indicating that a program is your first choice?

[eltoro89]

If you're applying to a grad program at a less competitive school, but unique features of said program make it appealing to you to the point where the program is your first choice amongst all schools to which you've applied, should you indicate such in your statement of intent?

Edited June 14, 2012 by eltoro89

[TakeruK]

I'm not sure mentioning it would help -- but maybe someone has argument why it would! Here's why I think it won't help.

Since you say this is a "less competitive school", it could mean that many strong students will consider it as a "safety school". So either you are one of the strong students but actually want to go to the school, or you're not.

If the first case, then mentioning it won't help you at all. They are not going to reject students who have a good application but don't say necessarily say that this school is their top choice. Of course, there is good reason to reject strong students who show no interest in the department/program, so, like all applications, you must show your interest in the school and rationale why the school would be a good match.

If it's the second case, then mentioning it could help show them that you think the school is a good match for you. But, like I said above, it's much better to say why you are so interested in their school and show that the department's goals matches your own. Many people will advise you to "show, don't tell" when writing SOPs and similar essays. Just simply saying "Your school is my number one choice" is just "telling", in my opinion, so it doesn't add very much. Also, again, they are looking for people who match the department well -- they want people who are interested in the department, doesn't have to be #1 choice (i.e they won't pick you over another candidate just because you want to go there more).

So my main point is that saying that a school is your #1 choice in the SOP won't really help you as much as saying why you want to go there so much. From your post, you mention the program has unique features -- definitely point them out and SHOW why these features are interesting to you and would greatly develop you as a researcher.

I also think there are some downsides to saying why the school is the #1 choice.

Of course, you could say things like "School X is the best match for me because...." but like saying the school is your #1 choice, it also runs the risk of them thinking "well I bet you say this to all the schools". You're expected to be reusing most of your SOP (especially stuff about why you like your field, what research have you done etc.) for most schools but I really try to personalize the paragraph(s) about why that particular school is a good match for me.

Another downside, but I think this no longer applies, is that if they know you really want to go there, you might not get as good a "deal". Schools sometimes offer fellowships or "signing bonuses" to their strongest students because they know these students are probably considering offers elsewhere and they want to entice them to go to their school. Fellowships or "signing bonuses" may mean extra money but usually it just means you have research independence/freedom to not be tied to a prof for funding. This only works for fellowships awarded at the department's discretion (sometimes just making up a fellowship to attract a potential student), not fellowships with established awarding conventions, which will probably be offered to the students that meets the criteria regardless of school preference. But I say this probably no longer applies because with budgets being tightened everywhere, it's not likely the departments have tons of cash lying around to spend on recruiting students they really want.

Note: I am NOT saying that strong students should expect departments to go out of their way to attract them, give them lots of fancy fellowships and so on. You wouldn't want to make a decision based on just that, especially if you are really interested in their program. I'm just saying that recruiting grad students is somewhat like a bargaining transaction and revealing more information than necessary could put you at a disadvantage. Generally, the school has much more information than the student -- the only thing we really have going for us is that we might have an offer from another school.

But that said, it probably won't really hurt you nor help you to say that school X is your top choice.

However, once you have all of your offers / rejections / waitlist notifications, then it would be a really good time to let that school know they are your top choice, if you don't immediately accept their offer. It's helpful for schools and the other students applying to know your preferences so that they know how many far down the waitlist they'd expect to go, etc. Also, the sooner you provide the information, the sooner other students can hear and less stress around April 15 benefits everyone!

[surefire]

Of course, you could say things like "School X is the best match for me because...." but like saying the school is your #1 choice, it also runs the risk of them thinking "well I bet you say this to all the schools". You're expected to be reusing most of your SOP (especially stuff about why you like your field, what research have you done etc.) for most schools but I really try to personalize the paragraph(s) about why that particular school is a good match for me.

^ I would agree emphatically with this! When I was on an adcomm, this is what I was thinking when I saw something to the effect of "You're my first choice!" It often looked as though the applicant's SOP was used across the board with a couple of AdLib spaces where school/prof names were switched in-and-out. The exasperated eye-rolling was exacerbated when it was CLEAR that the student was not a good match (my department has a prevalent legal element that sometimes attracts the attention of aspiring law students, who have applied to a grad school program as "a back up"; this could often be inferred from the tone of the SOP, and yet the applicant insisted on the "You're my #1", ugh)

eltoro89, I know that this might not seem to apply to you because X school really is your first choice, but I think that the "first choice" statement should be avoided anyway, it just gets the adcomm's dander up and will make your sincerity suspect.

As TakeruK mentioned, emphasize the fit. If you want to work something functional AND flattering in, cite specifically how something at the school/dept. will allow you to grow/contribute as an academic/researcher/future whatever. Instead of saying, "You're awesome, you have the best things!" try "The working relationship that program X had with research institute Y will bring an apt perspective to my research in Z". Since you've already identified unique components of the program that you've got your eye on, this shouldn't be too tricky!

School's that want to be told whether or not they are your first choice will sometimes ask you outright in their general application form. But if you're not invited to rank, I'd avoid it.

Suerte!