Enzian

I can't wait until someone pops up with a post like "my whole SOP was devoted to namedropping and superlatives and I got in everywhere." That will really complete the picture. Gotta give everybody props for honestly trying to help, though. Maybe it's just that all of our advisers are guessing based on their own personal (anecdotal) experience? Personally, I'm following the old line: when in doubt, leave it out. Or is it...when you doubt it, write about it...?

Haha, I do realize how crazy that sounds but in my defense, I didn't actually print them out just reread the "printable version" that most of them will show you at the end. But yeah. Gotta stop. I'm going to be thinking about this scenario every day between now and February.

I've finished five applications so far. The feeling right after you hit the "submit" button is absolutely horrible: one small moment of peaceful relief followed by hours of neurotically poring over the application printout (that can't be changed) to find typos and omissions. And then the completely insane fears start: wait, what if the English I speak isn't the same English they speak? what if they're not accepting applications from the east coast this year? what if I'm too tall? After sending my Duke app, I found a sentence in my SOP (which I'd proofread at least twenty times) that started "If When I finished the two year assignment..." WHERE DID THAT "IF" COME FROM?!! I lost my mind for an hour and didn't talk to anyone. Just thinking about it now is elevating my heart rate. Eight more to go.

Well, they are. But if you got a magic psychedelic frogfish instead, you may have a case.

I don't have a word limit noted in my spreadsheet (...I know...) for Berkeley's SOP and don't remember seeing one - my own was 1200 and my personal (diversity) statement was 630. I doubt they can be too strict with word limits since there don't seem to be any posted. Because that would be unfair, right? ...right?

Q: Are you the magic eight ball? A: Ask again later Q: Are you the magic eight ball? A: Ask again later Q: Are you the magic eight ball? A: Ask again later Q: Are you the magic eight ball? A: No way! Q: Are you the magic eight ball? A: Ask again later This thing clearly has a time-contingent identity so be careful - you may be asking when it isn't the magic eight ball but something else entirely. Like, a magic meat cleaver. Or a magic Franklin Pierce.

I haven't had one required yet so I haven't put anything. If I get one that requires it, I'll probably just name two or three other programs which fit me very well a la MyBrooklyn. I don't know why I'm suspicious of that question in particular - I filled out all the other non-required information...

I'm in the Peace Corps with my wife. Granted, it's not exactly a job (no monetary salary, per se, though there are benefits) and it has a pre-determined commitment of 27 months (but at any time you can just be like "I kind of miss my dog" and leave), I honestly couldn't be happier with the decision. I teach secondary school (English to mostly 9th, 10th, and 11th graders) in a developing country where I've met a lot of fantastic people, learned a ton about their culture, and now, in my second year, am getting comfortable enough in the language to try some serious reading. I won't go into the personal growth aspect in detail but I'm a pretty different person than I was two years ago. I don't mean to sound like a recruiter or to romanticize the Peace Corps (which has its fair share of problems, for sure), I only bring it up because I think temporary jobs, even those (or maybe especially those) that seem completely unrelated and random (like, um, a Titanic exhibition - awesome) can be really helpful in developing perspective. Before I started PC, I was pretty sure I eventually wanted to head to grad school for Comp Lit; now I'm positive. I've learned that I really love teaching but not in certain capacities (e.g. I loathe trying to explain the subtleties of article usage to speakers of a language completely devoid of articles and if I encounter that circumstance as a future professor, something has gone tragically awry) and I really miss the classroom atmosphere, the brainy, manic thrill of research, and I've learned my tolerance for the political nonsense that, I've been told, comes with a job in academia (the political nonsense of the school systems in a lot of the developing world makes it seem kind of quaint and goofy, actually). I've learned a lot that informs my decision to try for grad school and a lot that, hopefully, will help me get there. On the other hand, my sense of the English language has kind of come unglued listening to beginning speakers 24-7 and I find myself saying things like "Give me, please, bread and knife" or "We are going to the nature" so help yourself to those salt grains.

From USC Columbia's Comp Lit admissions page: This doesn't seem even remotely possible to me. I just started work on my SOP today and the introductory paragraph is over 250 (granted, some slashing and burning will need to take place). Did anyone apply to this program or deal with something similar? Any tips on how to write this without reducing it to McNuggets of disjointed information?

Late to the game, unsurprisingly, but I just wanted to say thanks to the OP. Great little article. When you really think about what you, as a future professor and academic, would want to find hidden among a great number of applications from people who are all passionate the field, this advice goes down nice and smooth. It suddenly seems very obvious - how many bildungsroman introductions can one human really ingest? The emphasis they put on recommendations is kind of disheartening, though - just give me the secret code, the magic words! (Kidding, of course.) Also... I AM.

Yeah, I agree with both Branwen and johnny but neuroJ's answer is my answer, nearly verbatim. One has to ask why we should want to save through medicine or defend through the justice system or empower through democracy these creatures, particularly in light of all of the horrible acts these creatures commit. From sentient beings who've mastered the use of tools and have risen to the highest point on the food chain, self-preservation is a pretty hollow answer. But clearly, humans are special because they can describe the world around them, they can critique it and pull it apart and alter it in ways that elude every other species. Etc. Making the argument as big as that can be problematic for some people. So if they aren't connecting the dots at that point, I begin a counter-inquisition that quickly degrades into the kind of petty combativeness the OP was asking to avoid. "And why haven't you found the cure for AIDS, Mr. Anesthesiologist?"

I'm wondering similar things about Boulder's Comp Lit program since, as far as fit goes, it's far and away my first choice. The website is actually fairly helpful (departmental funding only through TAs, gives some basic numbers) but if anybody accepted to the program (specifically the MA but either is welcome) this year wanted to share their funding specs (here or PM), I'd offer them a great big e-high ten.

I can see the logic in what lifealive is saying (and thanks for those links; some fun reading there). Going through a lower-tier school which is oriented toward teaching qualifies you best for schools A, B, and C who are, themselves, mostly concerned with teaching, but not for schools X, Y, and Z who are obviously also concerned with teaching (as any school is...because it's a school) but place a premium on high-profile publications and scholarship. On the other hand, going through a top-tier school magically qualifies you for all of the above simply because they don't neglect pedagogy? I don't think that's very honest. No program can do everything to the utmost quality and programs that place a premium on research are going to have to sacrifice something in the way of classroom time. This is not say anything about the people in those programs who may very well be naturally stronger teachers than anyone in the lower-tier programs. But I do think that all departments do some things really well and no department could possibly be churning out hordes of beautifully sculpted scholars/teachers who will blow students' minds in the classroom and knock in heads in the publishing world. Of course, going to a top-tier school always has its benefits (not the least of which is prestige and name recognition) so I would argue that those programs might qualify you for X, Y, and Z who are all really heavy into scholarship and publication and also A and maybe B whose priorities are the classroom but certainly wouldn't mind adding prestige to their program with someone who's going to (or already has, to whatever possible extent) make a name for herself in some big journals. Which leaves school C. My point is (and it may just be conjecture - I'm not faculty or even close) that there will always be programs who find better value in lower-tier hires. I think the rules of "fit" which are talked about so much from the applicant's side with regard to entering grad programs really still apply when looking at hiring practices, even in academia. But maybe, since the big research institutions aren't in my top choices for applications this coming year, I'm just arguing to justify my own sad little plan. :-)

Thanks!

Hey everybody! This is my first post! Yay! Posts! Congrats to everybody who's applied this season, regardless of results. Applying is a feat in itself it seems. Minnares - where did you read SoP examples?