Introduction (1st paragraph)

• Introduce yourself: Start by briefly introducing who you are and what motivates you to pursue this particular graduate program. Mention your academic and professional background.
• Hook the reader: A compelling, interesting start can grab attention. It could be a personal anecdote, a defining moment in your life, or a statement that reflects your passion for the field.

Academic Background and Achievements (2nd or 3rd paragraph)

• Describe your academic journey: Highlight relevant undergraduate or professional experiences, coursework, and projects.
• Showcase skills and accomplishments: Talk about any skills or qualifications you’ve gained, including technical knowledge or research experience.
• Connect to your program: Emphasize how these experiences led you to pursue this graduate program.

Why This Program? (Mid-section)

• Explain why you chose this particular program: Discuss the aspects of the program (faculty, research areas, courses) that align with your academic and professional goals.
• Link your goals: Explain how this program fits into your long-term career or academic aspirations. Mention specific faculty members or research projects if relevant.

Career Goals and Motivation (Towards the end)

• Discuss your career goals: Elaborate on what you hope to achieve after completing the program. Mention the skills and knowledge you aim to acquire and how you plan to apply them in your career.
• Be clear about your ambitions: Show a clear connection between the graduate program and your future aspirations.

Conclusion (Final paragraph)

• Summarize your motivation and fit for the program: Reinforce why you're a great fit for the program and how the program is a great fit for you.
• End on a confident note: Leave a lasting impression by expressing your enthusiasm for joining the program.

Tips:

• Be specific: Avoid generic statements. Be clear and detailed about your experiences and goals.
• Be authentic: Your personal story and genuine interest in the program should shine through.
• Focus on fit: Demonstrate how the program aligns with your past experiences and future plans.

Some years ago I met the head of computer science at Cambridge and he said he preferred students with no coding experience because they have less to unlearn. So don’t expect your code junky project to get you many brownie points. Computer Science at Cambridge is as much about human-computer interaction, applied maths and digital electronics as about coding.

On the other hand, I did once mentor a school science project where one of the team, with no previous coding experience, took on the job of using Python to do all the data reduction coming out of the activities of the rest of the team. Last I heard he was being interviewed at Oxford for computer science. This is more interesting because he was acting as part of a group, identifying a real need and addressing it - and in fact his teacher said that the experience of being a valued member of the team gave him a vision of where he wanted to go with a career and a huge boost to his academic motivation.

But being weird and obsessive is not necessarily all bad in CS: another guy from the same year had a different project and actually turned up for his Cambridge interview with several Raspberry Pie connected electrodes strapped to his lower arm, and an artificial 3D printed prosthetic hand leading a separate existence, mimicking his finger movements. He got an offer - but most likely because he was predicted a string of A*s as well as an interview where he seemed to show “he was one of them”. On the whole I would not advise this approach unless you are genuinely an obsessively weird genius.

Your personal statement needs to show evidence of motivation and potential for your future development. The examples above actually met that criteria.

Sorry
But I believe that Ms. Career Campus is discussing the process for admission to an Undergraduate program and not a Graduate program.

There are two types of graduate programs:

1. Those that require a thesis
2. Those that do Not require a thesis

Without a thesis is merely more course work. That option is Only meant for someone who already is working in the field, has successfully worked on several projects for their employer, and merely needs more specific education.

I believe you are pursuing the option "With a Thesis"

That means you are applying for a Job.
Your job is to work and support the research of one of the professors in that department. That professor is trying to make tenure or get ahead, so the professor's Career also depends on how good a researcher you are. For your research work and thesis work, you receive Free tuition and a stipend for living expenses. So cost is typically not a factor. No one that I know ever paid for a graduate degree in science or engineering.

So, since you are applying for a Job, you have to find out what the professors are working on. Read, read, read, and read.
Go online and go to the web page of each of the professors in the department. Find out what they are working on. Determine what lab facilities they have. Read the professional journal articles of these professors. Determine what you are interested in working on (researching) that matches what they are doing. Write your purpose statement around that.

If you can't find a professor working in an area that you desire at that college, Forget that college and find another college with at least two (if not more) professors working in an area that truly interests you.

All the best.

The terms "statement of purpose" and "personal statement" are often used interchangeably, but in the context of graduate school applications for biology, there are subtle distinctions:

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Statement of Purpose (SOP)

* Focus: Primarily on your academic and research goals.

* Content:

* Research Interests:

* Specific research areas within biology that fascinate you.

* How your past research experiences (if any) have shaped your interests.

