Essay and Statement of Purpose for Admission Evaluation

The Statement of Purpose is the single most important part of your application that will tell the admissions committee who you are, what has influenced your career path so far, your professional interests and where you plan to go from here.

Statement of Purpose

As the name signifies, the Statement of Purpose is your personal statement about who you are, what has influenced your career path so far, your professional interests and where you plan to go from here. It need not be a bald statement of facts; several successful SoPs address these questions through anecdotes, stories or by describing their hero. But whether your SoP is subtle or to the point, it must be well written to be successful.

Importance of SOP

Your grades, your test scores and your recommendations are pretty well established and there’s not a lot you can do about them. However your college admissions essay is your one shot to stand out amongst the crowd and make a difference, positive or negative. Here’s a great article from USA Today that discusses the importance (or not) of the college admissions essay.

There are some valid opinions espoused in the article. Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers believes that a come-from-behind attempt using the essay is not a substitute for competency and consistency demonstrated through one’s progress in school. Also he warns that college admissions officers have become good at detecting paid embellishments to essays.

Statement of Purpose

As the name signifies, the Statement of Purpose is your personal statement about who you are, what has influenced your career path so far, your professional interests and where you plan to go from here. It need not be a bald statement of facts; several successful SoPs address these questions through anecdotes, stories or by describing their hero. But whether your SoP is subtle or to the point, it must be well written to be successful.

Importance of SOP

Your grades, your test scores and your recommendations are pretty well established and there’s not a lot you can do about them. However your college admissions essay is your one shot to stand out amongst the crowd and make a difference, positive or negative. Here’s a great article from USA Today that discusses the importance (or not) of the college admissions essay.

There are some valid opinions espoused in the article. Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers believes that a come-from-behind attempt using the essay is not a substitute for competency and consistency demonstrated through one’s progress in school. Also he warns that college admissions officers have become good at detecting paid embellishments to essays.