Varying the SoAP...

[Katla]

I've been wondering, how much do people actually change their SoAPs depending on where they are applying. I mean, obviously there's the bit that focuses on the programme and different programmes might ask for different lengths etc but a lot of the content requirements seem to be fairly similar.

 

I started out trying to write specific SoAPs for each place but it's mostly just one paragraph (the uni specific one) that I change, and even with that one I find it hard to see any real change because I have chosen programmes that I find have a similar profile and where my research and background might fit. The result is that with two still to go it's all starting to look scarily generic... and I'm getting worried that this will be obvious to the admission boards.

 

Did anyone else have this problem?

 

I'd be interested to hear, because in case everything fails this year, I think it'll be one of the things I'll make even more of an effort to change next application season.

[snyegurachka]

I did a workshop series for applying to Phd programs with an "esteemed" (i.e. very published and connected, if somewhat arrogant) professor, and he recommended writing one core statement (or multiples if you are applying to vastly different disciplines) and then tailoring 1-2 paragraphs that talk about faculty members and specifics of each of the programs. I think this is just what everybody does. Your statement isn't generic, it's just...duplicated. Programs aren't going to call each other up to verify if you had verbatim phrases in both SOPs.

[echo449]

Programs could not expect you to have individualized statements beyond the fit paragraph and the stray line elsewhere. There just isn't time for applicants to do that. And one very good statement that represents you best is going to go much farther than 10 arbitrarily different ones. 

[queennight]

My feelings on writing completely individual personal statements:

[iwontbelyeveit]

My feelings on writing completely individual personal statements:

 

queennight: AMAZING GIF.

 

That's how I feel about simply applying to 16 places...I can't even begin to think about writing individual statements. I would have gone insane. 

[zanmato4794]

I'm thinking I really messed up the fit issue. Most of my fit statements are small one- or two-sentence clusters affixed to parts of my core letter where they seem to make sense. In no letter did I set aside an entire paragraph for fit.

 

I know I was going against the grain with this, and now that it's nearly decision time I'm of course overcome with doubts, but there was something about writing the fit sections that seemed... inauthentic to me? I meant what I wrote, but in many cases, if I had gone on any longer, I would have felt like a kiss-ass.

 

I don't see it mentioned in the English forums a lot, but elsewhere on the site, the "show" versus "tell" model of SOP-writing seems to be popular.

 

I might just roofie myself repeatedly until mid-Feb.

Edited January 14, 2015 by zanmato4794

[HesseBunuel90]

Zanmato4794: I did the same thing. I felt that adding a fit paragraph at the end seemed more tacked on than integrating professors' research, elements of the program etc. which corresponded with the content in the SOP. The only exception was NYU, as the website stated that the statement should specifically detail why this school was chosen. There is no set way to best demonstrate fit. Yet, the ad com can clearly see from an SOP if an applicant fits with the program's faculty, resources, and overall approach.

[Dr. Old Bill]

Technically speaking, no two of my SOPs were exactly alike...even beyond the "fit" material. I'm notoriously revisionistic when it comes to pretty much all of my writing at the best of times, and the same was true for my SOPs. Since my first SOP was submitted in mid-August, and my last in mid-November, each incarnation underwent some (arguably minor) changes in various places. I did, of course, have completely different paragraphs for talking about the specific program I was applying to. In some cases, a full half of my SOP was dedicated to talking about fit. More often than not, however, 2/3 of it remained relatively constant for each SOP, with the other 1/3 mostly different. I never really thought of it as a "fit paragraph" in those terms...it just felt like a natural progression from talking about my past studies and my interests to talking about how that pertains to each program.

 

I did legitimately mean every word of those "fit paragraphs," however. As I'm sure was the case for most folks here, I spent several months doing research on various programs and POIs so that I had a reasonably firm grasp on all of the pertinent aspects. In most instances, I was able to name two or three POIs and reference parts of their work that interested me. When I could only name one, I only named one. When I could easily name six, I talked about three in detail, then touched on the work of the other three in a single sentence.

 

It's impossible to say at this point whether or not the degree of customization will prove to be a benefit to my applications, of course (I sure hope it doesn't come across as being obsequious, as I certainly don't mean it that way), but it felt right for me write them in that manner. My one regret (mentioned as a bemused aside by one of my LOR writers after the fact) is that I used the word "scholastic" in my SOP, when I probably should have used "scholarly." Apparently "scholastic" can have a negative connotation...something I was completely unaware of when I wrote my statement. Whoops.

[mikers86]

Take a shot every time between now and the end of decisions *fit* is mentioned on this forum. It will make acceptance/rejection season far less painful. You won't even remember getting rejected!

 

(granted, you may not survive long enough to attend a program if you were accepted)

 

But really, of all the things you write in your SOP, the fit section is the hardest and feels odd or uncomfortable. Adcomms know this. It's part kiss-ass, part strategic, and mostly obnoxious in that you're taking a stab at imagining how you can potentially fit within a department going off a likely outdated department website with faculty profiles that haven't been updated in 10 years. Unless you completely misidentify a potential POI, the fit section will likely not make or break your application. If you did a sufficient job describing yourself in the remainder of your SOP, Adcomms will likely be able to figure out whether or not you *fit* in that department. Cryptic, mysterious, WTF: that's the nature of the fit section for you.

 

That doesn't make it any less-stressful, though.

 

And when I did this last year, I had one main SOP that I altered depending on the program and their requirements. 1 for every program? That would be crazy. Also - it really helps if you save the main template as an entirely different document, leaving things like (Name of program) and (person of interest) rather than copying and pasting from the one you wrote for Harvard. There's nothing worse than realizing you sent off a SOP with another institution or professor's name that are not at the institution to which you're applying. #hawkward

Edited January 14, 2015 by mikers86

[jhefflol]

I'm here to say that I basically did the same thing everyone else did. I mentioned each program's unique writing center or program by name (on recommendation from a current PhD student/dear friend) and then my fit paragraph was basically, "Given my research interests as outlined above, I'd be honored to work with blank, blank, or blank during my residency at blank university." And then I mentioned whatever colloquia and/or consortium the university participates in and hoped the rest would be obvious.

[Katla]

Thank you all for your very wise input on this! It's quite a relief that everybody seems to have more or less the same approach. Clearly the brain is just eager to latch on to anything to bring more terror to this whole process, but I'll tell it to pipe down for now (and failing that, I'll consider mikers86's suggestion about the shots).