<p>In the guidelines for my Statement of Purpose for grad school (Stanford EE) they ask what my future career plans are, my ultimate dream would be to start my own company one day. Is that ok to write or will it seem like you are not that interested in research?</p>
<p>I am applying to MIT as well and they don’t ask that question, should I include it anyways? </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>Sure, lots of faculty members start companies. If you are applying to places like MIT, you can bet that many if not most professors have at least some involvement with companies either as a founder, member of scientific advisory board or as a consultant. I think that this goal meshes well with your academic ones and if it is something you think you would like to do, you should say so.</p>
<p>Phase 1: Grad school
Phase 2: ??
Phase 3: Profit</p>
<p>(Sorry, I couldn’t resist… but don’t take comment this seriously)</p>
<p>lol, ok sounds good. Ill put that in there then.</p>
<p>I would be cautious about putting all your emphasis behind that goal - a few professors I talked to mentioned that they really preferred to admit future professors, not future CEO’s, and the ones who didn’t say this were the ones treating their grad students like workers rather than students. If you are going to mention a desire for starting your own company, I would still frame it in terms of research.</p>
<p>Agreed with cosmicfish. It needs to be linked with research - an R&D tech company, a think tank, a policy institute, something along those lines. If your adcom sniffs out that you are not interested in academic research, they may have a bias (conscious or not) against you. Save the truthfulness until you a bit farther in your program.</p>