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Willing to swap or help with yours if you help with mine! Attending the University of North Carolina at ______ I began my undergraduate career with the intention of obtaining a degree in Psychology. This decision was based on my general interest in the brain and human behavior. After completing my second year I decided to double major in Biology due to my desire to understand the brain at its’ most fundamental level. As I advanced through my degrees and questioned what type of career I would like to pursue I became increasingly interested in the experimental side of neuroscience. I was particularly fascinated by research identifying the ways in which conscious beings possessed differing perceptual abilities and the various environmental and biological causes behind these differences. My growing curiosity towards the research aspect of neuroscience prompted me to take the initiative to seek out research experience through my university. Pursuing an interest in the role of learning and memory in mental disorders, I applied for a position in Dr. Blank’s Behavioral Pharmacology and Comparative Cognition lab. I was accepted and completed five semesters and two summers as a research assistant. This opportunity allowed me to gain experience in a lab and become familiar with the daily proceedings that occur within a research setting. I was able collaborate with graduate students on various aspects of their research endeavors. This included weekly presentations which allowed me to become skilled in the communication needed in an effective lab group. I also had the opportunity to attend the Society for Neuroscience conference which further opened my eyes to how vast the field of neuroscience is. During my time in Dr. Blank’s lab I studied the effects of both drugs and non-pharmacological variables on memory processes in rodents. I assisted graduate students on several projects seeking to identify drug effects on rodent reinforcement learning, recognition, and episodic-like memory using behavioral assays such as the odor span task and radial arm maze. In addition to studying behavioral pharmacology I also worked on projects seeking to identify the limits of certain cognitive abilities in rodents. I appreciated the breadth of our research because it gave me exposure to both the biological underpinnings of behavior as well as the importance of experimental design. Under the supervision of Dr. Blank I was also able to hone my interests and experience independent research as well by completing an undergraduate thesis project titled Effects of Ketamine on a Rodent Model of Memory Capacity: A Test of the NMDA Hypo-activity Hypothesis of Schizophrenia. The purpose of this research was to determine the validity of NMDA antagonists as an animal model of the working memory deficits commonly seen in individuals with schizophrenia. After an extensive literature search I became interested in which NMDA antagonist might provide a rodent model with the most translational significance. In the past different NMDA antagonists had produced disparate effects on cognitive measures. While completing this project I was able to follow my own experimental question from its original hypothesis through to the analysis of the resulting experimental data and it’s subsequent presentation and defense. I found this to be a highly rewarding experience that solidified my interest in pursuing graduate work and an academic career. Following my undergraduate education I have continued to learn and focus my research interests in neuroscience through reading and following online course materials such as MIT’s Neural Basis of Learning and Memory, Cognitive Neuroscience, and Cognitive and Behavioral Genetics as well as courses on data analysis and MATLAB programming. My long term goal is to continue to conduct research and teach at a university level, however I would also love to be involved with the same open courseware platforms that have allowed me to learn outside the walls of a university. I enjoyed the research I was involved in during my undergraduate career, however, I felt that I would like to explore neuroscience working directly with humans. During my search for graduate programs I hoped to find a program with an interdisciplinary approach that would allow me to explore this interest. I would love to be able to gain experience with brain imaging techniques and computational modeling while contributing to the field of neuroscience. After researching the doctoral program in Psychology at UC Blank I found that it provided everything I was looking for. I am especially interested in the work of Dr. Blank combining behavioral experiments and computational models to study working memory and learning. Working memory became one of my biggest interests during undergraduate school and I am interested Dr. Blank’s research on it’s interference with reinforcement learning. I am also interested in how motivation plays a role. I was also intrigued by Dr. Blank’s research involving genetic factors influencing cognition. I believe this program would help me gain important foundational skills and allow me to explore my research interests further so that I can develop myself as a research scientist further. I believe I am a good fit for this program because my interests closely align with the research being conducted. I hope to bring what I have learned so far and build upon this while continuing my research career at UC Blank.

