PERSONAL STATEMENT

From the very beginning, I was always curious about how things around us work and the reason
behind anything that was happening; later, I found out that it was called SCIENCE. As I
advanced in my academic level, advancing the curiosity and passion in a parallel fashion, I came
to know that my special interest was in physics, since it was the one science that mostly
explained how things work and why the world is like it is. The profound knowledge about the
world around us that is perceivable via physics drew me towards choosing physics as my
undergraduate major. Soon, I knew that the very fabric of my mind was suited for physics, as I
was always ahead of my contemporaries in understanding, solving and applying the problems
and principles of physics, way beyond my academic level. I was fascinated by the immense
coverage of physics from tiny atoms to the infinite universe and the simple dynamics of motion
to the complex biological and astrophysical phenomena.

Despite my thorough understanding of the principles and their applications, I couldn’t secure
great grades during my course work due to mainly two reasons: my personal financial problem
that made me work extra hours to give continuity to my studies and partly the traditional
memory based examinations held by our university which basically needed us to memorize
most of the long derivations and proofs rather than to be able to apply them in other contexts. I
had to work extra hours to support my studies which gave me less time to concentrate on my
studies even during exam preparation period which kept me from memorizing the derivations
and had a severe effect on my grades. My Physics GRE score should tell the extent of my
understanding of the subject and my General GRE score about my quantitative and verbal
reasoning capabilities. I do have good command of English language that will benefit me with
communication skills.

Further, during and after my BSC/MSC I have been involved in teaching science to high school
students and physics to higher secondary students, which have definitely augmented my
understanding of the basic physical concepts and their applications by providing a different
outlook to the subject from a different angle; the teachers' angle. These experiences on
teaching have also given me the ultimate meaning of gaining knowledge; to pass it on.

During my final year of BSC, I attended a seminar on "The specializations in physics and their
importance", which made me clear about what I really wanted to pursue as my lifetime passion:
Astrophysics. Unlike other branches of physics, Astrophysics, which seemed to me as an infinite
pool of fascinating and overwhelming knowledge, was yet to be explored.

To actually tell why I like science or physics, I would recall the very theme of it; to raise
questions, answer them with so much effort to finally raise new ones. At the end there will be
even more questions to be answered but the amount of knowledge is raised. I simply like the
way it works. I finally came to know that there is nothing more satisfying to me than to
understand and then pass the knowledge to others on how and why the world works the way it
is. This very quest of mine has compelled me to apply for the graduate program in astrophysics
as this is the only way I can have a strong foundation for my long journey towards gaining
knowledge through research, just to pass it on to the future generation so that they may take it
to another level.

Considering the gigantic amount of knowledge covered by the academic courses and the
computational methods and analytical skills engraved in me during the learning and teaching
years, I can confidently claim to be able to use these assets in the quest of becoming a
successful research scientist and earning a Phd in the process. As a focused and highly
motivated science student I'm always in search for new challenges and research opportunities
to foster my efforts towards my ultimate goal of being a research scientist and living the rest of
my life searching for and passing on the loads of scientific knowledge that is waiting to be
unlocked. If given a chance, I would definitely work as hard as I can to procure the most out of
myself and honor the opportunity by performing in the best possible level.

After reading about the performance of the faculties and the vast amount of resources and
facilities available at your university, I have decided that it will be the perfect platform for me to
enhance my skills and knowledge during my Phd so that I can use them in my future endeavors
to contribute in the upgrading of human knowledge about the cosmos.