CON TEN T

W h a t is a St a t em en t of Pu r p ose/ SO P? - 3

Com p on en t s of a n SO P - 5

Tip s t o w r it e a n effect iv e SO P - 8

SO P – W h a t n ot t o d o? - 10

SO P – Sa m p les - 12

Bon u s Vid eos - 20

CH APTER 1

Wh at is a Statem en t of

Pu r p ose?

As th e n am e sign ifies, th e Statem en t of Pu r p ose is you r p er son al statem en t abou t w h o

you are, w h at h a s in flu en ced you r career p ath so far, you r p rofession al in terests a n d

w h ere you p lan to go from h ere.

Th is is u su a lly requ ired for stu d en ts ap p lyin g to u n iv er sities, colleges an d research

stu d ies. A SoP u su ally n ar r ates on e‟ s p u r p ose of stu d yin g th at p articu lar cou r se, area

of sp ecialization , fu tu re career goals, an d ach iev em en ts in th e p ast an d so on .

Th e SoP is you r ch a n ce to talk d irectly to th e ad m ission s com m ittee an d m ake you stan d

ou t from am on g a m u ltitu d e of sim ilar ly qu a lified ca n d id ates. Th e SoP sh ou ld con v in ce

th e ad m ission s team th at you are th e best a p p lican t th ey cou ld ch oose for th e seat. You

m u st sh ow th at you h av e th e m otiv ation an d ability to su cceed an d p er for m excellen tly.

You r SoP sh ou ld h ig h ligh t an y exp er ien ce related to th e cou r se to w h ich you are

ap p lyin g .

“Keep in m in d th at you r au d ien ce com p r ises exp er ts in th e field an d m ake you r SoP as

close to facts as p ossible. In clu d e you r research p lan s, aca d em ic goals, an d d escr ibe you r

ap titu d e.”

CHAPTER 2

Components of a

Statement of Purpose

Make a list th at of all th e m ain im p or tan t top ics th at you w an t to cov er an d list ou t

su p p or tin g m ater ial u n d er each top ic. You m u st rem em ber th at in for m ation abou t you r

p ast is cru cial bu t it‟ s m ore v ital to in clu d e h ow it led you to focu s on you r p resen t

area of in terest. Th e ad m ission s team con sid er s you r cu r ren t an d fu tu re areas of

research in terest.

You can d iv id e you r SoP in to th ree p ar ts - th e i n tro d u ctio n , b o d y an d co n cl u s i o n.

1. In tro d u ctio n

You sh ou ld p en d ow n p er son al reason s for w h y you h av e ch osen th is area of in terest or

list ou t h ow you h av e ov ercom e d ifficu lties. You can ev en go on to in clu d e h ow cer tain

in cid en ts in you r life p layed a p ar t in in flu en cin g you r asp ir ation s.

2. Th e Bo d y

Professional Goals

H ere you sh ou ld look to an sw er som e of th ese qu estion s:

• Wh y is it th at you w an t to becom e a m ath em atician or a p h ysicist (for exam p le)?

• Wh ich w ere th e life exp er ien ces th at m ad e you realise you w an ted to becom e on e?

• Wh at are you r p lan s after you obtain th e d egree from th e u n iv er sity – talk abou t you r

fu tu re goals- both ed u cation al an d p rofession al.

• Wh y h av e you ch osen th is u n iv er sity?

• Wh y do you m ake a good can d id ate- talk abou t you r tr iu m p h s an d h ow com m itted

you are to acad em ics.

Education- Background

In clu d e a su m m ar y of w h at you d id as a h igh sch ool or an u n d ergr ad u ate stu d en t. H ere,

en su re you list ou t th e sp ecific classes or p rojects you h ad taken th at en h an ced you r

in terest in th e field th at you d esire to p u r su e stu d y in . Men tion th e skills th at you h av e

acqu ired th rou gh th e p rojects th at you h av e w or ked on an d stress th e on es th at are

relev an t to you r fu tu re gr ad u ate w or k .

Related Experience

Prov id e all d etails of relev an t research th at you m igh t h av e p er for m ed w ith all req u ired

d etails su ch as- th e p roject title; th e p roject resp on sibilities; th e p roject ou tcom e.

