A Letter of Intent or a Statement of Purpose (SOP) is an essay written by the applicant for the purpose of higher studies in the United States of America. It helps the selection committee understand the applicant better. Here is an opportunity for the applicant to give information about different aspects of his or her life that is not covered in the application form. For example, projects, work experience, internship, academic and non-academic achievements etc. should be talked about in this section. The SOP usually runs into two pages, so the candidate should ensure that the Letter of Intent does not turn out to be a very long biographical detail about his or her life. After all, the intention of the SOP is to impress upon the selection committee about the goals and objectives of the student in pursuing studies and what he or she intends to do after graduation.
The Letter of Intent has a purpose to fulfill. Keeping this in mind, the student should highlight those areas of his or her life that would support the studies that he or she is wants to study at the university. For example, if an undergraduate Journalism student has interned in a local newspaper and has also helped to publish the in-house college magazine, these achievements should be highlighted in the Letter of Intent. This demonstrates keen interest and a commitment to the profession of Journalism. Along with examples that support the claims of the student, it would also show the readiness of the student for higher studies.
Most SOPs end up turning out to be a copy of a resume boasting about the applicant’s achievements. The purpose in the Statement of Purpose is almost forgotten and is just mentioned in a few lines. The essay should not only talk about the candidate’s achievements but also highlight his or her worthiness for the program, why this particular program was chosen, what he or she intends to do while pursuing this program and what he or she is going to do after the program. If the selection committee is convinced that higher education of the student is going to serve a long term purpose and will create an impact, then the Letter of Intent will have done its job.
If the student’s overall application is very strong (Letters of Recommendation, Grades, GRE scores etc.), but has written a weak SOP, then he or she will not be rejected because of this. But writing a very impactful SOP will definitely help his or her cause. Most SOPs may look the same, but if the applicant writes out a very strong purpose for higher studies and if he or she can stand out from the others by coming up with a new research idea or a useful application that he or she would like to develop during their studies, then the selection committee would definitely get excited and would want to admit that student into their university.