Statement of Purpose (SOP): Students who wish to Study Abroad in foreign universities

Statement of Purpose (SOP) is an essay that students, who wish to study abroad in foreign universities, need to submit. Usually about thousand words, this essay seeks to understand the candidate’s life, the motivations for the chosen career path and his/her goals. A lot of Indian universities have also started asking for the same, from prospective students.

What is a Statement of Purpose (SOP)?

It’s basically a long essay, usually around thousand words, often asked by foreign universities, with the aim of finding more about the candidate, their motivations and their goals.

Its the only document in your application docket, that gives you the opportunity to tell the admission officers what’s unique about you. So tell them your personal story, about your personal experiences that have influenced your decision to join this particular program at this university.

What Should You Include In a SOP?

A SOP should include your goals, reasons for opting for the course and for choosing the university/course, what you expect to learn at the university and how do you intend to use that experience to achieve your goals.

Until and unless categorically asked, an SOP must include your goals, your career path so far and your academic progress. Other elements that you may include – personal motivations for choosing the university/course you have applied to, and how you intend to use the knowledge/experience to achieve that goal.

Things to keep in mind while writing your SOP:

• Your SOP should be formal (check out the various templates), but it still needs to be conversational in tone.
• While talking about the college, list the things that appeal to you, instead of only talking lofty things about the college.
• Feel free to customize your SOP according to how you wish to project yourself. Feel free to address your problems (such a gap year) and how overcame your problems and what you learnt from the experience..
• Its recommended that you include numbers in your SOP (How many months you worked/volunteered for, size of the team, etc.)
• Focus on a specific incident or event you remember well – €”details are important.
• Consider explaining anything unusual that has influenced your school or home life.
• Ask others to proofread it for grammatical and spelling errors.

Things to Avoid

• Don’t Lie or Choose a topic merely to look good
• Don’t waste too many precious words giving detailed description your family history accomplishments. Skip opportunities to write more about yourself.
• While its okay to include few accomplishments in your SOP, make sure it fits in well within the overall theme. Don’t make the SOP look like a complete brag sheet.
• Write the essay, or any other part of your application, the night before it is due.

Examples of SOP

• SOP for UC Berkeley’s History course

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