Understanding Statement of Purpose

Like Personal Statement, most universities also ask for an SOP to ascertain the qualities and qualifications of a candidate. They evaluate whether the candidate is a right fit for the program and therefore, an SOP becomes very important in the admission process. 

In the next video, you will learn about the SOP in detail, its characteristics and its importance in the application process. 

In the video, you learnt about SOP which can be defined as a bridge between your past experiences and the future that you want to build through the chosen program at a university. 

You also learnt about the various characteristics of the SOP, which are as follows:

1. It focuses on what you want to do with this program.
2. It highlights your academic strengths, background (projects, internships, extracurricular activities), personal goals, research interests, skills and vision of your career.
3. It is used by admissions counsellors to figure out whether you are a right fit for the program that you have applied for or not.

You also understood the importance of an SOP, which is as follows:

• It is a tool for the admission committee to assess your knowledge, experience, motivation, enthusiasm and readiness. 
• It is an opportunity to demonstrate some of your skills, including communication, persuasion and organisation skills.
• It plays an instrumental role in accepting or declining an application.

In this segment, you understood what a Statement of Purpose is, its characteristics as well as its importance. In the next segment, you will analyse the essentials of the SOP.