Statement of Purpose (SOP; cover letter; academic statement)
Recommendation : 【Study Abroad】 2023-2024 Study Abroad and Scholarship Overview
1. Overview
2. Questions
3. Answers
a. Personal History Statement (PHS)
The SOP is not about what I want to say, but about what they want to hear.
1. Overview
⑴ Importance
① As the school ranking increases, the importance of language scores and grades decreases, and the SOP, along with recommendation letters, greatly influences acceptance.
○ However, European universities consider grades more than American universities.
② As the trend of not taking the GRE increases, the importance of the SOP and research achievements has grown.
③ Nature of SOP : Closer to a qualitative assessment evaluating writing and research skills than a simple self-introduction.
○ Revealing one’s research up to this point can provide more insight into the applicant’s inclinations and strengths.
○ However, defining a “big question” for research during the degree program is also important for the future.
○ In the U.S., it’s not school-centered but department-centered, so the SOP is used to confirm fit with the department.
○ There’s a tendency not to admit students who fit well with other good schools in relation to fit.
○ There can be research styles and methodologies related to fit.
○ Conclusion: SOP is about “fit” first, “fit” second, and “fit” third.
④ Another aspect of the SOP: Invention proposal or business plan
○ However, limited to cases where the research area of interest is focused.
⑤ Difference between SOP and Personal History Statement (PHS)
○ PHS focuses on disadvantages and special backgrounds, making SOP play the role of a self-introduction statement.
○ SOP can be publicly disclosed, whereas PHS deals with very private and personal content.
⑥ SOPs (Statements of Purpose) often require extensive revisions. Might they not be a good measure for evaluating things like human relationships and strategic planning?
⑦ However, in the future, will there be anyone who writes an SOP without using ChatGPT? Will SOPs always be important?
ㅇ It’s true that sentence structures and word choices have become much easier.
ㅇ ChatGPT doesn’t cover everything; one must pay a great deal of attention to the logic and structure of the writing.
ㅇ Aspects like one’s individuality, experiences, and philosophy cannot be accurately represented by ChatGPT. Perhaps this is why such elements have become even more crucial?
⑵ Length
① MIT : No limit; enter directly into the online application system
② Stanford : Up to 2 pages; single-spaced; font size 12; compatible font in English
③ Harvard : Up to 1000 characters
④ Caltech : No length limit
⑤ Yale : 500-1000 characters
⑥ Cornell : Up to 1500 characters
⑦ Johns Hopkins : Up to 2 pages
⑧ Berkeley : 2-3 pages
⑨ Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory : Up to 500 characters
⑩ Scripps Research : Up to 2 pages
⑪ Rockefeller University : Up to 750 characters for research experience and up to 250 characters for research plans
⑶ Style
① The SOP is not about what I want to say, but about what they want to hear.
② Emphasize academic writing
③ Keep it as simple and straightforward as possible
④ Be honest and write your own unique story that doesn’t show up in your documents
⑤ Write actively, not passively, such as “I did this” instead of “It was assigned by the professor.”
○ It’s good to have ‘I’ as the subject
⑥ Don’t write in a way that ignores existing scholars
⑦ ‘Just’ is not commonly used in SOP
⑧ Avoid the use of ‘only’ as it can create a strong tone
⑨ ‘However’ usually comes at the beginning of a sentence, while ‘but’ is used in the middle of a sentence
⑩ In academic writing, starting a sentence with ‘and’ is unnatural, so use expressions like ‘also’ instead
⑪ Do not use contractions in SOP
○ couldn’t (×) → could not (○)
○ they’re (×) → they are (○)
○ it’s (×) → it is (○)
⑷ Process
① Generally, it’s best to start around July-August (the earlier, the better), with the most revisions occurring in September-October.
② Frequent revisions are necessary: at least 3-4 times.
③ It’s crucial to ask as many people around you as possible: the SOP might be assessing such networking skills.
④ Revisions continue up until the submission of the SOP.
⑤ The structure can be divided into two types: SOP vs. PHS, and Research Statement vs. SOP.
⑸ Proofreading
① ChatGPT 4.0 ( Highly recommended )
○ AI-written text has a subtle tone : it reads too smoothly, uses expressions from novels, and prefers specific words
○ Words preferred by ChatGPT : unravel, employ, realm, leverage, spearhead, showcase, pique, delve into, etc.
○ Therefore, actively using paraphrasing tools is necessary
○ Example 1. QuillBot Paraphrasing Tool
○ Example 2. AI Text Converter
○ Example 3. Thesaurus : Synonyms, Antonyms
○ Example 4. WordHippo : Word replacement
○ Example 5. Research Rabbit
○ Example 6. Elicit
○ Example 7. Claude
○ Example 8. Perplexity AI
② AI Content Detector : 1) If the grammar is poor, a low score is given, and 2) if the word choice is not original, another low score is awarded.
○ Example 1. https://copyleaks.com/ai-content-detector: Seems to be the most widely used AI Content Detector
○ Example 2. https://www.scribbr.com/ai-detector/
○ Example 3. https://www.futuretools.io/tools/aicheatcheck
○ Example 4. https://writer.com/ai-content-detector/ : In my opinion, it seems better because it can be used without any limits.