* How the specific program and faculty align with your research goals.

* Academic Background:

* Relevant coursework, research projects, and any academic achievements.

* How your coursework has prepared you for graduate-level study.

* Research Skills:

* Highlight relevant skills like data analysis, experimental design, laboratory techniques, and scientific writing.

* Career Goals:

* Describe your long-term career aspirations in academia or related fields.

* How the program will help you achieve those goals.

Personal Statement

* Focus: On your personal motivations, experiences, and qualities.

* Content:

* Personal Experiences:

* Share a personal story or experience that has shaped your interest in biology.

* Discuss any challenges you've overcome and how they've made you a stronger candidate.

* Highlight your personal qualities like resilience, perseverance, and a strong work ethic.

* Life Experiences:

* Briefly mention any relevant life experiences (e.g., volunteer work, travel, hobbies) that demonstrate your character and suitability for graduate study.

* Fit with the Program:

* Explain why you are drawn to this specific program and university.

* Mention specific faculty members or research labs that interest you.

Key Differences Summarized:

* SOP: Focuses on academic and research aspects, career goals, and fit with the program. More formal and objective.

* Personal Statement: Focuses on personal motivations, experiences, and qualities. More personal and subjective.

In some cases, the terms may be used interchangeably, or the application may only require one type of statement. Always carefully read the application instructions to understand the specific requirements and expectations of the program.

In essence: The statement of purpose is about your academic journey and research aspirations, while the personal statement is about who you are as a person and why you are a suitable candidate for graduate study.

You have a good list of things to include. That's already a very good sign.

In rank order, #2, #3, #1. I personally couldn't care less about #4 and #5 unless it's really specific: eg, "I work for company X in the Y division and wish to learn Z so I can return here to improve how we do Y" (though this would probably already be covered in #1-3). The bland "I hope to advance my career and save the world" guff is a waste of ink. #6 is not really necessary, and even less so in non-research master's, BUT it can be evidence of the capacity for original thought, so long as you don't sound fixated on doing that and that only.

Keep it short. For a master's, one page is more than enough. Yes, your first draft may be ten pages long. But one of the ways you demonstrate maturity is by being able to cut that down to one page. Believe me, we all have a lot more to say than space permits; we figure out how to pare things down to their essence. If you submit something too long the reader's eyes will glaze over, and the worst part of it is they may miss critical points you're trying to make, because they get lost in the jumble.

They matter a great deal, but they are very different from the undergraduate personal statement. The undergraduate personal statement is basically “I’m a great and smart person that has a lot of interests and a great personality.”

With a science/mathematics Ph.D., the community doesn’t care about your personality or what you do outside of the topic of interest. What they want to see is that you have an idea for a program of research, and in coming up with an idea for a program of research that you understand the basic concepts of the field that you are in.

If as a non-technical person, you can’t see that he is describing his proposed research well, and he can’t explain why he is going to a particular school, then it’s a bad personal statement, and he needs to rewrite.

One of the first things that you should do is to look up the names of the professors at the school you are applying to, figure out what they are researching, and imagine what you would do if you were accepted into that university.

At Sydney in my day in Biological Sciences you were provisionally enrolled as a Masters student in your 1st year and promoted to PhD standing if you made satisfactory progress. You had to face the School’s committee of High Gnomes (Postgraduate Studies Committee).

I talked about what I had done and told them I thought my project was going OK. Showed them a few graphs of lab work.

The Great Limpet (AJ Underwood) asked: “Ray, do you want to do a PhD”.

Answer “Yes”. He then asked why.

Answer “Because I have always wanted one”.

Some glazed over eyes but since they knew me as an undergrad and I was a well known eccentric they promoted me anyway.

I think my statement of purpose appeared to be sufficient.

At the end of my postdoctoral interview at LLNL I can remember muttering "You mean nobody read my personal statement?".

Now that I'm hiring postdocs I find that I don't read them either.

So keep it to one page, only go into #1-3, and (unless you're applying to a creative writing program) don't spend too much time on it.

Now that you've got some time freed up, figure out who you want to work with in the department. Read their most recent papers. Then make an appointment and go in and talk to them. This is the time to discuss that you've been in industry for a while and you have a set of skills that is complementary to their research, and you can discuss specific examples because you've already been reading their work.

Students by and large don't do this. Reading papers is hard. Personal interviews are scary. And if you stay holed up in your room working on your personal statement, you might not get accepted, but you definitely won't look like an idiot.

