Define Your Goals in a Statement of Purpose

Academic experts at college-writers.com emphasize that a statement of purpose is a great opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge, writing and thinking abilities, and intellectual development. You should prove to a graduate commission committee that you’re prepared for the next stage of your education and are able to deal with the demands of their academic program.

In other words, you should demonstrate that you understand what graduate school is and what are your goals. Of course, if you’re not a graduate student, the chances are you don’t have enough experience. However, you still have many other relevant experiences, knowledge, and skills that may tell admissions committees a lot about you as a student.

Identify Your Goals

The first thing you need to do is identify your goals in order to explain why you need a graduate degree. Obviously, you need it, but you need it for a reason. While guidelines for your statement of purpose require you to provide information on your interests and background, you might also want to explain your goals in more detail.

1. Explain why you’re so passionate about your area of study

Your personal statement should prove that you have enough commitment to your area of study, as well as enough interest in your subject. It must tell an engaging story about you studying your subject for a long time and making it the most important part of your life. Look back into the story of your life and find experiences worth sharing them with the admissions committee. Don’t forget about the experiences that became a reason why you thought about working in this field for the first time.

• What experiences made it clear to you that you really want to study this subject?
• How did you first got curious about this area?
• When did you realize that you want this interest to become your profession?

2. Evaluate your personality and interests

Academic careers may look completely different depending on the individual and the discipline. For some people, the most interesting thing is teaching others, while other people feel most comfortable sitting in a lab and conducting research. However, most people in the academic world don’t fall in any of these categories, being somewhere in the middle of these extremes. Define what kind of person you are, and what you would like to do in the future.

3. Think of different options

Graduates from your department can choose from among different employment options. We suggest that you do some research on the internet and visit career centers at your university. Talk to people whose jobs look interesting to you. Learn more about what people with Master’s and Ph.D. degrees do, and familiarize yourself with different fields. Determine where you can get most of the opportunities, and it will be easier for you to describe your objectives in more detail.

Think of Where You Want to Be After Getting a Degree

How do you imagine your future? Are you going to teach or research? Where you would like to work: in an urban area or at a community college? Would you like to try consulting or to work in the industry? Finally, you should also understand whether your Master’s degree will allow you to achieve what you want, or a Ph.D. will be the necessary next step.

Write About Your Objectives

Once you’ve clarified what exactly you’re looking for, you need to articulate your goals so that the admissions committee can learn more about you as a student and a person.

1. Write more about your motivations

Share your experiences and memories that determined your career path and became a reason why you’re so interested in your subject. Of course, you may be motivated by the financial reward, however, you should also describe things that make you passionate about your subject.

• Share your memories of how you became interested in this field.
• Tell the admissions committee what you’ve already done to achieve your goals.
• Explain how your experiences helped you set particular goals.

2. Tailor your education to your goals

Are you going to contact faculty members who have publications on your subject and who you’d like to see on your committee? Would you like to apply for Research or Teaching Assistantship? What courses look interesting to you and may be useful for your career goals?

3. Consider your past experiences in the context of your goals

You should demonstrate that you not only know a lot about your field but also know what are your strongest sides, as well as what skills, experiences, and knowledge makes you a better choice than other applicants. Don’t forget that there are many people who have the same goals as you so you should explain why you are more likely to achieve them.

4. Be focused

Don’t forget that graduate school is just one of many steps on the way to your goals. It’s not a magic recipe that will immediately make you achieve what you want. You should be focused on a particular purpose. Even if there are several possible variants of your future career, clearly define what is your main priority. You can always change your mind in the future, after all.

Sometimes, writing a statement of purpose may turn out to be a challenging task. If you get stuck and don’t know what it should look like, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Our company has the best admission consultants who can provide you with professional assistance in any difficult situation. We can help you with your statement of purpose, as well as with other parts of your graduate school application. You can choose from among many different services, and we will tailor them to your needs.