Please help with SOP advice (Pet Eng)

[Exploded Muffin]

Hey guys, I know I'm the millionth person with this topic but could someone please have a quick read through my SOP for a particular school?

 

My chances of getting in are extremely limited (Got a 2nd class, lower division from a British university, about 59%) but I'm still applying anyway. I was trying to break my own nerd/academic stereotype and overdid it...some other issues as well,  but the grade was mostly a result of my stupidity/immaturity years back.

I took the GRE a month ago and got q-170, v-165, awa-4. While this is a decent score except the AWA (no idea what happened), I feel that the GRE is a ridiculous tool for predicting graduate school success but I guess it's slightly useful for people in my situation.

 

All feedback will be really appreciated.

 

 

Statement of Purpose

The importance of energy in the world is increasing daily with increasing worldwide demand. The Oil & Gas industry is a major player in world energy provision and will be for the foreseeable future hence efficiency in utilizing the available but rapidly diminishing resources is something I feel is critical. This, along with other lifelong interests and goals, founds my desire to apply for a course-based MEng degree in Petroleum Engineering.

 

I attended the XXXXXXXXXXXXXX where I studied Chemical Engineering and graduated in 2010 with a BEng (Hons) Degree. In my final year at the XXXXXXXXXXXXXX, I was part of a team of 7 people tasked with designing a 250,000 metric ton ammonia synthesis plant. I was in charge of the reactor design where I used technology from the KBR Advanced Ammonia Process (KAAPTM) ammonia synthesis converter as the foundation for my reactor.

 

I returned to XXXXX in 2011 to work in the family company and fully develop myself in preparation for graduate study and my future plans. The company (XXXXXXXXXXXXX) is involved in providing business-centric information to corporate clients and in corporate advertising. My roles involved creating business structures, supervising IT projects, general market research, and targeted marketing and sales.
I started the mandatory service program for my country, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), in October 2012. I was posted to a school (XXXXXXXXXXXX) where I taught physics to the secondary and Cambridge GCE A-Level students. I also created and maintained a website for the school (XXXXXXXXXXXX.org) and was part of the marketing team whose duties involved creating and delivering presentations, organizing educational events, and preparing and presenting the students for inter-school competitions.

 

The service program ended in October 2013 and I returned to work part-time at XXXXXXXXX while studying in preparation for graduate school. My schedule has included reviewing my undergraduate course material, taking relevant online courses, and familiarizing myself with basic deficiency BS petroleum engineering knowledge. This has been an important and necessary step in deciding if a graduate degree in Petroleum Engineering is what I want and also in my preparation for graduate school.

 

I have decided to pursue a MEng degree in Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M University as the Harold Vance Department for Petroleum Engineering is widely recommended with characteristics that suit my career plans. Following the MEng program, I plan to seek a graduate position in the Petroleum industry as a reservoir engineer and gain as much industrial experience and knowledge as I can before going on to do an Engineering Management program. After further industrial and managerial experience, I plan to start an Oil and Gas consultancy firm based on established and emerging techniques for enhanced reservoir simulation and oil recovery, given favorable conditions. The Texas A&M University’s SPE enhancement career event is unique and of particular benefit to anyone privileged to be a part of it and the Aggie 100 program represents the department’s explicit support of entrepreneurship and innovation. No other Petroleum Engineering program offers this unique combination.

 

My work experience, though unrelated to the petroleum industry, has imparted in me skills which I feel are beneficial to success in graduate school. Through taking on new and unfamiliar projects, devising appropriate, effective, and efficient courses of action, and persevering until completion and success I have greatly improved my analytical and research ability, work ethic, resilience, and versatility.
I had some personal and family issues during my undergraduate years which prevented me from fully realizing my academic potential and maintaining my up till then excellent academic record. This is all firmly past and has been a very important learning and motivating experience for me.

 

My academic, work, and personal experiences so far has equipped me with skills needed to tackle graduate school and I have no doubt that the challenges and obstacles that will be faced are ones which I will overcome with aplomb.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Exploded Muffin

[myjunior]

Hello

I am also a chemical engineer and also applying for Masters in Peng but not in Texas A&M

So here is what i think about your SOP;

-Paragraph 3, no need to mention it was a family company it might seem you only got the job because it was a family business or had no other option.

- i would also rewrite the statment "This has been an important and necessary step in deciding if a graduate degree in Petroleum Engineering is what I want and also in my preparation for graduate school".. It seems like you were forced or had no other option but to take those classes.

-i don't think you should mention personal & family issues just to explain your low gpa. It would make the committee wonder if you were to get personal or family problems you performance of grad school will be affected.No one is perfect stuff happens and people slip.. I also had a low gpa in my 2nd year of ugrad. I would suggest to not mention it in your SOP

-lastly i feel you haven't really explained in detail why you decided to pursue Masters in Peng while you have no Bs in Peng or work experience. What inspired you?

Your SOP should focus on positives.By the way your GRE scores are very good don't worry about them.

What other schools are you applying to?

P. S Apologies if i seemed harsh when analyzing your SOP

[Exploded Muffin]

Thank you for your feedback myjunior.....harshness is welcome in this circumstance

 

I'll make the adjustments on the "family company",  "this has been important...", and remove the pathetic explanation for my low gpa, hehe.

 

The thing is that the family company thing is kind of an implicit tradition, we all have to work there at some point and I just wanted to do it now and be done but I can't put that in obviously. 

For my inspiration...I've always wanted to do PetEng because my closest uncle is a career reservoir engineer (no longer doing field work though) and we have a big petroleum industry in my country. The inspiration is all around but I read somewhere that you shouldn't put family inspiration in your SOP. What do you think? What inspired you?

I also felt PetEng was too narrow to do as a first degree and opted for its closest sibling.

 

I'm applying to schools that offer the MEng program. I only know of TAMU in the states and Alberta, Calgary, and Dalhousie in Canada. Alberta and Dalhousie aren't taking MEng applications for now though.

 

Thanks again.

[myjunior]

It makes sense now about the family business. You can mention it but If you could find a way of phrasing it such that it doesn't seem that your cv & gpa were so bad that you couldn't get a job as an engineer so you had to settle for family business but rather its tradition or it was just your decision to work in the family business.

About your Uncle,that's tricky. Im not sure is it possible to mention him as an inspiration without saying he is your uncle? All in all you need something to show you didn't wake up one morning and just decided you were going to pursue masters in petroleum engineering. If someone else here could give their thoughts on your SOP that would be helpful, sharing ideas and all.

I was recruited by a oil and gas service company and been working as a field engineer for 2 years (graduated in 2012). I want to advance in this industry and i feel a master's in Peng will help me do that.

As for grad school, do you want Meng as title of the degree or a course based degree? I sent emails to universities in Us and canada asking about the program and also funding for international students like me, so those that gave a positive response i am applying to them. I am applying to University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Louisiana state university, West Virginia University, University of Regina(its in canada) and University of Texas at Austin. All of them have course based degrees. You can check their websites and see if they are a fit for you.

Other schools in the Us that you may take a look at:

University of Oklahoma

University of Wyoming

University of Alaska

Colarado school of mines

Texas tech

Stanford

[Exploded Muffin]

Thanks, sent you a DM