Statement of Purpose

[axp]

I am planning to apply to quite a number of grad schools in the States and currently drafting my statement of purpose. Assuming that I have 4 research interests, and then when I am writing the fit paragraph, most of the time I can link each faculty to two of my interests. Is this ok? OR should I simply delete the interests I cannot link to the faculty? I'm not sure what the panel will think.

Thanks!

[fuzzylogician]

What do you mean by "I have 4 research interests"? Are there four specific questions within a subfield that interest you, or do you have interests in four separate subfields, or something else? If it's four related questions within a subfield, then more than likely the same people who can support one will be able to support the others. They don't to have studied your particular question to be able to advise research on it. If it's four separate subfields, then that is most likely too much and it would not be advisable to write about them all in one SOP. Unless they are directly related to one another, they would probably sound disconnected and therefore make you sound like someone who doesn't have their act together. That, in turn, would make you a risk and not a good fit. In that case, I would suggest picking two and expanding on them. But you still have to ask yourself, in case you really do have so many different interests, if you are ready for grad school and if you are able to make good choices for where you should attend. It may be helpful to sit down and try to narrow down your interests: is there a common thread that links them? If so, try and write about that. Your specific interests would then just be examples of a more general question of interest. And again, in that case, it's probably better pick just a couple and expand on why they are important and interesting than have a longer list but have it be shallow. 

[axp]

What do you mean by "I have 4 research interests"? Are there four specific questions within a subfield that interest you, or do you have interests in four separate subfields, or something else? If it's four related questions within a subfield, then more than likely the same people who can support one will be able to support the others. They don't to have studied your particular question to be able to advise research on it. If it's four separate subfields, then that is most likely too much and it would not be advisable to write about them all in one SOP. Unless they are directly related to one another, they would probably sound disconnected and therefore make you sound like someone who doesn't have their act together. That, in turn, would make you a risk and not a good fit. In that case, I would suggest picking two and expanding on them. But you still have to ask yourself, in case you really do have so many different interests, if you are ready for grad school and if you are able to make good choices for where you should attend. It may be helpful to sit down and try to narrow down your interests: is there a common thread that links them? If so, try and write about that. Your specific interests would then just be examples of a more general question of interest. And again, in that case, it's probably better pick just a couple and expand on why they are important and interesting than have a longer list but have it be shallow. 

Thanks a lot, fuzzylogician. Do you mind if I pm you my research interests and discuss there? 

Edited October 3, 2015 by axp

[fuzzylogician]

Sure, go ahead.