How do I write a BANG OUT statement of purpose for graduate school?

1.    Know your A, B, Cs  

Whether you are applying to medical, law, or business school, or any other graduate program, applications will likely ask students some form of the following question:

What experience do you have in this field, why do you wish to attend this program, and what goals do you hope to achieve upon graduation?

I call this the A, B, Cs of statements of purpose. A is what you have accomplished so far, C is what you hope to accomplish, and B—the graduate program—is the catalyst that gets you from A to C. 

The essay itself does not need to be in this particular order. You might start at C, casting a vision of what you see yourself doing in five years’ time, before you jump over to A to discuss experiences that led you to this vision, and finally end with describing how B serves as the perfect launching pad to your goals.

However, no matter what order you tell your A, B, Cs, your statement of purpose should weave a tight thread that connects these three components as clearly as possible.

2.    Let yourself soul search

Some people start the application process knowing exactly how their experiences culminated to their arriving at graduate school and how an advanced degree will help them accomplish their long-term career goals. They can cite specific resources, professors, and classes they hope to utilize in order to equip themselves for their next career move. Writing the statement of purpose is as easy as a walk in the park for them.  

If you are anything like me, however, figuring our your A, B, Cs is not easy. In fact, it is quite hard, almost like describing the back of your hand to a stranger—it has always been there and it looks like most other people’s hands. You might not know exactly what you want to accomplish with your degree, because you’re still figuring it out.  

It took me weeks and multiple drafts for my statement of purpose to take firm shape. This is part of the process. Allow yourself to brainstorm and, very importantly, free write. Do not edit at the beginning stages but write crappy first drafts. Keep mining your story and trust the process of drafting because you’ll eventually figure out your A, B, Cs and how to frame them in an essay.

If you get stuck or don’t know how to start, it’s helpful to reach out to a good writer friend, or someone like me, who can faciliate the drafting and revision process for you. An experienced editor will have a keen sense of what questions to ask and how to best frame your essay.  

3.    Be specific, be very specific

It’s easy for applicants to remain broad in their statements of purpose. They talk in general about their experiences, how they were president of this club or a manager at a firm.  

But go deeper. What did you learn from those experiences? Who did you interact with? How did a particular role help you understand your passions and develop your perspectives?

Sometimes people keep themselves from writing descriptively because of the word limit, but don’t worry in the beginning stages. It is more important to dig out the specifics of your experiences and goals so readers can imagine what kind of student you would be on their campus, the types of questions you would ask, how you’d engage with professors.  

The more nuanced you can get, the more you differentiate yourself from the crowd.

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While it may take dedicated time and effort, writing your statement of purpose can be rewarding because most successful essays hinge on arriving at a clear sense of your aspirations. You learn more about yourself through the process, which can help you to hit the ground running with more focus once you start graduate school.

If you find yourself stuck or unsure how to get started, contact us regarding a free 30-minute consultation.