How does one demonstrate a good fit for a program?

[Ankghost0912]

Hi,

So I am currently writing multiple SOPs  taking advice from this forum . However, I am at a loss to understand how does one say or show that he's a good fit for the program?  I mean do we have to discuss the merits of the program our we show ourselves as a serious person who is interested in research and has experience in it.

 

Thanks

[GeoDUDE!]

Here are the things I want to work on. Here are the things that i'm interested in the department. Oh look, they overlap. Looks like my interests and your interests are the same, we make a good fit.

[peachypie]

I think you should see this as a bigger picture of overall fit.  Show what you hope to do with your graduate education, what kinds of things are important to you and how you think you want to fill in the niche of the field.  Show that the program you are applying to has elements that allow you to build on that area of research, that they too also have similar goals in mind of how to give progress to the field.  Essentially you want to show that you can get on board with the types of things they want to do.  This shows that you would be happy to work with people in the field there since they are building foundation where you want to and it also shows them that you want to contribute to their overall goals too.  Doesn't have to be specific but needs to hit the big "aims/goals" of the program.

 

I.e. as a microbiologist, if I wanted to go into say vaccine development...I'd pick a school that may have vaccine programs and centers associated with them, or a school that has many collaborations with vaccine development focus. 

 

If it is a good fit program, it won't be hard to find aspects of the program that show you would fit well there.

[Ankghost0912]

Oh I get it now. So in my SOP I wrote that I wanted to apply cryptography and AI in finding solutions to problems which are currently unsolved.Is this how you demo it?

[ashiepoo72]

You should be able to show where your interests intersect with the department and scholars at the programs you apply to. For example, if scholar X is studying Y and Z, the department is especially strong in Y and Z, you should ideally be interested in research that involves Y and/or Z. You need to show that you've thoughtfully approached the application process, know the strengths of certain departments and scholars and have a keen understanding of what you want to study.

 

It wouldn't hurt for you to look at the university as a whole--as in, what sorts of centers/libraries/opportunities/etc does the university have that can be used in your research? Even the city can be a boon. One program I'm applying to is in close proximity to the mother lode of archives for someone with my research interests. Try thinking about every way each program fits your interests and what you have to bring to the department as a whole. If you fit, you fit, and where and how you fit should be pretty obvious to you and the adcomms.

[Ankghost0912]

The point is should I explicitly mention it in my SOP?

[ashiepoo72]

Yes, you should explicitly show your "fit," although I assume it's better to use tact rather than bludgeon the adcomm over the head with a sentence like "I fit because..."