A statement of purpose (SOP) is an important part of a graduate school application that gives the admission committee a clear insight and a better understanding of you as a person.
It’s basically a fortune teller’s crystal ball that describes everything you’ve done, who you’ve become and who you aspire to be.
But haven’t you already listed your achievements and aspirations in other parts of your application? Then why write an SOP? Here are 5 reasons why an SOP proves indispensable to the selection process:
- IT’S YOUR LIFE’S NARRATIVE
It is a blueprint to who you are as an individual, giving the admissions committee a quick glance into your past endeavours and your future aspirations. Refrain from knitting an exaggerated story to make it sound heroic to the audience. Speak your truth with belief because that’s one power nobody can copy or steal from you.
- IT TABULATES YOUR LIFE CHOICES
The choices you make in life shape your entire personality and a well-crafted SOP describes the influences you had while taking vital decisions during your academic and/or professional tenure. It’s a space to talk about an emotional setback or additional family responsibilities that could have hindered your progress, and how you managed to swim through it all with your perseverance.
- IT PROVIDES A FRESH TAKE OUTSIDE OF YOUR RESUME
An SOP talks about your strengths and weaknesses in depth, allowing the selection committee to better understand the ways in which you’d be the right fit for their programme. This is your stage to flaunt those special tricks you’ve been mastering over the years, especially the ones that you went out of your way to pursue while maintaining your academic scores.
- IT REFLECTS YOUR PREPAREDNESS FOR THE UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS
A good SOP isn’t necessarily the one that manages to compile your entire life on a single page. It is a winner when it highlights your interests, achievements and ambitions that prove to be in line with the essence of the university you’re applying to. Consider this as applying to a drama club – while you may be an exceptional candidate for the role of a musician, you might not exactly fit in if the play is dedicated to sumo wrestlers.
- IT IS A FANCY SPOTLIGHT FOR YOUR USPs
Did you bag a prize for showcasing your talents but feel like you aren’t done bragging about it? Or did you invest your fun teenage years into serious, adult work that created positive ripples in the change making movement in your society? If it’s a yes for this or anything similar, make sure to include it in your SOP. It’s a wonderful platform to showcase your skills and give everybody an idea of the value you bring to the table.
In a nutshell, an SOP is essentially a piece of document that helps –
- University officials gauge your position in their programme with respect to your zeal and their expectations.
- University officials get a broader view of your creativity, inquisitiveness and willingness to learn new things.
