- 最后登录
- 2011-10-11
- 在线时间
- 0 小时
- 寄托币
- 20
- 声望
- 0
- 注册时间
- 2011-10-11
- 阅读权限
- 10
- 帖子
- 0
- 精华
- 0
- 积分
- 6
- UID
- 3184798
- 声望
- 0
- 寄托币
- 20
- 注册时间
- 2011-10-11
- 精华
- 0
- 帖子
- 0
|
留学申请群号：179576915
欢迎大家加入，一起讨论留学。
Statement of Purpose Advice
I've read many applications to our graduate program, and I've seen a lot of st
atements of purpose that, frankly, aren't very good.
Here are some thoughts and comments that will hopefully help you write a bette
r statement of purpose. These are merely my own thoughts and should not be con
strued as official guidelines of any sort.
What the statement of purpose is not
Many students (particularly foreign students) think that the statement of purp
ose is about character. While honesty, sincerety, conscientiousness, etc. are
important attributes, I assume students with good academic records applying to
graduate school have these traits.
Many students think that the statement of purpose should be an autobiographica
l sketch. Believe me, the story of your first computer when you were 10 years
old and how it inspired you to devote your life to Computer Science does not m
ake particularly interesting reading, nor does it tell me the things I want to
know.
Questions that your statement of purpose should answer
When I read a statement of purpose (which I think is one of the most important
parts of a graduate application), I have the following questions in mind.
Don't structure your statement with these questions! (I can just see the appli
cations pouring in now with my questions used as section headings.)
Your statement of purpose should be a cohesive piece of prose. (Some use of se
ction headings is OK, but not with my questions.) It should present yourself t
o the reader. One way you can think of your statement is as an extended (and s
omewhat more formal) answer to the interview question, “Tell me about yoursel
f...”
While some of my questions below can (and should) be answered directly, the re
st should be addressed by relating relevant experiences and accomplishments.
Why do you want to get a PhD (or MS)?
What are your research interests?
Be as specific as possible, but keep in mind who will be reading your applicat
ion.
In the Rensselaer CS department, research groups read applications — the one(
s) you specify on your application. At other schools, a department committee m
ay read all applications and decide upon admissions on behalf of the whole dep
artment.
For the Rensselaer CS department, unless you are an exceptional student with a
broad range of experience/accomplishments, you should target your application
to just one research group — a student who specifies interest in robotics an
d networking, for example, may not be taken seriously by either group.
Multiple faculty within a research group will read your application.
Why are you interested in these research topics?
Don't write an autobiography!
Do you have the motivation/perseverence to complete a PhD?
If you have an undergraduate degree in something other than Computer Science o
r Computer Engineering, then another question is: do you have the background t
o pass the PhD qualifiers?
The statement of purpose is also an opportunity to describe some of your accom
plishments and their significance. The reader will not be familiar with the pr
ograms, competitions, examinations, etc. for all parts of the United States, n
ot to mention other countries.
Other things to keep in mind
Format: Single spaced (or maybe even "one and a half" spacing, but definitely
not double spaced) with at least a 10 point font and reasonable margins (at le
ast 1 inch on all sides, preferrably more on the left and right with a 10 poin
t font).
Length: Definitely not more than 2 pages! (Who has time to read more than that
?)
When I was applying to graduate schools, I was advised to keep my statement of
purpose to a single page. I now think that this was not good advice — one pa
ge tends to be too short if you're covering everything you should.
Don't try to "cram" more into your two pages using typographical tricks (line
spacing, font size, margins, etc.) You're not fooling anyone. Inability to wri
te a concise statement of purpose indicates a lack of critical thinking skills
.
I should duly note that most undergraduate Computer Science students confuse "
concise" with "short". "Concise" means that you have given thought to the comp
osition of your statement to make it a clear and cohesive piece of prose (with
a natural/logical flow) that covers all the necessary points and doesn't cove
r unnecessary points. "Short" pieces of writing are usually too short because
they omit important points, aren't cohesive, etc.
Spell check it! Get someone else to proofread it!
Special note to Chinese (and some Indian) faculty...
Fer cryin' out loud, stop saying that every student is your favorite student!
I never really believe it anyway...
-- |
|
发表于 2011-10-12 00:14:54
签到领寄托币
GO
转发
