statement of purpose basics

[revolutionary4ever]

I have finished writing my statement of purpose. However, I need clarification on some questions that I still have. Can anyone share their experiance writing or reading sop's? some of the questions I have are?

How close are staments of purpose looked at? With school having numerous applications do they look for a good introduction only?

should I "brag" about myself? I have a combination of personal reasons I want to study in my field but also mention some strong academic points. Should there be a balance?

what do you think good statement of purpose should have?

any advice would be helpful-thank you

(applying to IR or political science MA)

[Dreams]

The SOP will without a doubt be one of the most important tools you submit to the admissions committee. It the most effective way to set you apart from others who will like have similar "stats" in the pool. In your case the SOP becomes even more crucial because your scores and such will put you in the bottom range of spplicants.

When writing my statements, I kept to the guidelines outlines by each school. It helped that nearly each school was seeking similar information. I started with a brief autobio then jumpped into my career interests and how that school spefically would help serve as a springboard into that field.

You can only go so deep due to page limitations imposed by the schools. Besure to check the page requirements of your programs.

I think you have a lot of interesting experiences to touch on. If I were you, I would definitely talk about the delegate AU and model UN experiences, as well as the leadership and internship experiences. How these shaped your interest in IR and what you plan to do after graduation would not be a bad idea to include either.

[revolutionary4ever]

Thanks! I kind of started my SOP the same way. A sentence or two about my personal background and then went into my interest experiance and how the school meets my needs. I had someone read it and comment that an intro with personal information might be weak. My first paragraph starts with "Education is the only means by which people gain empowerment and expand their opportunities." I go on to explain how this belief was shaped through my academic and personal experiance. I also mention what I want to do with my degree. By the way good luck on your applications

[IvyHope]

Yes, your statement of purpose is in many cases the most important piece of the application. This is the tool that ad comms use to gauge your seriousness about graduate study, and it's also used to determine how knowledgable you are about XYZ program. You could not be more mistaken to write a generic SOP and send it to all schools; they are looking for evidence that you have written the piece specifically to them.

You need to do your homework before sending in a SOP. It should mention prospective advisors/mentors by name. You should also show that you have become familiar with the work that each researcher you mention has been engaged in recently. You should also clearly connect your interests to theirs.

One of the schools to which I am applying (Harvard) does not require a writing sample for doctoral students. When I asked about this, I was told "the SOP serves as a writing sample for our program." You'd better believe I made sure it was not only succinct, but thoughtful, eloquent, and reflected my understanding of them as a program.

Don't be fooled into thinking that ad comms don't read these, or dismiss them in any way. This is probably true if they can tell that you've sent a mass statement or did not take the assignment seriously. But for the serious applicant, a serious statement is a necessity.

[t_ruth]

My first paragraph starts with "Education is the only means by which people gain empowerment and expand their opportunities." I go on to explain how this belief was shaped through my academic and personal experiance.

Do you really support this belief? If I were a adcomm member who had been a non-traditional student or who had significant experiences outside of academia, I would be majorly turned off by this statement. Anything is hardly ever the *only* way to get anything.

[revolutionary4ever]

education does not necessarily have to mean academia. However, I am a strong believer in that it should be promoted to the full extent. Although there are other means by which to gain an education, the purpose of education should be to create a citizenry capable of critical thinking beyond what is given in the media or beliefs that are a consequence of socialization. Academia is the best means by which people can obtain a good education.

[t_ruth]

what you just said there in your most recent post is much more qualified and nuanced. The original statement was way too limited (JMHO). Education is certainly not the *only * means to gain empowerment and expand opportunities, and saying that right off the bat would raise an eyebrow with me. Your mileage may vary, but just a thought...

for example, trekking through the remote mountains and/or volunteering and/or networking are all non-education-related ways to gain empowerment and expand opportunities.

[revolutionary4ever]

I was thinking about it in terms of human development but I understand what you are saying.

[misterpat]

the purpose of education should be to create a citizenry capable of critical thinking beyond what is given in the media or beliefs that are a consequence of socialization.

