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[astrofraa]

Greetings,

I teach at an undergrad-only SLAC, and some of my seniors are worrying about writing good Statements of Purpose for grad school applications.  I have given them what advice I can, like "keep it short", "avoid vague, grandiose statements about your life-long love for underwater basketweaving", "show, don't tell", "give examples from your work/experience that show you are dependable, take initiative, follow throw, work independently, and will finish what you start," and "show you've looked at their department and thought about how you think you will fit in there, what you think you will contribute, and how they fit into your own career plans".

I thought, since I've only ever written my own SoP (which was quite some time ago), and I've never served on a grad school admissions committee, that I would throw the question open here for the collective wisdom you all represent.  Do you have any "definitely do" or "definitely don't" bits of advice for students who are writing SoPs for the first time?  Particularly if you've served on admissions committees, any stories of egregiously bad (or remarkably good) submissions would be very helpful.

Thank you very much in advance,

Astrofraa

[toothpaste]

Well, I just read a couple of horrible doctoral SoPs that went on and on about what the student would do professionally with a degree in underwater basketweaving and how much they would love that--and nothing about how much they loved research or what they were interested in learning about in graduate school.

[plebeian]

I recently threw out a SoP--as in, crumpled it up and threw it in the trash in front of Student--in which Stu lied about Stu's projects and achievements.

Lying is probably a bad idea. (But I trust that the average hopeful grad student knows this already; I'm just marveling at Stu's audacity.)

[verysneaky]

I'm a grad student who just finished up the application cycle. Here are my opinions (based on my own experience and observations of others' experiences). Sorry that it's long; hope some of it is helpful.

Lots of students think of the SOP as a "version" of a college essay. It's not. It's more like a "version" of a grant or fellowship proposal. In fact, I know people who very successfully recycled their fellowship proposals as SOPs. Some students need help realizing that the purpose of an SOP is to articulate directions in research, not give biographical info. Its focus should be on the future, not the past. It does not need to explain or integrate all aspects of the applicant's record (one important function of the college essay): for the most parts, applicants should be bold about leaving any hiccups in their record unexplained. Instead, it should clearly articulate the "fit" that the student sees between their own future work and the offerings at the school to which they are applying. Another important function of the SOP is to demonstrate a *capacity* for specialization. As a result, it's important articulate specific, narrow but deep interests and identify some specific, narrow but deep topics and problems. Committees know that a student's commitment to his or her narrow interests may evolve over time, but they are still looking for people who demonstrate commitment to narrow interests, because if you are a generalist by temperament, you will have a hard time in grad school.

A few other things: first, a good SOP is based on far more research into schools and faculty members than many students seem to realize. Students should be really closely acquainted with the nature of the problems to which they're applying, and their important differences, before they write. Second, there's no rule that you can use only a single SOP, and in fact it's usually a good idea to adapt your SOP somewhat for different programs. Third, it's usually a good idea to mention specific faculty members in your SOP, and to think through in some detail how your own interests dovetail with theirs. The more you know about the current and future direction of their research, the better: looking at their recent conference presentations or relying on the grapevine is a much better idea than looking at a list of publications. The gold standard here (IMO) would be an SOP in which the applicant mentioned a potential supervisor's name only once but outlined a future direction for research that clearly aligned with the supervisor's current and upcoming projects.

Some of this I did; some of it I didn't do, but wished I had in retrospect.

[anon4now]

verysneaky, this is terrific: I serve on admissions cmte for our PhD, and what you describe is just the kind of thing that really helps an app succeed.  I'd add that genuine intellectual curiosity helps too (and you can't really fake that), plus, not only a description of deep/specialized/specific research interest, but also some sense of the larger "so what" of that specialized area of interest and the broader issues it might raise.  And good, clear, sharp writing.

Thank you--am going to use print this out for my majors & MAs applying for Ph.D.s.

[verysneaky]

Thanks for the affirming reply, anon4now; I'm glad it was useful.

[systeme_d_]

I direct an MA program, and here's what I tell my own students who are applying to grad programs.

In my field, a good SOP:

Provides solid information about the level of the applicant's preparation for graduate study in the SPECIFIC subfield of intended specialization, drawing special attention to any factors that may not be obvious by looking at the transcript. For example, research papers in the student's intended field of specialization, written in the context of undergraduate courses; linguistic capabilities that are not evidenced by coursework; archival research done, etc.

Illustrates the applicant's familiarity and facility with current method and theory in the field. Most often, this is done by specifying which theorists have been most influential upon the applicant (making sure these theories or methods are appropriate to the applicant's intended field of specialization). The writing sample should buttress this. If it does not, an explanation is needed.

Demonstrates that the applicant has done her/his research on my program by indicating which faculty persons in my program would be of greatest value to the applicant, and WHY.

Briefly explains any "blips" on the transcript, or other anomalies in the application.

Keeps in mind that this is a statement of PURPOSE.  Once you've nailed down what the PURPOSE of grad school is for you, you're halfway there.