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Because
people do not make career decisions based purely on
reason, it can be difficult to explain why you have
chosen a particular field of study. What follows are
some categories into which your ideas may fall, but your
focus should be on your unique, personal details. Also,
keep in mind that you are not limited to any one of the
following, but should develop multiple reasons as you
see fit--so long as your points are focused and
coherent.
Early
Exposure to Your Field
Graduate
school is a serious commitment, and it may have been
your goal for a long time. Describing your early
exposure to a field can offer effective insight into
your core objectives. Watch out, however, for these two
potential problems:
-
Avoid
offering your point in such a cliched, prepackaged
way as to make your reader cringe. For example, you
should not start your essay, "I have always wanted
to...." or "I have always known that [X field] was my
calling." Instead, you should discuss specific
events that led to your interest in the field.
-
Do not
rely solely on your initial reason and forget to
justify your choice with more recent experiences.
Think about what you have learned about your chosen
field-and yourself-that has further stimulated your
interest and reinforced your conviction that you are
well suited to that course of study.
This applicant traces
his interest in photojournalism to his collection of
baseball cards and sports pictures at a young age. The
youthful sense of curiosity and passion he conveys is
sincere and draws the reader into his individual
mindset. The writer goes on to describe the evolution of
his hobby, which becomes a vocation after he earns some
publishing credits and enrolls in a BFA program.
Goals
Graduate
school is, of course, a means to an end, and admissions
committees prefer students who know where they're going
and to what use they'll put their education (though the
occasional soul-searcher, who may exhibit exceptional
raw potential, is welcomed). For many people, the
long-term goal is to work in academia, and to
differentiate yourself in such cases, you can stress
more specific objectives such as your research interests
(see the following section).
Other
degrees can lead to work outside the academic setting.
This applicant
describes his reasons for pursuing a degree in public
policy: "Providing health care to 44 million uninsured
Americans, while keeping insurance affordable, is one of
the most difficult challenges facing policymakers. I
want to work in state or local government to resolve
this health care crisis and ensure that the
disadvantaged get the care they need and deserve."
Rather than offering a cliched sentiment about wanting
to "help people" or "change society," he identifies a
specific issue and explains the origin and evolution of
his interest.
Research
Interests
Read the
instructions carefully: Sometimes schools will ask for a
statement of purpose describing your specific research
interests in lieu of, or in addition to, a personal
statement that emphasizes your character and qualities.
For these types of essays, you can assume that a faculty
member will be reading your statement, but it should
still be accessible enough for a non-specialist to
understand. Remember that such essays should also still
aim to engage the reader in a way that conveys your own
enthusiasm for the subject matter.
This applicant
demonstrates the depth of her knowledge about her
subject. To engage the reader, she identifies specific
problems that she hopes to investigate: "My junior year
and private studies of Anglo-Saxon language and
literature have caused me to consider the question of
where the divisions between folklore, folk literature,
and high literature lie. Should I attend your school, I
would like to resume my studies of Anglo-Saxon poetry,
with special attention to its folk elements." The essay
is not scholarly, but it offers a glimpse of her
intellectual character and proves the maturity of her
goals.
Addressing the School
While
professional schools tend to have similar curricula, the
differences between graduate programs abound. The
highest-ranked institution in your basic subject might
not be strong in the particular areas that you want to
pursue. Moreover, graduate school involves more direct
faculty relationships, so you want to evaluate your
potential mentors carefully.
You should
do this research for your own sake, of course, but
discussing your discoveries in your personal statement
can help convince the admissions committee that you are
a good fit. Avoid mistakes like discussing the school's
rank or prestige, or simply offering generic praise.
Instead, mention faculty members by name and indicate
some knowledge of their work. Consider contacting
faculty members first and discussing their current
research projects and your interest in studying under
them. Then refer to these contacts in your essay. You
may also want to discuss your interest in becoming
involved in a particular student organization or
activity.
This applicant
demonstrates a carefully considered interest in the
school's program in Paragraphs 7 and 8. She explains,
for example, that this particular university's
cross-disciplinary focus holds a specific appeal for
her. Additionally, she reveals an in-depth understanding
of the work of one of the school's faculty members,
mentioning Akhil Gupta by name and expounding upon Dr.
Gupta's influence upon her own work.
Similarly,
this applicant, after
describing how her laboratory experience has led to a
heightened interest in neurological diseases and their
underlying causes, demonstrates in detail how Mt.
Sinai's Ph.D. program is an excellent fit for her. She
is clearly familiar with Mt. Sinai's faculty, which
includes many experts in her field of interest, several
of whom she mentions by name. Note, however, that
mentioning several professors is not as effective as
describing one in further depth. The previous applicant
left no doubt that she knew Dr. Gupta's work well, while
it's not clear that this applicant did anything more
than superficially research the areas of specialization
of four professors. |