Stanley Fish disagrees with this idea in Save the World on Your Own Time. And he might have a point.

If you are applying for education programs, they might want to hear stuff like that. But it just sounds so cliche to me.

[Astaroth]

It seems unnecessary to me to argue why you want to have an education at all. You're applying to grad school, after all, that says something in itself. Don't waste space/time on arguing philosophical points and being profound, just get right to the point.

This is the advice I was given when I wrote my statement, and what I found to yield the best result:

Say what you've learned in your undergrad, what research you've done, what your academic interests are, why you have decided to commit to going to grad school and why you are applying at that particular place. Use strong, positive, non-passive wording, and emphasize your positive traits while making sure you don't dwell on any negative aspects (and only mention any if absolutely necessary). Don't tell them your life story, don't ramble, don't say anything that could irk someone or put them off. Keep it short (under 2 sides of A4 at single/1.5 spacing), space your paragraphs and use single-word sub-headings in order to guide the reader through the text. Above all, write well, be interesting and stand out.

As for your specific questions:

- Assume that they will look at your statement carefully and with interest, but keep in mind they have 600 more to read through.

- They will not look for a good introduction only, it's not like you're meant to write an Abstract. They will most likely start by glancing through or speed-reading it, and then reading it more carefully.

- You shouldn't brag, but you should display your achievements and your positive traits as clearly as possible. Make them stand out and make it immediately obvious why what you have written is positive (don't say something that you will then need another whole sentence to justify as a positive trait, that's like trying to convince them when you're trying to impress them).

- There should be a balance, and it should be tipped towards academic reasons. If your personal reasons are quite disconnected from the subject then mention them briefly, if they are related then try to present them as something that boosts the interest you already have in your field.

This may be obvious but have your statement proof-read, preferably by someone who will be honest with you, and someone who is very anal about grammar and spelling.

[timuralp]

Read this, although it's for sciences, so mileage in humanities may vary.

[twip25]

the sop is arguably the most important part of the application.

profesors know students cheat and grades can be inflated (unless you are an elec eng major where you break your back for the degree), but a statement speaks volumes.

don't just write a generic sop, specifically address what they asked you to address.

if you don't address sthe question they will throw ur application out.

i also wouldn't mention professors unless they are still there cuz with the recent economic problems, many professors are being let go because there is less money.

also don't lie with a sob story unless it is true professors read thousands of sop and can filter lies from truth

most importantly, you have only x amount of words, so don't mention something you already mentioned somewhere else. for example I have tonnes of volunteer experience. rather than detail the experience in my essay, I stuck it in my resume so in my essay I discussed other things ie why i chose that major, my future goals etc.

[plisar]

the sop is arguably the most important part of the application.

profesors know students cheat and grades can be inflated (unless you are an elec eng major where you break your back for the degree), but a statement speaks volumes.

don't just write a generic sop, specifically address what they asked you to address.

if you don't address sthe question they will throw ur application out.

i also wouldn't mention professors unless they are still there cuz with the recent economic problems, many professors are being let go because there is less money.

also don't lie with a sob story unless it is true professors read thousands of sop and can filter lies from truth

most importantly, you have only x amount of words, so don't mention something you already mentioned somewhere else. for example I have tonnes of volunteer experience. rather than detail the experience in my essay, I stuck it in my resume so in my essay I discussed other things ie why i chose that major, my future goals etc.

You are almost certainly doa without mentioning professors.

[misterpat]

You are almost certainly doa without mentioning professors.

Ha. You'd think from this statement that half of academia is being let go. Sure, checking if Professors are still going to be there next year is a great idea. But out of the dozens and dozens of professors that I e-mailed over the last year, all of two were leaving (and to go to a better position, not because of lay-offs).

[plisar]

Ha. You'd think from this statement that half of academia is being let go. Sure, checking if Professors are still going to be there next year is a great idea. But out of the dozens and dozens of professors that I e-mailed over the last year, all of two were leaving (and to go to a better position, not because of lay-offs).

