আগের লিখাতে বলেছিলাম যে USA-Canada তে এডমিশন এবং ফান্ডিং এর ক্ষেত্রে Statement of Purposes (SOP) বিশেষ ভাবে গুরুত্ত্বপুর্ন। আজ স্টেটমেন্ট অফ পারপাস সম্পর্কে বিস্তারিত বলব।

আমার সম্পুনর্ লিখাটি পড়ার আগে আমি বলব নিচের ভিডিওটি একবার দেখে নেওয়ার জন্যে। ভিডিওতে University of California এর K-12 and community initiative এর Director, Yvette Gullatt স্টেটমেন্ট অফ পারপাস নিয়ে খুব-ই গুরুত্বপুনর্ লেকচার দিয়েছেন। তিনি Reveal করেছেন যে ইউনিভাসির্টি অফ ক্যলিফনর্িয়ার শিক্ষকেরা স্টেটমেন্ট অফ পারপাস কিভাবে ইভালুয়েট করে। স্টেটমেন্ট অব পারপাসে তারা কি দেখতে চায়। আর সর্বপরি কিভাবে খুব ভালো স্টেটমেন্ট অফ পারপাস লিখা যাবে। আমেরিকান ইউনিভসর্িটি এপ্লাই করার সময় স্টেটমেন্ট অফ পারপাস লিখার আগে এই ভিডিও আমার বেশ কাজে লেগেছে।



যাহোক, এখন স্টেটমেন্ট অফ পারপাস নিয়ে মুল লিখাতে আসি। সংক্ষেপে আজকের লিখার মুল কথা গুলি হল:

Ø Statement of Purposes (SOP) আসলে কি জন্যে প্রয়োজন?
Ø Statement of Purposes (SOP) আম্যাকে কি কি লিখতে হবে? কিভাবে লিখতে হবে?
Ø এডমিশন কমিটি বা যারা আমার SOP পড়বে তারা আমার SOP নিয়ে কি করবে?
Ø SOP লিখার কলা-কৌশল কি হবে?
Ø কিভাবে নিজের SOP কে যাচাই করা যেতে পারে?
Ø এডমিশন কমিটি আমার SOP তে কি কি দেখতে চাইবে?

SOP কি জন্যে প্রয়োজন?
1. To know the student
2. Understand his or her accomplishments (কোন সামাজিক কাজ বা শিল্পকলায় পারদর্শিতা) in context
3. His achievements in context
4. His obstacle and challenges in context
5. It is an opportunity for the student to provide information that supports and augments the review process.
6. For the Applicant it is an opportunity to Anticipate the Questions that we will have in our mind and they can response them approprietly in their SOP.

In SOP you have to tell about – (Not necessarily that u have to have all, u can have 1 or 2 is pretty okey)

1. Personal quality
2. Talent
3. Accomplishment
4. Contribution
5. Experiences
6. What this quality and accomplishment makes u proud and how does it relate to the person u are?

1. A good SOP will help the reader to know and understand the student
2. With just the application documents alone if there is not better understanding then the Sop will help u to understand the applicant better.
3. After reading SOP, it should be like that the applicant is better that we thought with the application documents alone.
4. SOP adds clarity , depth and meaning to information collected in other parts of the application
5. It doesn’t repeat the information that we already have with the application documents in the package.
6. It doesn’t give us a narrative form what we already have in the Packages. It actually contextualizes deep in that documents claim
7. It completes the application for admission.

a) Some students say that what should be the topic of SOP. The perfect topic and the most unique topic of the SOP is that completes the applications. SOP will help the Application committee in a deeper level.
b) Actually a topic of SOP does not impress the admission committee, the impression comes from the understanding the student in a deeper level.
c) Student should understand that the application documents and SOP should talk to each other. Each talk to the admission committee and together they create a dialogue. When it happens then an admission reader have the sense that the application is completed
d) It’s not enough to give us the problems the students have; we want to see that the students have achieved academically in spite of his circumstances. If we don’t see that the application and SOP are not in dialogue in each other then they are not complete.
e) Admission decision is never made based on the content of the SOP alone.
f) According to University of California- Barkley faculty “While it is acceptable to receive feedback or helpful suggestion, applicant personal statements should reflect their own ideas and be written by them alone.

