Every Statement of Purpose, well known as SOP is an exclusive draft, aimed at describing a candidate’s life journey to date and also communicating the future ambitions. As, no two people can be truly alike…. similarly, no two statements of purpose can be made in the same way. Every candidate would have his own distinctive qualities, life stories, experiences and academic struggles and achievements. Even if we say that two candidates can have similar achievements, like scores, etc., the failures would definitely be different. But then, the basics for writing an SOP for master’s admission application remain the same.
Apart from the writing formats and techniques, there are a few things that are important to an exclusive SOP. Here is a quick glance at some of them:
1) Candidate’s academic goals – Time and again, what candidate forget is the fact that their academic goals can actually be different from their professional goals. Furthermore, in an SOP intended for any master’s program, it is vital to list down their academic goals. Possibly, the candidate’s only intent is to finish the master’s, so that he would get a better professional opportunity, it can be anything (minor to major) but then, there should be something the candidate wants to learn during his master’s program. Mentioning that ‘something’ is truly important and the candidate must make conscious effort to do the same.
2) Candidate’s professional goals – Learning is imperative; however, the candidate must have the vision to state what he actually wants to achieve at the professional level. SOP here should address his purpose in life. The most critical question the candidate should aim to answer here is – What it is that I want to do in life and how? Keep in mind, to answer the ‘how’ part it is important for the candidate to divide his goals into short term and long-term goals. IMPORTANT TIP – Being successful is not a purpose of life or a goal. The candidate must be specific and be able to define the path chosen or intended.
3) Candidate’s final project – Strictly speaking, master’s program is all about practical work. Thusly, the universities or the colleges look for the candidate’s ability to take up a task. SOP is the ideal place to list down the projects you have completed and the role you played in those projects. Be selective and list down projects that showcase the extent of your learning. Additionally, it is best to keep it narrative.
4) Candidate’s Personal motivations – Many people think that a candidate should not add too much of his and family’s information in the SOP. As a reputed SOP writing service provider, we truly concur with this thought. However, candidates misinterpret this statement and think that not talking about their family means not getting personal, which is not right. Actually, the candidate’s personal motivations must be mentioned in the SOP. When you mention –
a) What you want to do
b) How you intend to achieve
It makes sense to justify ‘WHY?’ as well. This ‘why’ would include candidate’s personal motivation – it might be a personal desire, a personal tragedy, a fascination towards the subject or a way of giving back to the society. Whatever be the reason, it must be there in the SOP.
5) The last but not the least, your reasons for selecting the particular University – Mostly candidates who wish to pursue masters abroad apply at multiple universities, as it increases their chances of admission. Accordingly, they try to summarize the last space of their SOP with generic information on the course and leave out the university or college specific information, which are their reasons for selecting a particular university, reasons here could be any:
a) It could be a research program
b) It could be a certain faculty member
c) It could be university’s proximity to their corporate of choice
d) It could be the city, the university is located at
As mentioned above, the reason could be any but it must be there in your SOP.
Apart from these 5 important things, there a few other things that a candidate may choose to include in his SOP:
a) Extra-curricular and co-scholastic activities
b) Internship/ work experience
c) Social Initiatives you are a part of
d) Papers published (if any)
e) Seminars you may have attended/ presented
f) Financial Background, etc.
Remember that SOP should be a candidate’s own unique mix of things, never try to copy and paste from other sources. If you know that you cannot write your own SOP, it is better to ask from a reliable SOP writing service provider.
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