○ Even if AI has written it, skillful editing can result in a human judgment score of 100%
○ The AI detector seems to point out awkward English expressions as well.
③ Other
○ Top Admit
○ Edit
○ Essay Review
○ Scribendi
○ Grammarly : Grammar check
○ WordCounter or [Quill Bot WordCounter](https://quillbot.com/word-counter?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=HY+ +AWAR+-+Search+ +PROS+-+Word+Counter+ +PREM+ +CPC&utm_term=word%20counter&utm_content=668710450787&campaign_type=search-20434601656&click_id=Cj0KCQiA3uGqBhDdARIsAFeJ5r1p_WidIArOC0JfDROKT8mOE9wge6DDidshRdWL14_OsKSlRZkzQAIaAhp2EALw_wcB&campaign_id=20434601656&adgroup_id=157801096731&ad_id=668710450787&keyword=word%20counter&placement=&target=&network=g&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA3uGqBhDdARIsAFeJ5r1p_WidIArOC0JfDROKT8mOE9wge6DDidshRdWL14_OsKSlRZkzQAIaAhp2EALw_wcB)
○ a word count or character count program.
○ Old post remains when revisiting.
○ I even made a word count program with HTML code.
○ English original → Korean 1st translation → English 2nd translation can improve the English original
○ The text generated by Naver Papago has high readability, showing 80 ~ 90% scores in Grammarly, among other benefits
○ DeepL : The best translator in the world
○ Text auto-correction tools like MS Word
○ Ringle correction
○ Professional editors : Active in Naver blogs, KakaoTalk, etc. (Example)
○ Professional study abroad agencies
⑹ Evaluation
① Typically, after passing the document screening, 50% of applicants are accepted in the interview.
② The document screening is conducted by the admissions committee or graduate students.
③ In the document screening, the most important element is the Statement of Purpose (SOP), followed by recommendation letters.
④ In some cases, evaluation criteria are established for each component, and the SOP is assessed accordingly: This is why logical coherence in the SOP is crucial.
2. Questions
⑴ Example 1
① Why are you applying for this program?
② What are your research goals and interests?
③ What do you hope to accomplish in this degree program?
④ What do you want to do after, and how will this help you?
⑵ Example 2
- Describe your most meaningful research experience(s) to date. We are interested in what the big picture question was, how you designed experiments to answer it, and what your results told you about the scientific problem. Please include a brief discussion of what you would have done next if you were to continue working on this question. Applications are evaluated by faculty working in a wide range of fields, so be sure to focus on the high level scientific concepts and not only the specific techniques you used. (Limited to 750 words)
- Indicate what area(s) of biological science you would like to study in graduate school and how your interests would fit within the Rockefeller Ph.D. program. (Limited to 250 words)
⑶ Example 3
Please respond to the following. Your statement can be up to 500 words in length. You do not need to answer every question; focus on the elements that you feel are most relevant to your candidacy.
- What is your purpose in applying for graduate study in your specified degree program? Describe your area(s) of interest, including any subfield(s) or interdisciplinary interests.
- What experiences have prepared you for advanced study or research in this degree program? What relevant skills have you gained from these experiences? Have your experiences led to specific or tangible outcomes that would support your potential to contribute to this field (examples: performances, publications, presentations, awards or recognitions)?
- What additional information about your past experience may aid the selection committee in evaluating your preparation and aptitude for graduate study at UCLA? For example, you may wish to describe research, employment, teaching, service, artistic or international experiences through which you have developed skills in leadership, communication, project management, teamwork, or other areas.
- Why is the UCLA graduate program to which you are applying is the best place for you to pursue your academic goals? If you are applying for a research master’s or doctoral program, we encourage you to indicate specific research interests and potential faculty mentors.
- What are your plans for your career after earning this degree?
⑷ Example 4
Provide a research and academic purpose statement that describes your research experience, your academic aspirations and your career goals after graduate school. (Limit: 2 pages.)
- Describe your most significant research experience(s). Be sure to address these questions: What was the goal or central question of your project? Did you test a hypothesis? Who did you mainly interact with? What types of technical approaches did you use? What were your results, and how did they help answer the questions behind your project? How did you deal with failure, technical problems, or unexpected outcomes? What did you learn, and how did the experience affect you?
- Briefly describe how you have communicated your research findings. Have you presented your work at scientific conferences? Are you an author or co-author of research abstracts, manuscripts, an honors thesis, or other forms of science communication?
- Briefly discuss the career path(s) you envision for yourself after graduate school. (We understand that these goals may change over time.) How will earning this PhD help you to achieve your goals?
- Mention any valuable leadership experiences you have had, and how they affected you and your career goals.
- Why Michigan / PIBS? Are there particular research areas, PIBS PhD programs, and U-M research labs of interest to you? Are your research interests narrowly focused or open to many possibilities? What types of mentorship and support will help you succeed?