If you h ave obtain ed an y relev an t w ork exp er ien ce related to you r p rofession al area of

in terest- en su re you in clu d e th em .

Outstanding Triumphs

If you h av e been th e w in n er of an y region al, state, or ev en in ter n ation al ev en ts or

com p etition s- m en tion th em - n eed less to say. Th is cou ld in clu d e an y for m of ach iev em en t

in clu d in g sp ecial fellow sh ip s to sp ecial n om in ation s or aw ard s.

3. Co n cl u si o n

Th e con clu sion is also an im p or tan t p ar t of th e essay - it m u st br in g in th e essen ce of

w h at you are tr yin g to say ov er all.

CHAPTER 3

Tips to write an effective

Statement of Purpose

Some basic tips you must be aw are of before you put pen to paper!

• Use activ e voice an d alw ays h igh ligh t ev eryth in g from a p ositive an gle an d if th e

p rogr am asks you for on e p age, stick to it str ictly.

• Wh en it com es to fon t, go for 11-12.

• N ote th at it‟ s alw ays better to u se exam p les th an ju st m akin g p lain statem en ts

esp ecially w h ile refer r in g to you r self. If you say you ‟ re a p er sisten t p er son , back it

up w ith an exam p le or d em on str ate h ow you are on e in you r SoP. Exam p les are alw

ay s m ore catch y an d h old th e read er ‟ s atten tion com p ared to gen er al statem en ts.

Don ‟ t h old ba ck from d r aw in g on situ ation from you r v er y ow n life a n d ad d in g th

em . Th is w ill put you abov e oth er su p er ficial a p p lica n ts w h o m ay h av e ju st m ad e

statem en ts w ith no con ten t to back th em up .

• Th e key of th e SoP is focu s an d con tin u ity ; h av e you r essay p roof-read an d ch ecked a

cou p le of tim es before su bm ission . A fresh p er sp ectiv e alw ays h elp s. If you

‟ re lookin g to ap p ly to th e US, it w ou ld be great to get som eon e w h o‟ s cu r

ren tly stu d yin g in a gr ad sch ool to h ave a look at you r essay - as th ey w ou ld be in th

e best p lace to kn ow w h at gr ad sch ools w ou ld be lookin g for in a p rosp ectiv e stu d en t.

• Tailor you r SoP for ever y sch ool you ap p ly to; m ake su re you r essay is con v in cin g

en ou gh to p rov e you belon g th ere.

CHAPTER 4

SOP – What NOT to d o?

Wh at N O T to D o ?

Steer clear of th ese!

• Th ere are som e w ord s th at are p ain fu lly ov er-u sed an d ju st sou n d em p ty an d v agu e –

su ch as ch allen gin g ; rew ard in g ; beau tifu l; m ean in gfu l. Make su re th ese d on ‟ t en d up

in you r SoP.

• N on -sp ecific in for m ation an d com m on p h r ases are d efin itely n ot goin g to get you an y

closer to gettin g you n oticed . Stay aw ay from th em as m u ch as you ca n . It‟ s u sefu l

to ask you r self if you h av e ju st put d ow n w h at a h u n d red oth er stu d en ts w ou ld h

av e too.

• Do N O T rep eat in for m ation from you r ap p lication u n less you m u st.

• H u m ou r m ay ba ckfire as you d on ‟ t really kn ow you r au d ien ce. So refr ain from jokes

or fu n n y p h r ases.

• Slan g an d u n or igin al p h r ases like “ I h av e alw ays w an ted to becom e a..” w on ‟ t

really h elp you score eith er.

• Talkin g abou t m istakes u n less you are refer r in g to it as a lear n in g exp er ien ce.

• Sp ecial fon ts or colou red p ap er are a d efin ite no-n o!

• Don ‟ t let th em m istake you r con fid en ce for ar rogan ce- m ak e su re you r ton

e th rou gh ou t th e essay p or tr ays you to be a p er son w h o is op en to lear n in g .

CHAPTER 5

Statement of Purpose -

Samples

S am p l e S tate m e n t of Pu rp o se – M BA

Below is a sa m p le statem en t of p u r p ose w r itten by a stu d en t ap p lyin g to a u n iv er sity

to stu d y an MBA p rogr am m e.

