BERKELEYS Engineering SOP?

[George2248]

I was wondering if there are any applicants or former applicants for Berkeley Engineering so we can discuss some aspects about the SOP.

I am not sure about the Word Count Length, the structure and main purpose of the essay, literature form of the essay, and also I am not very clear about the Personal History or Diversity Statement.

If anyone here have some experience about and maybe could help me to clear some of these topics

Thanks for your time!

[eesj]

I did not apply to UCB, but a UCB Ph.D. (and now a Stanford Professor) critiqued my SoP -and he like it. I would shoot for 1-2pages but no more than 2 pages.

Structure --Thats up to you to be creative..

I structured mine with the following:

Paragraph 1

-Strong opening--Clearly defining what I plan on pursuing

-What and why I want to research

Paragraph 2

Some notable relative experience related to this research and how I prepared for the research

Paragraph 3

How I have contributed to the research community already (i.e. what type of individual research I have done and its outcomes)

Paragraph 4

My career goals - and how it relates to the univesity

Paragraph 5

Which professors I want to work with and how I would contribute to their research activities

Paragraph 6

Conclusion to tie everything together

Additionally I would tie in how I would contribute to the graduate class, research community, and to the overall university culture.

Hope this helps!

[George2248]

I did not apply to UCB, but a UCB Ph.D. (and now a Stanford Professor) critiqued my SoP -and he like it. I would shoot for 1-2pages but no more than 2 pages.

Structure --Thats up to you to be creative..

I structured mine with the following:

Paragraph 1

-Strong opening--Clearly defining what I plan on pursuing

-What and why I want to research

Paragraph 2

Some notable relative experience related to this research and how I prepared for the research

Paragraph 3

How I have contributed to the research community already (i.e. what type of individual research I have done and its outcomes)

Paragraph 4

My career goals - and how it relates to the univesity

Paragraph 5

Which professors I want to work with and how I would contribute to their research activities

Paragraph 6

Conclusion to tie everything together

Additionally I would tie in how I would contribute to the graduate class, research community, and to the overall university culture.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the tips.

I am not applying to a Phd, and I think the Engineering and Project Management program is not that research oriented so I didnt focus that much on research.

The problem I still have is with the length. I have about 1400 words (which seems to long) but I cant seem to find any information that I could cut. The admission supervisor told me that they "like" 3 pages with double space (about 1000 words) but I am not sure if those extra 400 words would hurt me more than they help.

I could send you my first draft if you have time, maybe an outside look could help me to reduce and cut some paragraphs.

[eesj]

Sure feel free to send your first draft in a PM and I'll take a look.

[George2248]

Sure feel free to send your first draft in a PM and I'll take a look.

I sent you the draft already... If you have any comments please let me know...

[George2248]

Anyone else have any idea specifically if there is a problem on surpassing the word length suggested by the department, from 3 pages double spaced, to 4 pages double spaced?