Are you in trouble about How to Write SOP for MBA? Check here SOP Writing Tips to Study Abroad Admission.
SOP or Statement of Purpose is a necessary document required to be submitted at the time of applying for any particular university for higher education. While some MBA universities ask for MBA essays, others ask for a SOP. But what is a SOP? And how to write best SOP.
How to Write the Best SOP for MBA:
Of all the documents submitted while applying for admission – exam scores, recommendation letters, resume, general info etc – none reflects upon the candidate’s life and personality – What is your purpose in life? Why do you choose a particular university in a certain country? Who are you really and what is your goal in life? All these questions are answered in the SOP that the candidate writes. It’s like an open letter to the university that the candidate wishes to go to.
Once we have established the importance of a SOP in the procedure of application for admission, we now come to the next question i.e. how to write an impressive SOP for international B-schools. Although the general approach in writing SOPs for most degrees is the same, a different approach is taken with regard to writing the SOP for MBA. Candidates applying for other degrees such as MS or MA are usually freshers. MBA applicants of international B-schools have work experience and thus a distinct maturity is expected to be seen in their SOP. Their SOP must be able to explain their technical and managerial roles. The candidates must be able to describe their potentials which draw them to international MBA and make them worthy candidates for any given institute. The SOP must be able to clearly reflect the academic clarity and professional maturity of the candidate.
The answer to how to write the best SOP is not in any particular pattern or format. While some MBA universities are quite clear about what they would want to see in the SOP, others leave it open ended and would like for the candidates to impress them.
SOP Writing Tips to Study Abroad Admission:
Here are some key points that one should keep in mind while writing an MBA SOP –
- Any SOP cannot be written in bullets. It needs to be spread out in a free flowing manner, with key answers integrated in between smart, well balanced paragraphs. So the language becomes the most important factor in writing the best SOP. It should not be too formal and nor should it be too casual. It should be able to run between these two extremes.
- The word count or length of a SOP is usually not specified. However one should try to stick to an average of 500-700 words. And most importantly one should be tactful with the words, not making the SOP boring while providing all the needful information and using creativity just enough to hold the readers interest. Some applicants tend to get overly dramatic and lose the seriousness of the SOP. And some are either too impatient or lazy to bother to shape the body of the SOP properly. Such SOPs leave a negative impact on the candidate’s chances for admission.
- Plagiarism is a very serious offence in the academic world, especially at the international level. So never try to look up for samples and copy the styles of others. Be honest and represent yourself as best you can. If you feel that you are absolutely clueless about how to write an SOP, then it is okay to go through a few samples. But do not repeat the content you read. Try and come up with your own thoughts and express them in your own language.
- In order to make sure you have absolutely original matter for your SOP, jot down some key points. Make a list of all your achievements – academic, social, sports, extracurricular – things that you are proud to have done. Also make a list of the things that drive you or that you strongly care about. Then make a list of some general questions, quizzing about yourself – What do you want to do in life? What is your career choice and why? What are your long term goals? How will this degree help you with your future goals? What makes you worthy of this particular university? And – of course – why have you chosen the university to which you are applying? – These questions will help build the matter of your SOP. Once you have answered all of these, you need to arrange them in an essay format, divided neatly into uniform paragraphs.
- Once your final SOP is written, check for grammatical errors and have it read by different people and get their feedback. However, keep it limited to a few people as too many opinions may confuse you. If you are not very sure about your writing skills, then do not hesitate to take help from a counselor or a friend or colleague.
By following these simple steps, one can come up with a pretty good SOP for MBA. The answer to how to write best SOP is to keep it simple, friendly, confident and well balanced, and you should be good to go!
