Statement of Purpose for CS (SUNYB)
Following is a sample SOP for CS (SUNYB):
I still remember the day when I received the 1st prize at “Tatva Convergence 2011”from over 200 entrants for the web idea, BOOK MY FOOD, an application that facilitates online ordering of food from various hotels in Mumbai. Given its appreciation, I decided to develop a mobile application for the Android platform. While I have not completed the application yet, the planning of the user interface and experience, delving into reference books and programming has ignited an interest in Mobile Computing. In this regard, I would like to pursue a Masters in Computer Science to obtain a holistic perspective of various aspects of mobile computing, including human-computer interaction, networking, programming, security, etc. My short-term goal is to work on mobile development projects in firms such as Apple, Google, etc. In the long run, I see myself applying my knowledge and experience to become a successful entrepreneur for developing customized applications for mobile phones and tablets in the fields of banking, education, knowledge development, insurance and financial planning, etc.
A natural aptitude for Science & Mathematics, analytical ability, and capacity for meticulous work helped me to outshine in all academic areas. I secured myself a seat in Computer Science Engineering in one of the reputed colleges, K. J. Somaiya College of Engineering, affiliated to Mumbai University. My journey towards achieving my goals started here. My dedication and interest for the subjects helped me to secure distinction throughout my college studies with an aggregate of 73.28%, which helped me to stand among the top 7% of 140 students. My undergraduate subjects helped me to strengthen my concepts in developing algorithms, human-computer interface, networking, etc. Projects such as developing Screensavers and Games like Pacman, etc. have honed my programming skills in various languages, including Java and C++. My undergraduate curriculum has thus laid a solid foundation in the various aspects of computer science that will be necessary to excel in graduate school.
Besides the undergraduate program, I have completed a number of courses related to mobile computing such as Android Development, Oracle Certified Java Professional (OCJP), J2SE (JDBC-Java Database Connectivity, AWT, and Swing) and J2EE (Servlets, JSP-Java Server Pages, and EJB-Enterprise Java Beans).To demonstrate my adeptness and creativity, I participated in competitions like “CODE COMBAT- java debugging” at “Abhiyantriki 2010, wherein I secured first prize out of100students. In addition, I have participated in various workshops and seminars such as ethical Hacking, Android Development, Flex, etc.to keep myself up-to-date with the latest trends in technology. All these co-curricular activities have further increased my resolve to enter into the field of Computer Science with a specialization in mobile computing.
My final year project is to implement a personalized web search for a newspaper application. In this project, together with two other peers, we have planned to extend personalized news service to different open source web browsers. We have formulated and researched various personalized web search algorithms which uses User Profile, Fuzzy concept network with Link Structure, and Personalized page rank. We have created an extension for Google Chrome as a prototype to test the process of Personalization. Every time when user opens this extension in the browser a popup window will open and display the latest news. We intend to use following technologies for actual implementation JS, JSON, Ajax, and JSP. The project has helped me to understand how to target websites for advertisement, promote products, personalize news feeds and provide appropriate advice. In the future I wish to implement such personalization in Mobile Learning. This experience has further whetted my appetite to exploit the field of mobile computing.
With a goal to sharpen my programming skills, I interned for five months with Property Hunters, a company involved in the real estate business. I was involved in developing an intranet application for their business operations. The web application was implemented using MVC structure and the technologies used were JSP and Servlets for server-side processing and MS-Access as back end. Working as well as attending college has improved my time management skills and team building skills.
The undergraduate program, outside courses and internship has made me realize that continuous progress is the key to life. In order to expand my horizons, a Masters degree from SUNY BUFFALO with a specialization in Mobile Computing appears to be the most logical progression as it would be a perfect platform to launch my career. Working with faculty members like _________, _______, etc will provide me insight into ____________. I would love to actively participate in research programs such as “Living Analytics”, and “User-Controllable Security & Privacy for Pervasive Computing”.
Besides research, I wish to a part of the Computer Club, Cricket Club, etc. at SUNY and contribute in my own small way to the diverse and global student body. During the undergraduate program, I have represented my college at a state level by participating in Project Exhibition competition at “Prakalpa 2011” organised by ISTE & Entrepreneurship Development Cell (EDC). I have also been the member of the Computer Society of India (CSI) Students’ Chapter, and Infra & Security where I have organized and volunteered for many inter-college festival events (attended by 5000 people). Working with the underprivileged youth as part of the Youth for Change program in Mumbai has been an invigorating experience. I hope to continue my work with the less fortunate in the surrounding of Buffalo.
The department’s mission statement, “To lead in Computer Science research and education that has real-world impact”, is consistent with my belief. I am confident that I will uphold the reputation of university and become a strong brand ambassador for the program after graduation. I hope the Admission Committee shares my enthusiasm and provides me admission. I look forward to being part of the Fall ____ incoming class.