Hello everyone! I am currently applying for immunology Ph.D. programs. Would anyone be willing to look over my statement of purpose? If you are please PM me! Thank you for all of your help!!

SOP_draft_1.docx

One of the hardest parts about grad school applications is writing your statement of purpose (SOP). When I was working on mine last year, I had no idea where to start. So, instead of Googling it and ending up with a generic SOP, I attended three different open houses and asked a lot of questions to find out what schools really look for. In the end, the answer was pretty simple: Schools want to know that you can be successful academically, even when faced with obstacles. With that in mind, I made a list of the challenges I faced throughout graduate studies and picked the ones I thought would best show the qualities that SLP programs seek: persistence, dedication, confidence, and a passion for helping others. I wrote about how I worked full time and studied at night, and how I still managed to make the dean's list. I wrote about how I did not initially qualify for any graduate programs, but found out what I needed to do and persisted in meeting those requirements. "GRAD SCHOOL IS HARD!" This is what everyone tells us. Admissions committees just want to know that you are a candidate who will not give up when things get tough, and that you are a person who will go above and beyond to become a well-rounded clinician. So before you write your SOP, make an outline: What made you want to become an SLP? What challenges did you face while working on the academic requirements, and how did you overcome those challenges? What qualities do you have that helped you face those challenges? (Focus on qualities important for SLPs) What are the things the school is most proud of? (Have a unique paragraph for each school, describing what specific things made you want to go there) Why is that school the best option to help you reach your goal of becoming an SLP? When you have the answers to these questions, it will be a lot easier to start working on writing your essay. Please add any additional tips below! I know I would have loved a thread like this last year when I started working on applications!

Hi, I have started drafting my SOP, i'm facing a blocker on how to bridge my two years of work experience in an different field in my SOP. Should i not mention it or how can i cover the same in my SOP. I did my bachelors in Electrical engineering and sad part is that i'm working in TCS for the past two years now. Any help is appreciated.

I'm planning on submitting applications for master's programs in statistics/bio-statistics this fall, and I'm not quite sure how to approach the statement of purpose. I have a relatively good idea of how it works for PhD programs (i.e. research experience, professors or labs to work with, etc.), but if my goal is not a PhD, how do I write this? Most terminal master's are not too research-heavy so I'm just not sure how I can approach this when statements of purpose tend to be mostly about research experience and research goals. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!

Greetings everyone. I was wondering if someone could take a look at my statement of purpose for graduate school applications? It would be good to get perspective(s) on it so that I can be more prepared! Thanks! -Izzie Statement of Purpose- Graduate Applications.docx

Hello, I am new to the site, so apologies for any redundant questions, I think I initially posted this in a different place. I am a few years out of school with a BA in Poli Sci/Econ and an MA in Area Studies. I am looking to go back for a Comparative Politics PhD. I work in international development, not in academia or policy, so have no new research I can write about it my statement. I don't have anyone who can seriously work through my statement with me, and I feel like I am already asking a huge favor of professors writing my recommendations. I know my general areas of interest, and know who I want to work with at perspective schools, I am struggling with how specific my research question should be in the SoP? Do I need to talk at length about others doing similar research? Do I need to know which countries/populations I want to hone in on? If intensive methods courses are part of the PhD, how can I identify which I will be using before taking any of them? For example--I have taken econometrics, but presumably this knowledge will deepen during the program, as will my use of qualitative methods. I have learned from my 2 year MA experience that interests change, and projects evolve and shift over the course of study. Sometimes you realize that your question is too ambitious or unanswerable, and you need to narrow your question. It seems very presumptuous to lay out a very detailed question without the preliminary work. If anyone has any tips here, please share. If you know anyone willing to share sample SoPs or ones from past years please let me know.

