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United States24781 Posts
Haha whenever I watch a rep of me with a unit with a lot of kills I get this feeling that I'm an amazing player who pulled of this amazing feat with my hero unit.
Might want to edit the letter a bit more carefully before opening it up to suggestions but it's too late at this point haha.
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I'm a graduate student right now, but not in math.
I'm guessing that you are writing the elements of a personal statement, rather than posting your personal statement itself.
One suggestion I have is that you could write more about *why* you want to study math. Talk about good experiences in the subject, ideas for what you want to do with it later. What motivates you to do this?
Also: are you sure you have to get a Master's degree to get a Ph.D. in math? You should perhaps apply directly to Math doctorate programs.
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I really like that strategy with the eternally held lurkers. Though it would really suck if you lost a decisive battle by a very slim margin because of those lurkers.
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On January 14 2010 13:17 Random_0 wrote:
Also: are you sure you have to get a Master's degree to get a Ph.D. in math? You should perhaps apply directly to Math doctorate programs.
You can apply to a phd program from undergrad but its not very common. After an undergrad in math you still hardly know anything about the subject heh. I don't have a specific enough focus yet for that.
And you are right, I've just got some pieces. I'm not looking for little things to fix but more like stuff to talk about.
Thanks for the suggestions so far.
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Grammar, punctuation, wrong use of words (first one is on second sentence, "interesting"). Can't really tell the tone of your letter because it is incomplete but it seems a bit non-business-like and a bit too colloquial("...I really wanted to..." -first sentence, second paragraph).
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On January 14 2010 13:19 Archaic wrote:
I really HATE that strategy with the eternally held lurkers. Though it would really suck if you lost a decisive battle by a very slim margin because of those lurkers.
fixed
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On January 14 2010 13:11 Zortch wrote:Heya TL, I could use some help. I am a fourth year math student and I'm applying to grad school. I need to write a letter of intent or personal statement and I'm just feeling very unsure about what to write about in it. So hopefully someone out there has some suggestions. Honestly, I'm really having trouble getting motivated to work on it and I don't really know what I'm doing heh. Here is what I have so far. It isn't formatted or necessarily all in the right order but I’ve got some pieces written. + Show Spoiler +My name is Zortch. At present, I am in my fourth and final year of my undergraduate studies in pure mathematics at The University of Western Ontario. I am interesting in pursuing a master’s in mathematics at The University of Toronto.
I would like to pursue a master’s degree as further preparation towards a career is a professor. My interests lie mainly in the field of functional analysis. I would like to further study this topic and its branches. Through this I intend to sharpen my focus towards a specific area which I can pursue in a Ph. D program.
After my first year I realised that I really wanted to study math. From then on took all of the math courses I could get into. I have maintained a very strong and consistent academic record throughout my studies. Furthermore I have shown good results in the William Lowell Putnam Competition, particularly in 2008 placing in the top 400 participants. I have held NSERC USRA’s the past two summers and will likely hold one this summer also. I worked closely with my supervisors both learning new material and assisting in research projects.
I heard about The University of Toronto through its fantastic reputation. Your institution being home to many experts will provide a great environment for learning about mathematics and how research is conducted. Also, its reputation will attract the best students from Canada and the world. These are the people who I wish to study and work with during my degree. I hope to find them in Toronto. I would really appreciate some thoughts if just to get my thinking about it and working on it some more. I figure around ¾ of a page would be a good length. Now for my lurker use. I have only used it in ZvP but I expect that it should be useful in ZvT also. I like to deny the protoss’ third for a long time. So I play to this plan. Generally there comes a time where I have to let them have it but I generally have lurkers by then. So, I take 1 or 2 and hold position them in the mineral line of the toss’ third base before they have even started expanding. Then they transfer a huge number of probes since their main and nat are running dry and poof! A 34 kill lurker hehe. Imageshack made my pics small... but its a 34 kill lurker, I promise. Cheers TL!
I am a master's student at UofT (mathematics). In my opinion, what really matters is that you have taken courses in real and complex analysis, algebra, and topology. Otherwise you will have a hard time.
Since you said you wanted to do functional analysis, perhaps on your letter you can draw yourself a plan of what courses you want to take here. For example, you may say on your letter that you intend to take real analysis, linear operators, partial differential equations, applied nonlinear equations, ergotic theory, etc.
Here's a list of courses being offered this year:
http://www.math.toronto.edu/graduate/courses/descriptions.html
It will change next year, unfortunately. For example it is unlikely that hardy spaces will be offered again next year (although it seems like a natural choice for you).
