The Statement of Purpose is probably one of the most misunderstood aspects of graduate applications.

Most students pass it off like it is just another essay about themselves, and naturally, write monotonous stuff that doesn’t stand out.

That is why, the university admissions committee puts a hefty weight on statement of purposes and their structure – they want to see whether you take the interest in letting them know how much you want to study at their university.

1. Customize Your Essay One of the biggest mistakes students make is to prepare a basic template for their statement of purpose, and if they are applying to more than one university, they simply change the relevant names and details. But the rest of the statement is an exact copy. This is never a good idea, because though they might seem quite similar to each other, every university is vastly different from the others. Each of them has a diverse set of characteristics that define them, and their cultures, methodologies, visions, values, mottos, strengths, weaknesses, etc., vary greatly.

How do you write a great statement of purpose that sounds original, but at the same time gives the admissions committee what they are looking for?

Simple. Basically, every university expects a student to answer to some basic questions that the admissions committee has.

They may not ask you openly, but these are generally what they expect you to answer:

What you want to study at graduate school?

Why you want to study only this degree?

Why do you want to study at this particular college?

What do you like in us?

Why did you choose to study in this particular country?

What do you like about it?

How much and what kind of experience you have in your field? Is your experience related to you choice of degree?

If you are already experienced, what additional skills are you planning to gain from the degree?

What you plan to do with your degree after graduation?

Would you choose to end up with a job or take up research?

What are your expectations from both the graduate program, and the university?

Would you like to study or do research under any particular professor

If yes, why only them How can you contribute to our university and our program?

What specific skills do you bring to the table?

Apart from work and education, what are your hobbies, interests, and habits?

What are you like, as a person?

What do you understand about our student community and culture?

Why do you think you will fit in?

What is that one unique aspect/characteristic about you that we should know?

2. Write Stories. Not Statements If given a choice, would you prefer reading a novel or a newspaper? A novel, without a doubt. Do you know why?

Because while a newspaper gives you mere news and some eye-catching headlines, a novel tells you a story; a beautifully written piece of literature that you will be emotionally connected to. It brings those humanly feelings out of you, and involves you in its storyline.

You imagine yourself in place 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 to us, statements don’t.

3. Quantify Your Stories Even though we asked you to write a story, you will have to remember that your story should not read like a thesis. It should rather serve as the best source of information about you. And when it comes to information, numbers play a key role. Your story should be not only qualitative, but also quantitative.

And that means, your story must contain measurable quantities instead of just stories, so the reader can understand the depth of it.

For example, if you have worked for a local NGO teaching math to primary kids, you could say: “During my engineering days, I helped a local NGO by joining as a math tutor, where I taught basic math concepts to school children.”

Now even though this sounds really good, it doesn’t give the reader the entire picture and they certainly do not know how much of an impact you made on those children. So, you could change that bit to something like this: “During my second year of engineering, I joined ‘Teach Math’, a local NGO, where I was a part of the Math tutoring team.

For a period of 10 months, I taught basic math like algebra, geometry and arithmetic to more than thirty 5th and 6th grade students.

And every single student I taught to, secured an A in math that year. I’ve never been prouder in my life.” Do you see the difference?

These numbers suddenly give a whole new perspective to the readers, and their respect for you is suddenly multiplied.

That’s the power of numbers; they add authenticity, and authority to your stories

4. Be Specific You have to make sure that whatever you say in your statement of purpose, you need to be very specific with it. Don’t just say something because you think it will impress the admissions committee. Whatever you say, you have to really dig into details. Be introspective. Don’t just say “I chose this degree because I love this field.” Explain clearly why you love this field, what made you decide that you want to work in this field for the rest of your life, what skills you are trying to amass, why it completes you as a person, etc.

Follow these steps and see yourself winning the admiration and respect of the university you applied to.

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