Hello, I am new to the site, so apologies for any redundant questions. I am a few years out of school with a BA in Poli Sci/Econ and an MA in Area Studies. I am looking to go back for a Comparative Politics PhD. I work in international development, not in academia or policy, so have no new research I can write about it my statement. I don't have anyone who can seriously work through my statement with me, and I feel like I am already asking a huge favor of professors writing my recommendations who have not seen me for almost a decade. I know my general areas of interest, and know who I want to work with at perspective schools, but I my question is how specific should my research question be in the SoP? Do I need to talk at length about others doing similar research? Do I need to know which countries/populations I want to hone in on? If intensive methods courses are part of the PhD, how can I identify which I will be using before taking any of them? For example--I have taken econometrics, but presumably this knowledge will deepen during the program, as will my use of qualitative methods. I have learned from my 2 year MA experience that interests change, and projects evolve and shift over the course of study. Sometimes you realize that your question is too ambitious or unanswerable, and you need to narrow your question. It seems very presumptuous to lay out a very detailed question without the preliminary work. If anyone has any tips here, please share.

Hi. I have two degrees in engineering - my Masters was in Petroleum from 3 years ago. After the downturn of the oil and gas industry and also a desire to pursue a career that is less hazardous to the environment - and after many years of loving literature - I have decided to pursue my Masters in English Literature. How do I approach this in my statement of purpose? I love research and I have wanted to study literature since I was in school but did not due to various fears. I also found out about postcolonial literature a few years back and this is what I want to focus on. Note: This decision was made after proper deliberation.

Why I am putting myself through this again? I do not have an answer, but I am here. Anyone else out there going through the portfolio/statement of purpose process, still? My first application goes out next week (University of Arizona). I am beyond nervous. How do you decide when everything is "done"? When is anything ever done, haha

