[材料准备] Personal Statement和 Statement of Purpose区别我之见 [复制链接]

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电梯直达

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发表于 2011-12-11 09:54:33 |只看该作者 |倒序浏览

写这篇东西我是冒着被拍的风险，因为毕竟只是我的看法而不是官方说法，希望不要误人子弟，但个人觉得对这个的认识还是挺到位的其实~

我之前看过一些关于PS和SOP区别的帖子，基本上大家得出的结论是这俩玩意儿基本上是一回事儿，我之前也就这么相信了，准备直接把自己的SOP改成PS。但是后来经过研究，实在觉得PS和SOP根本就是完全截然相反的两个东西！！

SOP不细说了，大家写的都是这个东西，statement of purpose，引用一段大家熟知的duke的SOP要求
Your application must include a Statement of Purpose indicating your purposes and objectives in undertaking graduate study, your special interests and plans, and your strengths and weaknesses in your chosen field. Briefly describe any research projects or any independent research in which you have actively participated and indicate how this has influenced your career choice and desire to pursue graduate studies. If you have particular reasons for applying to Duke (e.g. you would like to work with a specific faculty member), please indicate these.

PS有时候又被称为personal history statement，本人申请学校里面有三所牵涉到PS和SOP的纠结，UMich, UCSB, UCD，先引用一段UMich对PS的要求
How have your background and life experiences, including cultural, geographical, financial, educational or other opportunities or challenges, motivated your decision to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Michigan?
For example, if you grew up in a community where educational, cultural, or other opportunities were either especially plentiful or especially lacking, you might discuss the impact this had on your development and interests. This should be a discussion of the journey that has led to your decision to seek a graduate degree. Please do not repeat your Academic Statement of Purpose.

上面红字标出来的部分明确说了，PS跟SOP不是完全同一个东西！

个人把上述三所学校的PS要求进行了归纳总结，得出了两点：
1 background and life experiences
cultural, geographical, financial, educational, familial, economic, or social experiences, challenge or other opportunities or challenges, motivated your decision to pursue a graduate degree at the School
2 Serving the community
educational, cultural, or other opportunities plentiful or especially lacking?
unusual or varied life experiences that might contribute to the diversity of the graduate group, such as fluency in other languages, experience living in bicultural communities, academic research interests focusing on cultural, societal, or educational problems as they affect underserved segments of society
how your life experiences contribute to the social, intellectual, or cultural diversity within your chosen field; and/or how you might serve educationally underrepresented segments of society with your degree

综上所述，得出以下结论：
1PS和SOP写的内容不是一个东西，简单来说PS侧重你的前生，SOP侧重你的后世
2PS和SOP的意义不一样，简单说来就是SOP是给department看的，确定你是否符合学术上的要求，而PS是看你这个人如何的，是否能够成为一个合格的“社会公民”
3PS应该是给学院看的，重要性肯定比SOP低，但至于到底是否重要，不清楚
4PS建议大家可以写自己的成长历程，什么家庭背景决定了自己要学经济学（当然不能说以为这个专业赚钱。。。），什么现状决定了自己要读研究生（当然也不能说因为找不到工作。。。），自己做过哪些促进社会和谐的事情（义工，慈善活动，宣传），还有自己在获得学位之后将如何促进这个社会变得更美好（这个确实很虚。。。）。
5中国学生对会对PS产生疑惑，完全是因为从小到大的应试教育和功利主义导致的，大部分人读书找工作完全是为了自身物质生活享受的提高，但确忽略了自己的社会责任。之前在美国交换的时候，我时常会听到community的这个概念，完全不明白。西方人认为你的生长环境很大程度上决定了你是一个怎么样的人，而从这个环境出来的人有义务去促进社会不公平，服务弱势群体，利用自己所学的知识去做一些东西。也许PS也是美国对外输出其“普世”价值的一个手段，至于好坏我不妄加评价。

总之这就是我个人对PS的看法，如果有欠妥的地方，各位请尽管拍砖，谢谢！

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