For Admission to UCSD - Personal Statement Example

I did not have the usual experiences that children have. I never asked my mom to buy anything special for me because I knew how hard she was working just to put food on the table. During middle school, when my mom gave me lunch money each day, I chose not to buy anything. In fact, when I came home, I put the money back into her purse without her knowing about it. When I was 14 year-old, I found my first job doing construction work. As soon as I finished school, I grabbed a quick bite to eat and went straight to my job; I wouldn’t get home until 11 p.m. While I was there, I mopped, painted, and operated jackhammers and drills to break up concrete.

The job was physically hard; at times I was left with dry blood around my finger nails. Moreover, my feet hurt so bad due to the cheap shoes I was wearing, but I did not let my mom notice how difficult life was for me. I did not give up on my schoolwork because school was incredibly important to me. The reason is that I wanted something better for my family! I did not want my would-be kids to experience what I did. However, attaining an education in Baghdad was difficult due to the limited resources we had; there were no internships, field trips, labs, technology, or anything like that.

To make it even worse, the standard of education deteriorated after the war because everyone was scared to go to school; even the teachers did not care about their students. I had no choice but to come to the United States to seek for a better future. When I was 16, I heard about the UN refugee agency. I applied right away and explained that I wanted a better future. As soon as I realized that I might be coming to the United States, I began improving my English skills; I started working twice as hard in school.

A couple of years after I made an application to the UN refugee agency, I was accepted and received a flight appointment. I first came to the U.S. in 2009. In two months after I arrived I got my first job where I was eventually promoted to the position of manager. After this, I was able to buy my first car and put some money aside for my savings. The reason why I am writing this personal statement to apply to UCSD is because I want to accomplish the dream that I have always wanted for myself and my family.

Coming to the U.S. was the proudest moment in my life; it helped give me a different perspective on things. Furthermore, it made me see how important education is. I now have confidence in myself and I realize that I can do anything in this world: there is nothing that I cannot achieve. What is your intended major? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had in the field - such as volunteer work, internships and employment, participation in student organizations and activities - and what you have gained from your involvement.

Ever since I was a small child wandering around aimlessly at the clinic of our neighborhood dentist, I found myself constantly gazing at the anatomical diagram of the human body that hung on the front door. This was the same diagram that all the other kids were scared to look at. All that blood, flesh, and bones did not intimidate me; it actually perked up my interest. I have always been extremely fascinated by the human body and how it functions. After the war began in Baghdad in 2003, there were a couple of explosions in the neighborhood next to my family. These