Hello, I am attaching my Statement of Purpose below. I have never written one before. Any suggestions and bits of advice? I am applying for Masters of Architecture I am a 25-year young Architect currently practicing Architecture professionally for more than two years and a half. I have been born and brought up in a middle-class family in a small coastal town called Alibag near Mumbai in India. Most of the choice of vacation places by my parents were places of historical importance, monuments, temples, beaches, forts as the overall cost was not so much. I neither had the privilege of visiting any luxurious hotels or destinations or any trips outside my country nor was I much interested in such vacations at that time. I was always fancied by seeing all the buildings and structures around me, even the ordinary ones. I was a kid with too many questions for my parents, and the question I had the most whenever I went to a new place was ‘Dad, do u know who built this?’. Initially his answer would be, ‘Why don’t you grow up and find yourself, and in the process, you might build a good building too’, but eventually at the end of the day he used to find out and tell me, and I used to write the names of the buildings followed by the owners’ name or whoever built it. By this time, I had no idea how the Architecture around me was having an influence on my life for good. When I completed my 10th grade back in 2008, I got the opportunity to join an NGO that my dad was a part of for 10 years. He would teach free yoga every Sunday to whoever wanted to learn yoga. Within a month I got to know that there was a person who comes to learn yoga there was part of an NGO in my hometown, whose activities included cleaning of forts, statues, monuments and it also included trekking and hiking activities. I knew by volunteering there I would get to visit historical monuments, forts and go on trekking and trips for free. There was a senior member in that NGO who was an Architect. I knew he would be the most relevant person to get all the answers for the questions I had about built form. Internet was not very accessible at that time with only dial-up connection with speed in kbps. He used to also take me to site visits on his projects, and I would tag along asking him questions which he happily answered to me. Going to new places I would only notice all the built form around me, and I felt each building, and every structure had a story to tell to me, I just had to observe and ask. I remember getting emotional and crying whenever I saw a damaged monument. Architecture by this time had already started becoming relevant to me in my early life. As a performing child in academics, my family expectations were I pursue science, but that was what I never fantasized. My fantasy was buildings and structures. For these three years, until I completed my 12th grade, I learnt how to sketch, and I made a sketch of every new place that I went to. I also learnt sculpting and bamboo carving during this time. I was very active in sports, and I have more than 75 awards and certificates in various competitions like skating, running, swimming, karate etc. After completing my 12th grade I chose Architecture, and by this time my parents knew what my interests were, and they backed me even though for us Architectural studies were costly. I joined an Architectural College in 2011. However, in 2012 after my 1st year, I had a significant health issue, and I had to take a break during 2012-2013. I re-joined a different architecture college under the same University, which was nearer to my home so I could travel from home daily. For the first 6 months after recovering from my health issue, I travelled daily, two hours to and two hours from college. When I recovered completely, I shifted in a rented apartment near my college. I earned my Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Mumbai. In my vacant time during these five years, I participated in several architectural seminars involving technical and design and workshops on construction techniques by different materials like wood, bamboo, CLT, Etc. I also attended workshops for sculpting, building materials, digital architecture, parametric and organic architecture, acoustics. Etc. I also got the opportunity to assist my professor in two of his projects which were load-bearing structures. I was active in sports at my college. I joined the Kho-Kho team in 2014, got the 4th prize for District Skating Competition in 2016, and was on the football team from 2016 to 2017. I was the cultural head of the college from 2015 to 2017, where I helped to manage and organize cultural events and activities and recruit new members in the association. I was also a part of the Students Council of Architecture from 2015 to 2017. This exposure allowed me to develop my leadership and social skills. My thesis topic for the final year was 'Mixed-Use Development,' and I focused on tackling issues like urban sprawl, migration, congestion, travelling time to and from work and intended to solve them by integrating several building typologies. Metro cities and upcoming Urban cities in India are going to contribute a significant chunk to India’s GDP, and Urban cities are going to be the hosts for international collaborations. My thesis was my sincere attempt to provide an example on how Mixed-Use development can play a vital role in making these cities capable of hosting such global events and pressure without damaging its economy and quality of living, and how my thesis could be potentially implemented on a larger scale. I want to further explore this topic by gaining knowledge about Urban design practices. In the university, the coursework focused on theoretical aspects rather than practical regards. Therefore, to gain practical experience, I started my internship at an Architectural firm back in Jan 2016 and continued for 4 months there, after which I got recommended by my employer to one of the best firms in Mumbai. They hired and allowed to work as a part-time junior architect as my academics were also going on. I took a break for my final year thesis semester in October 2016 and re-joined the same firm back in May 2017 and worked there full time at the post of an Architect & Designer for 14 months till June 2018. I am currently working as a Planning Architect at a construction firm who is a business associate of the previous firm, I worked in. I have been teaching a few subjects at NATA classes every Sunday since May 2017. I also have been freelancing, mostly bungalow projects at my hometown in collaboration with an RCC consultant and a contractor since December 2017. I have been fortunate enough to be able to acquire Bungalow projects through the people I have known through both the NGOs that I am part of, and also through my friends and relatives. In India people like everything that is for free, and people don’t like to work for free. I have been taking advantage of this scenario and had the opportunity to gain tremendous knowledge about the practical application of architecture. In addition to these projects, I am currently working on a Resort project in my hometown. I have been fortunate enough to gain practical knowledge of various construction techniques during this time. I have good practical experience and abilities such as the ability to carry out plans, supervise and oversee the actual construction process. My work has also allowed me to reflect upon my shortcomings and the areas which I need to receive additions and intensive training on. Looking back at my hometown and the places I have been to in India, I know there is so much that can be done to improve the quality and the experience. These places have so much potential for improvement since India is a culturally diverse and vibrant nation. Given the ability, power and responsibility, there is a wide array of things that can be done. I believe that our fraternity has been accountable for everything we have been seeing around us ever since the first thought to assemble a structure or a built form was established. As part of the same fraternity we have the power and responsibility to provide the future generations with a healthy and feasible habitat, and we could offer them with self-sustainable cities and a favourable climate that can prevail for ages, which is possible by the current advancement in technology. Everything we build now will have an impact then. I believe that such self-sustainable cities are likely in the coming decades and I call my version of it a 'Dream City.’ By doing this, we could stop borrowing the earth from our future generations. With the current advancement in space technology and exploration, it is inevitable that we will be building structures in outer space and on other planets, for example, mars. If someone has to be the first person to step on an extra-terrestrial planet why not the person be from our fraternity, and undoubtedly why not an Architect? An Architect is an Artist, imagine building everything from scrap from the perspective of an artist -one who has thorough knowledge about built form & spaces, environment and design. It will be a beautiful self-sustainable place to live in. I have a firm understanding of both the theoretical and practical aspects of Architecture Design and Technical implementation, and I feel that I am prepared to begin the next step of my development which is the pursuit of higher education in Architecture. I think that it is crucial building upon my previous training and education in a stimulating atmosphere full of diverse viewpoints and ideas. The diverse and international students body combined with modern facilities and esteemed professors at your university will provide me with a cutting-edge education that will prepare me for any challenges I may face in the future. It will also put me together for a lifetime of success in the field of Art, Architecture and Design. Your master's program is integral to my dreams and goals, and I will much appreciate your consideration of my application.

