How NOT to Write a Statement of Purpose

It was after midnight last night, and I was editing a statement of purpose. I don't like to work after midnight, however,this particular client has connections: She is my daughter.  Yes folks, my daughter, who has heard me complain for years about applicants who wait until the last minute to write their statements of purpose, personal statements, and application essays, has waited until the eleventh hour to finally sit down and do what she should have done weeks ago.  Not the way to write a statement of purpose.

If the power of procrastination,  events beyond your control,  those within your control, or all the above have conspired to put you in her situation, you are in good, albeit very tired company.

What should you do now?

1) First of all, procrastinate no more! Sit down and write the thing. Lock yourself up. Remove distractions. Hopefully you have at least been thinking about your essays and know the direction you want to go. 
2) Jot down an outline to serve as a guideline and filter.
3) Write the essays without stopping to edit.
4) After you write an entire draft, edit.
5) Go to sleep or go do something else.
6) Edit the essay again by printing it out and reading it out loud.

If you have time, show your statement of purpose to someone else -- preferably at a more reasonable hour than my child did. If you don't know someone who is familiar with admission and who knows how to edit, consider Accepted.com's editing services.

Finally, allow time for the delivery service to do its work . If you are applying online, be aware that servers can be very slow in the last hour or two before a deadline.  Again, allow time.

If you have procrastinated so long that the essay just isn't good,  consider applying for a later round if you have that option.

Comments

[girish chandra]

Hey, i am just in the incipient stage in writing Sop's and found the info u provided quite useful...wt i woiuld al;so like to know is "How to write an SOP"..plz do help me out...i've gone thru many sites but all of 'em provide a vague view, would be gr8 if u could put me on the right track

[Linda Abraham]

check out http://www.accepted.com/grad/default.aspx .