“Kn ow led ge com es by eyes alw ays op en an d w orkin g h an d s, an d th ere is no kn ow led ge

th at is n ot p ow er ”. Th is statem en t ch ar acter izes my beliefs. Ev er sin ce I atten d ed th e fir st

in d u str ial v isit d u r in g my sop h om ore year of en gin eer in g I h av e n u r tu red a d ream of

becom in g a p ar t of th e top lev el m an agem en t team of a fir m .

N ow, after tw o year s of relev an t exp er ien ce in th e field of p rocu rem en t in Su p p ly ch a in

Man agem en t, th e p ow er of kn ow led ge seem s to call me ou t p er su a d in g me to seek m ore.

Th e d rea m I n u r tu red d u r in g my gr ad u ation h as grow n w ith me a n d I h op e th e d ay of

realization is n ot far off. To m ake th is a reality I in ten d to p u r su e an M.B.A in str ategy

an d p rocu rem en t m an agem en t at you r esteem ed u n iv er sity.

Soon after my gr ad u ation I set ou t to realize my d ream by join in g O lym p ic Card s Pr iv ate

Lim ited as a p rocu rem en t en gin eer. After a year of exp er ien ce I join ed a top electron ic

m an u factu r in g com p a n y (Foxcon n In ter n ation al H old in gs) in ord er to attain global

exp er ien ce. Th e com p a n y tr ain ed me in global p rocu rem en t an d ap p oin ted me as a team

lead er for th e p rocu rem en t team at Foxcon n In d ia Pr iv ate Lim ited w h ich I con sid er as

on e of th e biggest ach iev em en t so far in my life.

Ear ly in my life, at th e h igh sch ool level, I lear n t th e v alu e of h ard w or k an d

p er sev er an ce. Th is led me to secu re 90% in my h igh er secon d ar y exam in ation . Later th is

ser v ed as a fou n d ation for my stu d ies in electron ics an d com m u n ication at B.S.A

Crescen t En gin eer in g College w h ich r an ks as on e of th e top accred ited en gin eer in g

college affiliated to An n a Un iv er sity in th e state of Tam il N ad u (Sou th In d ia). Besid es

th is aca d em ic ach iev em en t I am an a ctiv e m u sicia n an d my p a ssion for m u sic h a s h elp ed

me to fu r th er u n d er stan d th e im p or tan ce of h ard w or k an d p er sev er an ce requ ired to

excel. I w a s elected as th e secretar y of th e college m u sic a ssociation in th e year 2004 an d I

p er for m ed at a n u m ber of p restigiou s v en u es arou n d th e city.

…… con tin u es

As a p ar t of my w or k exp er ien ce I h av e gain ed kn ow led ge in th e follow in g field s,

• Str ategic d ev elop m en t of su p p lier s

• An alyzin g an d n egotiation of th e qu otation

• Man agem en t of con tr acts an d agreem en ts w ith su p p lier s

• Su p p lier p er for m an ce ev alu ation

• Differen t kin d s of P.O d isp osition

• Debit n ote an d Cred it n ote

• In v en tor y Con trol

• Docu m en tation for th e p rocu rem en t d ep ar tm en t for TL9000

• Par t of in ter n al qu ality an d on -site su p p lier au d itin g team

• Key u ser for SAP R/ 3 Mater ial Man agem en t Mod u le

Th is h a d p rov id ed me w ith a fir m gr asp of con cep ts an d a lau n ch in g p ad to em bark

u p on a voyage of kn ow led ge in p rocu rem en t . My stu d y of th ese field s h a s also ser v ed to

fu r th er fu el my am bition an d d eep en my in terest in th e field of str ategy an d

p rocu rem en t m an agem en t .

I got som e v er y in terestin g in for m ation abou t my field of stu d y by brow sin g you r

w ebsite an d th is h a s d r iv en me to ap p ly for th e M.B.A (Str ategy an d p rocu rem en t

m an agem en t) cou r se offered at you r p restigiou s u n iv er sity. Th e eigh t m od u les of

th e M .B.A p rogr am w h ich in clu d e th e Str ategic Man agem en t, O rgan ization & Resou rce

Man agem en t, Str ategic Mar ketin g, Fin an cia l Man agem en t, O p eration s Man agem en t,

In ter n ation al & Risk Man agem en t, Pow er Regim es & Su p p ly Ch ain Man agem en t,

Bu sin ess Str ategy an d Procu rem en t com p eten ce w ill h elp me im p rov e my cogn izan ce in

th e field of p rocu rem en t an d I believ e th at stu d yin g at you r u n iv ersity w ill giv e me th e

m ean s to ach iev e my goals an d realize my d ream s. I th erefore m ake an ear n est requ est to

con sid er my ap p lication for ad m ission .

