Make Yours Stand-Out From The Rest

You have set your future plans and are applying to grad school in foreign nations, but the application requires a written SOP. But what is it and how to write an SOP?

What is an SOP?

SOP or Statement of Purpose is a written essay aimed at reflecting a student’s academia, in conjunction with course of study, research interests, test scores, and long term goals. The fundamental purpose of a statement of purpose is to provide the admissions committees(Adcom) with a comprehensive insight regarding a prospective student’s background and foresight about the career.

This long-essay tells the university’s or college’s admission team members whether the student is an appropriate fit for the graduate study program that they are applying for and how they can add value to the respective educational institutes. Statement of purposes differs for internships, MBA, PhD, MS and other graduate programs.

Significance of SOP

The statement of purpose/ SOP is deemed to be the most influential part of your application; perchance the most substantial section. This part can lead your way and open new doors even if your test scores (GRE,GMAT,IELTS,PTE) are not satisfactory. Your SOP speaks louder than your overall profile. It includes your outlook, ambitions, thought lucidity, and your personality altogether.

Albeit having similar objectives as that of personal statements and letter of intent, it is quite different in various aspects.

What to incorporate in your SOP?

Creating an SOP is a task, to leave a mark on the Adcom is what every aspirant strives at. Below are some important point to include in yours:
● Introduction
● What are your plans (study or research)
● Your intent with the program
● Your intent with the university
● Your intent with the country
● Experience in the field
● Related work done(research, internship, special classes, course, project) in the field of choice
● Community service experience or leadership experience while in college
● Your career goals
● Extracurricular activities, interests, hobbies
● How will the particular university help you achieve your goals
● What is the extraordinary character trait about you that the admissions department should know of?
● Conclusion

Length of SOP

The size and extent of your SOP solely depends upon the university that you’re applying for. Statement of purpose is generally 1-2 pages long in paragon, engrossed in around 1000 words. Some universities have a fixed word-limit of 500 words only, whereas some have strict regulations of just 200 words. Just like that, other universities allow a 1000+ word limit, but should not be more than 1200.

Writing an essay about your life explaining how you inculcated your specific character traits is quite an easy job to do. Nonetheless, confining it in a predetermined word limit with proper words and annotations is quite arduous. Against such a backdrop, it is advised that you mention the principal accomplishments that you had in school, college, etc.

Statement of Purpose Format

The pivotal step in writing an SOP is to follow a proper format, connecting all the dots to form a decent shape. While scripting it is natural to get carried away, therefore it is necessary to follow a staid structure in form of paragraphs.

Paragraph 1: Introduction

Not to be confused with the self introductory paragraph, this particularly presents the main ideas that you are going to write about in your SOP.

Paragraph 2 & 3: Educational Background and Professional Experience

Consisting of your academic strengths and industrial exposure, it includes what you are pursuing currently and the test scores of any previous exams given (IELTS, PTE, SAT, ACT, GRE)

Paragraph 4: Reasons for Opting this Course

This part of the document weighs a lot more than many people comprehend. The applicant is required to give a brief account on how this course is going to help them shape their future and what values they will receive after completion.

Paragraph 5: Career Goals

This is the second most important paragraph in your entire SOP. This is the part where you discuss your short-term and long-term goals and aspirations. Apart from the work opportunities in that country, you should be able to name a few companies in your home country where you would work along with the job profile and the designation you wish to be working at. These are the short term goals.

For the long run, you should cite the answer to “where do you see yourself after 10 years?”. Involving your aim of being a CEO or a CFO or even a CTO, you can also mention your desires to expand or establish your business or even pursue a PhD. Remember to write about the difference you wish to make in the sector from a global perspective.

Paragraph 6: Reasons for Choosing this University

This paragraph is what we call a ‘selling yourself to the university’ paragraph. It determines whether you have researched the university or just applied for the name. For this, you should provide a few points and advantages of studying in your graduate school. It could include amenities like QS ranking, facilities provided, infrastructure, international student support, and any specific reason as to why you are opting this.

Paragraph 7: Closing Paragraph

Conclusion of all mentioned above is what this paragraph is about. You should sound firm yet enthusiastic in achieving success, as it means to you, with the assistance of this college and course. At last you should end with a request to consider your application for a study permit