A couple of hints for the interview. If you're grades and scores are within the range that the university normally accepts, a faculty member can tell admissions "I want to work with X, please admit them." Do not ask a professor to do this, and do not ask if the professor can do this. What you want to accomplish at the interview is introducing yourself (10%) and finding out what the professor is working on and where you might fit in to that (90%). If it looks like it's a good fit, you're allow to ask if the professor would be interested in advising you if you are admitted. They may not be for reasons that have nothing to do with you (retiring, no funding). If they have an interest, the interview has been successful, and you should go ahead and apply. You might not get in, but you've done your best to maximize your chances.

It is a Masters program

Two years, in and out, and you will be spending a lot of time your fourth term looking for a job.

You will need to take roughly 10 courses and you are writing a Thesis.
Therefore, before you write your "essay", I hope you have read the professional journals in your field of interest combined with a rigorous review of all the professors in that department to determine that someone is actually doing research in an area that you wish to pursue.

What contribution do you hope to make in that sub-field? Why do you think you can assist in the research? Your masters will be Free, and you are actually applying for a Job. Your pay will be free tuition and a stipend for living. The professor's career and future funding may hinge on your ability to conduct research in that sub-area while still getting A grades in most if not all of your courses. You want the committee to believe in you as well as the professor with whom you wish to conduct detailed research. Let them know if you are available immediately in the June before starting your graduate work in the Fall. I did that, and I had three good months of research and experience before starting my graduate program.

Therefore, your letter should hit the high points of Why You for that area of research.

However, if you are merely going for a Masters with No thesis (ten or eleven courses plus a seminar)............ You are paying for all of that. Cash. Therefore emphasize what you expect to be doing with your Masters degree and why you won't dumb-down the classes you will be taking. The other students doing serious research don't want to be slowed down by someone just taking classes for a better job.

My admissions procedure was fairly simple. As a scholarship athlete much of the details were handled by the Michigan coaching staff in cooperation with the admissions department.

I was required to qualify academically which wasn't hard as I was a solid B+ student in High School in Grand Rapids.

I was required to take the SAT's which also was't a problem with 1300 plus on the national tests.

Finally, I had to be a good athlete to be included in the athletic grant in aid program. I passed this test as well, eventually being named All Big Ten, All America, drafted by the Dallas Cowboys where I played, scouted for and eventually spent 40 years in pro football with the Cowboys, Seahawks, NFL league office, USFL, NFL Europe and the XFL.

Michigan received nearly 90,000 applications in the most recent cycle and their total acceptance rate is under 20% globally and around 10% for out-of-state students. 33% of all entering students come in with a perfect 4.00 GPA and 50% enter with over a 3.90 GPA. ACT scores are ROUGHLY 32–35.

Denial for admission might be due to: 1) low scores or low GPA (or GPA without rigor); 2) weak essays; 3) weak LORs…

Keep in mind that a denial may also, given the volume of VERY STRONG applications, occur in the case of a strong application.

Lastly, Michigan uses a so-called holistic application review process and, like most schools, they try to build a balance class of bet fit: they want to admit people who they think will thrive and find a home at the school.

I'll be honest, I'm suspicious about why “Michigan university” is so important, since there's a University of Michigan, a Michigan State University, and Muchigan Tech, but no Michigan University. I'm suspicious that your brain has been hijacked by an obsession with “name-brand” colleges and universities. It's largely irrelevant. What matters is the education and the outcome.

To succeed as an undergrad in CS andyhen in IT work (including software development) or graduate CS work, you need to work hard in all areas. You should take algebra, geometry, algebra II, and trig/precalculus. If you can get in a calc class, great, but I haven't seen it determine outcomes. You need 4 years of English, and the top skills employers come to me asking for are communication and collaboration skills, not more tech or math.

Focus on doing well in school and building interests in and outside of computing. Creative thought is a necessary trait for many areas of CS. Schools want you to have formal activities (e.g., athletics, student council), so do some. I think that's overemphasized, but they're largely just checkboxes. Do some volunteer work.

If you do all of this, you'll get into a good school. Will it be a school with high “brand recognition”? I don't know. I put almost no stock in that. There are no hard and fast numbers that guarantee anything; that's part of the whole myth. Look at outcomes and find an educational culture that will allow you to maximize your growth. If you want to go to Google and the school has placed people at Google, what difference does it make if it's the University of Michigan or Arizona State Polytechnic or Knox College? As the Bard wrote, “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

Good luck!