⑸ Example 5
Please write a statement that answers the following questions (1,000 words max):
a. How has your academic background, including any training, research, or other educational experiences, prepared you for graduate study?
b. What are your intellectual interests, and what scholarly questions are you interested in exploring in graduate study?
c. Are there any specific faculty members whose research interests align with your own with whom you would like to work?
d. How will our program help you achieve your academic and professional goals?
⑹ Example 6
Submit a personal statement of ~1000 words (max 500KB) that includes:
a) how you became interested in doing research,
b) a relevant project or research experience that shows your technical knowledge and skill, and
c) your plans for the future in computer science.
You may wish to include information about what you feel are the strengths of your application, such as special interests and abilities, or give explanations for what you feel are any weaknesses in your academic record. If you have background that might particularly contribute to the intellectual and social enrichment of the program, please describe it. Examples include unique educational or cultural opportunities (or lack of them), social and economic disadvantages that you may have had to overcome, and interesting or unusual influences on your intellectual development.
⑺ Example 7
Describe a project or research you worked on in a class, capstone, lab, work, etc. that was meaningful to you.
- A brief, high-level description of the work
- Significance of the work
- Appropriate details on your approach
- Results or outcomes achieved
In addition, describe one or two specific projects or problems of interest to you for your future Ph.D. thesis work. Explain how and why you might approach these problems. In your response, use language appropriate to someone in your field without specific expertise in your project, such as a fellow student or a work colleague. (750 words)
3. Answers
⑴ Overview
① Poor structure : Childhood → University years → Research experience → Career plans
② In the SOP, it’s crucial to reveal how research ideas were derived, how difficulties encountered during research were resolved, and so on.
③ It’s advantageous for every paragraph in the SOP to be summarized by just reading the first sentence.
④ The SOP is not about writing what I want to say, but about writing what they want to hear.
⑤ In many cases, doctoral students are involved in the evaluation, and points are mechanically assigned for each question.
⑥ Reference websites
○ https://thecollegeapplication.com/scholarship-personal-statement-guide/
○ https://github.com/jaeyk/jaeyk.github.io/blob/gh-pages/sop.md
⑵ Content 1. Hook
① Include famous sayings, etc.
② What sparked interest in research
③ Personal statement : Avoid duplicating it in the SOP if it’s separately requested
④ Professors often use the first paragraph of the SOP to select students interested in their research field
⑶ Content 2. Coursework
① Whether you’ve taken relevant courses can be important for CS-related programs
⑷ Content 3. Research Experience : Over 50%
① Content
○ Avoid being too specialized as it can harm readability
○ Include questions, ideas, discussion processes, troubleshooting, etc.
○ Research experience should be performed actively for at least 3 months (at least on the surface) within the last year
○ When reducing the length, focus on research done a long time ago
○ High school experiences are not highly important
○ Trending technologies are definitely advantageous for study abroad applications : Study abroad institutions also require such technologies, so they are beneficial
② Research experience is gradually becoming more average
○ Reasons for estimating : Increasing protectionism, growing demand for study abroad in developing countries, internationalization, informatization, advanced technology
○ As a result, most applicants have research experience : Especially in life sciences
⑸ Content 4. Reason for Applying : Emphasize fitness
① 4-1. What kind of research you want to do
○ Why you want to study abroad, why you want to do a Ph.D., and how they relate
○ It’s possible to connect the research topic slightly broadly to make other professors see you as a potential student
○ Use a “big question” instead of simple questions : Already researched or too simple questions are difficult to use to showcase your abilities, whereas very radical topics make it hard to generate empathy, so it feels like there are fewer opportunities ( trade-off )
○ Make sure research and related funding are well represented in the SOP
○ Write in a forward-looking manner
② 4-2. Why you applied to this school
○ Use department names and keywords from the department’s homepage
○ It may be worth checking the curriculum once
○ However, it’s also an advantage to write SOPs similarly for different schools to standardize them : Author’s strategy
③ 4-3. Areas of interest in which research labs (around 3)
○ You can learn about recent academic trends by checking professors’ Twitter accounts : Note that Twitter is used a lot in the U.S.
○ This part is essential because it reveals interest in school.
④ 4-4. What was discussed during contact interviews
⑹ Content 5. Career Plans
① 5-1. Academy? Industry?
○ You don’t necessarily have to specify whether you want to go to academia or industry
○ Mentioning industry can sometimes be seen negatively by professors, so it’s wise not to mention it
○ SOP is not binding, so changing your career direction later is not a problem
② 5-2. Social contribution
③ 5-3. Reporting research results in various forms
○ Blogs, social media, policy reports, etc.
⑹ Content 6. Conclusion
① Scholarship award status
○ Engineering and social sciences often lack departmental funding, so whether you received a scholarship can contribute to the acceptance rate
○ Natural sciences generally have well-established departmental funding, but funding availability varies due to the high rotation, so whether you received a scholarship may not directly affect the acceptance rate, but it can be used as evidence of your abilities
○ In the case of public universities, funding for foreigners is very limited, so the scholarship status becomes very important
Input : 2022.10.01 23:00