A Statement of Purpose (SOP) gets you the Grad School you dream for!!

In the world of academics above average scores are not uncommon. There are scores of students like you with a very attractive academic track record. If a good GRE score adds to your academic performance- gives credibility to your application, a good SOP cuts it above the rest. It makes chances of your admission into the University brighter.

A Statement of Purpose gets you place in the Grad School you dream for. This is no exaggeration. Almost all the application processes for securing a seat either in the graduate or the undergraduate program in the US ask for a well drafted Statement of Purpose which elaborates your purpose of studying in that particular grad school.

A Statement of Purpose is typically an essay ranging between 500 and 1500 words. Universities are specific about the length of the SOP. The length is clearly prescribed in the application form and the student needs to upload it while submitting it. You are not supposed to exceed the word limit stipulated by the University.

A Statement of purpose is a presentation of your candidature to the University. In simpler words it ascertains your suitability to pursue a course of your choice to the admission board. It is a passive presentation of your profile to the board since you cannot present yourself to the admission board to defend your case.  A passive presentation like that hence has to be even more compelling and attractive. You should show them that you would be an asset to the University if offered an admission.

Points you need to remember while drafting an SOP:

1. An SOP is a written summary of your academic journey. It has to be in an utmost sincere tone
2. While composing an SOP bear in mind that you just need to express your feelings not impress the admission board
3. Please avoid mentioning unnecessary things in the SOP. An SOP should be a valuable write-up showcasing your academic and co-academic competencies.
4. The content of the SOP should be arranged in logical sequence. First, the academic performance grades etc, followed by co-curricular indulgence like papers, presentations, projects and then extracurricular activities like sports, social service and other things. Please do not mention the extracurricular aspects first for this may put you in a very poor light in front of the admission board.
5. Show your deep desire to be an alumnus in the University. Speak about the University and its credentials.
6. Tell the admission board the reason you want to be there. Talk about the specialization you would like to undertake. Tell them you eventually want to end up researching on a particular field owing to your passion.
7. Tell the board how the University offers the right platform for the most coveted research programs of the world
8. In the SOP you have to show a link between your passion for specialization and current academic interests and projects. A project undertaken in the similar area of desired specialization will earn you more points.
9. Group activities like sports earn you credentials during admission process. State them confidently in your SOP.
10. Please do not beat about the bush. Redundant sentences and feelings will not win favor
11. Do not show your inclination to stay back in the US.
12. Last but not the least tell the board that you want to return to your country after completing education in the US.

Read this blog more than once to know how to write an SOP. You can then try writing a sample SOP for yourself. Please do not imitate the SOPs available on internet. It shows that you are not a diligent, creative person and hence will not be an asset to the University. You will be considered a copycat. Try writing the SOP yourself. You can however get the language evaluated by an expert.

Get back to us with more on this.

Wishing you success!!

Regards,

Anu Veluri

Manager- learnwordlist.com

56 Responses to “A Statement of Purpose (SOP) gets you the Grad School you dream for!!”

1. halkano on February 26th, 2010 8:31 am

   In the beginning i was engulfed in confusion on how to learn all the
   words existing in oxford dictionary. i believe with this website this will work out better.

2. AnuVeluri on February 27th, 2010 11:46 am

   Hey halkano thanks so much..:-)

3. Tushar Kudalkar on March 3rd, 2010 6:43 am

   Hi……..Will you help me to frame details about my academic background as I was dropped out for 2 years during my engineering.
   Also the performance during 1st, 2nd and 3rd year was not so good.
   But I scored 65% during my final year. Waiting for ur reply

4. AnuVeluri on March 4th, 2010 8:15 am

   Ohh Tushar..see any SOP shud be honest..I do not think ur dropping out for two years matters until unless for genuine reasons..did u get wht I said..u can very subtly put that in ur SOP, not banging much..nevertheless u need to bang on ur greater academic credentials..n pls do not think what u have with u is not good..u shud feel u are the best!! ok??..:-)

5. Tolessa Muleta on April 10th, 2010 6:36 am

   hi!
   dear /sir madam!i’m Tolessa !i wanna learn more english vocabularies ,antonym and synonym words and become fluent English speaker!please i need u’r help!

