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10 Oct 2004, 01:15
The SOP is precisely that - Statement of Purpose - " Why do I want to do a PhD from Your Institute". Please note that the previous quotes must be answered in full. If your bio details help you advance the argument of why a doctoral career is the only thing that excites you , by all means do so. The "From your institute" is perhaps more important and focused on less by many applicants. This means you would need to spend a day or so on the website of each school, noting down how your interests and future aspirations (of research, of subjects, of ideas) can match with at least some of the faculty in that institute. The one-size-fits-all SOP will NOT do. The last-paragraph-change-to-fit-the-institute-name-somehow will also not do. IF you can link your interests convincingly to the institute, your battle is won.
Please note that even in best institutes, you have approximately 50-70 people applying for one seat in the specific department. (don't go by total applicants). Out of these, you need to stand out . Well what makes a difference ?
A. Shortlist
The first or preliminary Shortlisting is done by PhD Office, not adcomms. This is usually on GMAT score (less than 600 is out for example), no background to do a business PhD, incomplete applications and so on. 20% applicants drop out after this round.
B. Second shortlist
This is done by Faculty. They go over SOP, recommendations, and transcripts - in that order, roughly. 80% of remaining applicants are rejected, and the final shortlist is of around 5-7 students for a particular department. In a final meeting, firm and backup offers are finalized and faculty then gets in touch with these applicants.
Net, GMAT and SOP are critical differentiators at different points. A bad Gmat can break your chances, a good gmat is no guarantee of admit !
A Good SOP on the other hand can almost make the tilt.
The above analysis is true for 90% of admit cases. 10% admits are those students who do not need a SOP to back them up, their academic brilliance and records are enough to convince the faculty of their worth!
Hope this helps !