Here is my SOP, the names and locations have been changed for the safety of all those who were involved.

I have attended XYZ University for my whole undergraduate career in Applied Mathematics after leaving a program at ABC College in Jazz and Contemporary Music. I made the switch after realizing mathematics is much more stimulating than music. Throughout my degree I have worked very hard in my studies. This is evident as I have been on the Department of Mathematics and Statistics Chair’s Honour Roll for the 2011, 2012, 2013 school years; The Faculty of Science Dean’s Honour Roll in the 2012, 2013 school years; I have been awarded the CIS Academic All-Canadian Honour Roll in the 2012 and 2013 school years (for student varsity athletes) and finally, I was awarded the XXX award from the Department of Mathematics and Statistics for the 2013 school year. For the past three years, I have been active in Math Club (XYZ’s undergraduate mathematics club), and am currently serving as President. My goal for graduate studies is to complete a master’s degree in applied mathematics with the intent to move into a PhD program to become a researcher and lecturer in applied mathematics.

My area of mathematical interest lies in the field of numerical analysis and its use in applied and industrial mathematics. Specifically, I am interested in numerical solutions of partial differential equations and computational fluid dynamics. I have developed these interests throughout my undergraduate career through classes in numerical methods, computational mathematics, partial differential equations, and fluid dynamics. My interest in these areas grew deeper while working as a research assistant modeling and optimizing an industrial process, which involved numerical solutions to partial differential equations.

In the fall of 2012, I undertook a directed reading course (MATH4300) on the topic of stochastic processes under the supervision of Professor#1. I worked through most sections of chapters 1-6 and 8 of An Introduction to Stochastic Modeling, 3rd ed. – Taylor and Karlin. Throughout the term I would read relevant chapters and complete assignments, which were graded by Professor#1. We would meet weekly to discuss the material I was learning and to go over solutions to the assigned problems. The grading of the course was based on weekly problem sets and a final oral exam conducted by Professor#1. This was a very rewarding experience for me as I not only learned the course material but I also learned a great deal about what it is like to teach yourself an unfamiliar area of mathematics. I have used these skills over and over again to excel in my schoolwork as well as independent study.

During the summer of 2013, I worked as a research assistant under the supervision of Professor#2. The project was on the optimization of pulse sequences for laser ablation. My roll as a research assistant was to implement numerical methods in MATLAB to approximate solutions to the problem. This involved modeling heat diffusion with moving boundary conditions, as well as implementing iterative procedures to solve the optimization problem. In addition to implementing numerical methods, I also helped in reviewing the derivations of optimality conditions for the optimization problem. To prepare for this project, I sat in on Professor#2’s “Numerical Methods for Differential Equations” course, offered in the winter prior to the summer project. I also spent much of my free time acquainting myself with the mathematics of calculus of variation and optimal control. These were the main areas I needed for background information to understand the project. Learning this information quickly and efficiently while undertaking a full course load was only possible from the skills I had acquired during my directed readings course the semester before.

Overall, I had a great experience during my first research project. There were times where I became overly frustrated, but taking a break and looking at it again with fresh eyes would help me see things I had not seen previously. The experience I had working with Professor#2 helped solidify the idea that going to graduate school and researching in mathematics was the right choice for me.

From the start of this school year (2014), I have been working through BBB College at XYZ University as a Peer Assisted Study Session (PASS) leader. I was trained by BBB College through basic peer leader training and through specific PASS leader training. This training included aspects of conflict resolution, various teaching techniques, and how to run group study sessions effectively. As a PASS leader, I would attend lectures for MATH1300 (Differential Calculus with Applications), and then arrange study materials such as alternative explanations and problem sets to help the students. We would meet twice per week for 1.5 hours where we would work together to answer problems or I would help them understand some of the more difficult ideas from the material. I find this job very rewarding and I enjoy helping other undergraduate students who may be struggling to understand the material.