How to Write a Perfect Statement of Purpose?
Along with your university application, you submit your school transcripts, numerous diplomas, certificates, and reference letters. What makes you stand out from the crowd, tells the admissions committee about your personality and plays an ultimate role in their decision-making process is your supporting statement.
In this article, we will discuss what you should include in your motivation letter, how to structure it and what the admissions committee wants to hear from you. All based on my own experience and letters from students who got accepted to Harvard and Stanford.
Know your audience
Your personal statement is the key decision-making factor in your application. In 90% of cases, you will be asked to write why you are interested in a particular subject, why you want to study it in the chosen university and why right now. Basically, you should tell your personal story: What brought you here? What motivates you to keep going? No matter what each university calls it — a motivation letter, a personal statement, a supporting statement, a statement of purpose — it’s always the same brief but precise document that helps them to see you as a person, not just a set of grades, skills and working experience.
A common mistake is to use your application form as a basis for your motivation letter. Instead, try to think what the admissions committee has not learned about you yet. Let them hear your voice, know your personality.
Remember that you are in a competition. Each university receives hundreds and thousands of applications each year. If we take top-tier universities like Harvard or Stanford, they have an acceptance rate of 5 to 10%. They use your school transcripts and the evidence of other academic, professional or personal achievements for screening unsuitable applicants. Then, they turn their attention to your personal statement to see what makes you stand out from the crowd.
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When an admissions committee considers the applications, they hope to discover future leaders for their class. They want to accept persons who will succeed with a 99% probability. And the only proof of your future success is your past achievements. Tell them what you have already achieved, what drives you in life, how you got to where you are and how studying in this particular course will help you in the future. They want to be sure that you are not going to withdraw from studies in a couple of months. So think of how you can show them that this program is an inevitable step to your future leadership.
Admissions commissions for programs of different levels expect to see different levels of personal achievements in your statement. When you apply for a BA or junior programs, focus on your personal achievements, interests and social life. Tell about your passions, hobbies, volunteering or social activities so they can see your potential. When applying for an MA, a Doctor’s and other senior-level programs, focus on your previous experience in the sector and interest in the particular area of studies. You can tell them about your previous work or research and mention the projects you plan to work on during your studies. Balance between past achievements and future goals to prove that you are serious about the chosen path.
Create a separate letter for each of your applications. Avoid using a template. Take a closer look at the chosen programs and universities and try to explain what attracts you in this particular course, in the chosen institution. Check the university’s mission statement and values and ensure that the way you present yourself in the motivation letter meets their expectations. Look at their societies and clubs, see if you can contribute to student life on campus, — these small bits will show your strong interest in the particular university. Admissions commissions often look for such dedication in their prospective students.
How to Structure Your Personal Statement
First of all, check if your university gives you a word count or page limit for the personal statement. Also, see whether they have any special requests on what you should include in this document. If there are no specific requirements, try to create a brief but comprehensive letter. The optimal length is 5–6 passages, about 1–1.5 pages in total.
The opening paragraph is the beginning of your story. However, it does not mean that you should retell them your biography or start with basic facts. Your goal is to make them interested and excited, willing to continue reading your statement.
“Hello, My name is Marina, I’m 25 years old and I’m from Russia”, — this is a poor example of an opening sentence. Not only does this phrase not tell us anything new or personal about you, but it also sounds extremely boring and predictable. Instead, try to show your personality and start with an interesting fact about you, your memorable experience. “When I meet native English speakers, they always ask me if I am from an English-speaking country. It surely says something about my language proficiency as I am from Russia”, — this sentence makes the reader interested in how I managed to master English so well, that he/she reads further with interest. Try to find a similar passion and show it from an unusual perspective.
The second paragraph is a bridge between your story and the justification of your need in the chosen degree. In my case, I talk about my passion for languages and my business idea of LinguaTrip.com — language studies online booking service. It shows my expertise in a specific area and the need for additional knowledge of the business side, which justifies my application for an MBA program.
Then, explain how you may become a future leader and how education will shape your life, career, or business after graduation. Using your past achievements, describe your future goals. I usually try to give the numbers that prove my success and that will show my goals as achievable and realistic. And do not be afraid to admit your weaknesses or knowledge gaps!
In the last part of your statement, talk about what a great student you can be. Show how you contribute to social life, mention any volunteering experience, describe your extracurricular activities, etc. This is a good indicator that you can be well integrated into the university life and build a lasting relationship with other students and members of staff.
Storytelling for top tier universities
The basic structure will perfectly work for getting into the majority of universities. However, when you are competing for the attention of the admissions committee in the top-tier institutions like Harvard, Stanford or Yale, your letter should stand out and be more creative.
Looking at the best examples of personal statements that get people accepted into such universities, we notice that they all follow the best storytelling practices. Whether they focus on a personal drama, a story of victories and failures, challenges and success, or the barriers — financial, social, racial, gender — that you have overcome, it’s always a captivating and engaging story that keeps readers’ attention like a good book or a cool movie.
You can see a good example of such a supporting statement in the movie “21”, starring Jim Sturgess and Kevin Spacey. The main character applies for the scholarship at Harvard, but despite his excellent exam scores and grades, faces fierce competition and is challenged to dazzle the head of admissions. He tells how the struggle with money led him into a dangerous gambling scheme. He shares everything, describing how he was almost sent to prison, almost lost the trust of friends and the support of his family. This story is unique and sells himself as a person with an incredible life experience, worthy of the prestigious scholarship. Of course, it’s fiction and nobody expects to see the stories like that in your motivation letter, however, it gives us a taste of the level of excitement and surprise that your statement should provoke in readers.
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When working on your personal statement, pay special attention to the essay question. For instance, in Stanford’s MBA program the question is “What matters to you most and why?”. I checked two winning essays for that program. One person wrote that pizza matters the most to him because it combines pastry from Italy and sauce from China and he is amazed by such a casual but powerful mixture of cultures and traditions. The second winning answer was “an ice cream” and the author went on explaining how it helps him to stay chilled, clear-thinking and productive on hot summer days. While both these answers seem unconventional, they make complete sense when you think about the thousands of typical letters on why family, love, friendship, honesty, or truth are the most important things in life. Those two essays definitely stand out and make their authors get noticed.
Summary
To sum up, your motivation letter is your chance to show the admissions commission your personality, tell them about your ambitions and life goals, and connect those with the necessity of getting the chosen degree. While scores and achievements are used to eliminate the students, the supporting statements are used to choose the best candidates and accept them.
Do not retell the facts and figures from your application form and supporting documents. Instead, focus on your past successes and future plans. Explain why you are the perfect fit for the chosen institution. Use your own writing style and your unique tone of voice instead of formal language. And just be yourself: share your personal story that will make them fall in love with you.
