Helpful SOP Resources?

[phil413]

Hi all,

 

For those who have already written their SOPs / are in the process of writing them, what resources have you found most helpful to leverage? IE. Any good websites or books of samples, tips, advice from adcoms?

 

Thanks!

[rosestark]

I'm in the process of editing mine.

 

I've found this article "How to Write a Great Statement of Purpose" [http://www.uni.edu/~gotera/gradapp/stmtpurpose.htm] and liked it enough that I bookmarked it. I also found some good stuff from googling with the search terms "personal statement graduate school samples" including this: [http://www.callutheran.edu/career_services/documents/Sample%20Graduate%20School%20Essays.pdf] 

 

I'd like to hear if anyone else has found certain resources really helpful, too...

[wandajune]

My greatest resource has been advice from my professors. They know me well, and as such have really good advice specifically about which strengths of mine to include and how to incorporate them into the SoP. I would recommend sending a draft to your professors, especially the ones writing your LoRs.

[ProfMoriarty]

http://www.amazon.com/Graduate-Admissions-Essays-Fourth-School-ebook/dp/B0062OCMYA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385237115&sr=8-1&keywords=write+your+way+into+the+graduate+school+of+your+choice

 

Excellent resource, in my opinion.

[Loric]

Hi all,

 

For those who have already written their SOPs / are in the process of writing them, what resources have you found most helpful to leverage? IE. Any good websites or books of samples, tips, advice from adcoms?

 

Thanks!

 

This is not meant to in any way be aimed at you specifically..

 

But I find the most important thng people seem to fail to read when writing their SOP's (plural - you don't just copy-paste a single one to multiple applications) is the actual prompt given by the school.

 

There seems to be this idea of "write an SOP" and what an SOP consists of is somehow programmed into people's minds. They then create these dreadful things that don't answer the questions the school is looking for in their SOP and almost always start with the phrase "Since I was a child I've been interested in.." or something like it.

 

So the most valuable resource is what the school itself asks for and says about the SOP. It is a part of your overall application package. It needs to answer the prompt while also playing up aspects that will not be well represented in other areas of the application. View your application as a whole - heck, give it a theme you want to drive home throughout - and then see how the SOP fits into that big picture.

 

Each school will be a little different in how you can convey that information and thus the SOP will be different.