Monday, 30 May 2016

How important is the statement of purpose in a PhD application for admission to a top school in the US?


According to this MIT statement of purpose guideline, the statement of purpose seems to be an important part of a PhD application. However, I have also heard that, in the case of MIT, the statement of purpose is only reviewed after the application has been tacitly accepted.


So, how crucial is this part of the application, and what part does it play in the process of graduate admissions at top schools in the US?



Answer



You have to specify which discipline, but for the social sciences the statement of purpose is the most important item in your portfolio.


We also look at grades, GREs, and letters but we scrutinize the statement the most. A good statement can resuscitate a candidate with middling grades, a bad statement can condemn an otherwise good student.



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