I write to apply for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Studies at the University of Washington. I am a transfer student who is currently pursuing an Associate Degree, Architecture major at Bellevue College. I am expecting to complete it within the next two months. I have a brilliant academic record that has enabled me to distinguish myself as a highly resourceful student. My educational path and choices are to study Urban Studies after finishing Architecture. My turning point to get interested in studying Architecture and later Urban Studies is that I have always been inspired by Urban or City Planners from all over the world. This situation had a highly significant impact on my academic progress as well as my curricular choice.
After moving to Seattle in the US, I had extremely little knowledge pertaining to the English language. As a result, attending a bilingual school referred to as Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center (SBOC) was significant. Today, the bilingual school is referred to as Seattle World School. In this school, I studied English for one year. After I completed my studies at the Secondary Bilingual Orientation School, I joined Ingraham High School in Seattle where I schooled for four years. The time I was in High School made me make some significant steps in terms of mastering English as well as acquiring more experience. Additionally, I possess a lot of leadership experience in high school in the US. As a freshman, I had the ability to become a Chinese club member. During my junior year, I was able to become the Vice-President of the club. During my senior year, the members of the club elected me as their President. In terms of my volunteer experience, I was able to get a volunteer job at the Chinese Information and Service Center (CISC).
I want to leave my current university program of study at Bellevue College. This is because I strongly believe that a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Studies at the University of Washington will provide me with the foundation that I need. I am interested in studying urban society as well as cities from various perspectives. These include physical, historical, social, environmental, political as well as economic. The curriculum of the program addresses urban challenges as well as issues by the incorporation of courses from numerous other areas of academics. I am highly interested in the curriculum of the University of Washington because it has enough flexibility of allowing students or scholars to emphasize specific areas that they are interested in. I strongly believe that my new program of study will offer me the opportunity of having the requisite expertise as well as skills for pursuing or entering various career paths.
I am highly interested to major in a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Studies. One of my career aspirations is to get an employment opportunity as a city or urban planner. I am also interested to get an administrative position in public management or city government. I would also want to have a career with various corporations of community development. Other sectors that I would want to work in include working with non-governmental organizations, transportation, consulting firms as well as private-sector jobs. I am highly interested to enter my intended major at this time. I chose this major because it will be excellent in preparing me for other studies such as design, urban planning, law, and public administration. The type of career that I am most likely to pursue after finishing my education is the city or urban planning. The University of Washington will help me attain my academic career and personal goals by providing me with the necessary learning environment to pursue my degree course.
Culture has had an impact on my life and I have learned a lot about society and myself as a result. I am a second language speaker because I am an immigrant from China. I am also the first generation with a college background. I moved to the US after finishing my middle school in China, and English is my second language. Adapting to the culture of the US was not an easy task when I moved to the country. What I have learned is that living in a culture that is new is highly personally rewarding, exhilarating as well as intellectually stimulating. However, I have tried as much as possible to maintain my Chinese culture because I attach a lot of sentimental value to it. My cultural history has enriched and challenged me to safeguard it even when I interact with people of other cultures.
My personal challenge or hardship has been the language barrier in the US since English is my second language. My education challenge has been learning the English language because it is the official language of instruction across all educational institutions in the US. Another personal challenge that I have been facing since I came to the US has been trying to understand the culture of its people. I have come to realize that the American culture is quite different from the Chinese culture, which I have always been used to. Getting adapted to the food that is available in the US has also been a significant challenge. I also have had a delicate balancing act between my work as well as education because I had the opportunity of getting a part-time job.
Another significant challenge that I have been facing in the US has been financial hardships. Life in the US is extremely expensive for foreigners since the living standards are high. In addition, US education is extremely expensive, particularly to foreigners. I have been able to be involved in research activities concerning my current field of study. This has had a significant contribution to my academic, career, and personal goals. I would really appreciate being given a chance of studying at the University of Washington because of the quality of education it offers and its cultural diversity, which will work well for me being a foreigner. It would be my sincere gratitude if my application is taken into consideration.