How To Use Your Intended Major, Admission Essay Example

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.

I intend to major in Economics, especially Environmental Economics. My interest in this field emerged after I visited my father’s factory in Shengze, China. In stark contrast to the tranquil environment that I remembered since I was there five years ago, Shengze had become a skyscraping city surrounded with smoggy air. I was disappointed at China’s over-emphasis on economic development, which I believe came at the considerably high opportunity cost of forgoing sustainable development. This inspired me to pursue a degree in Economics so that I can help in striking a balance between the economic progress and environmental sustainability of my country.

Aside from my visionary perspective, my passion motivates me to organize many projects aimed at making significant positive impact on my constituents. As vice-president of SIFE business club at DVC, I launched a two-month “Going Green Project” just last year. It started off with a discussion forum about helping businesses reduce costs by minimizing usage of disposable containers. There was also an “Outing Day” where our club visited stores in downtown Pleasant Hill to promote the importance of being friendly to the environment in conducting business practices. From this project, I realized that there is an intimate relationship between the environment and the economy. Reducing the usage of styrofoam can help the environment as well as the economy by minimizing deadweight loss.

The experience I narrated exemplifies my motto that “the greatest failure comes from not trying”. I am confident in realizing my dream of reforming China into a sustainable, developed country because I strongly believe that success comes from daring to dream. In support of this, rather than taking a safe path of joining a large-scale, popular business club like the PBL, I chose to commit myself to the newly established SIFE. Despite the risk of having no members, I dared to take the responsibility of being the club’s president this year as I was confident I could make a difference in the club with the leadership skills that I possess. Noticing that the crucial factor in recruiting members was to build the brand name of the club, I created internship opportunities which were scarce and highly in demand with students. Being an international student with no connections, many thought that my internship idea was impossible. Yet with my persistence, I succeeded in persuading some companies which included Waddell & Reed and Farmers in providing internships for our members. With innovative ideas, I significantly increased the membership of the club from less than 10 to over 70 registered members. Furthermore, I successfully increased our club’s revenue from around 200 to over 500 dollars. I realized that establishing brand names is a milestone in the success of companies in the world market.

Clearly, my experiences show that I am a visionary leader. I set goals and gather support to accomplish them. In general meetings with members, I proposed a project to increase the school’s revenue by introducing a credit card programme that could enable the school to share in the profits of a credit card company. I approached and am now cooperating with the Foundation Office of DVC to launch the programme.

With deep enthusiasm in Economics and the goal of creating a balance in economic and environmental developments, I hope to address the importance of sustainability in China. I believe that my education in University of California will best equip and prepare me to accomplish this goal.