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Re: Should I emphasize location pref. in response to the question "why this program?"

Originally Posted by
instajar
I think it's worth a brief sentence or half-sentence, e.g. "I am also excited about State University because it is near my hometown of Middletown, PA." But it's definitely not as important as strong research fit, so I wouldn't add anything else. It also depends how much other non-research content you have, e.g. if you're talking about consulting experience as something that got you interested in studying remote collaboration, then you should try to minimize other non-research content in your SOP.
Just my opinion as a fellow prospie.
I probably wouldn't emphasize it. A line or two at the bottom wouldn't hurt, but it also probably wouldn't help. As far as I know, schools aren't as concerned about getability of students at the PhD level. Sure if you're an all star (i.e. already published, perfect GPA and test scores, coming from an elite undergraduate program with research experience and letters from top scholars) and you are applying to a very low ranked program, you may need some additional reasons that you would come there. Ideally, though, your letter writers will provide those reasons in addition to a line in your SOP.
In my opinion, I believe that it is unlikely to inform your packet either positively or negatively. Schools just don't care that much. Good luck!