They want to know who you are, who you think you are, and why you want to go to college, and why you want to go to that college. Are you going to bring any talents, interests, skills, &c. from which your fellow students and even some professors might benefit and learn from and at least might enrich the life of the college?

Do you have any interests beyond getting As on your immediate studies?

Things that a transcript of your courses and grades will not tell them.

I think personal statements are a good thing and your chance to show them a more complete you than your transcripts alone or a recommendation from a guidance counselor who has 200 or more to write will tell them.

What I don’t like and think tend to be horsecrap is assigned essays that are not really personal statements but tell you to write about saving the environment, bringing world peace, and stuff of that ilk.

Your SOP should at least do the following:

1. State why you want to go to CS grad school with a limited exposure to CS undergrad prereq.’s. How do you know you even like this subject? Does your undergrad degree provide enough exposure to computer work to show that you actually like it?
2. Explicitly state the likelihood of your success, also. I’ve seen this sort of thing go on in Physics (admission without the proper degrees or prereq.’s), and there is a higher risk of not completing the degree. This will show that you have thought about the risks involved. Trust me, the grad Faculty already know the risks involved, but do you know?
3. How you will apply your grad degree. What specifically do you intend to do with a Master’s or PhD?

BTW, would you be better off completing an undergrad CompSci? What you’re planning is a HUGE hassle from the beginning to the end. If you are already an Engineer, Physical Scientist, Mathematics or such, then you should do ok.

Good luck.

While composing an individual assertion for a number related PhD program, there are a few significant elements to consider. Here are a few critical perspectives and themes you ought to address:

Scholastic Foundation: Examine your scholarly excursion, including your undergrad and any pertinent postgraduate coursework. Feature your assets, for example, specific areas of arithmetic you succeed in, important exploration projects, and any remarkable accomplishments.

Research Insight: Underscore any examination experience you have had in arithmetic or related fields. Portray your exploration ventures, approaches, and results. Feature any distributions, introductions, or gatherings you have partaken in, as well as the abilities and procedures you gained.

Inspiration and Interest: Obviously articulate your energy for math and your purposes behind chasing after a numerical PhD. Make sense of what inspires you mentally and scholastically, and how your inclinations line up with the program you are applying to. Examine powerful encounters, guides, or books that have formed your numerical reasoning.

Explicit Area of Interest: Demonstrate the particular subfield(s) of math you wish to investigate in your PhD studies. Exhibit information on latest things, ongoing headways, and potential exploration inquiries around there. Examine the reason why you are keen on this specific field and how it lines up with your drawn out objectives.

Future Objectives: Blueprint your vocation yearnings and how a PhD in math squeezes into your more extensive expert plans. Talk about potential examination headings you might want to seek after and how they add to the field. Address how the program you are applying to can assist you with accomplishing your objectives.

Applicable Abilities and Foundation: Feature any extra abilities, like programming dialects, computational strategies, or specific programming, that are pertinent to your proposed research region. Talk about any interdisciplinary experience or joint efforts that have enhanced your numerical viewpoint.

Initiative and Educating Experience: If pertinent, notice any positions of authority or showing encounters you have had, especially those connected with arithmetic. Examine what these encounters have meant for your relational abilities, capacity to tutor others, and your general development as a mathematician.

Fit with the Program: Show your knowledge of the number related PhD program you are applying to. Make sense of why you accept the program is ideal for your examination advantages and how you can add to the scholastic local area. Reference explicit employees whose examination lines up with your inclinations.

Difficulties and Development: Address any difficulties or obstructions you have looked in your scholar or individual life. Examine how you conquered them, what you gained from those encounters, and how they have added to your own and scholarly development.

Individual Characteristics: Feature individual characteristics that make you appropriate for a number related PhD, for example, interest, tirelessness, decisive reasoning, critical thinking abilities, and the capacity to work freely and cooperatively.

Make sure to edit your own assertion cautiously, look for criticism from guides or teachers, and designer your assertion to each program you are applying to. Best of luck with your application!

It’s true.

Your personal statement is one of the essential components you must prepare to successfully work through the application process for a Ph.D. in mathematics.

Writing an outstanding personal statement can significantly improve your application, and I’d like to offer some tips on how to do so!

ACADEMIC RECORD & MATHEMATICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

I would suggest beginning your personal statement with a summary of your academic background and significant mathematical accomplishments.

This section will provide context for your application and assist the admissions committee in understanding your mathematical foundation.

Include notable achievements, such as awards from math competitions or unique courses you’ve taken.

