Statement of Purpose-Study Abroad Formalities

When you’re planning to enroll for overseas studies, universities would usually ask you for a Statement of Purpose i.e. a long essay of about 1000 words, that encompasses the candidate’s life, the motivational factors that guide his/her career path and the long-term goals.

SOPs can be written in multiple ways depending on the requirements of your university. A few may ask for question-based essays whereas the others keep it open-ended that simply invites a variety of thoughts from a range of students. However, unless provided with a specific format, your SOP should always be formal and must include the path of your career you’ve taken so far, your career goals and your intentions in reaching to such goal. Also, you should mention the reasons for choosing a particular university and its course and always relate it to your career goals.

A well-written essay is half work done and is very critical for your admission. So if such is the case here are a few guidelines to follow that can help you write a winning SOP:

Your SOP should be short and to the point. Never beat around the bush. Always remember, there’s no exhaustive list of what you can include in your SOP so think of your achievements and also your failures and include only the points that matter.

Language is another factor to keep in mind. Your SOP and its language depend on the course that you’re planning to get enrolled like for instance, an MBA SOP will always be different from that of medical branches.

Here are a few examples of what can you add to your SOP

• Personal Background that highlights of where you come from and some points about your family.
• Your Achievements for universities look into various qualities like leadership, team-player etc. that gets highlighted in the activities you’ve participated in.
• Your Failures, it’s a must. No given person can always achieve. At times you’d have failed and it would show how you rose from such failure.
• Work Experience that would provide your professional skills if it’s related to the course you’ve opted.
• Published Works which would be helpful for masters’ programme as it would add to your co-curricular activities.

Now, while you know the basics of an SOP, start jotting down the highlights of your life so far and rank them according to the level of importance. Find a good reason to study abroad and once you’re clear about these things, you simply have to write it.