6. Hamda on April 11th, 2010 8:02 am

   Hi there ,
   I wrote my SOP many times and hve made many drafts but at first i started talking about my background information then at family level and after that i took about my personal acheivements,undergraduate study , my objective in general. my internship and my experience in the realm that i want to pursue my future study(pharmacology) and conclude saying that it is my dream school and said positive things about my diligency and hard working. So, how that sounds? can you give me an e-mail address so that i can send u my SOP to read it for me and tell me what is look like cuz I dont know any expert to show my SOP. please reply me soon. thank you~

7. bijiga on April 11th, 2010 9:55 am

   I am bijiga abeya from ethiopia. I am now studying at haramaya university. I am studying by the field of agriculture,that is by the department of rural development and agricultural extention.I am going to take my bachlor degree in the coming june 2010.still I have scored 3.63 in the past semister. it is now only 2 months left to get my degree. after that I am in need to specailize such fields as climate change,sociology,English language and litrature.by one of these fields I eagerly want to be in the university to upgrade my education level and increase my knowledge. this due to the fact that the university is the most expensive that I have chosen it. I also ageate confidence that the university provides quality eduacation. for this I wanted to study there.
   the other thin I have write is that I know how live with fiends in a managed way.this I did staring from my childhood.my father,he is still alive, is a church leader. he always took guists to home whenever they came to our church.

8. bijiga on April 11th, 2010 10:14 am

   continued from the above.my father who was church leader has passed on to me leadership,how to live withfriends,and the like.
   my mother is called Aster Gondore.she is a very talent woman.she is active to preach gospel, pray and announce in the church. all these bahviors and charactersitics I have inherited from both of them.the society in which I lived had also contributed to make me grow directed in a good and disciplined way.
   at the end I want to ask you a question; is this the place for writing the SOP on ? don’t you provide us to write any appropreate place for ?

9. eright on April 11th, 2010 6:39 pm

   Thx great blog !!!

10. nina on April 11th, 2010 6:40 pm

    dear
    i am studying management and i want to apply for PHD program. would you send me some SOP samples.
    I’m looking forward hearing from you.

11. BOATENG KINGSLEY on April 12th, 2010 1:52 pm

    am proud of you…………..thanx very much.

12. noble on April 12th, 2010 8:07 pm

    writing a very convincing SOP is not easy as it may seem. It requires careful planning and where it’s carefully written, it’s still considered not satisfactorily.
    How can a student know a written SOP is convincing even with the guidelines?

13. Ojalatan John on April 20th, 2010 3:56 pm

    I want to show my appreciation for your effort in dissolving doubts concerning graduate admission processes.

14. shipra on April 28th, 2010 8:47 am

    hiiii Ojalatan John

    Thanks

    shipra

15. shipra on April 28th, 2010 10:30 am

    hii BOATENG KINGSLEY

    Thanks

    shipra

16. shipra on April 29th, 2010 4:24 am

    hii Tolessa Muleta

    plz go through with these links.i hope this will help you.

    http://learnwordlist.com/grevocabulary/
    http://learnwordlist.com/synonyms-antonyms-quiz.html

17. shipra on May 1st, 2010 10:29 am

    hii BOATENG KINGSLEY

    thanks

18. shipra on May 1st, 2010 10:41 am

    hii eright

    Thanks

19. shipra on May 1st, 2010 11:03 am

    hii hamda

    sure u can send me ur SOP on following address shipra@learnwordlist.com.

20. shipra on May 3rd, 2010 6:53 am

    hii noble

    just go through http://learnwordlist.com/blog/a-statement-of-purpose-sop-gets-you-the-grad-school-you-dream-for/2010/02/gre-word-list-test-blog-barrons-vocabulary.surely you will get help.

