the federal bureau of investigation by Sydney

the federal bureau of investigation by Sydney - December 2015 Scholarship Essay

As a society, we have a somewhat sickening fascination with criminals and lawbreakers. You can find evidence of this obsession within many aspects of pop-culture, including music, books, and, most prominently, television. Many of the most popular shows on right now are shows that deal with catching and persecuting criminals. Criminal Minds, Bones, Law and Order, NCIS – all of these shows make a spectacle of arresting wrongdoers. I grew up watching these shows – this is likely where my interest in forensic psychology developed. When I was younger, I thought looking at clues and uncovering evidence was the only way to catch the bad guy. But through a little research and interaction with actual forensic psychologists, I began to learn that many criminals follow the same patterns of thinking when committing a crime, and I fell in love with the subject and the ideas surrounding it.
In ten years, I see myself pursuing a graduate degree – I intend to become a doctor of psychology. I will be working in the FBI, helping analyze and understand the patterns of different crimes and how to prevent them from happening again. Although it will likely not happen in ten years, I eventually plan on becoming the first female director of the FBI, and helping change how police officers and FBI agents profile criminals to make their arrest records more accurate – that is, reduce the number of incorrect arrests.
To achieve this, I must first begin to understand and learn about the basics of forensic psychology. I want to go to one of the only schools in the country that offers forensic psychology as an undergraduate course of study, so that I can base the rest of my studies on what I learned about the psychological processes of a criminal.