...is it okay for an engineer (or any discipline) to be funny in their SOP?

Graduate School
1

<p>Just curious; my sense of humor is one of my best traits, and I have a very frank, honest, down-to-earth style of writing. I’d prefer for that to come through in my SOP–I feel like it could be what sets me apart. I have my sections written on the research I’ve done and what project I would like to work on in grad school, and all other relevant technical sections, but I was wondering if it would go over well for my first paragraph to be kind of a light-hearted jab at the typical SOP, where I just mention how I unfortunately don’t have some compelling story from my childhood about falling in love with science, and how my experiences in engineering as a college student have had their funny moments.</p>

<p>Is it too non-traditional for engineering? Thanks for any and all input.</p>

2

<p>

Such a story would have no place in a technical SOP in the first place. </p>

<p>

I don’t know what those stories are, but do be careful not to accidentally portray yourself as careless or immature or unfocused. </p>

<p>Humor is generally risky because the people reading your application may not share your sense of humor.</p>

3

<p>Rember this is for Grad School, so they don’t really care about your humor or personality. They are looking for someone who has experience in a certain field of study. I would say to make it as serious and academic as possible.</p>