"Fit" Paragraphs in SoP

[rwarzala]

Hey everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had an example of the specific piece of your statement of purpose you are using to indicate fit with a particular institution. How many sentences are you giving it? How much detail are you going into? Are you naming every member of the faculty you could conceivably work with, or a few whose interests are closely aligned with you own? Obviously I could write pages on why I want to attend each of the programs to which I'm applying, but I'm having difficulty figuring out what is worth including in the SoP.

Thanks,

R

[fuzzylogician]

I usually had one or two paragraphs. First I talked about the general attributes of the program that I found appealing (libraries, resources, special courses, collaborations or other opportunities). Then I had a paragraph that mentioned a few POIs by name and explained how these people's interests matched my own. I'd advise you to select no more than 4-5 names to mention in your SOP. Choose only those ones who could really be advisors, not everyone who has some overlapping interest. If you just list everyone it'll sound as if you are shooting in all directions and haven't really established that the program is a good fit for your goals.

[GuateAmfeminist]

if you want me to PM you examples from my successful SOP's, I can

[marlowe]

if you want me to PM you examples from my successful SOP's, I can

PM please.

[thestage]

PM please.

[Stately Plump]

I mentioned 3 or 4 professors at the most. I too talked about resources such as libraries etc. If you do mention professors, be sure to read some of their work, ideally a selection of their work, so you have an understanding of their actual, current interests. It would be application suicide to discuss professor X's work as in line with your own interests, only to find out that you have misunderstood their interests (which, of course, you wouldn't find out, you would just be rejected).

Good luck! It's almost over!

[thinkagain]

if you want me to PM you examples from my successful SOP's, I can

PM please!

[feraleyes]

if you want me to PM you examples from my successful SOP's, I can

Please PM the same to me

[Swagato]

if you want me to PM you examples from my successful SOP's, I can

I am not in English but closely related (film and media studies--sub-focus in early visual culture and space). I'd love to read these examples. And thanks for sharing.

[sunshan]

I'd love to read these examples as well!!

[bigrelief]

I sent basically the same SOP to every institution, rotating out a paragraph at the end which mentioned 3-5 professors. I agree with Stately Plump that you want to be careful about misrepresenting POIs' interests--I honestly erred on the side of vagueness in this regard, because I felt it would be better to say less than to say something wrong.

I didn't think of this as a "fit" paragraph, though. I thought of it as a "proving I've done my research and do have some business applying to this school" paragraph. Because frankly, the school is always in a much better position to judge fit than you are. I think you're better off spending your time refining the rest of the statement and representing the awesome and idiosyncratic way that you think; this is what's going to get you in.

I applied to Harvard because they were Harvard, not because there were a ton of professors who were especially up my alley. My "proving I've done my research" paragraph wasn't great. They took me. They know much more about their department and what kind of people they wanted than I ever could.

The lesson I took from this (and this is obviously anecdotal) was that it's probably better to cast a wide net than to craft custom SOPs for each school. In terms of researching POIs, I limited it to maybe reading an abstract or two if I couldn't get a clear sense of what they did from the website (no time to read whole papers). I applied to 12 schools and got into 8.

[DontHate]

Based on anecdotal evidence, I think you can even completely mess up the "fit" paragraph and still get in. One of my friends accidentally included the name of a different school about half a dozen times, and talked about why this other school was the perfect place for her. She still got in. The program was excellent, Ivy-league, and extremely competitive. She ended up turning them down anyway.

[dazedandbemused]

Hey guys, I'm wondering how you all feel about putting names of potential advisors in your fit paragraph. I had always been under the impression that it was basically necessary, but the DGS where I'm currently attending and a variety of people who've been or are on adcomms have told me that it was absolutely a terrible idea. I'm not ignoring the fact that they obviously know better than I do, but I can't shake the feeling in the back of my mind that I'm dooming myself to across the board rejections. Anyone heard similar advice?

[waparys]

Hey guys, I'm wondering how you all feel about putting names of potential advisors in your fit paragraph. I had always been under the impression that it was basically necessary, but the DGS where I'm currently attending and a variety of people who've been or are on adcomms have told me that it was absolutely a terrible idea. I'm not ignoring the fact that they obviously know better than I do, but I can't shake the feeling in the back of my mind that I'm dooming myself to across the board rejections. Anyone heard similar advice?

I've heard from a prof who helped me with my UK applications last year (recently retired Ivy League prof) that it's necessary. Also, if it is such a terrible idea, then I'm screwed.

