The "Fit" Paragraph

[lady_coffee]

I am having a bit of a dilemma, the sort that may well be the product of overthinking something, so -- bear with me.

As I finalize the statements of purpose and submit applications, I've been questioning the necessity/importance/[fill in right word here] of the ever-elusive "fit" paragraph. I have poured over the SOP threads here and have solicited the advice of friends currently in/recently out of English grad programs. There's no "magic" answer, but I'm faced with a few questions that I'm having trouble teasing out.

First, I want to clarify that, as a second-round applicant, I was relatively ruthless this time around in selecting programs. I can't remember who said it, but someone here commented that the "fit" paragraph should virtually write itself. As it stands, I've taken the tack of gesturing (either specifically or generally) to faculty and special collections throughout the statement rather than plunking it all into one paragraph. But those sentences are few -- 2-4 sentences per statement. While the gestures I make are solid, they aren't overly detailed, let alone hundreds of words long.

So, I get a bit nervous. There's a tension between the applicant's knowledge of "fit" and, of course, whether the adcomm thinks it's a fit -- and they're the ones who are actually in a position to determine such. I had one advisor (a recent product of a top 10 program) out and out tell me "They're the best. They know they're the best. You don't need to say it" -- "it" being how the program would develop my thinking in x, y, and z, a sentence I thought helped demonstrate my knowledge of the program but that my advisor considered obvious, given the research interests I'd articulated.

I know every school is different, every adcomm is different, and it's near impossible to gauge how they'll react to the fit paragraph or what they want out of it. But I find myself increasingly falling on the side of "less is more." That is, let my research interests and writing sample speak for themselves. I've done my research and I'm not applying to a program I couldn't see myself at -- so, is it important to spend a considerable amount of time (and space) telling the adcomm things they will readily glean from the rest of the application?

I might be overthinking it, but I'm curious to get your take on it. (And I'm particularly interested in the methods/thoughts of those who are currently attending.)

EDIT: I apologize if this topic is covered elsewhere. I've gone over the threads, and while this issue comes up occasionally, I haven't found a place where it was substantively addressed.

Edited December 20, 2010 by lady_coffee

[thereandbackagain]

As it stands, I've taken the tack of gesturing (either specifically or generally) to faculty and special collections throughout the statement rather than plunking it all into one paragraph. But those sentences are few -- 2-4 sentences per statement. While the gestures I make are solid, they aren't overly detailed, let alone hundreds of words long.

I'm doing the same, but I'm a first timer with no real knowledge (outside these boards) on how these things are perceived. For me plunking down a bunch of stuff at the end felt forced and didn't make sense. We'll see how it goes, I guess.

[anthropologygeek]

You are right. Grad com. are all different and looking for different things. I found it best to just be myself, tell them about me, and why I deserved to be their choice and how we had similar interest.

[Alyanumbers]

I wanted to 'dilute' my fit paragraph throughout the SoP, too, but I couldn't make it work, so I settled for the traditional way. I think the way you're doing it is fine. It all depends on how you structured your SoP.

[blackshirt]

I'm one of those crazies who writes a whole new SOP for every single program (of which I have 8--see signature), although my work and thus the departments i'm applying to tend to be non-traditional, interdisciplinary, etc. and therefore pretty much necessitate that. So, all of mine are much like yours, and I quite like it that way. I think it shows not only that you've done your homework, but also that you really care about this particular application--to the extent that you're crafting an entire statement JUST for them. They know how much effort that requires and should appreciate it, or at the very least, take you seriously as an applicant.

As for the argument that "they already know how awesome they are," I agree, but I also think you can phrase your "fit" in such a way that you point to more subtle things. Like, say you're doing gender in Shakespeare and you talk about the Shakespeare Research Center affiliated with the department, but then you also mention the Center on Gender and Sexuality that may be less affiliated but that the prof who does gender stuff will definitely know about. I think this is less "you are awesome at what I want to do" and more "these are the various resources that I will be drawing from--look, I'll be taking full advantage of all you have to offer!" I dunno, I can see the arguments going both ways but I lean toward this side because it's a more logical adcom preference than the vagueness that would probably result from avoiding "telling them what they already know." Another way to look at it: make sure tell them HOW their resources help you, not simply THAT you know they have them.

[Tall Chai Latte]

What I did last year when I applied (i'm a first-year now), was tying my research skill set I acquired during undergrad research to some of the faculty's research in the program, and explained why i would be a good fit in that respect. You can't possibly read the minds of AddComs, I would say don't worry about it too much. I read somewhere on one of these boards, saying that SOP is supposed to be an image of you in front of the AdComms, so being yourself would suffice. Good luck!

Edited December 20, 2010 by Tall Chai Latte

[greekdaph]

Second-year grad student here. Short response: it sounds like you know exactly what you're doing, and I don't think you should be worried about it at all!

As for me, I made my list of schools to apply to based on the (false) assumption that if a program has a good reputation, it would be a fit. So when I wrote the traditional fit paragraph at the end of every application, what I found most useful was the way it forced me to go through and actually think about whether a school would be able to support the work I wanted to do. In some cases, I had a really hard time filling that paragraph. You've already done the research, though, so you're set. When I visited programs to which I'd been admitted, no one mentioned my fit paragraph--not even as a comment on the research I'd done about their school. If you present your interests engagingly and have a strong writing sample, a school's going to snatch you up whether or not you make a case for fit (and I realize both that this is exactly what you said in your post and that you ARE making a case for fit in your SOP). When professors introduced me to their colleagues, they did it on the basis of, "Your interests would be a good match for this person," not "you mentioned this person in your SOP."

[lady_coffee]

When I visited programs to which I'd been admitted, no one mentioned my fit paragraph--not even as a comment on the research I'd done about their school. If you present your interests engagingly and have a strong writing sample, a school's going to snatch you up whether or not you make a case for fit (and I realize both that this is exactly what you said in your post and that you ARE making a case for fit in your SOP). When professors introduced me to their colleagues, they did it on the basis of, "Your interests would be a good match for this person," not "you mentioned this person in your SOP."

This is just what I needed to hear -- thank you for the straight-up answer and for the encouragement, as well.