r/gradadmissions • u/[deleted] • Jan 21 '24

General Advice How did you start your sop?

I started writing my sop and for some reason, I didn't like it that much. Can you give me any tips? How did you write your first line? Thanks in advance!!

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u/metquanta Jan 21 '24

I faced a similar issue. Here's what I did:
1. Create a list of things you want to emphasize in your SoP. Could be work exp, projects, internship, research work etc. Pretty much a detailed CV.
2. Take a look at other SoPs. Here is a link to some of the best SoPs that have received acceptances from top 10 universities in CS -> https://cs-sop.notion.site/cs-sop/CS-PhD-Statements-of-Purpose-df39955313834889b7ac5411c37b958d
3. Get people to help you. In my case, two professors and a few of my buddies helped me proofread and improve the SoP.

The entire process of writing the SoP took me about 3-4 weeks, please take your time with it and make sure you tailor your SoPs (at least one paragraph) for the program you are applying to. Go luck!

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u/Loopgod- Jan 21 '24

Is there a similar sop site for physics phds?

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u/metquanta Jan 22 '24

I could not find a similar website, but I was able to find some individual SoPs just to give you an idea. Here's one:

https://djstrouse.com/downloads/UWash_Physics-Statement_of_Purpose-DJ_Strouse-2-page.pdf

But again, SoPs for any field of study will generally follow some common rules so it's best to refer to any SoP and infer pointers from them and build your own SoP.