Computer Science Personal Statement Example 76

The 21st century is the golden age of Computer Science: advancement in computing capability is enabling all future progress. I want to be involved in this revolution, solving previously unsolvable problems computationally or helping create technologies that matter. I'm excited to study computer science: I love it, it's impactful and it's always changing so will continue to be fresh and interesting.

I am most interested in the emerging fields in computing - I would like to work helping develop or make modern technology; possibly using AI or Machine Learning as they're immensely interesting to me and have the potential to hugely improve the world. I also completed an online course in Quantum Computing, of which the most interesting section for me was how Quantum Error Checking works to make otherwise unusable data useful.

I regularly read books and articles about interesting sections of computer science and maths, such as "The Hundred Page Machine Learning Book", "The Maths of Life and Death" or on Conjectures such as Erdos or Collatz; many of which I discuss or learn more about at the Maths or Computing Symposiums, both of which I am a member of.

After reading Andrit Burkov's "The Hundred Page Machine Learning Book", I realised the amount of different maths and statistics in computer science which I didn't yet know. So I decided to self-study three extra Further Maths modules: Decision 1, Decision 2 and Statistics 1 since (combined with raw interest) they would be useful when writing complex algorithms, such as TSP, which I programmed an optimised KNN solution to as a part of my Coursework.

My school regularly selects me to represent it in competitions such as Hans Woyda, UKMT, the Senior Physics Challenge (last year, only 170 people achieved "Gold" - I was one of them) and "Maths Battles". My school chose me to be a prefect, both as a maths subject ambassador and as a boarding prefect.

I am also an excellent Physicist due to my extremely logical nature and exceptional problem-solving skills: the same things which make me so strong at Computer Science. In May 2020 I was awarded the School Physics Award (which is only given to one student in my school each year) and was also chosen to attend an Engineering Masterclass at Cambridge, which was due to take place in late March. I have learnt French, German and Italian, so can now comfortably communicate with native speakers and am continually improving them by listening to foreign educational podcasts. I have mentored for four years in Maths, Chemistry and French.

While doing CCF for two years, attending a management course and when completing D of E to silver; I developed team-working skills. Over lockdown, I was able to put those skills to use in a computing environment when I participated in the GMTK Game Jam with the Computing Symposium (where we made a complete game in 48 hours), for which I taught myself C# and Unity.

I am an outstandingly independent learner and spend a significant amount of time each day doing extra reading or extra work - for example by May in year 12, I had independently learnt the entire two year course for all four of my A Level subjects. I have been boarding for six years and the independence it offered has been what has allowed me to study so effectively, discipline myself so well and work on what is most important to me. I am both excited and prepared to fully immerse myself into university life, academic and social.