HSPS Model Personal Statement
This is the model person statement of a successful Cambridge HSPS applicant.
In our economically, socially and politically interconnected world, cross-cultural sensitivity and understanding is a vital attribute for those studying and working internationally. How we interpret and react to people impacts not only how we function effectively as individuals, but also as global communities. For the past eleven years, I have been at international schools in both England and the United States. I have had the opportunity to interact with peers with different cultural values and experiences, a skill that is also paramount to understanding the many complex levels of global communication and interaction in international relations.
Through daily reading of The Economist and The Financial Times, the US-China trade war has caught my interest and driven my enthusiasm to discover more about international relations and in particular the international political economy. I have been gripped by how economics and international relations can be applied together to understand and analyse the complex nature of and motivations behind the trade war. Tim Marshall argues in 'Prisoners of Geography' that though the Chinese may be on their way to matching the US economically, "militarily and strategically they are decades behind." I agree with this and believe that one of the Unites States' agendas for the trade war is the maintaining of that gap.
Studying both economics and history through higher level IB courses has also allowed me to start to consider the many different approaches to global affairs. For instance, I have been able to apply my knowledge of micro and macroeconomics to better understand aspects of the global oil market. There are a multitude of economic and political factors affecting the oil market and subsequently, I chose to focus on this in my internal assessment. It is fascinating to explore how oil, as the world's most important commodity, has tremendously influenced the West's involvement in the Middle East, particularly in its reaction to human rights abuses in the region. Most shockingly, the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi sparked international outrage but little concrete action against Saudi Arabia, despite clear evidence that it was ordered by senior Saudi officials; this makes sense only through an understanding of the political and economic reality of the West's oil dependence.
Over the past four years, I have been involved in my school's Model United Nations club, which has nurtured my interest in global issues. During one debate on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, we touched on the re-emerging conflict between authoritarianism and the West, specifically in terms of Russia's foreign policy. This inspired me to attend a lecture at the LSE by former BBC Moscow correspondent Bridget Kendall on Putin's threat to the liberal world order, and from there to participate in a week-long International Relations Debate Chamber course, where I learned about some of the primary theories and concepts used in the field of international relations. The week flew by because it was so thought- provoking to see my interests in economics, modern history and global affairs come together to provide a greater understanding of the problems we investigated.
I have the intellectual drive necessary to succeed but also the time management and organisational capabilities to back that up. Being a key member of a school society that raises money and awareness for important causes such as domestic violence, as well as having played ice hockey at club level and for the south west of England (training four times a week), has meant I have had to be disciplined with my focus to maintain my academic studies while being fully committed to my teammates. I am excited to have the opportunity to turn that focus to international relations full time.
