Found a good Computer Science example SoP. (Accepted to MIT, Princeton, Washington)

[zep]

I found what I think is a good example computer science PhD Statement of Purpose. Using this Statement of Purpose, Mihai Patrascu was accepted to MIT, Princeton, and U Washington. I hope this is helpful to others who are applying to CS PhD programs.

I think this SoP is "pretty good." It uses good grammar to tell a coherent story. The author's admission to some really good schools suggests that this is a good SoP. However, I have a few questions about this SoP...

1. This SoP begins by discussing the Romanian National Olympiad. Winning this competition several times is very impressive, but I wonder if it would be better to begin the essay with 2-3 sentences about research goals. My rationale is that, if the introduction doesn't discuss research, the reviewer might not finish reading the SoP. What do other people think?

2. I've been fortunate to have had the opportunity meet with with a department head at Stanford. She told me that, despite the typical 2 to 3 page SoP space limitation, I should make sure to limit my SoP to one page. The rationale is that reviewers are busy, and they probably won't read the SoP carefully if it's very long. Does Mihai Patrascu's SoP strike other people as being too long?

3. This SoP talks a lot about past and current research, which is good. However, no potential graduate advisors or research groups are discussed. Is this a problem?

Also, if anyone has found successful (e.g. admitted) computer science statements of purpose, feel free to share them here!

[stackoverflow]

Am I the only person who doesn't like this SoP? I find it very impersonal and uninteresting. All I know about Mihai from reading this is that he was an exceptional researcher and earned many awards. I could have found that out by looking at his C.V. I assume...

[zep]

Am I the only person who doesn't like this SoP? I find it very impersonal and uninteresting. All I know about Mihai from reading this is that he was an exceptional researcher and earned many awards. I could have found that out by looking at his C.V. I assume...

Good to know. How would you make it better? Would you add more about the motivation for pursuing research and why the research is enjoyable?

[stackoverflow]

Good to know. How would you make it better? Would you add more about the motivation for pursuing research and why the research is enjoyable?

I mean, I think he got into all of those schools based on his excellent research experience. If I were on the adcom for those schools, I would have like to been able to get to know him on a personal level through his SoP. I feel like it's difficult to get an idea of what his personality is like and what it would be like to work with him through his SoP.

[aakritisrikanth]

I found what I think is a good example computer science PhD Statement of Purpose. Using this Statement of Purpose, Mihai Patrascu was accepted to MIT, Princeton, and U Washington. I hope this is helpful to others who are applying to CS PhD programs.

I think this SoP is "pretty good." It uses good grammar to tell a coherent story. The author's admission to some really good schools suggests that this is a good SoP. However, I have a few questions about this SoP...

1. This SoP begins by discussing the Romanian National Olympiad. Winning this competition several times is very impressive, but I wonder if it would be better to begin the essay with 2-3 sentences about research goals. My rationale is that, if the introduction doesn't discuss research, the reviewer might not finish reading the SoP. What do other people think?

2. I've been fortunate to have had the opportunity meet with with a department head at Stanford. She told me that, despite the typical 2 to 3 page SoP space limitation, I should make sure to limit my SoP to one page. The rationale is that reviewers are busy, and they probably won't read the SoP carefully if it's very long. Does Mihai Patrascu's SoP strike other people as being too long?

3. This SoP talks a lot about past and current research, which is good. However, no potential graduate advisors or research groups are discussed. Is this a problem?

Also, if anyone has found successful (e.g. admitted) computer science statements of purpose, feel free to share them here!

plz can you post this sop

[aakritisrikanth]

plz can you post this sop - Mihai Patrascu wasaccepted to MIT, Princeton, and U Washington. I hope this is helpful to others who are applying to CS PhD programs.

[MikKar]

The SOP is way too long... I mean : typically graduate schools will limit the amount of words/characters in SOPs, this is almost 3 pages long ! I can't believe an admission committee read the whole thing...

 

His research experience is pretty strong though, perhaps his publications were read by professors before they even read his SoP and needed his experience.

Edited April 29, 2013 by MikKar

[NanoTech]

OMG... Pătraşcu died in 2012 after suffering from brian cancer for a year and a half. He was only 30. RIP