
May 25, 2020BY Dev ( 0 ) Comment
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SOP is the most crucial document of the application submitted to an international institute. It is the summary of your educational portfolio, an essay that spells out your academic trajectory so far and the journey ahead. The statement of purpose is also called an admission essay or a personal statement. In almost all the cases, SOP decides the fate of your aspirations of studying in an international institute because it gives the admission committee a perspective of your thought process, maturity, career objective, decision- making ability, your future plans and how the course and the university you have selected fits in your scheme of things. Rather than flipping through all the pages of your portfolio, application evaluators prefer to go through the SOP as it gives them a summarised and to the point insight of the information mentioned in all other documents. Moreover, when an institute receives a large number of applications for a particular program, a well-written SOP gives a student edge over other students. Thus, a well-written statement can help you secure admission in the university of your choice (provided you satisfy their other admission requirements). Though several institutes also require you to clear an admission interview, it is only after the varsities are satisfied with your application especially the SOP. Please remember, no other document of your application can compensate or cover-up for a substandard SOP.
Having understood the importance of an SOP, now let us look at the points to be considered while preparing an SOP.
Contents and flow of the statement:
One of the best ways to give a proper structure and fluidity to your sop is to break it down it into several paragraphs as mentioned below:- Introduction about your interest area and your selected course
- Important incident or event that trigged your choice
- Your scholastic journey till now, relevant projects, internships workshops, and courses undertaken, participation in extracurricular activities,
- Reasons for studying abroad
- Why have you selected this course
- Benefits of being in this university
- Advantages of studying in the USA
- Career plans after course completion
Before drafting the SOP Content consider the following points:
- Research about the course you are planning to do and its correlation with your current or last education and your professional aspirations.
- Ensure you quantify your accomplishments in the statement
- Highlight any of the major academic challenges you encountered, how did you face them and what did you learn from them.
- Highlight your strengths subtly, avoid stating failures and rejections unless highly important.
- Do not exaggerate; your statement should not sound like a boastful presentation.
- Justify only glaring gaps in your profile.