Introduction to statement of purpose

[mr.potato]

One of the programs I am applying for wants a statement of purpose and a personal statement. The statement of purpose prompt seems pretty straight forward with five questions they want you to answer. 

 

The five questions are related in that it should be easy to transition from one topic to the next but I'm racking my head over the introduction. My first instinct is to briefly write about how and why I got into the field but the personal statement pretty much covers that. Should I jump straight into the first question? Or should I still go for a condensed background introduction? Or is there a third (and maybe forth), much better option? 

[Loric]

It depends.. what are the questions..?

[mr.potato]

They are: 

• What are the critical issues in the field of information?
• What are your aspirations in the field of information?
• What is your understanding of the School of Information?
• How will a UMSI education help you reach your aspirations?
• What would you contribute to the UMSI community and to the field as a whole?

[Loric]

I'd not go with the story of how you came to want to be in the field, but rather how you came across the school itself and why you came to choose it as a place to apply.

 

It's simply a matter of making your life sound interesting. If it's because someone told you to apply there.. well.. ok.. but I'm sure there's some little vignette you can describe which makes it seem much more interesting. It could be as simple as a few statements about your college search and the compelling info hey provide, yadda yadda.

 

For mine I discussed how exclusionary and insular the field I want to work in happens to be and how I was thrilled to learn about the program which actually catered to the field - it's the first ever. I make references to making noises only dogs can hear... but it depends on your overall tone.

[mr.potato]

Thanks you, that helps a lot. It occurred to me that I don't need to answer the questions in order which makes it a bit easier. Now I just have to figure out how to rearrange it to fit into a cohesive narrative.