Weighing different factors for admittance

[user_name]

Originally Posted by daageep

for the people who claim that the SOP is worth <%5, are you saying that its not worth much if written very well? or are you saying it doesn't even matter if you write it poorly?

I'd say both. I guess the SOP will matter when 2 applicants have exactly the same profile in every other respect. This should rarely happen though.

[butler blue]

Originally Posted by user_name

I'd say both. I guess the SOP will matter when 2 applicants have exactly the same profile in every other respect. This should rarely happen though.

And if they have the same SOP, it's coin flipping time...or they start wondering if someone submitted two apps to up their chances.

[Jhai]

I don't think the SoP is used as the last factor in admissions (at least at the schools that read it...). Suppose a student with a great background, great rec letters, etc, says in their SoP that they're passionate about field X and field Y, and are looking forward to studying it. I can most certainly see them getting rejected if the program they're applying to doesn't do those fields. Likewise, if a student says they don't like doing research or math, say that they want to use their Ph.D to get a great job in investment banking, etc. Or if they come off as incredibly arrogant.

So I think the SoP does matter - but in a similar way to the QGRE. If you say something idiotic in it, you're out, but a very good one doesn't get you in.

[jahizbarlas]

jhai, your right
i actually know of a friend who got rejected from a sure place because his research interests were somoething the school was very bad in.
i think you can really hurt your chances by what you write in an SOP, but you cant really change the mind of the committee to accept you when they were initially going to accept you. its not a magical pill that can benefit you, but it can certainly hurt you.

[Mobil]

In my country, students who apply frequently get 780+ in Quant. GRE. It is quite common to get a Master degree before applying to PhD. So, LORs matter a lot...I'd say that they matter 50% of our application and they usually reflect other aspects such as our previous performance.

[user_name]

Originally Posted by Jhai

I don't think the SoP is used as the last factor in admissions (at least at the schools that read it...). Suppose a student with a great background, great rec letters, etc, says in their SoP that they're passionate about field X and field Y, and are looking forward to studying it. I can most certainly see them getting rejected if the program they're applying to doesn't do those fields. Likewise, if a student says they don't like doing research or math, say that they want to use their Ph.D to get a great job in investment banking, etc. Or if they come off as incredibly arrogant.

So I think the SoP does matter - but in a similar way to the QGRE. If you say something idiotic in it, you're out, but a very good one doesn't get you in.

I don't think many people would make such obviously stupid mistakes as declaring the "wrong" fields or goals. I doubt that coming off as arrogant can really hurt that bad, unless you say something insulting.

[snappythecrab]

I don't think many people would make such obviously stupid mistakes as declaring the "wrong" fields or goals.

I mean, you would think that, wouldn't you? I used a form SOP for all of my schools, with maybe a little customization. It didn't seem to matter to Wisc that I was highly interested in development, even though they don't offer it as a sub-field.

[Starvingecon]

I'll repeat what i said last year. Many top schools don't even read SOP, however i'm sure smaller dept's, and lower ranked schools check to make sure fields of intererest line up somewhat.