Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 86 views

    Sop Guide PDF

    Uploaded by

    Akshay Chandrola
    The Statement of Purpose (SOP) is a personal statement that graduate programs use to evaluate applicants. The SOP should distinguish the applicant by discussing their aspirations, goals, qualifications, and why they want to pursue the specific program. It must demonstrate the applicant's commitment, preparation, and passion for the field of study. The SOP should be well-written, concise, and tailored specifically to each university to convince the admissions committee to accept the applicant.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Sop Guide PDF

    Uploaded by

    Akshay Chandrola
    86 views2 pages
    The Statement of Purpose (SOP) is a personal statement that graduate programs use to evaluate applicants. The SOP should distinguish the applicant by discussing their aspirations, goals, qualifications, and why they want to pursue the specific program. It must demonstrate the applicant's commitment, preparation, and passion for the field of study. The SOP should be well-written, concise, and tailored specifically to each university to convince the admissions committee to accept the applicant.

    Original Title

    sop_guide.pdf

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The Statement of Purpose (SOP) is a personal statement that graduate programs use to evaluate applicants. The SOP should distinguish the applicant by discussing their aspirations, goals, qualifications, and why they want to pursue the specific program. It must demonstrate the applicant's commitment, preparation, and passion for the field of study. The SOP should be well-written, concise, and tailored specifically to each university to convince the admissions committee to accept the applicant.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    86 views2 pages

    Sop Guide PDF

    Uploaded by

    Akshay Chandrola
    The Statement of Purpose (SOP) is a personal statement that graduate programs use to evaluate applicants. The SOP should distinguish the applicant by discussing their aspirations, goals, qualifications, and why they want to pursue the specific program. It must demonstrate the applicant's commitment, preparation, and passion for the field of study. The SOP should be well-written, concise, and tailored specifically to each university to convince the admissions committee to accept the applicant.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    You are on page 1of 2

    Statement of Purpose

    The Statement of Purpose is your first personal contact with the Admissions committee. Use it to distinguish
    yourself. The SOP should speak about you, your aspirations and professional goals and relate these to the
    graduate program that you intend to pursue.It should basically answer the question..."Why should the
    graduate school admit you... what makes you special?

    Remember, the SOP is the tool that faculty use to gauge if you have what it takes to succeed in
    grad school and later in the academic discipline as a professional.

    What they are looking for, is an undying commitment to pursuing the desired field, backed with adequate
    preparation from your side, towards the same. It would help to keep these points in mind while writing your
    SOP.
    Begin with an eye-catching first paragraph.
    Remember, the Admissions committee goes through atleast 40-50 SOPs at a time. You've gotta
    catch their attention in the very first few lines. SOP should be to the point. Why do you want to continue
    studying? How is graduate studies going to affect your career?What have you done in the past? What do
    you expect? What are you looking for concerning an international experience?Why have you chosen this
    particular University?After MS, what and why Be objective, yet self-revelatory In a very straight-forward
    manner, speak about your experiences and academic bac-ground and how these have influenced your
    decision to pursue graduate studies.

    SOP must demonstrate your knowledge of the field, but shouldn't lecture or bore the highly trained
    professionals who will read it.They already know what skills are important to the field. They want to know
    your purpose in graduate study and specific academic interests. You must know the field well enough to
    state a preference, without being simplistic or pedantic. High-light your achievements...this is no place for
    humility. List any special preparation or achievements that you have that may make you "more qualified"
    than others.

    Remember the whole purpose is to convince or persuade the admissions committee and to make your
    application stand out from the crowd. Use it as a tool to explain any specific problems. SOP should honestly
    address any problems or special conditions e.g. grades on one semester may have been poor, b'coz the
    applicant had to work on a part-time job or was affected by a family emergency. Negatives should be
    balanced by positives e.g. "even though I had to take up a part-time job to support myself, I developed
    important time management skills that enabled me to not only raise my grades the following semester but
    to pursue my research interests".

    Don't restate information already provided in the application. Don't limit the SOP to a recitation of
    achievements...its not a C.V. Don't quote from Univ catalogs. SOP should be limited in length, no more than
    two pages(or depends on Univ's instructions). If the Univ asks for a response to specific questions, answer
    accordingly. Never generalise. Don't use terms like 'invaluable', 'significant', 'challenging' etc without further
    explanation drawn from personal experience. Also avoid over-used phrases such as "I can contribute",
    "meant a lot to me" or "is appealing to me". Be direct. Be honest or atleast sound honest. Try and strike a
    personal chord.

    Remember, the Admissions committee is interested in knowing more about the person, that is YOU. They
    are tired of reading numbers and techno -gabble. Try and reveal bits (the better bits) of your personality
    through the SOP. They like to know that they are making decisions that influence the lives of people. Be
    University specific.

    Don't make one common SOP and send copies of it to different Univs.
    Ask yourself

    1. Why are you interested in your chosen field of study? How and when did you begin to get interested?
    2. Why do you want a graduate degree?
    3. Why do you want to study abroad?
    4. What was the most rewarding class you took in college and why? What was the most rewarding assignment
    you did and why?
    5. In addition to classes, how else did you learn about your field of interest (e.g. books, seminars, lectures,
    conversations)?
    6. Do you feel your grades (university and graduate school if applicable) and test scores (GRE, GMAT, LSAT,
    TOEFL, etc.) accurately reflect your academic ability and potential? Why or why not?
    7. What kinds of academic skills (research, lab, etc.) did you learn in college?
    8. Were you involved in any especially memorable academic accomplishments in college? Describe them.
    9. Who or what has been the biggest influence on your academic development and why?

    Career Plans:

    1. What are your short and long-term career plans? How certain are you of them?
    2. How will pursuing a graduate degree help you reach your career your goals?
    3. What current and past work experiences have you had? What were the most important things that you learned
    from them?

    Extracurricular activities:

    1. What hobbies do you do in your free time?


    2. What clubs or other extracurricular activities did you participate in during college? Did you hold any leadership
    positions?
    3. Have you won any awards for your extracurricular achievements?
    4. Have you done any volunteer work?

    1. Is there anything impressive about your background (e.g. experiences, accomplishments, family history,
    cultural background)?
    2. Did you have to overcome any unique obstacles growing up?

    Personality Questions:

    1. Are you responsible? If yes, describe how.


    2. Are you creative? If yes, describe how.
    3. Are you honest? If yes, describe how.
    4. Are you independent? If yes, describe how.
    5. Are you mature? If yes, describe how.
    6. Are you hard-working? If yes, describe how.
    7. Are you confident? If yes, describe how.

    You might also like