Just wanted to provide the link to a free guide I found on writing personal statements for all of you still working on applications. It's especially helpful for those who want to submit a strong admissions essay, but can't figure out what to write about: Personal Statement Essentials: A Brief and Comprehensive Guide

I just realized that in the last sentence of my SOPs, I refer to the programs as lasting "three years." Only one of my programs lasts three years....whoops! How bad is this?

Hi all! This may be a bit of a weird question, but I can't find an answer anywhere. It's recommended everywhere to change up your SOP in order to highlight your best unique fit at each school. My letter writers asked for a CV and a draft of my statement of purpose. Should I send each different SOP to my letter writers so they can see what I discuss about fitting to each school specifically? Should I send one SOP and just notes about specific fit at the other schools I'm applying to? Thanks!

I have a question about confidentiality and using personal stories pertaining to clinical experiences in my SOP. I don’t plan to go into great detail about a specific patient, but I do want to talk about the patient's disorder and the process of the SLP pointing out the condition to me and then counseling the patient (I want to write it about that generally too). I can’t quite figure out where the line is on confidentiality, but there seems to be overwhelming advice to include personal stories so I'm torn! ? For example (this would not be the polished finished version, however this shows the level of detail I want to use), I want to say something like, the SLP showed me the patient's video swallow study and explained a patient had X, which I found very interesting and had not previously learned about. Then we went to the patient’s room and I observed the SLP counsel the patient, which helped me understand the human side of the disorder. I would not give name, age, gender, or any other identifying characteristics. Just the disorder/condition. However, based on my application/resume, the location and rough timing (within a couple months) would be apparent. I’m considering talking about some other clinical experiences too, so my questions are: - is just disclosing the disorder (and location/vague timing inadvertently through my application) appropriate? - what would you say in addition, if anything, IS appropriate to include? - for those in grad school already, did you do this in your SOP? - for those applying now, will you include clinical examples in your SOP? Thank you so much for your guidance!

I am wondering which professors I should mention in a particular statement of purpose. I already mentioned three professors, whose work is directly related to what I want to study. However, there is also another professor at the school, whose work I love in a different subfield area. I'd certainly want to take classes with him and his work connects to what I studied in college, but not to the focus of what I would want my PhD research to be. Should I mention him, too, or does that dilute things? Thank you so much! I have to submit this in a few days....

I am writing my statement of purpose and I have read conflicting advice on how to write it. On one hand I heard you want to stand out with a creative hook. On the other hand, I've heard you want to get straight to the point and concise as possible. I fundamentally agree with the hook approach but find it a little hokey as well. I was wondering if anyone had any advice. For context, I am applying to computer science programs.

Hi Everyone, I'm applying for the UC San Diego Biomedical Sciences PhD program and I got a draft finished for the SOP. I'd love it if I can get a few kind individuals to take a look at it and provide me some feedback (rip it apart if you must). Please comment that you're interested and I'll PM you the doc Thank you!

