The statement of purpose is like the cherry on top for your grad school applications. It’s your personal statement for the school and your time to shine to show the school what kind of person you are, why you want to study in this field, what your ambitions are and what makes you unique. Schools may have different specific requirements, but generally a statement of purpose is short, about 1-2 pages long, so it is important to be clear and concise with your message and the only way to do that is to plan ahead. Take the time to review some of these tips before you start writing and plan on spending a lot of time on it and you will be well on your way.

It’s all about your studies!
Your statement of purpose essay for grad school is different than the one you wrote to get into an undergraduate program. For graduate school you want to focus less on your personal interests and more about the area of study you are interested in. Be specific! You want to highlight what specifically you are interested in studying in your field. Grad school is about focusing on research and getting familiar with a specific field of study, so show that you are precisely about that to the school. The schools are looking for good matches for their programs.

Why are you interested in this field?
I’ve seen different people suggest different things when it comes to writing styles. Some people say to make your statement personal and be very autobiographical with why you got so interested in this field (i.e. When I was a little kid…), some people say don’t go that route at all and stick to facts about the field you want to go in. My advice is to go somewhere in the middle and use the time to say several different things at once. Talk about why you are interested in the study, but don’t use a cheesy childhood story, talk about a research project you saw that interests you, or a particular study that piqued your interest and what about the study interested you. This way, you aren’t talking directly about yourself and you aren’t over explaining the “why”. Instead it shows more by showing the school how dedicated you are to a specific research field, what kind of research within the field interests you and your commitment to the field.

Why this program and this school?
Spend a paragraph talking about why you this school and this program is such a good fit for you. Remember to relate it back directly into your studies or research.

Revise, revise, revise!
Show your essay to a lot of people. You will definitely need fresh eyes to look at this piece of work. Is it concise? Is it clear? Do you know exactly what I set to accomplish while in school and after?

Write individual essays for each school you are applying to.
I suggest not reusing the same essay for each school. You will of course be saying some of the same information, but you are really going to want to write a fresh take for each school you are applying to. Trust me, it is obvious if the letter is not individualized for each application and you will also want to take into account that different types of people will be reviewing your essay for each school. Some may be general admissions officers and some may be the faculty that will be teaching you, etc. Really think about your audience when you start each letter.

Good luck!