If you guys think SOPs are bad...

[Ziz]

One of my British schools asks the following questions:

Please state your reasons for applying for postgraduate study in philosophy at University X.

Please state clearly what in your educational background and interests make you a particularly suitable candidate for graduate study in your chosen course.

Not too bad right? Here's the kicker - you get 100 words. 100 words!!!!

[tarski]

"I am awesome can haz PhD plz?"

Wow, though. That is really short, even shorter than Toronto.

[kobie]

That 100-word limit is really a pain.

I know what you feel, because one of the program I am applying to does require the submission a 100-word summary on study goals, experience and the like.

However, it is only a supplementary requirement besides the SOP I submitted, so I was not too stressed over stuffing all of the ideas I wrote in my SOP into that 100-word piece of writing, because they will read my SOP anyway.

I hope that you have found some ways to tackle that 100-word limit. Good luck!

[Ziz]

I kept looking at the requirements to see if an SOP was also requested and I was just missing it, but no! Maybe the test is to see if you can be concise! Who knows?! Just makes me think they focus more on GPA and LORs than anything I'd have to say in my SOP.

[Eyetea]

I kept looking at the requirements to see if an SOP was also requested and I was just missing it, but no! Maybe the test is to see if you can be concise! Who knows?! Just makes me think they focus more on GPA and LORs than anything I'd have to say in my SOP.

I know I may receive quite some heat for saying this- but i think I like the '100 words' option. SOP's sometimes can create a false illusion. I'm a clear and concise kind of person. But hey, I'm a physical scientist!

[Ziz]

Haha no heat Eyetea. I actually did enjoy not having to write a full SOP. I am a very concise person as well, but 100 words comes down to about 3-4 sentences. Just to answer the questions in a very basic way is almost impossible in so few words. There's also no opportunity to explain certain things about your background if you have blips.

[coyabean]

"I am awesome can haz PhD plz?"

Wow, though. That is really short, even shorter than Toronto.

Kitty pidgin for the win! lol

Edited December 22, 2009 by coyabean

[natsteel]

100 words?!???!!! That's a far bigger challenge than writing a 3-page SOP.

[LateAntique]

There are various versions of this story and I'm far too lazy to track down the real one, but it's something like this: apparently Woodrow Wilson was asked how long it took him to prepare a 5 minute speech, to which he replied "Two weeks." When asked how long it took him to prepare a 2 hour speech, he said something like "I'm ready now." (I'd love for the real version of this story to come out if someone's an American history expert - the 20th Century is over a millenium outside of my research interests)

[natsteel]

There are various versions of this story and I'm far too lazy to track down the real one, but it's something like this: apparently Woodrow Wilson was asked how long it took him to prepare a 5 minute speech, to which he replied "Two weeks." When asked how long it took him to prepare a 2 hour speech, he said something like "I'm ready now." (I'd love for the real version of this story to come out if someone's an American history expert - the 20th Century is over a millenium outside of my research interests)

From what I've found in a very cursory search (so take it for what it's worth), he is not directly quoted as saying that. However, someone who knew him recalled what he had said:

"Wilson was once asked how long it took him to write a speech. He answered, 'That depends. If I am to speak 10 minutes, I need a week for preparation. If 15 minutes, 3 days. If half hour, two days. If an hour, I am ready now.'"