21. shipra on May 3rd, 2010 6:54 am

    hii nina

    just go to http://learnwordlist.com/blog/a-statement-of-purpose-sop-gets-you-the-grad-school-you-dream-for/2010/02/gre-word-list-test-blog-barrons-vocabulary.

22. shipra on May 3rd, 2010 7:42 am

    hii tolessa
    just gto through learnwordlist.com

23. Arowobadamu Akinola on June 5th, 2010 9:47 am

    Please I would like you to edit my personal statement on my behalf,but before then, I need to know the address which it will be sent to.Thank you.

24. shipra on June 5th, 2010 11:31 am

    hii Arowobadamu

    Please send it to shipra@learnwordlist.com.

25. Innocent u. Ajegba on June 30th, 2010 9:33 am

    I am quite impressed over your effort in educating people of all race without any iota of discrimination.I really appreciate your efforts and pray for concontinuity. QUESTION; How possible can a person like me who emanate from a very poor financial family background to get scholarship to foreign university ? Where will i get sponsorship from ?

26. shipra on July 1st, 2010 4:58 am

    Thanks for your comment Ajegba,Finance is never a constraint in enhancing knowledge for deserving students like you.I am very positive that you will get scholarship surely.Kindly hit following link http://scholarship-positions.com/.

27. nurudeen muhd haruna on July 5th, 2010 4:04 pm

    ther resing why i went to study to abroad because of effectiveness and efficiancy .aspecially from your famost university they are among top university in the world .the scheme will help me develop both your country and my courtry at large also the scheme will helpme to bost my academic performarnce so as to conttribute the development of my courtry .i read finance risk management will help in putting together the callapse economy of my courtry in a way and manner that will find out the solution of the problem. also change of enviroment and more faster accadamic calander. my hobie football table teneiss . i present two paper . on co operative society .name of the paper posative change to comunity.

28. shreyas on August 1st, 2010 9:08 am

    hey Shipra,

    I hav a GRE score of 1360 , TOEFL 108 and CGPA of 8.6 on a scale of 10 (B.E). and for my resume, i hav interned at TOYOTA and a research project in IISc bangalore .

    i think i hav done a pretty decent job in formulating my SOP’s and i also hav a letter of recommendation from an IISc prof ..

    wat do u think are the chances of me getting an admit in Gatech (aerospace)

    And i just wanted to know the job oppurtunity tat i’ll hav after i finish the course ? because most of the aerospace institutes are run by the US govt and do i need to be a green card holder to get a job in such institutes ?

    waiting for ur reply

    thank u

29. shipra on August 4th, 2010 4:11 am

    Thanks for your comment shreyas,you will have to speak with the Graduate Co-ordinator in the Aerospace Department. The GRE is a department requirement, the TOEFL is an Institute requirement, acquiring a job after graduation would also have to be discussed with the department. The telephone number there is 404-894-6046.Get back with us if you have further enquiry.
    –

30. annie on August 16th, 2010 2:09 pm

    dear learnwordlist.com staff, i want to ask whether you consider it possible to prepare for GRE only by using material from your web-site and a few others, or is it essential to have a special book? if yes, could you advise what to choose Baroon’s or Kaplan’s book. or maybe both?
    thanks in advance

31. shipra on August 17th, 2010 4:04 am

    Thanks for your comment annie, i will suggest you must look for specific book that only deals with GRE exam, Surely you can take help from websites like learnwordlist.com or many other but do not solely depend on them.Both books that you have mentioned are good you can take help from any of two.

32. kabir on September 5th, 2010 2:20 pm

    I was in confusion how to write my SOP but reading your article relating to SOP kindle me and I am hopeful that I can write a correct SOP depicting all aspects.Thank you .

33. shipra on September 6th, 2010 4:12 am

    Kabir,your SOP is very important in deciding your Grad school admission. We are blissful to hear that we can help you in that regard.

34. Jerry mensah on October 3rd, 2010 6:17 am

    I want to if i get some help from you to help me edit my SOP towards my graduate studies

35. Jerry mensah on October 3rd, 2010 6:23 am

    I really need help on my SOP please help me

36. shipra on October 4th, 2010 8:42 am

    Jerry , you can take some professional’s help like your professor in reviewing your SOP.

