OXFORD motivational letter

Dear forum users, I would really appreciate your help.

As I am not a native speaker, I want to ask you to read my motivational letter for my application for graduate studies in Oxford. I want to do matehmatical finance. The letter should be one page long and I want it to be as precise as possible. What do you think about it?

Thanks a lot for investing time to help me!


„We have to prepare for the unexpected, as the world is changing rapidly and as we will be confronted with those changes that might threaten our societies, even peace.“ This sentence has been stuck in my head for a while now, ever since I heard it from Jean Claude Trichet at his speech at my university this summer. His demand for a reevaluation and extension of existing market models by bringing economists and physicists together in order to combine skills and prevent future crises, inspired me of how I can use my scientific background to take an active part in forming the German economy, of how I can contribute to our society and to my country. Listening to the the former scientist and back then president of the ECB left me wanting for a deep theoretical understanding of the financial world, which is still far from being fully understood and even further from being predictable. Yet it has an influence on our economy and consequently on our society, and a political importance as few other things. Looking back, the day I listened to Mr. Trichet was a turning point in my career path. I want to use my analytical and communicational aptitude to gain a theoretical understanding of the function and functionality of financial markets, become an expert in finance and risk management as well as take part in the development of our future society by supporting the German economy realize ambitious projects calling for sophisticated financing, by contributing scientific insights to the theory of finance, and hence, by supporting it to prepare for the unexpected.

In order to achieve this goal, I want to study at an excellent university that offers me a perfectly fit program and concentrates on the mathematical models that underline the theory of finance because I have always been fascinated by using mathematics as a means of solving problems. The course components should include probability theory, stochastic calculus, advanced theory of partial stochastic and differential equations as well as computational methods, and apply it to the financial markets theory. In addition, the program should prepare for a successful career in the industry and give first insights in risk management, which interests me in particular because of its essentiality for any successful strategy. Because the University of Oxford offers just that program, it is my first choice for graduate studies. The Master of Mathematical and Computational Finance fulfills all of my selection criteria and additionally provides exceptional academic excellence, first class facilities and supervision as well as a thrivingly intellectual community that I would love to be part of.

My academic background in physics will enable me to use my analytical strength in order to construct sophisticated models by comprehending a complex structure, disaggregating it into its distinct parts, selecting all important aspects and aggregating them to a realistic as possible depiction of the original structure. My extensive quantitative skills in stochastic, analysis, calculus, partial differential equations, probability theory and statistics will help me develop the mathematical background of those models. My courses in programming and algorithm structures will enable me implement those models and my ability to communicate and reason will enforce my work.

In order to expose myself to quantitative finance before coming to Oxford, I will do an internship at Deutsche Bank Risk Analytics in Frankfurt and write my dissertation about mathematical methods used in quantitative finance, under the supervision of Prof. XXX, who is internationally renowned the field high precision numerics.
In the past, I have not only learned but also proven to be able to think and work analytically, master new situations and cope with tasks in a structured approach. Moreover, I have gained important social competences through my extracurricular activities in university politics and administration, through working together with people of diverse backgrounds in the Students' Parliament and organizing university events for the General Students' Committee. With theses competences I feel prepared to succeed in graduate studies ar the University of Oxford.

I appreciate your taking the time to review my credentials and would be more than happy to be invited to a personal interview.

Sincerely,