How to Write a Statement of Purpose - Advice From Professors

There is a lot of bad advice floating around the internet about writing Statements of Purpose. Rather than other grad school applicants, or senior students, you would do well to focus on what professors or grad school admissions committees say. However, most of us do not have access to such people directly. This is where these resources should help:

‘Kisses of Death in the Graduate School Application Process’ is a fantastic resource for writing Statements of Purpose. Backed by data and straight from the horses’ mouth, this pdf is a great read for anyone applying to graduate school. While the document discusses all elements of the application process, I believe it will be most useful for writing your Statement of Purpose/ Personal Statement.

A survey of psychology graduate admissions committee chairs revealed 5 categories of mistakes applicants make that diminish their probability of acceptance.

Another great resource is this thread at Academia Stack Exchange. It has a couple of STEM professors writing in detail about what they like and do not like to see in a research statement. They make fun of some of the more egregious mistakes.

At the very least, don’t try to convince us that you’ve been in love with your field ever since you could take your first trembling steps. No, I’m not joking.