It seems like yesterday when all my friends from the neighborhood gathered around to have a glimpse of my first Pentium machine. The arrival of my first “gaming machine,” eleven years ago, at the age of 11, was a watershed experience. Soon, my father would help me to realize how the computer is much more than just a gaming entity; how it is changing even some of the most fundamental ways in which we live. In addition to English, Hindi, and Kannada, I also share Tulu as a language with my father. It is an ancient dialect that is only spoken, the script having been lost. We hope to help recover it someday.
 Information systems are the sustenance of my life. I feel enormously happy to have the privilege of working in an area of such central and critical importance to human and economic development. I hope to assist humanity at large, but especially my Indian people in preparing themselves for greater levels of participation in the 21^st century global economy. I long to contribute as much as I can to making the world a better place to live through automation at the same time that we generate employment opportunities. My long term goal is to lead and develop my own software firm dedicated to providing solutions through automation. I also would like very much to have the great privileges of doing research and teaching at some point in my career. I always stay very busy with several simultaneous, ongoing projects. I am application oriented and theory driven. Since I set the highest standards for myself, I fully expect to excel in your program, especially since I have an excellent academic foundation upon which to build.

 I have a profound love for the nature of systems that I have cultivated since childhood. My world lit up like a pinball machine when I first connected two computers through a cross wired Ethernet cable and a hub; especially when I changed the network settings and pinged the two devices together (for multiplayer gaming over lan). From that moment forward, Information system theory and application became my exclusive, permanent lifelong addiction and computer science engineering was a natural choice for my college major. I increasingly came to realize that the application of electronics in general and computers in particular were gateways for rapid induction into the future. Thus my thirst for doing substantive work on the very frontier of cutting-edge development in our field has led me to apply to your program. I would be especially honored be admitted to such a well established as a state-of-the-art institution where I will be empowered to stay abreast of the applications of tomorrow.

 I very much enjoyed performing a series of mini projects during my first years of undergraduate studies, mainly using c and c++ and I soon became captivated by the versatility of programming languages, bursting with entrepreneurial ambitions in the development of affordable solutions to common problems, driving progressive change. I was especially pleased to complete my degree through the development of a prepaid electricity bill payment system designed to overcome the major problems associated with the current system of billing in my home state of  Karnataka. The project was divided into two parts, the client side and the server side . The client side unit would be present at the customer’s house and the server(s) at the state electricity board and other retail units spread across the city. Global System for mobile communication (GSM) was the underlying technology used. The client side implementation mainly consisted of programming the AT89S52 microcontroller using embedded C. The server side programming was done using java (JDK 6.0).

 Although the project was successful at implementing the required user functionality and serving the purpose it was built for (providing added advantages like reduction in power theft and meter tampering, as well as improved operational efficiencies. I still face major hurdles, however, taking my payment plan forward for the level of real world implementation. In fact, there challenges helped to inspire me to apply to your program where I will develop the skills that I will need for a lifetime of program development.

 I wish to pursue the M.S in Business Information Systems at XXXX University so that I will have the optimal platform for the pursuit of my dreams. My central interests lie at the intersection of information systems and the business world. I am drawn to your program in particular by your broad range of both course content and electives. My most specific interest lies in the area of databases and web and multimedia business application. My interest is so keen that all of my professors as well as my family has encouraged me to pursue graduate study in this area. My father has offered to provide the necessary financial support to realize my aspirations.

 I am accustomed to building teaming up with colleagues, especially those with more advanced studies than my own, on the development of projects that went above and beyond course requirements. One such project we referred to as “LOCATION HIDING”. The project was developed to protect the server-less file systems against attacks by using LocationGuard -a location hiding technique for securing overlay file systems from target file attacks. This helped me to become more familiar with network security as well as honing my programming skills. I am currently working on an android application.

 I have also been preparing for enrollment in your program by taking several courses online through MIT. The lectures have been exciting and deeply thought provoking. An optional course that I attended on Entrepreneurship in my engineering college taught by an IIMB professor was also a salient experience with respect to my dedication to the business world. I worked especially hard during the 6^th and 7^th semesters of my undergraduate studies, especially since my grandfather died. I myself became quite ill in my 7^th semester to such and extent that I was unable to take several final exams. Bouncing back from this illness, however, has made me much stronger, both intellectually and emotionally.

 My parents played a major role in making me who I am. It was my father who inspired me to build my own full HD projector at one-tenth the cost of what was available commercially. I have a flair for technical and electronic gadgets. As an avid reader of technical magazines like DIGIT and ELECTRONICS FOR YOU, I thrive on the problem solving aspect of electronic circuits. My other interests include chess and table tennis and I have had the honor and privilege of representing my school and college in many inter-school and inter-college table tennis tournaments. I am aware of the rigors and challenges of your program; yet I believe that I have the adequate motivation, preparation and driving force to meet your rigorous requirements. I especially admire the work of Professors XXXX and XXXX. I have already been interacting with XXU students and alumni and I long to become fully engaged in the rich diversity of the XXU experience.