[t1racyjacks]

well at my first and second choices the programs are good fits, but they are my first and second choices because of people whom I want to work with. So I say outright I want to work with them and show how their work fits in. Don't care. If I don't get in maybe I'll see what I can do, but at this point I've submitted *shrugs*

Edited December 10, 2012 by t1racyjacks

[rems]

I've heard that it's pretty necessary to list profs you want to work with in your SOP. 6 out of 6 schools I'm applying to have a prof there I want to work with and that's why I'm applying. Even Stanford -- its helps that it's Stanford, but they also have 2 profs in my area whose work I've already worked with and who I've been in contact with via email. Otherwise, I wouldn't be applying there.

I don't see why you wouldn't name someone in your SOP. I've heard one person say it was a bad idea for two reasons: 1) inter-office politics -- you could get someone on your board who hates the person you want to work with and will keep you out for that reason (I'm sure how often that happens but I heard one person say that so I'm sharing it here) and 2) you could get the info wrong and look like an idiot. For my "fit" paragraphs, I basically copied the website when listing what they studied and kept it vague "so-so's work in British modernism and visual culture is of interest to me"

I listed two or three profs for each school who's work really caught my eye, and then I listed usually one or two as an add-on. That was my approach.

Edited December 10, 2012 by rems

[dazedandbemused]

Well, I was given a few different reasons, including the ones mentioned by rems. One professor said that reading an SOP that you love can be kinda ruined at the end by a name that's either not popular or not on the committee, and you have to make it easy for the person reading your app to fight for you in discussion. Also, that the people might be leaving or not taking on grad students. The one that I thought was most convincing was that you might mention two or three people who everyone on the committee knows would never be caught alone in the same room together, let alone on the same dissertation committee. The thing is, I don't know if I should base my future on stuff that's so completely iffy as all of these reasons.

Edited December 10, 2012 by dazedandbemused

[Datatape]

I didn't list a single prof in my SOPs last year and got waitlisted at three out of seven, none of which converted. This year, I'm mentioning profs in each SOP. No idea how it's going to pan out, but everybody I've spoken to at my school has told me that when in doubt, you should show you've done your research by listing the profs who line up with your research interests and who you'd like to work with. It's a gamble, yes, if you're inadvertantly listing the black sheep of the department or somebody who just got denied tenure, but I think the potential reward far outweighs any of the risk.

[waparys]

I don't think I ever said I wanted the profs I mentioned to be my advisors...I just pointed out we had similar interests, had worked on similar topics, and I would be cool taking a class with them. Maybe that's bad?

[practical cat]

I don't think I ever said I wanted the profs I mentioned to be my advisors...I just pointed out we had similar interests, had worked on similar topics, and I would be cool taking a class with them. Maybe that's bad?

I explicitly avoided that. I feel like it's way too early for me to make that kind of call. I'm sticking to: I think Professor X's work on Y is really great and I'm really into all of the work on Z being done in the department.

[Dark Matter]

On balance it's a good idea because it shows familiarity with the program. But really guys, relax. If you mention someone who has left the department, isn't teaching graduate seminars, doesn't get along with someone on the admissions committee etc. it will be forgiven. We don't expect you to be psychic. At most we would like some evidence that you have thought about where you're applying. And again, really what we look for lies elsewhere in the statement: in the way that you describe why you want to go to graduate school and what you want to study.

[rems]

Here's a question:

Would it be "tacky" or "lame" to write verbatim in an SOP what you said to a POI in an email? Esp if that POI is on the adcom? Is it a little presumptuous to assume they'll remember or care? I'm worried it'll look lame.

[Datatape]

I wouldn't do it verbatim, personally, but I can't possibly imagine that anybody's going to remember, word-for-word, what a student emailed to them, particularly if they're on the adcom and have over 150 SOPs to read.

[rems]

I wouldn't do it verbatim, personally, but I can't possibly imagine that anybody's going to remember, word-for-word, what a student emailed to them, particularly if they're on the adcom and have over 150 SOPs to read.

Yah, that's what I'm thinking -- I think I'm giving myself too much credit thinking they'd remember. It sounded so good when I said it the first time! But I think it might look "tacky" or something.

[Swagato]

This was relevant to me, as one POI basically guided the construction of my present SOP heavily and offered detailed critique, etc. Their program's awesome, and he is also a major reason why I'd love to be in their program. So, obviously, I emphasised my year-long correspondence with him alongside research fit, etc. I did not quote anything, just stressed how instrumental this relationship was to my desire to be there, etc.