Geography and Economics Personal Statement Example

I grew up in India, surrounded by a landscape that changed rapidly as the economy grew. Since then I have observed India's development, but also evidence of poor sustainability, for example its high levels of pollution.

My desire to study Geography in combination with Economics stems from my interest in these fields, but also from the fact that these two disciplines are closely interlinked; for example booming population in the UK lead to a demand for housing, requiring higher taxes to meet this demand.

Studying Human Geography at A Level has helped me to understand important contemporary issues on a global scale. This summer I was one of sixteen students in the country to attend the Royal Geographical Society summer school.

I was able to understand spatial economic processes and how they influenced the behaviour of local shops in the town of Keswick. My group collected data and we used GIS to show the location of the shops. We also presented our findings; one observation we made was that the number of chain stores in Keswick, Lake District, has rapidly increased over the last decade. We concluded that this was due to Keswick being a popular tourist destination.

I am astounded by economic processes, challenges of globalisation and inequalities within countries, like the North-South divide in the UK.

Mathematics has always been amongst my strongest subjects and later when I studied elements of Economics in Geography lessons it struck me as a more applicable version of Mathematics with the beauty and logic of numbers.

During my internship at Barclays Investment Bank, I was able to see the effects of macro-economic variables such as inflation on stock prices. With the help of my mentor, I interpreted graphs and analysed which micro and macro-economic factors are likely to cause markets to work well and which are likely to contribute to market failure. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing economic theory in practice.

I am keen to study development, which bridges both Geography and Economics. This led me to read 'Why Nations Fail' by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. I agree with their theory that it is the political and economic institutions that underlie economic success, for example Nogales which is cut in half by a fence; the average household income for the south is one third of that in the north.

How could the two halves of what is essentially the same city be so different? As a regular reader of the Economist I have built a perception that China has turned itself into an authoritarian development machine. Will it continue to develop at a high rate and overwhelm the West? This is an area which I hope to further my understanding in at university.

Throughout my academic life I have taken full advantage of all opportunities to develop my maturity and to broaden my horizons. During my summer holiday, I spent five weeks on different internships and summer schools.

For example, my participation in the LSE CHOICE reflects my dedication to my learning and how I am striving to achieve my best in Mathematics as I will attend weekly Maths seminars at LSE until March alongside my school commitments.

To enhance my public speaking skills I took part in a local speech competition, where I spoke about the importance of charity in front of more than a hundred people and came first. As a College Ambassador I have successfully worked with my teachers and peers and this has been a highlight of my academic career.

Helping younger pupils in my free time and being able to contribute to their development has been an invaluable experience and helped me to refine my communication skills. Being part of the Army Cadets developed me into a much more confident and a resilient individual through taking part in several Field Days and Memorial Days.

The opportunities I have seized have given me a taste of my future beyond university and I now feel I can contribute to University by bringing a keen and a well-rounded academic attitude to my chosen disciplines.