Statement of purpose suggestion

Hi there, i'm applying for a masters in Europe. Could you give me some feedback on my statement of purpose? Also grammar corrections are very welcomed!

Thanks!!! =D

Dear Sir/Madam

A vivid image of the first time I visited Europe stands out on my mind; I was 10 and it was the Netherlands, where I lived for a year. The integration of the city’s transportation with its land use, the orderly layout of the streets, the neat bicycle lanes and the bold design of the interurban trains made me realize that transportation did not necessarily need to be associated with disorder and chaos, as it sometimes is in South America. My fascination with this aspects of city design led me to start drawing little city diagrams on cardboard paper. This was the beginning of my love affair with urban transportation.

I went on to study civil engineering where are I had flirtations with the many areas of the discipline but transportation was always my top favorite. The course I took on transportation systems confirmed my interest and aptitude for the subject: I achieved a 90% mark. After I graduated, I took a gap year to travel. Once back, I started to read some books and attend conferences in the area to confirm my interest in pursuing further specialization. The topic of urban mobility, specifically, draws my attention. I appreciate its involvement with urban geography and city planning and the role it plays in a city’s economic health and livability. One particular book that I enjoyed reading was Transportation for Livable Cities by Vukan Vuchic; I learned about the hidden costs of automobiles that society ends up paying and the direct relationship of transportation with urban form.

Soon after I my first years of university, I started to plan to study a semester abroad; Norway was the country I chose. I shared an apartment with an Angolan, a Pakistani, and a Chinese. We had to organize ourselves to care of the place, such as creating a cleaning schedule that would please everybody. This and other similar situations prepared me to face multicultural environments, such as the one in xxx university.

Towards the end of my degree, I had my first encounter with proper scientific research: the making of my thesis. My research topic was location theory; more specifically, it was a case study on the ideal location for a polymer manufacturer in Brazil. I really enjoyed the moments I spent investigating through scientific journals and the process of writing in itself brought me great joy. In the end, my thesis received good appraisement and a mark of 85%. It makes me proud that today it used as a study reference for the course of Industrial Planning in my university.

However, not all was roses and flowers, in the beginning of the program I lacked sufficient maturity to deal with the demanding subjects of physics and calculus, which lead to some poor performances in some of these. However, as I grew older so did the way I approached my studies, the upwards trend in my grades from the 6th semester onwards reflects this. In the last three years, I averaged a mark of 8.3 out of 10.0, including a 10.0 in my exchange program semester.

Additionally, since part of my childhood education was in the United States and in the Netherlands (at an English school), I consider myself fluent in the English language. Unfortunately, my TOEFL score does not reflect this. I made the bad judgment that, since I considered myself fluent, it was not necessary to prepare much for the test. Obviously, this proved itself a very bad approach, and I had difficulty finishing the test on time. I took home a valuable lesson of humility. Moreover, my English skills where put to good test not only during my stay in Norway, where I attended classes in English, but also during the three months I worked at a California ski resort. I had to deal directly with American customers and be prepared to answers their questions. This also greatly strengthened my interpersonal skills.

One of the reasons I am attracted towards studying at xxx university and yyy city, is the city’s position as a reference in urban transportation. The city tackles the issue of urban mobility not only from the supply side but also by managing transportation demand. By concentrating high-density urban development around public transit-stations and promoting mixed land use, the city reduces its automobile dependency and makes it friendly for pedestrians and cyclists. I can only imagine what I can learn by living in this environment. Moreover, the curriculum of the course is very appealing. The inclusion of a module in sustainable transportation shows that the program is in line with current paradigm shift from car to transit oriented cities. Moreover, the excursions to German transportation systems and the mandatory internship shows its practical outlook.

After completing the masters in transportation systems, I would like to work in a transportation-consulting firm such as the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), perhaps on the implementation of BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) in the developed world. I also consider the possibility of continuing my studies and pursuing a PhD since doing research is one my passions.

Expertise in transportation systems will allow me to pursue a career where I can exercise my creativity and design solutions to the challenges of urban mobility that cities will face in this century, in a very similar way to the streets of the cities I designed in cardboard paper as kid in the Netherlands. I would like to take up the challenge; a master’s degree in Transportation Systems will give me the knowledge and skills to succeed at it.

Yours faithfully,

xxxx