If you’re aiming to get into foreign universities and colleges, it’s vital to know the admission process of universities abroad. The foremost and also mandatory part of the admission application for these universities is the SOP (Statement of Purpose). A Statement of Purpose (SOP) is an essay combined with an application written by students to get into any program at an overseas university. Most students fail to make it impressive and goal-oriented, thus, applications don’t stand out for the pass. That’s why the university admissions committee puts a significant weight on the Statement of Purpose and its structure – and here are the aspects of writing an effective SOP for your successful international education. SOPs are very important for abroad education consultants to proceed with student profiles.
Strategies for writing an effective Statement of Purpose
Your SOP should sound brilliant and original. And for that, you’ll need some strategies to follow while preparing one. There are some based on results and we can go to each one of them to understand it thoroughly.
1. Write Stories.
Not Statements. If you’ve got a choice, would you favour reading a novel or a newspaper? a novel, no doubt. Do you know why? Because while a newspaper gives you mere news and a few eye-catching headlines, a novel tells you a story; a beautifully written piece of literature that you are going to be emotionally connected to. It brings out those human feelings of you and involves you in its storyline. You can imagine yourself in the situation of the narrator/character, and understand why he/she has done that or taken such decisions. We remember stories much easier than statements. Because stories connect with us, statements don’t. In short, follow a story tone in your SOP to convince the authority about your choices and decisions. Don’t you love it?
2.Quantify Your Stories
The SOP should function as the most effective source of data about you. And when it involves information, numbers play a key role. Your story could be not only qualitative but also quantitative, which means, your story must contain dates and such academically related info. It helps the authority to get an idea about your journey and always try to keep this in chronological order.
3. Be Specific
You have to be very specific in your Statement of Purpose. Saying something just for the sake of impressing the admissions committee is not a smart move. Whatever you say, you have to actually penetrate the details. Be introspective. Don’t just say “I chose this degree because I like this field.” Explain clearly why you’re keen on this field, what skills you’re trying to gather, why it completes you as an individual, etc.
4. Address Your Problems
The Statement of Purpose could be a great opportunity for you to deal with a number of your problems. If you’ve had any problematic academic background or a niche year in your career, or if you had any work-related problems, you’ll be able to address them on the SOP to reassure the admissions committee. You need to attempt to be as honest as possible, and speak about your problems in a very mature manner.
5. Do Your Homework
This is a vital point that you ought to be thorough with the details of all the universities you’re applying to. It can be anything from its rankings to the courses and achievements. You can include these details in the SOP to make the authority feel that you have researched well before taking the steps.
6. Add a Solid Reason for Returning to India
Most visa rejections happen when the authority feels your reasons aren’t solid and impressive. You may not have a plan after coming back to India, however, the purpose of SOP is to make the authority feel that you have wisely decided your future. For that, present some practical and innovative plans after coming back to India.
7. Proofread, Edit, and Re-edit
Your SOP speaks about you as a student, as a person. Although, the technical slang involved in it, your family can rate your essay by focusing on your personal and academic sides. Take time to proofread the SOP and present it to the family or friends to judge it in their own way. Statement of Purpose should be 1-2 pages long, ideally wrapped in 800-1000 words. However, the length of this document may vary as per university-specific requirements. Some universities have a fixed length and pattern of SOPs required, which is fixed to 500 words only, even 200 words in some cases. Usually, study abroad consultants would cross-check the SOPs before submitting them to the universities. However, it is also your responsibility to hit it right with relevant details and stories.
And your SOP is ready to present.