S am p l e S O P Fo r En g i n e e ri n g G rad S ch o o l s

Th e below Statem en t of Pu r p ose is w r itten by a fin al year u n d ergr ad u ate en gin eer in g

stu d en t ap p lyin g for MS p rogr am s in th e USA.

Its bou n d less p ossibilities an d in stan t ou tcom es are w h at I fin d m ost stim u latin g an d

ap p ealin g abou t Com p u ter Scien ce. I believ e th at keep in g an exp lor ativ e attitu d e an d

in qu isitiv e m in d is key to a con stan t lear n in g p rocess. As I am in th e cou r se of my fin a l

year in my u n d ergr ad u ate p rogr am , I w an t to p u r su e gr ad u ate stu d y to fu r th er refin e

my skills an d kn ow led ge in th is area of in terest. I th in k th e gr ad u ate p rogr am m e in

Mech atron ics w ill give my career goal of becom in g a research p rofession al th e r igh t

d irection at research -or ien ted , com m ercial or acad em ic organ isation s.

I believ e it w ill also ser v e to giv e d irection to my goal of a career as a research

p rofession al at an a ca d em ic or com m ercial, research -or ien ted organ isation . I in ten d to

p u r su e an MS d egree in ord er to reach th at goal.

I h av e ben efitted v astly from th e bread th of Bh ar at Un iv er sity‟ s u n d ergr ad u ate syllabu

s an d gain ed a com p reh en siv e exp osu re to m an y core areas of th e field a n d a stron

g con cep tu al u n d er stan d in g . In my fou r year s of stu d y at Un iv er sity I h av e lear n t h ow

to m ain tain an exp en d in g in d ep en d en t ap p roach in all my en d eav ou r s.

In th e p ast tw o year s, I fou n d m yself d r aw n tow ard s th e area s of In for m ation Retr iev al

an d Com p iler Con stru ction . Th e Com p iler Con stru ction lab session s an d th e su bjects

For m al System s an d A u tom ata an d Com p iler Con stru ction led me to sh ow ap p reciation

tow ard s th e field ‟ s in tr icacies. H ow ev er for my MS p rogr am , I am op en to top ics

focu ssin g on oth er areas as w ell. For my B.E. p roject th is com in g sem ester, I w ou ld like to

con cen tr ate on In form ation Retr iev al. I w ou ld like to em p loy a tech n iqu e for search

en gin es- to in crease th eir p recision of qu er y listin gs an d com p reh en siv en ess.

O n e of th e m ost im p ortan t lesson s I h av e lear n ed as th e h ead of th e En gin eer in g

Stu d en ts Bod y at Bh ar at Un iv er sity is th at on e p er son ‟ s life ca n in flu en ce th e liv es

of m an y p eop le. Th is gives us th e reason to beh av e resp on sibly an d be accou n table. I w

as th e you n gest h ead of th is stu d en t bod y in th e h istory of Bh ar at Un iv er sity an d th e on

ly on e to h av e ser v ed tw o con secu tiv e year s as th e H ead . Th is role tau gh t me th at

self- relian ce is th e ba sis of good w ork an d h elp ed me lear n h ow to take both p r aise

an d cr iticism p ositiv ely. Th is w a s a v er y d istin ctiv e an d gr atifyin g exp er ien ce w h ich I

feel w ill stan d me in good stead if I ch oose to get in to th e teach in g lin e in th e fu tu re.

…… con tin u es

I w ou ld like to say in con clu sion th at th e essen ce of Un iv er sity ed u cation lies in th e

syn ergetic relation sh ip betw een th e d ep ar tm en t an d th e stu d en ts. I th in k th at gr ad u ate

stu d y at you r Un iv er sity w ou ld be h elp me best w ith my acad em ic p u r su its a n d is a

m ajor step tow ard s ach iev in g my objectives. I w ou ld be gr atefu l if I am giv en th e

op p or tu n ity to p u r su e my gr ad u ate stu d y at you r w or ld -ren ow n ed in stitu tion .

