SOP recommendations (from someone on admission committee)

[lagringa]

I had the opportunity to sit on the admissions committee for my MA program this spring. It was an incredible experience and I strongly recommend it if you ever have the opportunity. It gave me a lot of insight into the process and I learned a lot about how to write a good statement of purpose. Here are a few suggestions:

1) Remember, you need to stand out!! The folks on the committee are reading a ton of applications and it is likely that they will read your SOP once (maybe even skim it), so you want to show the committee what it is about you that makes you special.

2) Edit your statement!! You would be surprised how many had grammatical errors and/or spelling mistakes there were. Make sure you have someone else read it since some of the spelling mistakes may not be caught by spell check since they are also a word (ie. make sure you say you want to work with faculty members, not faulty members!).

3) Don't spend too much time on personal stuff from your childhood. It is important that the committee get a sense of who you are, and if something from your childhood feeds directly into what you want to study it is relevant and you should mention it, but don't spend too much time on it. What the committee wants to know is who you are now and what you want to do. So, if you are applying to archeology programs it would not be appropriate to talk about how you used to dig up glass in your backyard. It is too quaint. Spend your time talking about something you have done more recently and directly relevant, like the summer trip you went on to Greece where you learned about ruins, etc. If you have overcome tremendous challenges to get to where you are, DO mention this!

4) THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING! DO MENTION WHY YOU WANT TO ATTEND THAT SCHOOL. Without being conscious of it, I found I was drawn to these applications. So many SOPs did not even mention my school, let alone professors. Mentioning who you want to work with and what you could learn from them is so key. It tells the committee that you have done your homework, that you want to come to that school and you know exactly why. It also clears up any confusion for them if they are not sure it is a good fit.

5) Be somewhat specific about what you want to study. This doesn't mean you need to know the village you want to work in, but don't just say you want to study Latin American history. What about Latin American history?

Okay, so these things may seem obvious. I certainly thought they were. I was surprised to find out that in fact they are not obvious to everyone. Good luck with you applications. It is such a painful process.

[secur_nwing]

thanks a lot for your comments, its really nice to hear back from some one who has been on the ad comm

S

[Phenomenologist]

Wow, excellent feedback, thanks a bunch!

I have 2 questions about this part you said:

"Spend your time talking about something you have done more recently and directly relevant, like the summer trip you went on to Greece where you learned about ruins, etc. If you have overcome tremendous challenges to get to where you are, DO mention this!"

My questions are these:

(1) Should I mention I'm married and have two toddlers, and still managed a near 4.0 GPA?

(2) I lived overseas for 2 years in Britain, and studied in a worldwide multi-ethnic community of people from Zambia, India, Brazil, S.Korea, Ghana, and more. Is this helpful?

Thanks a bunch!

[joro]

I guess I did everything which was recommended for my SOP. I'm still waiting for my results though.

[kristen]

Excellent advice! Of course, I'm reading this post-submission, however I'm relaxed in the sense that I met all of your suggestions! phew! haha, thanks again!

[nycrican2]

I just re-wrote mine and used all of your suggestions and sent it in today. Thanks so much for sharing.