37. azmat on November 2nd, 2010 6:43 am

    i want to have few samples of statement of purpose for admission in oxford university

38. shipra on November 3rd, 2010 4:45 am

    Thanks for your comment Azmat, I wish to inform you we can only help you with GRE exam.

39. Mann on February 2nd, 2011 8:45 am

    Hi,
    I have scored 1050 in GRE Test:
    Quant- 680 and Verbal- 370.

    Can you please suggest me some canadian universities according to my GRE score??

40. shipra on February 3rd, 2011 4:09 am

    Thanks for your comment Mann, please specify your subject..

41. Daniel Njenga Karoga on March 14th, 2011 2:36 pm

    Hi. Please can you assist me to know where i can find the form which am supposed to fill in order for me to write my SOP?

42. shipra on March 15th, 2011 4:28 am

    Daniel, you can take help from your professors. You can also visit our blog section for better help.

43. avinash on March 22nd, 2011 5:10 pm

    i didnt understand y we should tellthe board that we wana return to our country after finishing our education?

44. shipra on March 23rd, 2011 4:46 am

    Thanks for your comment avinash, generally international universities prefer a international student student should not stay in their country once s/he completes the course. So it is better to clear your intentions in your SOP.

45. Sumanth Vallabhaneni on April 4th, 2011 7:48 pm

    Hi,

    I am interested in doing research in Transportation Engineering.

    Please let me know the best institutes for the particular division.

    And I have done my master from National Institute of Technology, Warangal.

    Passed out: 2008

    Had a hand of experience of 3+ years in Transportation Field and published my dissertation paper also. Made an attempt for GRE and ToEFL, but the scores were too less. Can I know what scores i need to get an admission.

    please kindly help me out ion this issue.

    Waiting for your reply!!!

46. Sumanth Vallabhaneni on April 4th, 2011 7:49 pm

    with CGPA of 7.9 and my under-graduation percentage of 77.

47. shipra on April 5th, 2011 5:07 am

    Sumanth, we can help you with GRE related preparation only.

48. Francis Kaswahili Kaguna on June 26th, 2011 10:23 am

    am Francis Kaswahili from Tanzania. am leading a Company of Protecting creativity Industry especially on Copyright at category of performing rights and mechanical rights with experience of twenty years back. My problem here is, once I come in the point of academic am really O I hasn’t went any University after that I am in need to specialize such fields as MBA and Law in general for criminal and civil or specialized with commercial cases please tell me where to start. with one of these fields I eagerly want to be in the university to upgrade my education level and increase my knowledge for reaching of my goals achievement.

49. shipra on June 27th, 2011 4:50 am

    Kaguna, wishing you all the best. If you looking for financial assistance: http://scholarship-positions.com/

50. ravi on July 18th, 2011 6:42 am

    hey
    what gre score do u think is good in new gre pattern. i will a have gpa of around 7 after my 4th year so what gre score id sufficient for admission in a good college.

51. ravi on July 18th, 2011 6:44 am

    please tell something about scholarship also.. as in is it easy to get a scholarship if your gre score is good

52. shipra on July 19th, 2011 4:23 am

    Ravi, kindly visit http://scholarship-positions.com/.

53. kumar on August 2nd, 2011 10:16 am

    hi, my name is kumar and i would like to know where to start an SOP and how to conclude it. Please clarify my doubt, thanking you……..

54. shipra on August 3rd, 2011 4:38 am

    Thanks for your comment Kumar, kindly read following blog: http://scholarship-positions.com/blog/tips-for-writing-for-good-statement-of-purpose/201105/

55. 'I-neek' Lennon Craig on September 8th, 2011 8:20 pm

    Hi Anu Veluri, Plaese could you address me directly?

56. ankur on October 1st, 2011 9:09 am

    Hi..!!

    ma’am my gre score is appox. 1140.Is it a decent score to into some top 100 univ.
    watin 4 ur reply..
    thank you

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