SOP for Non-Business Schools : Since you will not go through an interview, the admissions committee gets to know

about you as a person through your SOP. Spend time to get it right. Here are some tips that you should keep in mind before writing SOP : 1. Write down all your past accomplishments - academic, extra curricular, social contributions, sports - whatever you've done well in life. Also write down all the things that you feel or care for strongly. 2. What is it that you want to do in life? What is the career you want to choose for yourself in the future and why? 3. Write down the area that you want to study further in. How will taking up this course of study help you achieve your long term career goals that you described above? 4. Now, write down why should you have the life that you want? Why should you get all the things you listed above? What qualifies you to have all the success you desire? There's another thing you got to do, use the internet or the university prospectus to study about the university you are applying to and the course you want to study. Then, You MUST mention in your SOP as to why you chose the university you are applying to. For Business Schools: 1. Write down all your past accomplishments - academic, extra curricular, social contributions, sports - whatever you've done well in life. Also write down all the things that you feel or care for strongly. 2. Write down all your failures - at work, at things you wanted to do but could not for whatever reasons, at home, with your friends and family. 3. Write down what you want to do in the future. The immediate concern could be to go to the US for an MBA - but go beyond that. What after the MBA? What type of a job would you like, what would you want to do in your life. What would you like to be doing 5 years from now, 10 years from now, how would you like to retire? 4. Now, write down why should you have the life that you want? Why should you get all the things you listed in point 3 above? What qualifies you to have all the success you desire? Here are some more tips : 1. Add the human touch : an essay about community service should be about a moment in time, perhaps a vivid story about a homeless person you helped that got you started with your humanitarian efforts. Like any good writing that will make your essay come alive.

2. Get to the point: Do not write unnecessary details. Schools want the details, those specific nuances that are special about you and help you stand out! Providing too much context may dilute your uniqueness. 3. Read your completed essays to your friend. If it sounds like them, youve probably done a good job. If it sounds like a Ph.D. thesis, its probably not your voice, the voice college admissions committees are looking for. In short, make sure your SOP is grammatically correct, is written in a good flow and does not exceed the prescribed word limit. The SOP should be enthusiastic, friendly and confident in tone. If writing is not your strength, don't hesitate to take the help of a friend or colleague who can write well. 10 Major mistakes that you should avoid : 1. Don't include information that doesn't support your thesis. 2. Don't try to be funny"you dont know your audience, so humor can backfire. 3. Don't make excuses, but you can talk about the mistakes you've made as a learning experience. If there is something important that happened (poverty, illness, excessive work, etc. ), which affected your grades go ahead and state it, but write it affirmatively, that is, in a way that shows your perseverance. 4. Don't start your essay with "I was born in," or "My parents came from" 5. Don't repeat information from the application unless you use it to illustrate a point. 6. Don't be afraid to start over if the essay just isn't working or doesn't answer the essay question. 7. Don't try to impress your reader with your vocabulary. 8. Don't rely exclusively on your computer to check your spelling. 9. Don't provide a collection of generic statements and platitudes. 10. Do not write in an arrogant manner. Instead, make it clear that you are confident about your ability, but still eager to learn what the program has to offer Statement of Purpose : Pitfalls Generally, personal statements should be between 500-1000 words. Make sure to provide 1 to 1.5 line spacing and SOP should not exceed 2 pages. Take the printout on fine paper.

When applying to more than one university, do not forget to change the name of the university. Make sure that you write the university name and program to which you are applying on the header of each page. Also, when signing make sure you use blue color ball pen. So, if in case the paper gets wet, your signature will stay on put. How should I draft SOP if I do not have good profile ? Trying to tailor your SOP exactly to reflect what you think the school is looking for should be avoided. The people who read your application have been doing so for years and are skilled at spotting fakes. They are likely to know soon if a particular author is saying something for effect or if an essay does not ring true. And that means almost certain rejection. The best tactic is to spin the negatives into positives by stressing your attempts to improve; for example, mention your poor first-quarter grades briefly, then describe what you did to bring them up. Write about your association with non government organizations. Highlight your social work. You may include examples that may range for fighting against illiteracy to blood donation camp. Format of SOP : 1. A Brief Introduction What motivated you to think about graduate school ? Your current university or college 2. Accomplishments 3. Strengths Mention your participation in extracurricular activities. 4. Association with NGO's Highlight your contribution to the society. 5. Mention about your specific skills. Demonstrate about your communication skills. Mention papers presented in conference.

6. Future Potential Mention about how the graduate school will help you shape your future. In case you have any query feel free to post it here.