S am p l e S tate m e n ts of Pu rp o se - Fo r M e d i cal S tu d i e s

Th e below statem en t is w r itten by a p r actisin g d octor w h o w ish es to join th e MSc in

Card iov ascu lar an d Diabetes Research at th e Un iv er sity of Leed s..

In d ia lead s th e w or ld in th e n u m ber of p eop le su ffer in g from d iabetes an d card io-

v ascu lar d iseases; th is is a fact cor robor ated by m ost m ed ical agen cies. Th e w or ryin g

factor is th at th e age of th ose gettin g d iagn osed w ith d ia betes an d card ia c issu es is

gettin g lesser. Th is is testim on y to th e lifestyle ch a n ges in th e cu r ren t gen er ation an d th e

u n h ealth y eatin g h abits of th e cu r ren t gen er ation , w h ich is gettin g ad d icted to „ju n k

food ‟ .

I h av e com p leted my MBBS cou r se from MGM Med ical Un iv er sity ; Ah m ed abad an d

h av e w orked for tw o year s in th e Gov er n m en t Med ical H osp ital, Rajkot. I secu red 83%

ov er all in my fin al exam s an d receiv ed a cer tificate of m er it for bein g th e „Best Med ical

Stu d en t‟ .

Du r in g my d ays of tr ain in g as a m ed ical stu d en t; I n oticed th e n u m ber of p atien ts w h o

w ere ad m itted to th e h osp ital becau se of lifestyle in d u ced d iabetes an d card ia c

com p lain ts. Th e p ercen tage of su ch com p lain ts w as m u ch h igh er th an th ose of p atien ts

w ith age-afflicted an d h ered itar y m ed ical com p lain ts. Th is p rom p ted me to con d u ct a

su r v ey of abou t 50 p atien ts w h o h ad been a d m itted to th e h osp ital in th e age-grou p of 23

to 40 year s an d I fou n d th at in n ear ly 15 p atien ts; ju st eatin g p rop er n u tr itiou s food on

tim e cou ld h av e p rev en ted h osp italisation for card iac com p lain ts.

Th is reiter ates th e fact th at h ealth y eatin g, am p le exercise an d regu la r m ed ical ch eck-u p s

can p rev en t life-style d iseases. I w ou ld like to focu s my en ergies on u n d er stan d in g m ore

abou t h ow th e h u m an bod y reacts to h er bal m ed ical alter n ativ es. In som e tests ru n h ere I

n oted th at blood -su gar lev els an d ch olesterol lev els cou ld be con trolled by regu lar

con su m p tion of extr acts from bitter gou rd an d fen u greek . I n oted th is in som e p atien ts

an d th is is an ackn ow led ged p r actice in m an y fam ilies in In d ia.

I w ou ld like to d evote tim e to con d u ct system atic research on th e p ositiv e im p act of

bitter gou rd an d fen u greek extr acts on d iabetic an d card ia c p atien ts. As a fir st step in

th is p ath , I w ish to ap p ly for a p lace on th e MSc in Card iovascu lar an d Diabetes

Research offered by th e Un iv er sity of Leed s.

Th e excellen t research facilities an d th e stron g research -cen tr ic cu r r icu lu m seem to be th e

p er fect ch oice for me to fu rth er my acad em ic an d p rofession al goals. Th e stron g In d ian

com m u n ity in Leed s is a n oth er factor, w h ich d r aw s me to Leed s. I h op e th at I can fu lfil

my d ream of becom in g a cer tified m ed ical sp ecia list in d iabetic an d card io-v ascu lar

d iseases at th e Un iv er sity of Leed s.

S am p l e S tate m e n t of Pu rp o se - MS in Co m p u te r S ci e n ce

Th e below statem en t of p u r p ose is w r itten by a stu d en t w h o asp ires to stu d y an MS

in Com p u ter Scien ce at th e Un iv er sity of Melbou r n e.

