what is the difference between SoP and PS?

[yiiikes]

Hi, I'm a long time lurker. Sorry for the stupid newbie question. I always thought Statement of Purpose and Personal Statement were interchangeable. But then I read some comments on an SoP post how it sounds more like a PS and got confused......(and I'm already having a difficult time on my SoP?/PS? because writing is not my forte...)

Comments

[circumfession]

It might help if you post the exact question that you're responding to :)

In short:

SoP = research focused. It's about what you want to study, research, etc in grad school

PS = you-centric. It's a chance to discuss how your background/obstacles/whatnot enables gives you a unique take on your research...etc.

[shaydlip]

Interesting. I always thought they were interchangeable.

[dreadnought]

Maybe they meant it sounds like an undergraduate personal statement? I don't know without seeing the context. :)

[sockmonkeyjoe]

I think the OP is referring to a statement that was recently posted and a little too anecdotal and rooted in the past. I can't remember details beyond that, but it was missing details on research interests and such.

[yiiikes]

Oh, hmm...so is this (below) a combo? I know it explicitly says SoP, but the end sounds PS-ish?...

"
Statement of Purpose: Please state your purpose in applying for graduate study, blah blah, ...and your aptitude for graduate study...

In addition, please describe any aspects of your personal background that might add to the diversity of the graduate group, such as experience living in bicultural communities, experience with barriers in access to higher education, multicultural competency, economic challenges, fluency in other languages, physical or mental disability, or other life experiences that will enable you to address the needs of our diverse society in your scholarly career.
"

Thanks for the responses :)

[20hrsinamerica]

I have one like this too. But to get answers, I'd edit it into your original post. not as many people will see it otherwise. :)

[yiiikes]

Ah, laziness on my part. And I guess I'm not really seeking an answer now, I was kind of thinking out loud there, lol. Thanks for telling me though :)