How to Write a Perfect Statement of Purpose?

You all know that as the world evolves, ideas, thoughts, and ambitions also develop. These days students are aware of the vast educational opportunities they have at premium educational institutions around the world. As a result, the competition had become tighter. And it requires your application to stand out from the rest to get into your dream university. So, in this blog, you can see a piece of detailed information on Statement of purpose which is also called SOP.

What Is an SOP?

A statement of purpose is an essay that is written by students applying for under graduation courses to get admitted to universities abroad. It is provided as a part of the application process. It is considered an ideal method to convey your ideas, interests, and ambitions to the faculty members or admission officers of the respective institute.

Statement of Purpose vs Personal Statement

There is a multitude of essays that different universities ask for during the application process. But there are two types of essays that are asked commonly in every application procedure. That is a statement of purpose and a personal statement. Even though the two of them are different, most people confuse one with the other. 

A personal statement is mainly the story of your personal experiences, work, and volunteering interests. It’s basically everything in your past that made you the person you are today and helped you to reach a mindset where you are motivated to apply for the university.  It is asked for the universities to evaluate whether you will fit in their student community. 

But the SOP acts as a bridge between your past experiences and the future that you aspire to build during the course of this program at the university.  It is mainly to evaluate whether you are the right fit for the program.

Reasons Why the Universities Ask For SOP

The SOP helps the university to evaluate whether you are apt for the course you are applying for. It also helps them to identify whether you are really motivated or can complete the course and contribute to the university. It attracts the faculty of the university to make your application wade the tons of other applications.

Importance of a Statement of Purpose

Just like a good cover letter makes your application stand out in the job market, a perfect statement of purpose helps the candidate to successfully present themselves before the admission officers of the university. SOP is a very important part of the application process. Because it speaks a lot about yourselves, your ambitions, your thoughts, and your attitude. It also helps to make up for and support your low CGPA. when your grades are objective in nature, the SOP is subjective in Nature. 

The Ideal Checklist for a Perfect SOP

Let’s have a look at the checklist for an SOP:

• Before writing the SOP, list down the credentials, your experiences, awards, and certificate on a piece of paper and put them under three different categories. They are: 

1. The information you want to write in your CV or resume. And don’t forget that a resume is always a one-pager.
2. The information you have to give in the SOP.
3. The information regarding interesting stories of your life is to be jot down in your personal statement.

How to Write an SOP?

After categorizing all the credentials into three groups, now it is time for you to write the SOP. here are a few tips to draft your SOP:

1. The first aspect to take care of while writing an SOP is the purpose. You have to rightly articulate your goals and ambitions. You have to write about:

• Reason for doing graduate studies.
• The reason to pursue the particular course.
• The knowledge and skill set that you want to acquire during the program.

Now, for all these pointers you have to write about your future plans after the course. For example, you have to write about your aspirations after the course like having a start-up or doing a research program, etc. 

2. The next aspect you have to focus on is to list down your past experiences. The things to consider are:

• The kind and number of past experiences you had.
• The skills you would like to add through this program.
• The relation between past experiences and the program that you choose.

While writing about past experiences, it is important to write down examples of them. Like the publications you had, internships, projects, etc.

3. The next crucial part of the SOP is to write about the program. If you are planning to study in any country other than the US like France, Germany, etc, it is important to write why this country. For this you have to research about following:

• The reason for joining the program.
• How it caters to your needs and aspiration.
• Your abilities function as an asset to the institute.
• How your future activities are going to connect with the graduation subject you learn?
• Write about a professor (if there is any) that you would like to work with.

Answering all these will make the faculties realize how much research and hard work you had put in, to apply for the course. 

4. What is the one thing other than your past experience and grades that makes you unique? Ofcourse your personality. In your SOP, it’s important to showcase the personality before the faculty. They are:

• Your knowledge regarding the student community and how are you going to fit in. This connects your personality to that of college. 
• Remember, SOP should always be unique. So, instead of writing the usual sentences, it’s better to start with a quote or anecdote that is related to the program.

5. The fifth step for the perfect SOP is ‘communication’. So, while applying to foreign universities, there might be some tendencies to use big words to make your SOP more exotic. But remember, SOP should be simple, easy, and effective. The major crux is to communicate your ideas, interests, and ambitions and not to flaunt your vocabulary skills.
6. The aspect that you need to take into account is to provide at least 3- 4 months for SOP preparation. Because it gives you the time to reflect and correct. 

•  Also, proofread each and every line and also take feedback from your professors, seniors, or anyone who is currently studying at that university. 
• Don’t use too many “I” and acronyms. 
• Be aware of the word limit, if it is not provided, don’t exceed it beyond 2 pages.
• Limit your personal aspects in the SOP.

Hire or Write?

Now the question is whether to hire SOP writers or to do it by yourself. If you are someone who can articulate your thoughts into words, it’s better to take time and write it by yourself. Because the universities have this habit of matching your essay to other small essays you submitted, IELTS score, or any other past piece of writing. So, it should seem authentic. But if you can’t articulate your thoughts, it’s also better to hire SOP writing experts.  There are also SOP writers online, who will write your SOP. but anyway, the idea is to make your SOP appear more authentic and unique.

Final Word

Getting into your dream college is the first step to building the future. So, it’s important to put all your efforts to achieve your aspirations. Drafting a perfect SOP will always increase your chances to get into the university you want. Thus making you closer to your dreams. So, hope the blog had helped you to learn more about how to draft that perfect SOP.

FAQs

1.Can I copy my Friend’s SOP?

As mentioned in the blog, SOP should always be unique. Because it connects your past experiences and your future goals. It should stand out from others. You can refer to other SOPs but can’t copy a single word from them. Because everyone is different so is the SOP.

2.Should you put your name on the Statement of purpose?

In a traditional SOP, you do not need to write your name or course details anywhere in the document. The SOP is a part of your application/student profile, thus, it will have your name and course details by default.

3. Can I hire someone to write an SOP?

It is completely subjective. If you are someone who can articulate your thoughts into words then it’s better to write them by yourselves. But if you are the one who needs help, you can hire SOP writers for SOP writing services.  There are a lot of professional SOP writers in India who provide the best SOP writing services in India.