Statement of purpose Definition and 60 Threads

Hey guys it would be great if you could take a look at my statement of purpose for a physics PhD program included below. The "Future Work" section at the end is where I talked about the specific program and faculties and how it will be a great fit for me. Any comments, criticism, advice is...

S.O.P. comes up occasionally on the forums. Any usefulness in differences or distinctions about Mission Statement, and Statement Of Purpose? Any other kind of name for alternatives to either of these? Is this the way to understand? Statement Of Purpose is what an individual person says and...

Let me begin by stating the obvious: I do not mean lying about anything that can be factually checked, like grades, honors, or experiences. I am currently a junior majoring in physics, and my immediate post-graduation plans are to attend graduate school in physics. On paper, I seem to be on...

I am writing my application to the PSI program of Perimeter Institute. As I am not a native English speaker, I am not sure whether my statement of purpose is strong enough. In the application form, there is a list of topics that I can comment on in my letter, and I tried to write something about...

I've written a Statement of Purpose for Physics PhD applications, and I wanted opinions on it from as many people as I can, which is why I am asking here. Honest reviews and tips on how to improve it are really appreciated! When I joined <my uni> as an undergraduate student in Physics, I had...

Hello everyone! I am a senior undergrad and I have been working on my statement of purpose for grad school. It still needs a lot of work so I would appreciate any advice on how to improve it. The text below is some of the more concrete portion of it but definitely open for revisions. I still...

Hi, I'm a current senior in college, and am applying to grad. schools for fall 2022. I'm interested in high energy theory, and I have had some research experience in ads/cft correspondence, kaluza-klein theory, computational particle physics. However, I'm not certain as to which particular topic...

I need advice in writing statement of purpose, particularly on my field of interest. I come from an undergraduate university which there is nothing much going on, just take courses and lab work, no research or anything like that available, hence I don't really have enough experience to describe...

I have written and rewritten a lot of times but I need some fresh eyes on my sop. It would be great if someone can help me out. I have less than a week to readjust it and send. My motivation to apply for the Masters Degree in quantum engineering at University of Wurzburg is to...

This is a draft of my SoP that I plan to send out to the Perimeter Institute for Perimeter Scholar Program. The program is designed for a 10-month duration focusing on theoretical physics. Please give opinion and suggestions for improving my statement of Purpose. ' Motivation and Research...

Hi everyone, I'm writing my statement of purpose for Masters/PhD programs in Physics (Condensed Matter Experiment, specifically superconducting quantum computing related). I've seen a lot of advice online for how to write SoPs, and I've made and answered a list of questions the statement has to...

Hey! Applying for physics PhD programs this fall and thinking about my statement. There's some really specific experiments/work being done I'm interested in. Is it acceptable if I put a few citations down? Such as: "I'm really in interested in tests of yada yada[1] and experiments such as blah...

Hello everyone, I'm currently getting my grad school applications put together right now (PhD program for physics), and I could really use some help editing my statement of purpose. If anyone would be willing to look it over and give some suggestions, I would really appreciate it! Also, if...

A bit of background: I have a somewhat unusual academic history, having taken 2 years of math and physics at a nearby university while in high school (intro mechanics / EM / quantum sequence + GR in physics, analysis + ODEs + differential geometry + abstract algebra in math)--all this with a...

I’m currently pursuing my master's degree in physics (in India) will be applying for the graduate course in the US for Fall 2018, and have a few queries regarding the statement of purpose. 1) Is it okay if I’m still undecided about what specific discipline I want to get into? Thing is, I...

This is a draft of a my SoP that I plan to send out to all of the Ivy league schools for physics Ph.D. What do you think of it. Do you think it is superb, downright terrible or somewhere in between. All relevant information about me is contained in the Sop. Enjoy reading it and thank you very...

Long shot, but has anyone applied to the GWU Physics PhD program? If so, how long was your Statement of Purpose? There is no information about it on the application, I ran across this page: https://www.programs.gwu.edu/graduate/physics. This says 250-500 words, but asks for "your academic...

I'm here to get advice on my personal statement/statement of purpose for grad schools. However, my major is biology and I have a low overall GPA (but not physics GPA). In fact, I was academically dismissed earlier in college because of grades. However my previous two years were very good and...

I recently returned from visiting family in Oregon. I toured the University of Oregon (unofficially) and really liked it. I've also read up on some of the professors and their work. I'm going to apply there. Universities always want you to explain why you think that they are a good fit for...

Hi there, I am applying for a Phd in mathematical Physics (actually towards Quantum gravity at Nottingham). I recently wrote a Statement of purpose for another university but my focus there was a bit different. For this PhD at nottingham I clearly know who I want to work under, why I am...

Hi PF! I recently completed my masters of science in mechanical engineering and am applying to Ph.D. programs. I am wondering how to begin my statement of purpose. For my masters I began with a quote from Dr. Suess. However, now I have very specific research endeavors and know precisely who...

Can it ever be harmful to discuss what tutoring experience you had as a undergraduate in your statement of purpose. I wrote 250 word paragraph how I was hired by a department at my university to tutor upper level undergraduate physics classes and what I got out of the experience. Do you feel...

Hi guys, I've been a long time reader of these forums, but this is the first time I create a thread. In the next weeks I will be applying to some masters programs in Europe (in math) and as part of the application process I must write a statement of purpose. Since english is not my first...

I really want to start doing some undergraduate research (Physics major, Math minor, 2nd year of Physics classes starting now) and I have no idea what they want to hear from me in any personal statements. For example, one of them just asks "How do you think this research experience might further...

