SoP - help anyone?

[Ilovecoffee]

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I really need to get down to writing my SOP, but i'm totally drawing a blank...

thought i would start a thread for people to post SOP related issues on here...

keep stuff coming in

 

[erikalindsay]

Write about what makes you want to study public health, and be sincere. That's really all you need to do. If you can't figure out why you want to study it, you might want to rethink your application (that isn't supposed to sound harsh, just honest...it's a lot of money if you're having to take out loans to pay for tuition/living expenses).

 

[honeysuckle]

I would like to second ilovecoffee re: coming up with ideas for tackling the SOP. I plan to get a rough draft knocked out this weekend. My SOP for my current public health-related master's program turned out to be terrible, and I know that played a role in why I didn't get any funding. I can articulate what makes me want to study public health, but not what specifically I want to do after I get an MPH (assuming I get accepted)--government vs. nonprofit, etc.--and I know that's part of what you need to say.

I'm also having trouble with just the logistics of the SOP. SOPHAS says limit your SOP to 1500 words, but does that mean write an SOP that's exactly 1500 words? What is a good SOP length? The admissions websites of the individual schools I am applying to aren't specifying length for the SOP.

 

[erikalindsay]

My personal statement was 2 pages or less. Never write just to fill up space. Be concise as possible while making your points. The people reading the applications are possibly reading hundreds of them (depending on the program) and will not appreciate 1500 empty words as much as they'd appreciate 500-750 that are well-articulated.

I didn't specify government or non-profit...I focused on advocating for my populations of interest.

 

[Ilovecoffee]

Write about what makes you want to study public health, and be sincere. That's really all you need to do. If you can't figure out why you want to study it, you might want to rethink your application (that isn't supposed to sound harsh, just honest...it's a lot of money if you're having to take out loans to pay for tuition/living expenses).

Hey, you're right. grad school is alot of money.
i know why i want to get an MPH, what i want to do after as well. its just the part of creatively tying in personal experiences, and making an SOP substancial is essentially my bloc. i'm working on it, trying to be sincere and creative at the same time... lets see.
thanks.

 

[watereverywhere]

Hi,

How does one tactfully explain away poor grades in their statement of purpose? Are we even supposed to?

Thanks!

 

[erikalindsay]

Hi,

How does one tactfully explain away poor grades in their statement of purpose? Are we even supposed to?

Thanks!

I wouldn't bother drawing attention to it (though if you are below a minimum GPA score that the school has, you may want to call the school and talk to a coordinator or other staff member). If you have a good GRE (or whatever standardized test you took) score, a great personal statement, and relevant experience, why would you want to remind them of your poor grades? 😉

 

[watereverywhere]

Erikalindsay,
That's how I felt as well - I have a 3.2 GPA but made a D+ in organic chem 1... then took organic 2 nearly two years later and made a B (matured and learned how to handle college properly). I wasn't sure if I was supposed to "explain" why this happened, but hopefully they'll just look at the GPA number and move on.

Thanks for your help.