SOP flow, I statements, and on transferring from one PhD to another

[zind]

Hey all,

 

I am currently a PhD student in a pretty cool program, but I decided to shift gears, leave with a masters, and transfer to another program within my university. (Sorry about being so vague, but I still haven't decided on how to announce it publicly, I would be happy to PM details and share the pains if anyone else is out there doing this for F15) I have a few questions:

 

-- Do you think it would help to mention that I am ONLY applying for this program I want to transfer? I describe why the program is a special fit pretty clearly but do not explicitly state "You are the only one for me". Does the adcom care about how monogamous I am being with the whole application craze this time around? Or would it come off more as a plea? 

* I could also hint at this in my diversity statement where space is much less precious.

 

-- My ideal paragraph flow is as follows:  

 

1. Why I want to do this & specific research motivation, brief personal story

 

2. Why this program, all its attributes and PIs I am interested in. (this is broken to multiple paragraphs, one about the dept, two about two different PI with somewhat different angles on this problem I am interested in tackling)

 

3. My past experiences that show I am a good candidate (how I fit in their interests). I am having trouble writing this out as a separate paragraph as I already mentioned how my past experiences fit with #2. I've a strong temptation to say "Look at my CV, I got this", which I know would be suboptimal.

 

4. My vision for what I'd do with this degree in the future 

 

5. Similar to #1, but with a vision for what could happen with this degree on a bigger impact level.

 

Any suggestions on how to do #3 without devaluating the examples from #2? 

 

-- If you are in STEM, you read this far and have some ideas for me, I have something that might be helpful for you: I'd be happy to share my old SoP that worked pretty well in my engineering phd applications. I can also help edit yours especially after my deadline which is in 48 hours.

 

"Your deadline is in 48 hours and you are on a forum? Are you crazy?" -- No, writing this out has helped me reflect a bit more and it was a much needed break from typing way too many I statements. 

 

-- Actually I am a bit self conscious about my "I"s, does anyone have any solutions to stop saying "I" all the time in these things? 

 

 

OK with that I really should get back to my d11. Thanks for reading, and good luck with all your applications!