On January 14 2010 13:17 Random_0 wrote:
Also: are you sure you have to get a Master's degree to get a Ph.D. in math? You should perhaps apply directly to Math doctorate programs.
Department of Mathematics at University of Toronto almost *NEVER* takes a student directly into the PhD program.
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United States16368 Posts
I am a 4th year engineering student from UW, and I intend on applying to Stanford, CMU, UMich and Cornell (hopefully getting accepted by at least one). I don't know if there is a difference between UT (or Canada's) SOI and the SOP required by schools in the States, but if they are similar, then I feel that your SOI is extremely weak (I apologize for being rude/blunt).
I would suggest researching into the basic components of a SOP (for example, academic background, research background, career goals, and why UT in particular) and read some samples. In addition to stating your purposes, it is also to reflect your writing style; it should really be something that is polished over and over.
Typically, an SOP is around 2 pages in length, single spaced; but UT's requirements might be different. You should also avoid stating anything they already know, or can easily find out from your application.
Best of luck.
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United States16368 Posts
I am actually taking a break from writing my own SOP, so I'll offer some advice. This is how I would approach it.
My name is Zortch. At present, I am in my fourth and final year of my undergraduate studies in pure mathematics at The University of Western Ontario. I am interesting in pursuing a master’s in mathematics at The University of Toronto.
This entire paragraph offers no content. I would begin my essay with why I chose pure mathematics, why I find it interesting. After that, you can lead to your interest in pursuing a master's degree at UT. I would then follow that with why I want to do my master's at UT, what makes it a more suitable institute than the other 500 universities in North America.
I would like to pursue a master’s degree as further preparation towards a career as a professor. My interests lie mainly in the field of functional analysis. I would like to further study this topic and its branches. Through this I intend to sharpen my focus towards a specific area which I can pursue in a Ph. D program.
I think your interest in functional analysis is a good supportive point. You should expand on that idea and make your essay more forceful and memorable. Provide past experiences (academic/research) that exemplifies your claim. Any idiot can say they have a strong interest in field A, B and C; without proof, your statement is moot. Again, why do you think UT is the most suitable place for you.
After my first year I realised that I really wanted to study math. From then on took all of the math courses I could get into. I have maintained a very strong and consistent academic record throughout my studies. Furthermore I have shown good results in the William Lowell Putnam Competition, particularly in 2008 placing in the top 400 participants. I have held NSERC USRA’s the past two summers and will likely hold one this summer also. I worked closely with my supervisors both learning new material and assisting in research projects.
I would remove "consistent academic record" as they can easily observe that from your transcript. Unless you are not listing your placement on Putnam anywhere else on the application, I would remove that line as well. It's nice that you have a strong background in math, but keep in mind that you are applying for a master's in pure math. I would say majority of the applicants have "consistent academic record" and a decent placement on some competition. Since your achievements are not outstanding, it does not separate you from the masses who are applying. Instead of focusing on what you did in school, talking about your interests in relevant fields might be more helpful to make a more lasting impact.
I heard about The University of Toronto through its fantastic reputation. Your institution being home to many experts will provide a great environment for learning about mathematics and how research is conducted. Also, its reputation will attract the best students from Canada and the world. These are the people who I wish to study and work with during my degree. I hope to find them in Toronto.
Again, this is everything they already know. Some level of ass-kissing is expected in an SOP, but it has to be done very delicately. This is too blatant and I don't think they would actually appreciate it. I think it would be helpful to name some professors (definitely more than one because university politics can be scary) who are famous for some of the things you are interested in, and talk about the possibilities of working with them, etc. It shows that you have at least done some research.
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On January 14 2010 17:09 Cambium wrote:Show nested quote +
I heard about The University of Toronto through its fantastic reputation. Your institution being home to many experts will provide a great environment for learning about mathematics and how research is conducted. Also, its reputation will attract the best students from Canada and the world. These are the people who I wish to study and work with during my degree. I hope to find them in Toronto.
Again, this is everything they already know. Some level of ass-kissing is expected in an SOP, but it has to be done very delicately. This is too blatant and I don't think they would actually appreciate it. I think it would be helpful to name some professors (definitely more than one because university politics can be scary) who are famous for some of the things you are interested in, and talk about the possibilities of working with them, etc. It shows that you have at least done some research.
Unfortunately, as far as I know, UofT's functional analysis is .... mediocore.