If you have any outstanding grades to GRE scores, you can mention them to strengthen your application.

EXPERIENCE IN RESEARCH OR PUBLICATIONS

Spend some time in this section of your personal statement discussing your previous research experience and any publications you have.

This will demonstrate your ability to conduct independent research, which is essential for a Ph.D. program.

Make sure to include the methodology and findings of each project, as well as the journals in which your work has been published.

LONG-TERM CAREER OBJECTIVES & REQUIRED SKILLS

Next, consider your long-term career goals and how the Math Ph.D. program at this institution will help you achieve them.

You demonstrate your dedication to the field and determination to succeed by providing a clear vision of your future.

Don’t forget to mention any relevant skills, such as programming languages, problem-solving abilities, or mathematical techniques, that will help you excel in the program and your future career in this section.

YOUR INTEREST IN & FIT WITH THE INSTITUTION

Finally, show your enthusiasm for the university by explaining why you want to join their Math Ph.D. program.

Investigate faculty members whose work piques your interest and highlight specific research areas that align with your academic and professional objectives. Explain how the institution’s resources and expertise can help you on your Ph.D. journey and why you think you’d be a good fit for their program.

Overall, I encourage you to be genuine in your personal statement and include personal anecdotes demonstrating your enthusiasm for mathematics.

Remember that the admissions committee receives a large number of applications, so making your statement engaging and unique will help you stand out.

I hope my answer has been of value to you!

A personal statement alone will not be enough to lock an offer, no matter how well-written it is. On the other hand, one single sentence in your personal statement can ruin the whole application. This could be:

• Specify your research interest to one area that nobody in the department is doing;
• Say something which shows that you actually know very little about the field;
• Explain some weakness in you cv/transcript in a wrong way. For example, telling the reader that you quitted your last Ph.D. program because your former advisor is an idiot.
• Claim that you plan to go to industry after graduation. This may depend on your field and the person who reads the statement, but many pure mathematicians don’t like this idea.

Otherwise, I would argue that the personal statement is not that important, in the sense that I won’t read it unless I have seen an impressive GPA/research experience/reference letter at the first place.

Normally I would say that Cambridge are looking for an interest in the subject that goes beyond A-level. But Computer Science is a bit different. There’s no shortage of “code junkies” who are obsessed with computers. You have to distinguish yourself from the crowd. So I would suggest listing an interest which has nothing to do with computers. Then dons are a bit sceptical of code junkies because they tend to interpret a bit of accidental technical knowledge of how a system works for deep understanding. But you must have written programs in your own free time. They will need to be good programs for Cambridge.

Do answer these questions:

1. Why are you applying to graduate school?
2. What experience do you have doing research? (In my case, as a scientist, I want to hear about the science you have done)
3. What are your research interests?
4. Do explain any blemishes on your record (grades, test scores, etc.)

It’s ok to be a little naive but it is always good to demonstrate that you know what you are getting into.

You can also present some evidence of your perseverance or work-ethic.

Don’t:

1. I do not want to hear a personal story that involves you as a child and what sparked your lifelong interest in science.
2. I could care less about your hobbies or anything that doesn’t speak to your ability to succeed in graduate school. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have hobbies - everyone is a person - it only means I don’t want to hear about them.

Look, I need to know that you will work hard and be successful in graduate school. That’s all I need to know.

Statement of PURPOSE- The name itself is self-explanatory. This is a very simple document which asks for a very straightforward narrative. The word purpose here is the most important. The biggest mistake students make is that they keep highlighting their own achievements and lose focus on the long term goal/purpose that is being conveyed in the essay. The key is not to impress, it is to convince. Keep these broad points in mind while writing an SoP; ensuring the following is critical!

Be clear on where you want to be 5–10 years down the line.
An essay without a goal doesn’t serve any purpose. Your goal needs to be conveyed preferably early on or in the first paragraph of the SoP. Every other project/work experience you talk about has to be related to back to the goal. The Strongest SoPs constantly show how the applicant’s experiences have shaped the goal.

Your goal needs to be clear in terms of the role you see yourself playing and the area you want to be working in.
You can’t be vague with your goal. “I want to be a leader driving advancements in Artificial Intelligence” is not a convincing goal at all. It reflects a lack of clarity and thought. If you are applying for a computer science masters, you have to clear on the area you want to specialise in be it Data Science, AI or ML. Also, you have to mention what problems you wish to solve using these skills. Do you want to leverage the power of AI in the healthcare sector in the entertainment sector? Similar examples can be given for management and other programs as well.

