Application letter for Dutch University

Good evening to everyone!

I've just discovered this site which seems to be pretty useful, so I might as well take advantage of it given my situation.
I'm Marco, an Italian 22 years old guy, currently in the process of applying to a Bachelor's in chemistry at a Dutch University. I would like someone to please proofread the letter I've just written and give me feedback on the grammar, vocabulary, cohesion, etc.
I would also much appreciate an honest opinion about the letter itself, which I'm conscious might be a bit long, but somehow I couldn't manage to cut more than this.

Since there is no spoiler option I will just paste it here below. Thank you in advance for your reply.
__________

Dear Sirs and Madams,

I hope this letter will not only be the umpteenth, annoying document for you to examine, and I want to apologize in advance for its length. I have ultimately decided to write it because I did not want to leave the harsh task of talking about me to a name and a bunch of numbers written on a paper.
I prefere to be the one introducing myself.

I have heard the academic environment in the Netherlands is for the most part informal, therefore in this letter I will try to be honest and talk from my heart, leaving all the formalities to the other attached documents.

To begin with I would like to discuss what I think are the two main weaknesses of this application: one being my age and the other my not so high grades. I want to point out those are not due to a lack of potential or capabilities but only to my stubbornness in wanting to be in control of my future and to the great sense of exhaustion and unsatisfaction derived from being stuck in a frustrating situation for a long time, which progressively drew me into losing motivation and interest in school.
To better explain, let me bore you a little with some background.

Since when I was a child I have always been a student of my own kind and I have never felt too involved in school. Whereas my class-mates strove for high grades and appreciation from parents and teachers, I was more interested in learning new things and understanding how those actually worked at a deeper level. Epecially during high schools I had a really hard time finding a place where I could fit: I liked lots of things and I could do well in basically everything without much effort, although back then I was completely unaware of what I wanted to do.
I started in an arts school as I was very passionate about drawing, then switched to a more job-oriented school in graphic design, and after two years I eventually decided I wanted to invest in my education by getting into a Liceo (which would be your VWO). This decision cost me to lose three years of school as I had to start all over again from year one. Nonetheless I was determined to finally make full use of my potential and follow up with University studies.

Even in the new school, however, I still found most lessons to be boring, slow paced, simplistic and unengaging; teachers were still treating students like clueless little children, and students were passive and not used to debate. I had to deal with outdated teaching models, frontal lectures being the only activity taking place every day for five hours a day; no personal or group assignments, projects or research were given (you could only get repetitive, mechanical homework that teachers would not even check or give you feedback on) and laboratory classes were almost non-existent.
As an Italian student, you are only required to take notes, store in your short-term memory what has been said by the teacher or the book, repeat the exact words you have memorized on the test day, forget everything. Rinse and repeat.
The whole Education System in Italy is based more on the conveyance of concepts itself rather then on the learning process and the improvement of students' actual theoretical and practical abilities in all subjects, with no importance given to the pupils' development and zero freedom in tailoring the best suited curriculum to everyone's differences within the course of studies. No choices, responsibilities or independence are granted to the students, who are kept immature and unaware of themselves and keep on studying like they were moving on a rail path without knowing or questioning about the reasons that put them on those rails.
This has never worked well for me.

After gaining my diploma and doing months of investigation I came to my informed decision of continuing my studies in the Netherlands: a leading country in education and research, with a deep and distinctive culture and perfect geographic position for an enthusiastic traveller like me.
During the past few years I was able to overthink, experience and realize what I really want to do in my life: which is, now I know, being a scientist.
I am captivated by the excitement given by discovering something for the first time and never ceased being surprised by everything that is around me. I am eager to broaden my understanding of the world and its complex natural laws, while achieving the in depth knowledge and professional expertise needed to manipulate those laws in useful, productive and original ways.

The astonishing advancements made in the fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology lured my attention and made me particularly curious about the new avenues opening up in all industries and above all in medicine.
Being so excited about the nano-revolution that is probably going to take place within a few decades, I would love to earn an active role in it rather than being a passive spectator.
This is why I think a Bachelor's in Chemistry at Radboud University would be the right choice for me now and an excellent start in building a career as a succesful and passionate scientist. I feel a highly analytical yet creative mind like mine, joined with my natural tendency for thinking out of the box would be perfectly suited for a research environment, and I am also confident that having the possibility of studying and working along with affine people from all over the world under the guidance of top scientists would be of immense stimulus for my personal development and professional growth.

I strongly believe that studying abroad in an English taught program since from the start of my tertiary education will give its benefits in the long term, especially considering I will be studying in the scientific field and that I am willing to build for myself an international profile both as a professional and an academic; thus having the chance to perfect my English while learning a new additional language is a plus that makes me even more thrilled.

I have thoroughly thought about my plans for the future: after graduating in chemistry I would procede with a Master program in the track of nanomedicine (like the one Radboud University offers in the Chemistry for Life MSc) and a related PhD, gathering relevant work experience in the process.
I may consider trying to enter a graduate medical school at some point, as I would like in the future to be involved into advanced medical research in the specific sector of gerontology and geriatrics. Attaining a second degree in medicine would help me to better understand how what happens at the nano-scale relates to more complex organic surroundings and functions, and it would also expand my career prospects in the area of science I am most interested in.

In a 20 years time from now, I imagine myself working at the forefront of science, conducting independent research on the latest and most amazing discoveries in a full-fledged laboratory with other international world class doctors and scientists, while possibly running a small nano-biotech company as an entrepreneur.
Yes, I know, I am ambitious. But having far-reaching dreams and fantasizing about the future is probably the funniest part of being young and having a whole life to paint, right?

Please consider this application without giving too much weight to numbers, since numbers cannot picture my personality or mirror my actual knowledge, competence or potential.

As a serious, aware and determined young man, brave enough to leave his country and his past behind, motivated by great ambition and the desire to make up for the lost time, I am asking for a chance to shine.

I hope you will want to welcome me in the beautiful city of Nijmegen.

Yours faithfully,

Marco XXX