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Now I am very confused.
The application says to submit a letter of intent or personal statement.
From what I have gathered online letters of intent are short, and quite straightforward while personal statements are long anecdotal stories about your life heh.
I plan on asking the grad chair at my school today if he has any insight but does anyone have any idea what is expected?
Maybe illu? 
Thanks for the suggestions and unfortunatly UoT math lists no requirements for the letter... T_T
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I only submitted one letter.
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oo thanks for the hold lurker, definitely gonna use this on toss's =]
it works wonders if you catch some marines on a ramp with hold lurker as well
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Yea, so I just applied to UofT grad school (chemistry), and for them it was a 1 page letter of intent. Have you logged on to the application system yet and clicked on the "letter of intent" button? Cause when I did that I got a list of instructions/guidelines that the chemistry department wanted. If not I would recommend to keep it short, approx 1 page, since I don't believe they are looking for a typical "Statement of Purpose" that is required for the majority of American universities.
I believe the letter/statement you provided requires significant improvement before you submit it (both grammatically/structure). I'm pretty busy now, but hopefully I can offer some advice shortly.
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Just used that hold lurker trick against a terran and got like 8 scvs. Thanks for the tip!
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Haha, just used that trick against my clanmate, got like 13 probes before he noticed. :D
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On January 15 2010 10:00 akevin wrote:
Yea, so I just applied to UofT grad school (chemistry), and for them it was a 1 page letter of intent. Have you logged on to the application system yet and clicked on the "letter of intent" button? Cause when I did that I got a list of instructions/guidelines that the chemistry department wanted. If not I would recommend to keep it short, approx 1 page, since I don't believe they are looking for a typical "Statement of Purpose" that is required for the majority of American universities.
I believe the letter/statement you provided requires significant improvement before you submit it (both grammatically/structure). I'm pretty busy now, but hopefully I can offer some advice shortly.
The registrar says to check with the department but the math department just says a letter of intent or personal statement heh.
Thanks for your input. It seems that I am atleast on the right track with the type of letter.
Don't worry much about the letter I posted in the OP that was basically just the ideas of things I wanted to say and has changed a fair bit since that version.
Thanks very much and good luck with your application!
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On January 15 2010 11:12 Zortch wrote:Show nested quote +On January 15 2010 10:00 akevin wrote:
Yea, so I just applied to UofT grad school (chemistry), and for them it was a 1 page letter of intent. Have you logged on to the application system yet and clicked on the "letter of intent" button? Cause when I did that I got a list of instructions/guidelines that the chemistry department wanted. If not I would recommend to keep it short, approx 1 page, since I don't believe they are looking for a typical "Statement of Purpose" that is required for the majority of American universities.
I believe the letter/statement you provided requires significant improvement before you submit it (both grammatically/structure). I'm pretty busy now, but hopefully I can offer some advice shortly. The registrar says to check with the department but the math department just says a letter of intent or personal statement heh. Thanks for your input. It seems that I am atleast on the right track with the type of letter. Don't worry much about the letter I posted in the OP that was basically just the ideas of things I wanted to say and has changed a fair bit since that version. Thanks very much and good luck with your application!
Good luck to you too. Maybe we will end up taking the same courses in fall =)
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In case you wanted this as a template/idea, these are the instructions which the chemistry department gives for the statement/letter. Probably a decent rough sketch of the things you should be talking about:
Letter of Intent Instructions
Submit your Letter of Intent via uploading the document to School of Graduate Studies Admissions On-Line application system.
A one page letter of intent about why you would like to pursue a graduate research program in chemistry. Include the following:
1. Future career goals
2. Specify field(s) of interest in chemistry: analytical, environmental, organic, biological, inorganic, experimental physics, theoretical, polymers & materials, nanochemistry, interdisciplinary. If known, include a list of faculty members whose research interests you.
3. Specific research direction (if any)
4. Research experience (if any)
Describe the scientific abilities that you have gained through your past research experience, including special projects, honours thesis and co-op reports. If you have relevant work experience, discuss the relevance of that experience to your proposed field of study/research and any benefits you gained from it.
5. Relevant activities
Describe your academic, professional and extracurricular activities that most demonstrate your communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills.
Examples of these include:
o oral presentations;
o mentoring;
o teaching;
o project management;
o chairing committees;
o organizing conferences or meetings;
o supervisory experience; and/or elected positions held and volunteer work.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/9033/scscrnshot011310224728.jpg)
