美国的卡耐基-梅隆大学(Carnegie Mellon University)是一所美国顶尖名校，各科综合排名多在Top10。它的计算机专业排名一直处于全美Top1，而它的商学院的MIS专业排名则是Top2，仅次于麻省理工学院(MIT Sloan)。大多数中国计算机专业的学生在申请时都会望而却步，觉得是可望不可及。其实在我们过去咨询的客户中有很多看上去很普通的学生都去了像卡耐基-梅隆这样的顶尖名校，在这里，“顶尖名校”特指美国US News排名前10的学校，只要有相关领域科研背景足够丰富，学习方向和动机足够明确，申请到美国顶尖名校并非不
可能。下面我以一个案例来说明一下顶尖名校的PHD申请中，Personal Statement的写作。
吴畏，本科毕业于北京一所普通科技院校的计算机学院，本科成绩一般，只有3.24，由于大一下学期生病休学，大二时的成绩尤其差，大部分课程都是60-70分；毕业后在一个InfoTech公司做了两年的数据库编程工作；托福610，TWE4分，GRE 2070。吴畏立志要去一个好的学校读计算机的PHD，大学成绩和GRE成绩成了他的一个心病。我和他详细交谈后却发现他的背景其实还是很强的，大学时曾经跟教授做过神经网络(Neutral Network)应用方面的课题，而工作后主要从事数据库编程，做过两三个大的项目，包括为光大证券建立Data Warehouse，为国家安全部设计Oracle数据库系统，这些都是可圈可点的亮点；大学二年级成绩低主要由于大一生病休学，大二要把大一落下的课程全部补齐，这从另外一角度看也是他克服困难和挑战的一个人生亮点。在我的建议下，他把主要精力放在科研经验和教授的推荐信上，重点申请卡耐基-梅隆大学的计算机系的Database方向的PHD。下面是他在Personal Statement中针对上面两点的论述节选，我认为这是该校给予他全奖录取的主要原因。
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But perhaps the greatest challenge I faced during my undergraduate years was being struck by a serious illness as a freshman. Often bed-ridden and unable to attend class, it was extremely difficult for me to keep up with my schoolwork. At one point, when my health was particularly poor, I became discouraged and worried that I would not be able to stay in school. But drawing upon courage and optimism that I didn't know I had, I rose to the occasion and was able to continue studying on my own. My own fascination with my chosen field of study spurred me and in one year, I was able catch up on all of the courses I had missed due to my illness. During this time, I even passed the College English Test - Band 6, a test designed for graduate students in college. The struggle that I faced during this time taught me the importance of determination even in the face of life's greatest challenges.
In the same year, I surprised my professors by demonstrating an early ability to conduct research independently. Unaided, I decided to research the relationship between the arithmetic mean and geometric mean. After fully exploring the relationship on my own, I wrote a paper on my findings. My college professors were particularly impressed by this work as I had taken it upon myself to pursue a difficult topic of study simply because it interested me.
Of all of my advanced courses, I found Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Artificial Neutral Network (ANN) particularly intriguing. When it came time to choose our thesis topics, I did not hesitate to decide to study ANN further. My senior thesis programmed vivid code to demonstrate how the process of ANN works. My thesis advisor was so satisfied with the final outcome of my work that she decided to use it when teaching younger classes. This success, and my own thirst for computer programming, has encouraged me to pursue more advanced research in computer science.
During the course of my thesis research, I came to an important realization about the state of computer science scholarship today. In my opinion, too many scholars rely upon other's work, without first confirming that it is correct. While writing a program to simulate the TSP (traveling salesman problem), I came across a stumbling block. When I programmed according to the algorithm and parameters in my research material, I discovered that only one set of input could be programmed in this way, the set of input given in the book. As stated in the material, all inputs should be applicable. Not only was this true in one book, but I found the same mistake in numerous other materials. Apparently, a number of scholars had copied this information indiscriminately, without first checking its accuracy. I found this to be discouraging and determined to always diligently verify the accuracy of my research information.
Upon graduating from college, I decided that the next step for my career was to gain some practical programming experience. Consequently, I took a position at ABC Great Infotech Company. Here, I joined a team working on building a data warehouse for Everbright Securities, China's largest securities corporation. Working on this team, I had the opportunity to learn many things including multi-dimensional cube, OLAP, and data-mining. After just four months, our team successfully completed its project and I went on to work on a second data warehouse project, this time for People's Insurance Company of China. This second project gave me a chance to build upon my experience in data warehousing, and I enjoyed it immensely.
While our customers were extremely happy with my team's work product, I became more and more discouraged. As I dug deepersintosthis area, I began to realize that our knowledge of data warehousing was extremely limited, and that there were a number of problems in our work. I was particularly interested in discovering how to build a practical data warehouse that fits every enterprise according to its particular situation. Just as I began to feel disheartened by my own and my colleagues' inability to solve this problem, our team accepted an invitation to attend a training session given by several large American companies, including IBM and Oracle. I found this training session extremely beneficial and realized that programmers have a much more solid grasp of data warehouse technology in the U.S. than in China. This realization thoroughly renewed my determination to go to America.
在美国顶尖名校的PHD申请中，真正重要的东西是你的Research经验，包括大学中和老师在实验室做科研的经历，老师的相关推荐以及你在Personal Statement中对自己经验的论述，就是说，Personal Statement其实应该叫作Research Statement，是顶尖名校申请中最重要的因素。顶尖名校的PHD录取一般不会太看重你的GPA和GRE成绩，虽然进入顶尖名校的学生GPA和GRE平均成绩很高，但录取他们的主要原因是他们有很强的科研背景。
以上的节选只是吴畏Personal Statement的一部分。一般来说，申请PHD的Personal Statement和申请Master的不同，要详细论述你做过什么科研，希望在什么领域做科研，以及你为什么喜欢做科研，文中至少要包括以下四个部分：一、你感兴趣的领域和感兴趣的原因，最好能提及对哪几个导师的领域感兴趣。这样，学校就可以决定由那几个教授来审阅你的申请。当然，这并不意味着如果你被录取，就一定要做该领域的研究；二、详细论述你做过的科研项目，你用的是什么科研方法，有什么发现和收获，如果没有解决问题，那是什么原因等等，这是Personal Statement的重点；三、你为什么需要PHD教育，你有什么职业目标(注意，一般PHD教育的目标就是培养大学的教授和实验室的科研人员)，这就要和你的科研经历和人生其他经历联系起来；四、你为什么选择这所学校，如Carnegie-Mellon University什么导师的研究领域你最感兴趣，为什么，你读过该校出版的科研论文吗，该校又能给予你什么？等等。对于顶尖名校的理工科PHD申请来说，这样的Personal Statement正是他们所需要的。这些都是高度个性化的东西，一个人可以做过相类似的科研项目，也可以读过相同的科研论文，但是每个人却有不同的理解，而Personal Statement的重点就在于你的独特角度和理解。(本刊特约撰稿/冯常军）
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