WHAT IS A STATEMENT OF PURPOSE?
The Statement of Purpose is the single most important part of your application that will tell the admissions committee who you are, what has influenced your career path so far, your professional interests and where you plan to go from here.
As the name signifies, the Statement of Purpose is your personal statement about who you are, what has influenced your career path so far, your professional interests and where you plan to go from here. It need not be a bald statement of facts; several successful SOPs address these questions through anecdotes, stories or by describing their hero. But whether your SOP is subtle or to the point, it must be well written to be successful. Writing a reasonably good Statement of Purpose is not an impossible task. It requires care, attention and patience. And enough time for you to be able to write several drafts, show them to people and polish the essay till you get a version you are happy with.
Done right, this will even turn out to be an enjoyable process. And you will be the richer for it. A good SOP will certainly improve your chances of getting admission to the school of your choice, and even compensate for weaker portions of your application such as less-than-perfect grades. A bad SOP, on the other hand, has the potential to drag down an otherwise strong application