What did you put in your SOP?

[CarlieE]

Just wondering.. in reading some of these threads, I wonder how many different "ways" people write their SOPs. I never addressed grades or their research (at length).

I had 4 of my professors look over my SOP before I sent it and I included (in almost this same order):

My proposed PhD research,

Current and prior research,

Study Abroad programs and field schools I have been on,

Scholarships I've gotten,

My future career and professional goals (I want to teach and do research ie. become ONE OF THEM),

A bit about my personal background and history (as related to my career goals)

Three professors in their program I want to work with and why,

What did you put in yours and why?

[Hillary Emick]

One of the schools I applied to specifically requested a two-part SOP consisting of a personal statement and a statement of research interests and goals. I liked this format and used it for my other SOP's as well. I sent this out to my recommenders both for their review and to inform their LOR's. I got some very helpful feedback and improved it quite a bit from the first draft. I did not detail awards or scholarships I've received. That was a part of my CV rather than my SOP.

Part One - Personal Statement

Introduction: why I am applying to this particular program

Summary of undergrad & professional experience (also addressed not-so-great GRE analytic score)

Personal history and motivation, professional goals

Part Two - Research Interests and Goals

Broad areas of interest within program (also identified faculty I wished to work with)

Specific area of interest and tentative dissertation topic

Potential applications for described research and future research I may wish to undertake

[splitends]

Looking back at my statement, it looks like most of it is actually a description of the research I've done-- tracing how my interests evolved through different experiences and what I got out of each experience.

Here's an outline:

I. Anecdotal introduction that brings up my personal background and lays out my passion/motivation for my field

II. Description of first independent research project: what I did, what I learned, etc

III. Brief paragraph explaining transition from early independent research interests to later ones

IV. Description of more recent independent research projects, including my thesis: what I did, what I found, etc.

V. Description of research assistant experiences: building a skill set/laying a foundation for my work, how it ties into my interests, etc

VI. What I want to study in grad school + Why this school is perfect for me (including listing specific faculty)

VII. Brief concluding paragraph, reaffirming why I want to study my field and long term goals of my career (kind of fluffy)

I also had one school that divided the statements into a Personal History Statement and a Statement of Purpose, which I also preferred. It was a little awkward condensing personal history in with academic goals in my SOP (though I think I eventually hit a good balance), but I liked being able to explain a lot more of my relevant non-academic experiences in the personal history (mostly teaching and volunteer work that were a huge part of my undergrad life).

[chronicx]

I too had similar structure While writing my sop.

One or two sentences describing my purpose to attend the university

Background...wat courses led me to pursue this career

My experiences in the lab and how it motivated me to formulate questions about my research

Explain any low grades ..(I had to include this in my case)

My research interest...questions I am planning to ask...

Why this university...n the profs I want to work with

And in the end couple of sentences what makes me perfect to study here...basically ur strengths

Ur sop should b not only interesting but your paragraphs shud flow nicely.

It is also a good idea to state why you want to work with the prof in a sentence after you state their name. It will show you have done your research.

[crazygirl2012]

I didn't follow an outline at the time, but looking back, here's a rough description of what I did for each paragraph. I'm going to a Ph.D. program straight from undergrad, if that makes a difference.

1. Fluffy intro about how I got interested in research and in my topic in general. For me, this was high school.

2. My first experiences in psychological research working as an assistant in a cognitive lab.

3. Why I transitioned from cognitive into neuroscience, and what I did in the neuroscience lab.

4. Why I transitioned from neuroscience into social, why social is the best fit for me, and how I began my thesis.

5. Details about my thesis and how I plan to present my research.

6. Why the school, the program, and my potential advisor would be a good fit-- how they would help me, how I would help them, the significance of my proposed research.

It ended up being about a page and a half double-spaced, depending on how I tailored it for each program. I basically went in chronological order and told my story up until the present, finishing with future directions and why I should pursue those goals at X university.

6.

[TakeruK]

Looking back at my statement, it looks like most of it is actually a description of the research I've done-- tracing how my interests evolved through different experiences and what I got out of each experience.

Here's an outline:

I. Anecdotal introduction that brings up my personal background and lays out my passion/motivation for my field

II. Description of first independent research project: what I did, what I learned, etc

III. Brief paragraph explaining transition from early independent research interests to later ones

IV. Description of more recent independent research projects, including my thesis: what I did, what I found, etc.

V. Description of research assistant experiences: building a skill set/laying a foundation for my work, how it ties into my interests, etc

VI. What I want to study in grad school + Why this school is perfect for me (including listing specific faculty)

VII. Brief concluding paragraph, reaffirming why I want to study my field and long term goals of my career (kind of fluffy)

I also had one school that divided the statements into a Personal History Statement and a Statement of Purpose, which I also preferred. It was a little awkward condensing personal history in with academic goals in my SOP (though I think I eventually hit a good balance), but I liked being able to explain a lot more of my relevant non-academic experiences in the personal history (mostly teaching and volunteer work that were a huge part of my undergrad life).

My SOP was in almost this format. But one of my "research assistantships" is my Canadian MSc so I took that paragraph to explain that MSc and PhD programs are independent in Canada, and how I can use this experience to really hit the ground running in a PhD program. I also decided to go in chronological order. I did research work in 3 different topics in Physics/Astronomy and I wanted to explain why I did this.

I'm in favour of this format (instead of putting research first) because I think the SOP is more an essay about why you are a good fit for their department/school, rather than a research proposal. Paragraph "VI" was the only one I tailored to each school and I portrayed my research interests differently so that it would match with 2-3 faculty members in the department. I tried to not "lock" myself into any one project by noting that I have current interests based on how much I enjoyed working on similar research in the past but I would definitely want to learn new skills in a PhD program as well.