Yeah, I was specifically told by my advisors that the best way of demonstrating fit is by showing which professors you could work with. I have absolutely no doubt that they are correct.

As a graduate coordinator in engineering, our admissions standards are different than in the humanities and the social sciences, BUT students are a thousand times more likely to get admitted if they mention a few profs they are interested in working with. I go out of my way to make sure those profs see these files.

[dagger]

I would definitely agree with this statement. It shows that you have done your research on the school that you are applying for. In addition, to go one step further, I would suggest mentioning specific research or other factors that make the possibility of working with that professor relevant to you. In each of my statements I essentially said I am particularly interested in working with professor x because their research on y matches up with my career goal of z.

Its one way to set yourself apart from other applicants.

[younglions]

The OP mentioned he was applying for masters program in international relations or political science. The former is usually a professional degree, the latter is a more academic degree. The two call for very different statements.

For a professional degree, there is little need to mention with which professors you are eager to work. The statement should focus on past experiences and how they have contributed to your desire to pursue a CAREER in international relations. In 2005 I applied to 3 competitive IR masters and was accepted at all of them. Nowhere in my statements did I mention a single professor

For an academic degree, you should focus on research interests and why that program and its professors are best suited to those interests.

Overwhelmingly, the advice in this thread is geared toward academic degrees. For your political science applications, be sure to follow it. If the IR programs to which you're applying have a professional orientation, focus more on your career interests and why the program's curriculum makes it a good fit.

[plisar]

We were responding to the person applying to english programs.

[readyforachange]

Just another comment - I just had an e-mail today asking why I didn't justify my low verbal gre scores on my personal statement

so make sure you're looking at your relative weeknesses and addressing them where appropriate as well

I didn't initially include this information bc it's a fine line between justification & making excuses...but we'll see

[plisar]

Was that email from an adcomm member or from one of your advisors?

[readyforachange]

Was that email from an adcomm member or from one of your advisors?

it was from the grad coordinator of a program I applied to

[misterpat]

Just another comment - I just had an e-mail today asking why I didn't justify my low verbal gre scores on my personal statement

so make sure you're looking at your relative weeknesses and addressing them where appropriate as well

I didn't initially include this information bc it's a fine line between justification & making excuses...but we'll see

It's also tough to tell whether something is weak enough to warrant justifying.

[readyforachange]

definitely - and that's why I didn't at first. All of the sites say that they look at applications holistically but obviously this one stood out enough...

I guess more things the school might perceive as a weakness - perhaps talk to current professors about their opinions on your apps. For example, I def discussed why it took longer than usual for my master's (developed my interests, etc.)

[twip25]

No you are NOT doa if you do not mention professors

i did not mention ANY professors and I GOT IN!!!

MENTIONING professors is like u r sucking up to them and you are desperate and reading too many 'how to get into grad school' books the admissions committee is not stupid they know people read those dumb how to books

don't mention any profs by name

(it worked for me and i was accepted into 1 of 15 slots)

the profs care about the quality of ur education, essay and experience. btw profs change and leave especially now with university budget problems

You are almost certainly doa without mentioning professors.

[fuzzylogician]

No you are NOT doa if you do not mention professors

i did not mention ANY professors and I GOT IN!!!

OP: you need to figure out what the norm in your field is. twip25 is offering you anecdotal information about his not mentioning profs and getting in. I can tell you that I *did* mention profs by name at every place I applied to, and had very positive results with this approach.

MENTIONING professors is like u r sucking up to them and you are desperate and reading too many 'how to get into grad school' books the admissions committee is not stupid they know people read those dumb how to books

Mentioning profs by name and showing familiarity with their research is NOT sucking up to them. It's part of demonstrating that you have done your research and can show why you are a good fit with the department. Sucking up would be "Prof X is awesome", as opposed to "Prof X's work matches my interest in Y"; "Prof P's approach to Q can enhance my ability to employ similar techniques in the study of R" and suchlike.

Really, each of us needs to find our own approach to writing the sop, and I wouldn't flat out advise anyone that their way is wrong just because I had success going a different way. All this teaches us is that there is more than one right way to do things.