Another question, this time about the S.O.P.

[the_smiley1]

I bought 2 different books that discuss how to write great S.O.P.'s and they all include sob stories like how the applicant had their mother die while earning their BA, how their house burnt down while earning their BA and how they had to work 4 jobs all while taking full-time classes just to survive, or how they were diagnosed with cancer while

Comments

[fullofpink]

Stop buying books on how to write great SOPs and look at graduate websites that provide excellent examples for free. :(

[sandokai]

I think the website examples I've seen are pretty awful too....why are there so many awful examples out there?

[iluvrob20]

depends on your program. Social work wants that sort of fluffy personal interest thing. a Degree in bio chem probably not so relevant unless its super interesting.

[boudiceaborn]

Definitely agree with fullofpink. What field are you in? I would do a google search for yourfield + statement of purpose and see what you find.

Duke's anthropology website has posted several accepted applicants' SOPs, which also gives you a sense for the length range there is. Some of them put their research into a personal context (ie, I'm a Latino gay man and want to study homosexuality in India, and this is how I have greater access because of that) but most of them don't have a sob story. I would personally stay away from that unless you want to use it to explain why your grades are poor one year, or whatever.

[lostreality]

if you sent a sob story like that to my department they would probably be insulted and think you were completely unprofessional. No one cares about dead mothers, they care about your research experience, how much you love research, and how once you get their prestigious degree you will go on to a prestigious research university for a prestigious position thus making their department look good, the end.

[roadtophd]

I feel like it really depends on the program and the prompt. Also, some schools have a supplemental question about any obstacles that may have impacted your education and how you overcame them.

I'm applying to research-heavy clinical psych programs, so my SOP is all about my human research, with a bit at the beginning on why I chose this path. One of my friends who reviewed my SOP suggested that I make the beginning more interesting/dramatic by mentioning a serious illness I had last year. However, since this illness didn't seriously impact my work (thankfully), I hesitated to include anything. A faculty member at my school agreed with me and said that I'd have to waste additional space explaining how I'm completely healthy now. So the only place where I included this story was in one of those "additional information" sections and on a fellowship application. Anything I included in the SOP would have felt out of place and may have felt TOO personal in the eyes of the admissions committee.