My goal of this paragraph was not to necessarily show that I am really interested in a particular project, but that I have thought about my future in research seriously and have smart goals for the next 4-5 years. All of the previous paragraphs were meant to demonstrate that my past successes and experience have prepared me to achieve these goals.

Finally, I also decided not to put a research proposal first because if I was going to talk to the committee, I would start with an introduction of myself and background before talking about what I'd want to do next. I also couldn't think about how to talk about the future (research proposal) and then go back and talk about my past without awkward sentences to switch "timelines".

[fuzzylogician]

Roughly (since it's been a while):

1. Intro: Research interests in one line, expanded to a paragraph.

2. Background: undergrad, MA, concentrating on the development of my interests

3. Research experience 1: completed project

4. Research experience 2: ongoing project, and brief discussion of relevant teaching experience

5. Fit1: professors I wish to study with and how they would complement my research

6. Fit2: other resources, how I saw myself fitting into the department. That was also my conclusion.

Ended up being about 800 words, give or take.

[ANDS!]

There were like, two lines in my SOP (at the end) about what I'd like to research and even those two lines were vague bordering on abstract. I wasn't going to shine anyone on about these great ideas I had for research projects and what not, simply because I didn't know. So my advice to those writing their SOP's - if you don't know, that's ok. Just say you don't know, and look forward to working with faculty in focusing on an area of study.

That then left more than enough room to detail personal journey to my current graduate interest, that was peppered with brief discussions about the nature of research/internships that helped inform my decision.

I left the CV (that they all ask for) for filling in details of research/publications/etc.

Edited March 24, 2012 by ANDS!

[CarlieE]

Thanks All for responding!!

[bearsalot_]

Mine was very dry--just describing past experiences that demonstrate my competence for graduate level work (research, employment, grant awards, publications, academics) and why I was applyig to that particular program, citing some mutual research interests I had with faculty. I didn't include any personal life fluff at all, nor described some road to Damascus event that lead to my interest in the field. I didn't present an idea for a dissertation topic or what I wanted to study in much particular detail--my fear is that would have been too narrow in scope, as it may only be relevant to a small number of PIs at any given institution.

In short, I described why they should want me and what credientials I had to prove it, and why I wanted them--no fluff. It was about one single-spaced page in length. That's it, and it seemed to work for me.

Edited April 6, 2012 by bearsalot_

[Cici Beanz]

My SOP was focused on my research interests in a pretty broad way (basically I gave a paragraph or so on the stuff I like to get drunk and ramble about to unsuspecting friends...anything and everything addressing the intersection of biology and social behavior, in this case) and then had a little bit about one of my current favorite specifics (genetic markers for PTSD). I also spent some time talking about what I've been doing with myself since I graduated college in 2006 and why I've decided to approach my areas of interest from the standpoint of anthropology rather than psych (my undergrad degree).

[imonedaful]

My SOP was fairly general. However, going into a PHD in business the field is a little less scientific and specific as theoretical physics. I opened with the reason why I was interested in the field. I dropped a few words related to me personally you wouldn't find on a resume anywhere.Then, I gave a little background about my studies. Since you are normally limited to a short SOP I chose not to mention stuff that was easily accessible on my resume such as where I went to school, my majors, and basic work experience. I related a few things I had done, projects in my undergraduate and graduate studies, to how they would be useful in continuing my studies at their program. I gave them a snapshot of what I currently do and how it was building me to continuting my education. I closed out with why I was a good fit for the program. I took a stance that says "this is why I am awesome, this why you should chose me," versus the "I desperately want into your program and I would do anything to get you to glance my way." An SOP with a little swagger can never hurt

[child of 2]

how long did you guys spend on your SOP? Would you say that writing your SOP helped you solidify on what you think you wanted to do with your life?

I'm facing this predicament where I really don't know what I want to do (I'm a senior), and I feel like NO decent employers/grad schools will want me because I don't have enough conviction in what I do. I'm just like meh.. My college career was not eventful, I didn't really get involved with clubs/organizations, and I don't really have any special experience I can talk about that might put the hook into the reader.

Edited May 9, 2012 by child of 2

[TakeruK]

I spent about 20 hours total writing my SOPs for 8 applications (including time to make a specialized version for each school, but NOT including time spent thinking about my SOP -- that is 20 hours in front of a computer). I just wrote crap down for a first draft, just to get it all out there, and then spent a lot of time making it sound like a coherent statement instead of a brain dump. The only thing I changed for each school is the last paragraph about who/what I'm interested in at School X and why that department is good for me. Some schools had extra length requirements that required tighter editing or expanding on some points.

I felt like I should spend enough time on the SOP to clearly show the department that I am a good fit for them and also that they are a good fit for me. Remember, you are also shopping around for schools, not just the other way around -- they want to know that you actually want to be at their school. I didn't try to hide the fact that I am using a template -- it's pretty clear from the way my SOP reads that I only edit the last paragraph for each school (for example, I don't even mention the program I'm applying to until near the end). I also try not to be too philosophical/cliche in saying things like "I always loved science as a child ... blah blah". I did have a few sentences to say why I am interested in science (solving mysteries). I say this because the departments have tons of SOPs to read and they KNOW we have tons of SOPs to write so they expect templates etc. (one school even gave a gentle reminder to not forget to actually use the right school name on the SOP submission page). Unless you are in a field where writing style is important, I think they read SOP primarily for content, not writing ability (and even so, I think thats what writing samples are for!).

Of course, I'm not saying just do bullet points or neglect style altogether -- your content will be stronger with good writing, but I would say spend more time on content than style.