3. How to Write a Successful Statement of - Vietnam Education ...

Vietnam Education FoundationUniversity ApplicationOrientation (UAO)October 2, 2011

http://www.statementofpurpose.com/

statement of purposeTHERE IS A WEBSITE THAT IS CALLED:http://www.statementofpurpose.com/The Statement of Purpose is the singlemost important part of yourapplication that will tell the admissionscommittee who you are, what hasinfluenced your career path so far,your professional interests and whereyou plan to go from here.

statement of purpose

a statement of purposeshould include:• who you are;• what has influenced yourcareer path so far;• your professional interests;• where you plan to go fromhere.

statement of purpose accordingto the princeton review• what you want to study at graduateschool?• why you want to study it?• what experience you have in yourfield?• what you plan to do with yourdegree once you have it?

u.s. higher educationIn the U.S. there are about 75,000 Ph.D.degrees awarded every year; 35,000 to malesand 40,000 to females.In 2009-2010 there were 2,774 four yearinstitutions; 672 public, 1539 private nonprofit,and 563 private for profit.According to the 2010 Carnegie classificationsof institutions, 449 of those grant doctoraldegrees.

doctoral granting universitiesin the u.s. - 20102010 Classifications – Number of Institutions By DoctorateCategorySingle doctoral (education) 55Single doctoral (other field) 58Comprehensive doctoral with medical/veterinary 84Comprehensive doctoral (no medical/veterinary) 79Doctoral, humanities/social sciences dominant 5Doctoral, STEM dominant 47Doctoral, professional dominant 121Total Doctorate Granting 449

the point?Each of the 449 institutions has its ownapplication forms, its own applicationprocess, its own grumpy old faculty, itsown application review process and itsown admission recommendationpolicies. My comments address thewriting of an State of Purpose (SoP)which is required by almost allinstitutions in one form or another.

princeton review advice toInternational studentsWrite, rewrite and rewriteyour statement of purpose. Have anative English speaker read it to makesure you haven't made any majormistakes. Do NOT, however, getsomeone else to write your statementfor you. You will be immediatelyrejected if (and when) you are caught.

dennis’ personal list for youi was coordinator of our graduateprogram in sociology for years; i wasdean of graduate studies for sevenyears; i sent my list to friends whowere dean’s or department chairsfor their advice. here is my personaladvise to you:

know what is being asked forKnow what is being asked forfrom the university – respond towhat is asked for – no matter howwell written, if you are notresponding to what was requestedit will not be good.

not an english test….The SoP is not a test of yourEnglish; your English is measuredby the TOEFL test or the IELTS.You should have your SoPreviewed for English mistakes,but it is not a test of English.

it is not cheatingIt is not cheating to ask for help inreviewing your work; It is cheatingto ask someone else to write yourSoP for you; most professionalsask colleagues to review their work.

not an intelligence testThe SoP is not anassessment of yourintelligence; nothing you doin the SoP is going tocompensate for youracademic record as containedin your official transcript.

who are you?The “who are you?” should NOT bewhat they can already read - yourapplication, transcript, or resume. TheSoP should be who you really are. Ifyou were going to tell me - and I am notgoing to make any judgment about yourscholarship or your admission - whatwould you want me to know?

how did you get to here?How did you get to where youare today? What are the bigthings in your life that accountfor the fact that you have a VEFscholarship and are applying foradmission to a U.S. University?

professional you?What are your professionalinterests? How have thoseinterests impacted your life;not only your academic lifebut in other aspects of yourlife. Why did you chooseyour field of study?

what they can’t readWhat are your academic experiences outsidethe classroom? Is there research that youhave been involved with, possible job orinternship that involved you with theproblems you wish to study? Don’t just tellstories about how you always wanted to dothis – they want to know what you have donethat is related to your goals, your ability todo graduate work and to your ability to havea successful professional life.

know the universityYou really need to know the institutionyou are applying to; you need to be ableto weave into you SoP the junctionbetween your professional interests andyour selection of this particularuniversity. Each application should beunique and demonstrate that the studenthas done the homework on determiningwhy the program is a good fit.

what are your plans?What are you going to do in the future?Don’t say return to Vietnam and saveyour country; everybody says that. Talkabout how you will use your degree andtraining to benefit you and yourhomeland. Draw on your dreams andyour ambitions. Make this section realand personal and believable.

writing the SoP• gather your materials– have your entire application package in front ofyou – CV, transcripts, letters ofrecommendation, test scores– go to the university websites you are interestedin applying to• ensure you know the word count and includeeverything they are looking for.• That you know details about the department,faculty and program you are applying too.

one possible organization• An example of organizational structure:– Hook/introduction that will make you standout– Transition into your background of study– Related extracurricular activities– Publications or professionalaccomplishments– Explanations about problems in the past– Why did you choose this graduate school?– Future plans

writing the SoP• Start with an outline…of the majorsections.• Write an Intro – Who am I? Not toomuch and not what they knowalready.• History - How did you get to thispoint in your life? Really – bigthings….• Professional interests – What areyour interests how did they develop.

writing the SoP• Research – your grounding in research;real experience and knowledge of thescientific process• The University –How does that universityfit with your professional interests andresearch experience? Specific things aboutthe university; department, program,faculty, research projects, etc.• Plans – What is it you really want to do inlife?

writing the SoPOnce you have a good outline withperhaps a sentence or two in eachsection, then you begin to expandeach section sentence by sentence,until you have paragraph(s). Becareful of the required limits –number of words; number of pages;etc. Know those before you begin.

writing the SoPDraft your SoP; share it withfriends; re-draft it; share it again;final draft; have it polished by anative speaker - someone good inEnglish; read it again; make itperfect; format and layout andspelling and grammar - all perfect.Is your name on it? Other needinformation? Submit It!

finallySo many things play a role in theadmissions of a student into a university.All you can do is do your best on each andevery part of the application process. Themore errors or snags in your application,the lower your probability of admission –its that simple. But even if you doeverything perfect you might not beadmitted but DO NOT take it personally.

good luck to youthank you!questions?