"Th e com p u ter is th e m ost rem ar kable tool w e‟ v e ev er com e up w ith . It‟ s th e equ iv alen

t of a bicycle for ou r m in d s." - Th is qu ote by Stev e Jobs h as in sp ired me ev er sin ce I

read abou t h im in a n ew sp ap er ar ticle w h en I w as in sch ool. Th e sh eer p assion , d ed

ication an d in sigh t in to th e fu tu re th at Stev e h ad led to th e grow th of Ap p le on e of th e

r ich es tech n ology com p an ies in th e w or ld . Th e p rod u cts created by Ap p le In c. from th e

ip od to th e ip h on e an d th e ip ad h av e all been gam e-ch a n ger s an d h av e a fan atic fan -

follow in g all ov er th e w or ld .

My in terest in com p u ter s w as sp ar ked by th e story of h ow Jobs created Ap p le as a

tech n ology fir m w ith h is fr ien d s. Th is led me to op t for th e Bach elor of En gin eer in g in

Com p u ter Scien ce cou r se at Mercy En gin eer in g College. I r ate th e fou r year s of stu d y at

th e en gin eer in g college am on g th e best years of my life as I sp en t a lot of tim e in th e

com p u ter labor ator y lear n in g p rogr am m in g lan gu ages an d a lso con cep ts of h ard w are

tech n ology an d th e com p on en ts th at m ake up a com p u ter.

As p ar t of th e p roject of my fin al sem ester of stu d y ; I w or ked on d ev elop in g a p or table

w ord -p rocessin g ap p lication th at w ou ld also w ork on low -cost Jav a-based m obile

p h on es. In d ev elop in g cou n tr ies, sm ar t-p h on es are still a lu xu r y an d m ost p eop le still

u se su b-US$25 m obile p h on es, w h ich w or k on Jav a-based op er atin g system s. Th e

exter n al exam in er for th e p roject r ated my p roject 4.5 ou t of a m axim u m of 5 r atin g

p oin ts. I com p leted th e en gin eer in g cou r se w ith a cu m u lativ e gr ad e p oin t av er age of 8.75

ou t of a m axim u m of 10 p oin ts.

I asp ire to stu d y th e Master of Scien ce in Com p u ter Scien ce at th e Un iv er sity of

Melbou r n e becau se it is am on gst th e m ost h igh ly r ated p ostgr ad u ate p rogr am s offered

in Au str alia . Ad d ition ally, on e of my lectu rer s Mr. Av in ash Tr ip ath i an alu m n u s of th e

Un iv er sity of Melbou rn e recom m en d ed th at I stu d y h ere. I h av e com p lete faith in Mr.

Av in ash ‟ s recom m en d ation an d I h op e I w ill get a ch an ce to stu d y my d ream cou r se at

Melbou r n e.

…… con tin u es

My am bition is to focu s on creatin g a low -cost yet robu st com p u tin g d ev ice th at ca n

offer th e fu ll fu n ction alities of a p er son al com p u ter. Th is w ill w ork on op en -sou rce

tech n ology an d w ill h elp ev eryon e from stu d en ts to far m er s an d th e biggest USP of th e

d ev ice w ou ld be th at it w ou ld ru n on a solar-p ow ered batter y.

Th e p rocess of lear n in g is con tin u ou s an d I h op e th at I w ou ld also be able to w ork on a

d octor al p rogr am at th e Un iv er sity of Melbou r n e. I h op e I w ill get ad m ission at th e

Un iv er sity of Melbou r n e an d w ill be able to fu lfill my d ream s.

Caut ion: Please note these SOPs are for reference only. Do not copy-paste them to write your SOPs. Institutions may refuse to acknowledge them citing plagiarism of content.

Disclaimer – The names of institutions and students and faculty have just been used for reference. A ll

cases and scenarios mentioned are fictitious and have just been used for the purpose of explaining how

sample SoPs look like.

Bo nus Vi de o s

Co ntri buto rs

W h a t is an SO P a n d w h a t role d oes it p lay in t h e st u d y

a broa d a p p lica t ion p rocess?

W h a t do in t er n a t ion a l officer s exp ect from a st u d en t 's SO P

For m a t a n d id ea l w ord lim it for an SO P

Poin t s to Keep in M in d W h ile Prep a r in g a St a t em en t of Pu r p ose

Mr Kunal Ambasht

- EGE Global

Ed u cation

Ms Katy Scott

- Un iv er sity of

Glasgow