Statement of Purpose

As a graduate student, I was awarded a full scholarship, the Lawrence Academic Fellowship, and
I earned my M.S. from the Department of Physics at Northeastern University. Since then, I have
decided to pursue my second master’s degree in statistics. With my solid foundation in
mathematics and related programming knowledge in C++ and MATLAB as well as my rich
research experiences and creative approaches, I plan to devote my studies and research to
statistics in the hope of becoming an excellent statistician. An M.S. from Carnegie Mellon
University will bring me closer to achieving my goals.

I showed great enthusiasm in mathematics as early as primary school. A series of successful

experiences in mathematics made me feel confident in this field. For instance, in the nationwide
Hua Luogeng Mathematics Contest in 1996, I passed the first round and earned a third-class
prize in the second round. In the 12th annual nationwide Hope Cup Mathematics Invitational
Contest, I received a bronze medal by finishing in the top one percent among all the competitors.

Later, during my studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, I grasped every opportunity I could
fine to further improve my mathematics abilities. I chose to this, not only because mathematics is
very important to my major, but also because of my strong interest in the subject. Meanwhile,
Shanghai Jiao Tong’s reputation as the second best engineering school in China allowed me to
pay more attention to fostering the programming ability. The course in advanced programming
languages helped me gain proficiency in C++. I believe all of these skills have prepared me well
for my future studies in the field of statistics.

In 2005, due to excellent academic results, I was awarded the Excellent Academic Scholarship
along with the opportunity to study at Hong Kong University as an exchange student. During the
half-year I spent at Hong Kong University, I recognized the academic diversity of this
international university. This experience gave me a chance to communicate with students from
all over the world while learning to understand a different education system. I also actively
participated in scientific research. In 2006, I qualified to join Professor Kadi Zhu’s group. With a
focus on teamwork, I fulfilled my responsibility to use computer simulations to investigate the
group velocity of light in different substances. My contributions sped up our team’s completion
of the project.
After this project, I decided to pursue my Ph.D. in physics abroad and earned a full scholarship
offer from Northeastern University. At Northeastern University, the rigorous academic
atmosphere excited my great interest in physics theory. Eventually my hard work was rewarded
when I earned the Lawrence Academic Fellowship, an award that is only given to the
academically first-ranked student in each year. In “Computational Physics”, I learned how to use
MATLAB to solve physics problems, which greatly excited my interest in computer simulations.

Beyond the student experience, my work as a TA improved my communication abilities and my

skills in speaking English. As a graduate student at NEU, my research has focused on DNA
stretching and relaxing properties in the presence of HIV NC proteins. My work has successfully
demonstrated the important function of aromatic residues in the process of retrovirus function.
However, I still sometimes get lost when digging deeper in this field because I do not have
strong knowledge regarding how or when my research results will be applied. Currently, I am
certain that my studies need to focus on a combination of theory and application in order for me
to reach a sense of achievement that will encourage me to make more progress.

As a result, I became determined to become a statistician. Statistics is a much more suitable

major for me for several reasons. First, my great interest and rich experience in math and
programming give me confidence to do the exciting and challenging work in this field with
diligence. Second, my future work will not be limited to academia. Third, statistics is a gateway
to entrepreneurship and provides more upward mobility in an organization. Last but not least,
statisticians have a strong economic and business sense in addition to their strong math
background. This allows them to serve as more versatile members of the workforce.

I have a solid foundation in math and programming because these fields have wide applications
in the realm of physics, my former major. Throughout my curriculum, I have completed many
important math courses such as calculus, linear algebra and statistics. Moreover, my physics
background will enhance my creativity and help me propose unique ideas while increasing the
diversity of the department.

Carnegie Mellon’s master’s program in statistics focuses on the theoretical systems, but also
emphasizes the importance of the applications, a dual approach that agrees with my career goals.
After finishing my master’s studies, I desire to start my career in the industry and I intend to win
honor for Carnegie Mellon University. I am confident that your department will enable me to
realize my dream of becoming an outstanding statistician.