How to write SOP for graduate school?
Statement of purpose tells the story of your life beyond the facts and grade points. The admission committee uses SOP to learn the motivations of a candidate for joining their graduate program. It is an indispensable part of graduate school admission process.
Nonetheless, it is the source of misery for many students who feel the pain of empty page taunting them to transcribe their life journey into paltry amount of words which is both original as well as authentic.
Personally, I can relate to the anguish of writing a compelling SOP. During my final year of undergraduate I too was tormented with empty SOP nagging for many weeks. I perused many blogs, articles and forums. I interviewed numerous alumni as well as professors to learn what makes up for a strong SOP. Eventually, I was able to craft together an essay which was part of my graduate application and helped me get into Imperial College London for my masters degree.
Since then, I learned more about SOP and their position in admission process by reviewing SOPs for many friends and colleagues while also having candid discussions with professors involved in admission process. In this article, I will share my insights that I have gained over past few years. Be mindful, this article assumes the graduate program is in field of science and technology and the ideas presented here may not apply to other fields such as humanities and business.
How to write your SOP?
The SOP should be simple but sincere. It should tie the CV and academic grade-sheet into a capturing narrative that helps the admission committee believe that you are an ideal candidate for their program. They are interested in questions such as “How has your journey so far impacted you in making this decision?” They also seek clarification about your future goals and motivation. They are searching for convincing arguments about why their graduate program will help you achieve your personal and professional goals.
Some students have a wrong notion that SOP holds a very high value in the admission process. Somehow, an excellent SOP can magically compensate for inadequate academic credentials or poor references. This cannot be farther from the truth!
In terms of importance for grad school applications, the SOP possibly comes pretty much at the bottom of the ladder. Graduate schools first and foremost seek students with academic rigour with strong technical foundations and verified exposure to real lab experiences.
A typical SOP of 700–800 words should begin with your introduction from early days. What got you interested in this specific area of science? What early experiences affected your undergraduate academic journey? Typically, this part of the SOP is very anecdotal and least data-driven. However, it needs to be a good story to hook up the minds of the readers.
An example of a good hook can be
When was the first time you felt like you know what your purpose in life was? For me, it began in seventh grade, while editing a Wikipedia page on the life and history of Charles Darwin. I was working on a term paper on evolution and wondered how Darwin first came conceived his theory. While looking at the Wikipedia page, I noted that the timeline of the Mendelian experiment on inheritance was misquoted. I searched for the reference and corrected it. My teacher noticed my effort and praised me for my independent thinking and quoted, “I am a young scientist already”. This was when I first decided I wanted to pursue science as a career.
An example of a boring hook will look like:
Ever since I was a child, I loved studying science. Dalton’s theory, Einstein’s model of relativity and Feynman’s adventures in biology all ignited a passion in me which could not be satiated with an ordinary career. I was good in studies and thus decided to opt for the most competitive exams and secured AIR — XX and got selected into the most prestigious institutes.
Did you notice the difference? Almost every other student will be probably write something similar to the boring hook. Now your introduction may have an element of truth, but if it’s trite and boring, then the committee might not pay great attention to the rest of the SOP. It’s nothing personal, just that First Impression Lasts.
Next two paragraphs of the SOP can be typically divided into two different parts describing your UG journey.
A simple template for writing above these two paragraphs is this:
Motivation → Action → Result → Conclusion
The first paragraph should talk about standard academic experiences in college, such as the courses you took and what impact they created on your life. How those courses transformed into projects and internships you did? What achievements did you derive in those projects? How it shaped you into the person that you are today?
The second part of this journey should focus on extra-academic activities you participated in the area of interest to grad school. For example, what conferences you attended, and B-plan or other student contest you participated in. What did you achieve in those activities? How do these experiences open your minds as an individual and what non-academic skills (e.g. teaching, literature review, interpreting experimental data for real world insights) you have learned that will still help you in grad school?
The final paragraph should anchor into what you want to do in the future in life? Why this program will help you on your journey. What are things that make the program the best fit for you? Anything unique about the program that attracts you (optional), could mean specific cross-disciplinary opportunities, high exposure to teaching, working with specific faculty, etc. Whatever happens, make a good concluding statement. It should be something action point oriented.
Your SOP checklist
- Uses simple English
- Grammatically correct
- Doesn’t contain long statements
- Tells a coherent story
- Is not dramatic
- Highlights career goals and aspirations
- Why this particular program and how it will help your future
- Resonates with the achievements in your CV and recommendation letters your referees will write.
- Adheres to word limit and format guidelines given by the program
Bonus if you have these
- Publications
- Industrial experience
- Scholarships
- Awards
- Entrepreneurial experience in a profit or a non profit capacity
- Student research projects (e.g. iGEM)
Things to keep out of SOP
Anything not specific to the program you are applying
- Why: Because it takes up space and doesn’t help the admission committee decide why you are a better candidate than the others.
Extra-academics such as sports, arts, management in college-fests etc.
- Why: These items don’t highlight your relevant strengths (research experience, science communication, literature review) for the program. If you are keen on showing your multi-dimensional nature and leadership skills, there are many avenue in academic settings which more be valued.
- Perhaps, lead an UG research team (e.g. iGEM), win presentation awards in a conference or have a teaching experience under your belt. The simple idea is that if the committee cannot imagine it they won’t value it highly. They have no idea that your college fest is the largest in country or world and they won’t have enough motivation to google it either. Use the examples, your admission committee can relate with. If you are confused, then take advice from your professors or research scholars around you.
Superfluous statements such as this is my dream college or program. I want to change the world.
- Why: These are the worst. They paint you as immature, unrealistic, and not ready emotionally for grad school challenges. Graduate research is not romantic, it is challenging, and you will fail more times than you will succeed. You will not cure cancer regardless of how smart you think or even actually are. Aim for the sky but keep your feet in the ground.
Defensive about poor grades. Don’t try to justify them. Just focus on your strengths.
- Why: Nobody likes a whiner and being defensive about poor grades exactly look like one. If you think you have gained sufficient points in your research or out of academic but yet related to grad school area activities then project them strongly. As best as possible, avoid talking about your bad grades. First, it reminds them you have bad grades. Secondly, unless somebody of authority such as your referee highlights to not mind your grades, they will most likely mind your grades because that’s the most objective data they have. FYI, even if referee recommends to ignore grades, it is not a sure shot deal anyway.
In the end, I would say that paint a story about yourself. Let your actions give an insight into your character.
Best of Luck!
About the Author:
Varshit is the director of content for India Biotech Leaders of Tomorrow. His educational background includes a Bachelor’s in Biotech from IIT Kharagpur and Master’s in Synthetic Biology from Imperial College London. He is enthusiastic about data driven journalism in life sciences. At IBLoT, he is responsible for curating all the content as well editing and proof-reading all the IBLoT articles.
