Applying to US Universities » Statement of Purpose http://app2us.com/blog A resource for students applying to Universities in USA Fri, 30 Jul 2010 06:34:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Mentioning names of Professors in the Statement of purpose http://app2us.com/blog/statement-of-purpose/mentioning-names-of-professors-in-the-statement-of-purpose/ http://app2us.com/blog/statement-of-purpose/mentioning-names-of-professors-in-the-statement-of-purpose/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:30:05 +0000 app2usadvisor http://app2us.com/blog/statement-of-purpose/mentioning-names-of-professors-in-the-statement-of-purpose/
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This post is based on recent user questions on our forums. Many applicants want to know whether they should mention the names of some professors in their essays or SOP – statement of purpose. (As in, I am interested in working with Dr. Smith because I find his work very intriguing.) This post is relevant for those applying for any degree program.



Before we move forward to the details, let us understand the concept of sabbatical. It is a type of paid leave which professors can avail after every few years during which they typically do interesting stuff like travel, writing books etc but most certainly do not teach or even be available in their university on a daily basis. Why is this important? If you are applying for fall 2012 and Dr. Smith is planning to take his sabbatical in 2012 – 2013, then your keen interest in working with him is not going to help your application. In other words, you were much better off not mentioning his name or any name. You carry similar risk in mentioning the name of those professors who may be retiring or joining other universities in the near future.



By now, hopefully it is clear that mentioning names without thorough information is a risky step, and you may never have the full information on matters like impending sabbaticals, retirements or resignations. Mentioning names can be helpful in some scenarios. There are programs like UIUC Computer Science which specifically ask name(s) of professors you want to work with. In that case, it makes sense to briefly mention with whom do you want to work and why. Mentioning names also gives an impression that you have done your homework and have not copy pasted the same SOP everywhere. So that brings up a very valuable point – if you are going to mention names in your Statement of Purpose, be sure not to copy paste blindly. Hopefully you got the idea why.



Applicants to MBA program may not find themselves in this dilemma. However if you truly believe in something like, “my reasons of applying to Columbia MBA program includes renowned faculty including Nobel laureate Dr. Joseph Stiglitz…”, then you may mention a name.



What do we recommend? app2us advisors strongly recommend that you read the department website and application instructions thoroughly to understand whether the program requires or recommends the applicants to mention the names of some professors. If that is the case, mention as many names as suggested after careful research, preferably in two areas of your interest. If there is no such indication, then mention your areas of interest – one or two – but no names.


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]]> http://app2us.com/blog/statement-of-purpose/mentioning-names-of-professors-in-the-statement-of-purpose/feed/ 1 Write a customized Statement of Purpose for each University http://app2us.com/blog/statement-of-purpose/write-a-customized-statement-of-purpose-for-each-university/ http://app2us.com/blog/statement-of-purpose/write-a-customized-statement-of-purpose-for-each-university/#comments Wed, 07 May 2008 04:50:15 +0000 app2usadvisor http://app2us.com/blog/statement-of-purpose/write-a-customized-statement-of-purpose-for-each-university/
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“I am very much interested in pursuing graduate studies at your university because your University has world class research facilities” sounds impressive? Not to the admission committee. This sentence can be written by any applicant for any University. Consider this, “My research interest is in the area of Computer Graphics. I want to pursue my MS in Computer Science at the University of North Carolina, Chappell Hill because of the pioneering research being done in the area of graphics.” If other qualifications are similar, the second applicant with a clear specific statement is more likely to be selected over the first one.


Although Statement of Purpose has a similar requirement at most MS and PhD programs, some do have specific expectations, questions or word limits. After you have written your statement of purpose, rewrite it for each target University. Be sure to write the name of your target University at least once in your statement like in the above example. Also check if your research interest is an area of focus for that particular department; else mention your other interests which match the work at that particular University.


Do not write names of Professors in your statement of purpose because you do not want to narrow your sources of funding. Be very careful against errors in copy pasting. Double check you are not praising the artificial intelligence research of University of Texas in your statement of purpose for UCLA.


Your statement of purpose is one of the most important aspects of your Application to US Universities. If you are diligent and follow the advice outlined in this post, you will significantly increase your chances of admission. Got a question? Ask the question on our forum at www.app2us.com – all guidance is free of cost.

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