Your goal and your projects have to be technically correct!
The technical correctness of the projects you have done so far and their future implications are very important. Simply throwing in buzz words isn’t going to impress admissions committees. Admissions committees likely have subject matter experts reviewing applications, especially for technical masters programs. You have to ensure that your vision is conveyed correctly with less emphasis on trying to impress the reader.

The projects you’ve taken up must be aligned to show that you have been working towards your goals.
It is often beneficial to ignore projects that do not fit into the narrative that shows you are working towards your goals. Certain projects may feel like they are too impressive to ignore, however, if they are not relevant to your goals, you are better off using the space to elaborate on your relevant work. For instance, when applying to engineering management programs, if you have “heading operations at an FMCG company” as your long term goal, it may be best to leave out your amazing marketing strategy project. The narrative is key and anything that disrupts it should be avoided.

Make sure to write the results of the projects you’ve taken up!
Another mistake applicants make is introducing too many technical terms in the SoP, while talking about projects. The process and technical skills you have used to solve a problem as part of your project are important. However, it needs to be explained crisply with minimal technical jargon. Emphasis needs to be laid on the end results of the project. This is your opportunity to impress the admissions committee! The results of your projects could be two kinds. The first is the benefits the projects have brought about. Was there an improvement in efficiency? Reduction in cost? Reduction in processing time? If yes how much/what percentage? The second result you can talk about is the implications of the project on your long term goals. What did you learn from the success or failures of this project? Did you discover strengths which shaped your goals? Or did you find weaknesses that a master’s degree will help you overcome?

Justify the need for the master's degree at the university!
This is where you show the reviewer that you have really thought about this program. You have to show how specific courses and research opportunities will help you fill the gaps in your profile that will help you reach your long term goals. Writing generically by listing 4–5 courses offered by the university, without justifying how each of them will help you specifically is a pointless exercise. You have to be clear how each course and aspect of the university will help you specifically!In summary here’s what an SoP is all about. What do you want to do in your life? What experiences shaped your decision of career choice? How have you worked towards reaching your goals? How is a masters degree the right step for you in order to reach your goals?

Answer these broad points and you have a good SoP. Also flowery sentences and language are not required. Of course, grammatically correct sentences and good sentence structure are important but you needn’t impress through creative flair.

Check out Gradvine. We have mentors who are current students and past graduates from the finest universities all over the world. They are pursuing a variety of master’s degrees at the best global universities and will help you out with drafting and editing your SoP. At Gradvine, we’ve had admits to universities like Harvard, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Cornell, Columbia, UPenn, Dartmouth, Duke, Purdue, USC among many more, with 98% of our students making it to a top 50 university for their program.

To be absurd to make the point – think about an admissions committee reviewing two applications, both candidates having top grades, and high GRE scores:

The Jeff Spicoli applicant:

Hey dudes, I am really in to advanced mathematics, you know real deep thinking, and all that figuring it out stuff.

The applicant who conveys direction:

My application to this university was in part motivated by the Department’s strong emphasis in Computational Topology as evidenced by the numerous researchers having joint appointments to the Math Department and the Computer Science Department. My Master’s in Mathematics focused on the new research in 3- manifold theory and the reduction in computational time for integer linear programming.

So Dude what sounds most bodacious? I end by referring to Roxanna Mindru’s answer – a Phd is about cogently articulating your original research, if you cannot even powerfully articulate your reasons for wanting to be in a program it: “is a bit of a bad start.”

At the interview, they are looking for someone who it will be a pleasure to teach, and to see in college every day, for four years, with the potential to do well.

At this point, they are looking for a reason not to offer you an interview.

They get ten applications for every offer they can make.

90% of the people that get made an offer, go on to be offered a place.

The personal statement will not get you an offer, but it might lose you the chance of one.

They want a well written piece of prose, so proper sentences and decent spelling and grammar.

That is all.

Everything else, they will determine at interview.

Personal statement gives you more freedom to write about yourself. The content typically includes the student's passion for the chosen field and the purpose of choosing the field. You are also allowed to write about experiences not directly related to the field. Whereas, Statement of purpose focuses strongly on the field. It expects to show a sense of purpose of applying for the particular field. You are expected to write about the experiences which are directly related to the field and almost nothing about what isn't. If the university mentions Personal Statement OR Statement of purpose, you can definitely submit only one of these, whichever you have ready at hand. If the university does not mention any such option, kindly contact the admission officer to get your doubts cleared.