So I've seen countless advice to not include any information about mental health issues, and I agree that it can cause admissions to cast doubt on you. However, would injury also fall into this category? My GPA fell quite drastically when I had an accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury which in turn hindered my learning/recollection abilities for a semester or so. It was in fact this injury that ultimately, by coincidence, got me into the field that I'm currently applying for PhD studies in. The latter I don't see as relevant to my application, but the former does seem potentially worthy of being included. With this context, would it be reasonable to have a couple sentences explaining my weak GPA during said semesters, or would it be viewed as an overall negative for my application?

i'm on the third draft of my SOP and i'd really appreciate having someone else look it over and give me some suggestions - and i'm happy to offer the same in return! so if you'd like to swap SOPs, or even if you don't want to share yours but would be happy to give me some comments on mine, please post here or PM me. some quick background details, if they're helpful: i'm an international student from england, i've recently completed a masters from oxford in eighteenth century and romantic literature - and so whilst i know everyone finds the statement of purpose unfathomable, i am finding it particularly difficult to get the balance right, especially when it comes to the research proposal part as i'm worried i've gone too specific. most of the schools i'm applying to have requested a SOP of around 1,000 words or 1-3 pages so mine comes in at roughly 950 words, but i'm happy to look at shorter/longer ones. if anyone is thinking about applying to uk phds/masters, i'm also happy to share/swap research proposals! as they are quite a different beast to SOPs. (i'd also be happy to swap with people in similar areas i.e. other humanities students, if anyone is interested)

Hi So I am planning to apply for the 2019 intake of LKYSPP for public policy. I have a communications background and thought my best way of standing a chance to get in is by playing up the potential importance of communication in governance. This is what I've written so far. Comments? Having spent most of my childhood in the early 2000s, I was lucky enough to observe the communication evolution up close. With increased internet penetration and the birth of social media changing the way we communicate and interact with each other, I am eager to understand the ways I can use communication to transform governance and public service. In the long-term, I hope to be involved in the implementation of policies that strengthen the participation of citizens in the political process and create an infrastructure of inclusivity where voices of all sections of society can be heard in the upper echelons of policy-making. As a woman in India, this is a goal that is particularly close to my heart as many women in our country are still unheard and unseen. I decided to further explore and strengthen my knowledge in this sector by interning at an advocacy group that aimed to bridge the gap between elected representatives and citizens via social media among other initiatives. I was further convinced about the potential impact of communication on public service when I visited a government school as part of an awareness drive. With a paltry ratio of 1 teacher for every 300 students enrolled, it’s a complex process to significantly change the quality of education imparted but with nearly all the older students using phones of some kind, accessibility to information has the potential to transform the way knowledge is transmitted. I believe that Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy is in a perfect position to complement my expertise in communication by providing me with a thorough understanding of the skills and know-how required to be an effective policy practitioner. Situated in a country that is known for its innovative policies and a government that understands the transformational power of information, it would be a privilege to witness from up close ground-breaking initiatives such as ‘Smart Nation’. With a faculty that is esteemed worldwide and possess a vast knowledge regarding the development of policies in the Asian context, the Masters in Public Policy offered at your school will help me understand the emerging role of Asia on the world stage. I strongly believe this course will help me understand how I can use my expertise in communication to realize my long-term objectives. I am confident that I will be an asset to your institution and hope you grant me the opportunity to contribute significantly to society.

Hi! I have been writing SOPs for biological science PhD programs, while most of them have a clear upper limit in the length of the SOP (with a range of 500-3000), one of my programs does not state a maximum length. I'm wondering what an optimal length would look like for adcoms, somewhere around 1000? To have adequate details on my past experiences but hopefully not too long to bore the readers. Any suggestions would be very welcome!

As a student ( international at that) I had enough concerns and queries keeping me up all night. A friend recommended a book - Donald Ascher's, Graduate Admission Essays. This book encompasses every bit of information a student applying to graduate, professional or doctoral programs require. It furnishes details on what to study and why. By making us question our interests , it helps abate confusion. A detailed section on financing you education and several links to scholarships have been provided. Formats and samples of LORs and SOPs make the bulk of the book. You can gain information on how to write your personal statement and make it unique, insightful and power packed! Just make it a point to write down the answers to every question he asks. Also, dont skip chapters .Make notes and go through the book once thoroughly before proceeding for a detailed second read. Inputs about graduate level examinations amd University selection are also provided in the book. P.S: This book is definitely worth the investment. I applied to 7 MPH programs and was accepted by all of them. Infact 4 of them were in the top 10 ( including Hopkins at 1). I'm sure there are people who accomplished better without this book, but for those in need of some extra boost, do check out the link above!

