statement of purpose

I desire to pursue MS in Computer Science. My interests, aptitude, experience and education all sum up to provide firm grounds for this immediate career goal. I would like to gain profound knowledge in the field of Artificial Intelligence; other areas that interest me are Natural Language Processing and Analysis and Design of Algorithms.
My long-term goal is to pursue a career as a senior member of technical staff for AI-based solutions. I have a predilection towards developing software, coding and working large scale projects, but research attracts me a lot, programming and development using AI is the area I would like to work in. Working under the guidance of the distinguished researchers at Arizona State University I am confident of making a novel contribution in the field of Computer Science.

Throughout school as well as now, I have been at or near the top of my class. My academic and co-curricular record has been consistently good. I would like to stress most is the fact that I have been consistent in all academic or co-curricular (and even Extracurricular) tasks that I have undertaken. Having secured the 23rd place in Combined Entrance Text of Devi Ahilya University where more than twenty-thousand aspirants compete for admissions, I got the course I had long desired. Every lecture taught new and useful concepts. The unique five years "Master of Technology" program helped me gain a profound understanding of fundamental concepts like Database Management Systems and Design & Analysis of Algorithms. It also helped me hone my Software Engineering skills. With an overall score of 78.5%, I completed my degree.

The home paper I submitted under the guidance of Dr. Manju Suchdeo was based on exploring the contemporary breaches and bugs in popular e-commerce websites in India. For instance, I was able to detect bugs in quantity drop down of Philips and HP's official online stores, where a UI element could be manipulated to turn the price of an item in a negative number to decrease the total bill value. Currently, I am working on a paper presenting impact and analysis of ad-blocking in correspondence with Dr. Vivek Shrivastava. Anomalous and incomplete data captured in analytics while working for Samsung inspired me to take a deep understanding of the whole ad-blocking story.

My 30+ months' experience began when I was recruited in a US based IT company during my second last semester. Since joining, I have gone through a rigorous training program, which emphasizes practical application of concepts, followed by the onsite experience of working with a global client like Samsung. Samsung would periodically launch its flagship phones; this attracted numerous consumers on our site, which gave me a chance to build my expertise in the field of optimization and scaling. My enthusiasm for learning helped me in integrating and generating sales reports with web analytics tools like Google Analytics, developing homegrown Content Management System and integrating various Payment Gateways. My role as a software engineer boosted my confidence to apply concepts that I had studied in college.

I set goals and work hard to achieve them, after my 3rd semester in a couple of months only I learned badminton and practiced rigorously; within a year I was selected in the University Teaching Department sports team and won a bronze for the department. I also secured the second position in a dance competition in my college. Recently, I learned to skate which is quite risky in this age, but I succeeded because of my determination. These activities have trained me well to keep a consistent performance even when working under pressure. I believe that living a balanced life with some dedication to recreation is very important for one to keep up the motivation to accept new challenges in life; challenges like preparing for and getting the desired scores at once in GRE and TOEFL tests, self-studying in a limited time of two months with a very demanding project in hand.

During MS, I want to gain a profound understanding of AI concepts with a utilitarian goal of developing skills for working on code generation tools. I am determined to pursue research in this area. If I find myself capable of further research, I plan to pursue a Ph.D. setting aside my goals for working in the service industry because the satisfaction gained while working on something innovative exceeds the perks of a job in IT industry.

The MS program in Computer Science at the Arizona State University feels like a natural progression. It has a good blend of theoretical and practical knowledge that would ideally suit someone with my disposition towards learning. An exposure to cliques like Yochan Group & facilities like Software Research Lab and guidance of faculties like Dr. Kurt VanLehn and Dr. Subbarao Kambhampati would definitely help me advance my career towards my long term goal. Also, I relish the thought of taking in all this knowledge in a new country in the kind of vibrant atmosphere that the United States offers.
I put forward my application to your university with the promise that I shall be a reliable student with a positive attitude and a willingness to work in the atmosphere ASU offers.