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Knivez

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  1. Upvote
    Knivez reacted to happygomucky in The 'Am I competitive' thread - READ ME BEFORE POSTING   
    I think you'll be very competitive provided you craft a strong narrative in your SOP drawing on your work experience. Focus on making your essays as compelling as possible, and on getting a good quant score (though I think that GRE scores become less relevant the more work experience you have). 
    Use referees who know you well, who are willing to work with you to make a great LOR, and can back up the argument you craft in your essays with their own examples. If that means prioritising work colleagues over academic referees, go for it. I can only speak from my own experience but I think you can still be a very good applicant without having academic referees if you have 5+ yrs work experience and have been out of undergrad a long time. I just used work colleagues (not even very senior ones, just people who knew me well with 'good enough' job titles) in my LORs and it didn't harm my prospects at all. Showing my SOPs to friends and colleagues helped me to tighten up the structure and narrative, but there's a forum on gradcafe that you can use as well. 
  2. Upvote
    Knivez reacted to marycaryne in SOP review for security studies   
    I agree with Sigaba. As it stands right now, your SOP has a very generic feel to it. If I was the one reading it as part of an admissions committee, there is nothing about it that really stands out and would make me want you as a student over someone else.
    A couple things...
    I would really specific exactly what you are hoping to research and why. How is that research going to benefit your future career? Second, I would talk about the school in specific. What about THAT school made you want to apply there? Is there a specific professor whose research works well with yours? You have very general statements that could apply to any school. Give detailed reasons why School X is the one you want to attend. It shows you're paying attention to what they are doing rather than just handing out generic letters to everyone. Remember, they are not just looking to see if the school is a good fit for you, but also if you are a good fit for the school.
    My program is merchandising, so obviously different than yours. But in my SOP, I explained why I loved merchandising and how I saw it benefiting both retailers and consumers alike. I have worked as a visual merchandiser for the last couple of years and I explained how I was able to apply my studies in very practical ways and see how consumers responded, while getting a good idea of what worked and didn't work (and gave a couple specific examples). I explained my research interests and why I felt it was essential not just to my continuing career as a merchandiser, but also so retailers in general have a better understanding of how merchandising works. I also talked about a particular professor who has done research that aligns well with my research interests. This was in the letter I sent to Florida State, which was my top choice. I was accepted.
    Obviously an SOP shouldn't be novel length (mine was about 1.5 - 2 pages), but detail is important as well as showing a genuine interest in a specific school you're applying to. If you're applying to more than one school, change your SOP to fit that school. It definitely should not be one generic one you send to all schools.
    Hope that helps!
  3. Upvote
    Knivez reacted to Sigaba in SOP review for security studies   
    @Knivez, it its current form, your SOP suggests that you don't have a detailed vision/understanding of how a degree in security studies from a specific institution will help you realize your career goal as an agent for the FBI.
    IMO, your discussion of your armed service in the Marines would benefit from a significant re-write. I recommend that, without resorting to jargon, you explain how your training allowed you to advance the mission of your unit and how you learned from your experiences to see a bigger picture, what ever that may be. I suggest that you do additional research on those faculty members who might read your comments about your time in the Marines with hostility (America is still fighting a very unpopular war) or with indifference (not everyone cares one way or another about citizen soldiers) or with an especially critical eye 
    Your discussion of your thesis needs to include a very concise summary of your findings, how those findings fit into ongoing scholarly discussions of the topic, and, if you plan to continue studying the same topic, additional questions you hope to address.
    Your comments about your considerations of your options needs refinement--they presently read like a cut and paste job. Define your areas of interest, your proposed course of study, give an indication that you're familiar with how your interests "fit" with those faculty members with whom you hope to work. Demonstrate that you're aware of the resources available at a given institution and how you intend to use them.
    (PM inbound).
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