Everything you should know about SOP [Revised]

Each and every college abroad has a unique admission process different from any in our country. They process their students through rounds of focused and subject centric exercises. One among those various rounds is the one of an SOP. The statement of purpose is a very important, rather the most important document in the application and that leads to a huge probability of your application failing or succeeding at the college admission rounds. It holds great weightage and thus, it must be framed very well with proper diction and comprehension.

A statement of purpose is considered as an identity document of the candidate. The narrative tells of the motivation and inspiration of a scholar willing to pursue a particular course. Ahead of that, there is the academic and corporate history of the scholar and how it may help him in the pursuit of this particular course. All these factors are traced through the comprehension and flow of this application and thus each and every SOP must be drafted very carefully. Considering it holds your academic fate, their must be no compromise in terms of language, expression and effort. The accumulation of all these makes for the perfect SOP.

Introduction:

While beginning to draft an SOP, it is very essential to strike the right tone with the introduction. There are various manners in which a writer may begin the same but the advised and preferred method is a tinge of expression, a minor peek into the subject for which the SOP is being drafted, followed by a humble introduction. This pattern usually impresses the committee reviewing your profile as they get an idea that the scholar is well informed about the crux of the subject. You must always maintain a humble and gentle tone in your SOP and with that, make sure that you sound confident about your delivery and expression. The usage of phrases such as ‘I might’ and ‘I shall’, usually express a low self-esteem which can be fatal for the entire application and thus, it must be avoided and replaced with ‘I must’.

Motivation and History:

Establishing the introduction, it is important to explain the motivation to pursue a specific course. A bona fide scholar usually has a story or an anecdote or maybe any specific incident that sparked off the interest for the subject within him. Having such an origin story often helps in the committee realizing the potential of the candidate. Following this, you can move ahead to explaining your academic particulars and your professional milestones that are related to the course. There maybe a bunch of them but it is absolutely essential to mention only the ones that can be lined back to our motivation or our pursuit of the course we intend to. Mentioning unnecessary detail may bore the committee and give them an impression that we as a scholar are not focused on our goal. To avoid this, we must select the most relevant courses from our profile and include them in our SOP.

Intentions:

Following this, one must then establish the intentions behind pursuing the course they intend to. This essentially means what are the future plans of the scholar after completing the course they intend to. This again holds vital importance as most of the courses are designed for full career pursuits in minds. It is thus vital to explain how the course would help you maintain a healthy corporate life and performance. If the university observe that the course is not adding any specific value or the scholar does not have an explanation relating to his future plans, they will never progress with the application. Generating value in society through the course one joins is prime in universities abroad and thus they always look up to the same criteria while advancing admission. Thus, explaining future plans is a must too.

Reason for choosing country and university:

Following this, the student must explain the respective reasons for choosing the country and university for their course. This explanation portrays how much is the scholar aware of his future prospective state of educational pursuit and the opportunities in the institute he intends to study. There are in real huge reasons on why a student goes to study abroad like that of educational brilliance, peaceful environment, state of the art infrastructure, better opportunities and pioneering research. If the student is able to explain these criteria in link with the country they choose, then they can assure the committee reviewing their application that they are well informed about the prospects. In such a scenario, there is always the possibility of making sure that how well would the candidate would fare once completed the course. Thus, this gives the university confidence.

Conclusion and Course Details:

Finally, the student must complete the SOP with a vivid description of the course and the university and what amenities mainly attract their attention. The university’s faculty, their curriculum, their infrastructure, their student help programs and the related topics. This shows that the student has always harbored the desire to study in the elite institution and holds the regard in that perspective too. Thus, the review committee is able to make an informed decision about the application.

It is vital and important too in maintaining this particular form of delivery in the SOP so that the thoughts appear organized and well-orchestrated. This thought also derives that there must be a proper enjambment at the end of each para graph that would lead a smooth transition into the next. The thoughts must be free from any grammatical errors and properly sentenced. These particular forms and expressions lead to a thoughtful SOP and one that gets through as a perfect example of a well drafted SOP.

A bunch of other criteria to keep in mind would be no plagiarism in the content and to keep it down to 1000 words. The content in the SOP needs to be crisp and well drafted but it shall not be copied from anywhere. The universities look for originality and they value that too. Thus, plagiarism is a big red mark for an SOP. Follow these rules every time you write an SOP and I can guarantee you the results you desire.