Can anyone give some advice of SOP for mph ?

[tmiaj1]

I am really appreciate if someone can give me some tips on writing SOP for mph.

Do I need to say which program I am interested in SOP? Or what do general qualified characteristics they are looking for MPH students

 

 

 

Thanks in advance

[nblues]

In general, you should write:

 

1) how you became interested in public health

2) what concentration you are interested and why 

3) why you and the school you are applying to are a good fit

 

Here's a guide from UC Berekeley on the Statement of Purpose: http://grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/apply/statement-purpose/

[♀HealthMatters]

It sounds like we were both in the same position. For weeks, weeks, I stared at a blank Word document titled "SOPTemplate." I wrote so many opening paragraphs that were academic. I was writing like it was my previous MA thesis. Then, something hit me and I opened a new document and started writing from the heart - why do I want to do this, what influenced me, why was my road beneficial, etc. It turned out to be the strongest paragraph I've written in a long time. From there, it just flowed. My advice is to be yourself. Get out a piece of paper and really answer, in long or short form, why you're interested in 1) public health and 2) your concentration. Then, list everything you've done work and scholarship-wise that will help your graduate work. If you still need to keep prepping, take the lists of why you're interested in PH+concentration and link them up with your accomplishments/background. Sometimes literally drawing yourself a roadmap is needed. If you need any more advice, feel free to PM me. I may procrastinate, but writing, generally, is my thing. I hope I can help if you need it!

[AlphacentauriC]

Everything said above by the guys is correct. in my experience, I have always written one version of the SOP for college (BA), and all the other four graduate degrees program I have done since. I'm sure I will write the same version of the SOP for my JD/PhD during the fall of 2016! Yeah, fall 2016 seems far...but here I am, already knee deep into preparing my applications.

 

That version of the SOP just explains why I want to do the program; what I will use the program for; where I have come from to be here; my passion for the field; why the program is a good fit; why the program is the best; etc. As you can imagine, the SOP, is my strongest suit, the only thing that has allowed me to win scholarships/get in. If all the good programs I have done looked at grades only, I would never get in, esp. at the begining. Now I do have the stats to get in...but in the past, the SOP carried me single handley.

 

Happy to proofread your SOP for you...

 

Good luck

[holykrp]

In addition to what has already been said, here's a repost from another forum:

 

I bought a book that is really good: http://www.amazon.com/Graduate-Admi...d=1416579424&sr=8-3&keywords=admissions essay

I highly recommend it. It has a lot of tips on communicating with grad programs and the application cycle and gives a ton of essay examples, so you can get a feel for the style you like. Gives some solid writing tips as well for the essay, but if you're not a writer in general, you may want to pick up some other books on writing. I think he gives recommendations.

General overview from what I can remember:
1. Be sure to visit the school's website and answer the exact question they ask/requirements they have. Do not go over the word count.
2. Customize each essay by school. Include why you want to go there (obviously), professors you'd like to work with, why you want to live in that area if you are moving, etc. 
3. Clearly state your goals and how the program would help you achieve them.
4. DO NOT say "I've always wanted to..."
5. DO NOT reference examples from when you were a child, unless you do it really quickly to attach it to something you did as an adult.
6. Do not just walk through a resume; you can reference your other work in the application (e.g. "I worked at XYZ company on a research project; my resume details my responsibilities.")
7. DO NOT use humor
8. "Show" don't "tell" (i.e. It's better to extrapolate on one example of when you exhibited a certain quality versus giving a list of your qualities.)
9. Sometimes it is good to give a laundry list of your skill bank, but do that only one time.
10. The author of this book is big on reductionism as a means of being more concise to fit word limits.

I also would be happy to take a look at your essay. I have a knack for writing things like this.

In general, to spice it up you could:
1. Use better adjectives
2. Action verbs
3. Varied sentence structure
4. What I call "weaving"; For example, start talking about your story, and weave in the program, then back to your story, then back to the program, etc.

[IntriguedStudent]

Pretty much everything that has been said here so far is good advice. An SOP for MPH programs should truly be written "from the heart". They don't really care so much about why you are a strong candidate academically. They want to see that you have a passion for public health. You should be able to demonstrate how you became interested in the field and what you want to be able to contribute. Finally, you should be able to verbalize why you are interested in that school's program, specifically. Unlike many other programs, where you get an MPH can matter. There are a lot of different variables here that you could write about. These include: location, alumni network, course offerings, concentration offerings (you should have already mentioned this), research opportunities, etc. 

 

The key to writing an SOP is to really think about what sort of attitude and meaning you are trying to convey. As has been mentioned many times, MPH programs care about the whole person. They may not necessarily care that you have the best GPA or GRE scores. Your SOP is your chance to convince them that you are a good fit because you truly want this and you will be able to not only succeed, but that you'll do something meaningful with your degree. 

Edited January 5, 2015 by IntriguedStudent