Statement of Interest - what do I want?

DespSeekPhd
Wed, 25 Oct 2006 11:51:15 +0000

Yes, the SOP is incredibly important. That and your letters will determine whether you get into grad school or not. You don’t want to do either of the two things you mentioned. You need to show why you want to go to grad school, what you want to do with your degree, what you plan on studying (and if possible, who you would like to study with), and what research experience (or applicable work experience) you have. That’s it. Avoid at all costs the creative, cutesy stuff of the undergrad essay, and do not rewrite your CV in paragraph form. There’s a ton of good advice on the SOP online - run a search on Google or something. It will help tremendously.