To preface this; this is a rough draft SOP for one specific program. I don't really like my intro, I want that I'm adopted to be in there somewhere but idk about the rest. I also want to make sure I have a good balance between what I have done and what I want to do, so advice on that would be helpful. And lastly I want to make sure my last two paragraphs are clear enough for why I'm choosing school X and that they wrap up the paper well. As an adopted person, adoption influences my every thought, action, and interaction with my environment. From questioning my identity, to being told that I should be lucky my parents adopted me, my personal experience has motivated to investigate the consequences that adoption has on an adoptee’s ability to develop attachment relationships. While there is existing research on how prior experience with neglect and abuse can impact the quality of attachment relationships achieved by adoptees, there has been little research on how adoptive parents’ motivations for adoption can impact parent-child attachment relationships. Adoptive parents may have a multitude of reasons for choosing to adopt rather than have biological children, whether it is due to infertility, personal experiences with adoption, or something else entirely. I hypothesize that the varying motivations for adoption will correlate to different levels of parental sensitivity which will result in changes to the quality of parent-child attachment. I have had the opportunity to work in multiple labs that have helped prepare me to investigate these topics in graduate school. My first undergraduate research experience was working in the X Lab. The X lab has allowed me to learn more about psychophysiological processes by conducting experiments that utilize blood pressure, cortisol levels, facial flushing, and heart rate. I hope to use psychophysiology to develop a more comprehensive picture of attachment quality in my future studies. In addition to the X Lab, I have also had the opportunity to assist with data collection for Project Y. Through Y I have gained direct experience with children and families from a variety of backgrounds. This firsthand experience with a family population has allowed me to watch families grow and change over the course of a longitudinal study while also learning about the different methods of data collection used when working with children. My most recent lab experience, Z, has strengthened my observational coding skills and has allowed me direct contact with adoptive families. The project that I am most proud of is my investigation into name. While this project started out as an experiment for a class, I took it upon myself to get the most out of the opportunities I had been given. I spent hours outside of class working on this project with another student and we eventually presented the results as a poster presentation at two different conferences. This project was the first project that I was able to see develop from start to finish. Of all my experiences I feel that this one has prepared me the most for graduate school because of how involved I was able to be, from developing the idea, to selecting the measures, completing data collection and analysis, all the way to presentation. It was after working on this project and developing a clear understanding of how research is conducted, that I made the decision to complete an honors thesis. My developing honors thesis is an investigation of how socioeconomic status impedes securely attached children’s ability to regulate their heart rate during a strange situation task. I hypothesize that children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds will have a slower return to baseline than those from other backgrounds due to the influence of chronic stress associated with low socioeconomic status. If this hypothesis is correct, it would support the conclusion that the protective factors associated with a secure attachment are not enough to mitigate the negative physiological influence of low socioeconomic status. This project represents the unification of my previous research experiences and I believe that these experiences will likewise assist me in my ability to conduct research on the graduate level. I am excited for the opportunity to work with Dr. name because I believe that with his guidance, an investigation into the relationship between motivations for adoption and parental sensitivity will expand upon existing the knowledge of how attachment relationships are formed within the adoption triad. I am most enthusiastic to work with Professor name because of his research on ____________. I feel that these topics will provide a strong theoretical base for my research interests. While I’m mostly interested in Dr. name's work, I feel that my abilities would be equally appreciated by the name Collaborative. The multi-method research approach is very appealing to me as a researcher and my ideas would fit well within the department. More specifically, I believe that my background in psychophysiology allows me to look at attachment behavior more holistically. By developing a clearer picture of how adoption influences the lives of adoptees, it is my hope that preventative programs can be created to reduce the negative life outcomes that are frequently associated with adoption. I believe that a PhD from name will assist me in becoming a competent researcher within the developmental psychology community and that my findings will directly contribute to this development.