This is a very rough draft of my statement of purpose. The plan is to use this as a base and customize it for different programs to include why those specific programs will help me achieve my purpose. The conclusion is missing because that will be specific to each program I'm applying to. All...

For my application for a PhD program in physics they requested a statement of purpose of no more then two pages. My application is due tomorrow and my statement of purpose is 2.5 page in Microsoft office and 2.2 pages in open office. Will I lost a lot of points with the admission committee...

I'm writing my statement or purpose for a PhD program in physics. Can someone look it over for me please?

Hi everyone. I recently finished a first draft for a statement of purpose for CalTech (I know, I know - I figured it would be the first one I draft - I have others I will be modelling off of this one soon enough), and I have a few (well, maybe more than a few) concerns about how I wrote it and...

Good morning! Can someone help me critique my Statement of Purpose? Here's my first attempt: (On a side note, should I put in that I taught myself C++ in this paper?) Statement of Purpose In short, my purpose is study at XXX to obtain a Ph.D. in Physics to facilitate a career as...

Hey PF So I am writing a personal statement for a phd in statistics and i am not sure what all to include. each graduate school has very broad directions, and I'm not sure what to put. should i list a faculty member that interests me, or is that too much work? selecting one professor is...

Here is my second draft, a decent improve from first. I really do not like my first and last paragraphs, they need some big-time help. Thanks. Also, I think it's questionable putting in the italicized sentence. Let me know what you think. Earning a PhD in physics would allow me to continue...

So, here it is... rough draft obviously. I included foot-notes denoted by asterisks * Also, while I have you here, considering I went to a small state school not known for Physics, how does my application look for applying to not top schools (i.e. U. Oklahoma, Clemson, Oregon St) GPA: 3.38...

Hello! Stanford math PhD application deadline is coming up, and I have my SOP ready, but I am not sure whether it is mediocre or good. Can you guys read over my statement of purpose? I will not post it as public, but I can send it to you via email. Thank you.

I am starting my statement of purpose essay for applications into Medphysics MS programs (SDSU) and a few other programs like Biophysics.. I am not a remarkably standout student. I do have about 2 publications in some AAPT meetings and poster conferences and in process of doing some work in...

I'm having a tough time beginning my statement of purpose for graduate school. I'm just not necessarily sure if what I want to put in will hurt my chances. I started off as a Mathematics major, and after taking Physics my junior year, I decided to add a Physics major. This would require me...

Hi all! I am applying to physics PhD programs across the U.S. and I'm not sure if my statement of purpose will cut it.. I am not the most creative writer and was wondering if anyone minded reading it to see what you think?? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! I am writing to...

I was reading through Harvard's graduate school admissions FAQ, and a paragraph said:"The physics department's admissions committee reviews each candidate's entire application, including statement of purpose, transcript, experience, GRE scores, and letters of recommendation -- the statement of...

Hi, I am working on some academic statements of purpose for this upcoming year's grad school applications. I will be applying to a fellowship funded by my undergrad university which I think I have a good chance of receiving, and I was wondering if it is a good idea to mention that in my...

Hello, so over the next few days I will be applying to REUs, and as most of you know, this requires a statement of purpose/essay. Heres what I have so far.. keep in mid it's only a draft. Please be critical, I need all the suggestions I can get. Let me know what I can add, or take away from this...

This is for an application to a program in Climate Physics and Chemistry / Atmospheric science. Statement of Objectives While studying Physics at the University of X I became fascinated by the overlap of physics with other fields such as Earth sciences and nanotechnology. I explored these...

Hello I will be applying next year to some PhD. programs in nuclear engineering and I have been thinking about whether or not to include information about funding in the statement of purpose. I have already written a decent statement of purpose for REU programs this summer that I have had two...

Hi, all. I’m applying to master’s programs in a technical discipline. For about three and 1/2 semesters in college I was severely clinically depressed. And, as I got to learn first-hand, being severely depressed is pretty debilitating, so for three semesters I got B+s, Bs and B-s. My question...

Here is my statement of purpose rough draft. Please be brutally honesty in critiquing it please. I, __________, am applying for the PhD degree in nuclear engineering with a concentration in nuclear materials. After achieving this long-anticipated goal of receiving my doctorate, I will...

Greetings, I am applying to physics PhD programs, and am currently working on my statement of purpose, a good chunk of which is dedicated to research that I have done. Right now, I have two drafts which I wrote in parallel, which take different approaches toward describing one of my research...

Hello forum, I am posting the rough draft of my Statement of Purpose that I will be submitting to Southern California Universities. I am applying for a Master's in Electrical Engineering. Ideally, I would like feedback from some of you who have already gone through this process and know what...

Hello forum moderators, I am in the process of applying to Masters programs in Electrical Engineering. I have finished a rough draft of my Statement of Purpose and would like to get some feedback on it. Could I possibly post it in a thread in this particular forum? If not, where should I post it?

Hi, I'm applying to grad schools for physics for next fall after having a rather terrible senior year due to depression and anxiety. It definitely affected my grades (my overall gpa is still 3.5 though) and contributed to a bad and frankly useless experience at my REU. (I didn't really have a...

This is a common subject I'm sure, but for reasons unknown this information is difficult to find. I have written my statement of purpose, all that remains is to customize it to each institution that I am applying to. How did you handle this? Did you talk about faculty you think would be...

Hey All, I'm graduating next year with a BS in Mechanical Engineering and have begun applying to graduate programs in the same field. My problem is the Statement of Purpose (SoP). On top of everything else, you are supposed to include prior research experience. This is supposed to demonstrate...

Hi all, It is the first time to post in your forum. While applying for post grad studies, some colleges require a motivation letter while others require a statement of purpose. so, are the letter and the statement the same? Thanks,