Rice Application Conundrum

[beardedlady]

Hi all,

Trudging along with apps... Working on the application, and noticed that there's a text box within the app in which to write something in-line with an SOP, which has me a little confused.

The directions state:

Briefly describe your intended area of study, including a particular subdivision of the major field in which you wish to specialize and specific faculty members with whom you hope to work. Discuss any scholarly research, writing, or similar research that you have done or are currently pursuing. Include other information that may be helpful in evaluating your application.

Then, separately, there's place to upload an SOP, for which the directions are:

Please upload a statement that concisely and accurately describes your philosophical interests, motivations, and aspirations. The statement should briefly discuss reasons for applying to the department specifically, such as interest in a particular faculty member’s work, and describe any relevant research projects. Statements should be no longer than 500 words.

The overlap between these two makes it difficult for me to figure out what to write where. Both call for describing past research, POI's, and and interests. Also, the text-box doesn't seem to have a word limit, so though they say to "briefly describe," it's still very vague.

I came across a similar requirement in the Washington U app, but the directions made it clear that the SOP should focus on background and experience, while in the in-app text-box I should relay intended research, so it was very easy to manage. But, I have no idea what info should go where and how to avoid repetitive redundancies. Has anyone already applied or written these materials and can share their process? 

UGH!

[WildeThing]

 I used it to breifly summarize the main gist of the SoP and add some info that didn't fit. Whether that's how they want us to use it, I don't know.

[mandelbulb]

fwiw since it still isn't due and you may not have submitted yet, i restated my research questions and elaborated a little more to tie together some of my other research interests that would've seemed tangential in my SOP. i also discussed the work i did as a psychology research assistant in context of my current research interests as a way to present my approach as interdisciplinary. then i discussed the papers i wrote during my MA to demonstrate the (small) breadth of knowledge/canon i'd encountered within my field.

[beardedlady]

@WildeThing and @mandelbulb--thanks to you both!