I found AS Chemistry absorbing, although time has not allowed me to continue this subject further. Last year I took Latin to GCSE as an after school subject, and enjoyed it very much. It gave me a real insight into another culture, literature and language. I was fortunate enough to be awarded an Arkwright scholarship last year, along with the Year in Industry prize. Faber Maunsell is sponsoring me, and I did a weeks work experience with their acoustics division this summer. It was very rewarding, and included a noise survey and results analysis.
Music has long been important to me; I now have Grade 8 in Piano and Clarinet, and am working towards a CertGSMD (P) in Piano. Ensemble playing has been a major part of my musical life: I have been first desk clarinet in the highly successful Verulam Big Band (playing swing jazz) for five years, participating in many of their tours (including Spain, Italy and Germany), and have played the piano in a concerto with a local youth orchestra. In folk and jazz, I play melodeon, ukulele and C melody saxophone, including occasionally in a ceilidh band in St Albans. In fact, musical instruments interest me both from a scientific and historical perspective, especially woodwind. Indeed, for my AS Electronics project, I designed a system to amplify a saxophone; having now designed the saxophone from scratch, I am building it from plywood. Within the wider community, I have volunteered at the local museum on their ‘Science Day’, (which involved explaining to children the physics behind toys) am a keen Bell ringer, and a member of the local ringing society. At school, I am a senior member of the Bridge Society, an activity that I enjoy very much. In addition, I am the Parent Teacher Association Liaison Officer, (which involves contributing to meetings, raising student awareness, and helping to organise events) and prefect for Maths. Sailing is a great interest of mine, and I gained my RYA level two last summer. I am a Student member of the Galpin Society (for the study of musical instruments) and a Faraday member of the Royal Institution, whose evening lectures I have attended.
I now feel that I am ready for the academic demands of university life, and look forward to the challenges that lie ahead.