The Admission committee and SOP reader, what will they do with ur SOP?-

1. Firstly, they will search that SOP reflects student’s own ideas.
2. What’s important to this applicant?
3. What qualities and characteristics define this applicant?
4. Which of these qualities and characteristics are most prominent?
5. What qualities appeal to reader? Why?
6. What is important to this applicant?
7. SOP is also read by Scholarship committee, Donars, Faculty.
8. Your SOP should be readable within couple of minutes, because the admission reader will have only couple of minutes to read ur SOP. (Usually it is about 2 minutes)

Writing strategies for SOP-
1. Gather information, grades , test score, Extracurricular activities, works, experiences, Achievements
2. Read the application critically using levels of Q. > Brain storming > Drafting > Revising ( organization, Clarity& meaning) > proof reading > Get feedback
3. Students should develop a topic in response to the prompt (the given theme for SOP). A thesis that will be a prompt.
4. Students should literally create their own prompts (the Uni given prompt are broad, Bcoz it is a genaralized prompt)
5. In SOP writing they should be narrow in their topic writing. They should be analytical and reflective as writings, apply thoughtfulness and careful critics.
6. Write special circumstances (if any)
7. Read critically (means, read it as the application committee will read it) and write analytically
8. Writing SOP is same important as well as to Reading. Students should read it as they write.
9. Think like an admission reader, Anticipate different kind of Q. > Mark interpretation > Expectation > observation
10. Ans those in ur SOP in responses
11. Find reader who resembles the target audiences
13. Try to questions themselves and ans them. As the admission committee will may arise in their mind. Students should find those by asking themselves.
14. If university restrains any words limit then your SOP should be within those words limit.
15. Students should not write below 250 words
16. More is not better. (with in 1000 words)
Prompt # 1
1. Describe the world you come from (e.g. your Family, your community, your university, your research)
2. Tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.
3. Tell us about personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment lakes you peoud and how does it relate to the person you are?

Who will may read your SOP:
1. University admission committee
2. Faculty (who makes decisions or provides assistantship) of that university
3. University Scholarship committee
4. State funding authority (Who will provide fund for that specified project)
5. Donors of your future PhD projects

So, what type of questions students should put and answer to asses their SOP?-
Level-1 Q.
a) Facts
b) Where did the Uni student went?
c) What classes he took?
d) What lab he participated?
Ans of the Level -1 Q. are details in paragraphs. These should have a place but should not be the most central places

Level-2, Q.
a) Are interpretive, they are taken from the parts of interpretation and makes the essay such as students had a grade drop, he might taken a job for some circumstances. The student took job and we may thaink that the job is more important to the studnt than the school.
b) Students should ans those interpretation. Here SOP is an opportunity to go deep enough to support his side.
c) Ans to the L2 Q. are topic sentences of paragraph, but not too much focused paragraph.

Level-3, Q. Are Meaning and Significances (they define the things of the application )
a) They go beyond the application to explain why something maters?
b) Why this education is so important to her? What he has done and what it matter?
c) It’s are deeper Q.s

In SOP students do mistakes as they have lots of L1 Q, Few L2 Q and only 1 or 2 L3 Q.
But the main things is L3 Questions are the main themes, them make the admission committee satisfied

Usually these Q are put in SOP by the admission committee-
1) What data do u find?
2) What pattern do you see?
3) What Q. would u ask?
4) What inferences would u draw?
5) How well does the essay align with the academic profile?

· Have I talked about myself enough? Do u have enough the sense of who I am, in the context of my Family, Community, School
· There should be a balance between dreams and aspirations ( the dreams and aspirations doesn’t have to be very specific like this is the major that I want) there something to do like the student is inspire to help community. It should not be like u will do something like I will change the global economy, rather u will use ur knowledge and will try for it
· The cultural issues are really important

আসলে essay.com জাতীয় ওয়েবসাইট থেকে ডাউনলোড করা SOP কিংবা এডমিশন-ফান্ডিং প্রাপ্ত কোন সিনিয়র বড ভাইয়ের SOP নিয়ে হাল্কা এদিক- ওদিক করে লিখে ইউনিভার্সিটিতে পাঠিয়ে কোন কাজে দিবে না। স্টুডেন্টের এডমিশন কিংবা ফান্ডিং-এ এই SOP কোন হেল্প করবে না।

Regarding extracurricular Activities:
Some of the students think that they have to have lots of extraordinary activities and leadership activities to write in SOP. But it may not happen for all.
Most of the Ivy league school admitted students don't have too much extraordinary extracurricular activities or leadership activities. What an Ivy league student has that is some creative and focused extracurricular activities. It means that the student really know what is he doing in his leisure time, why is he doing this activities and what future plan is associated with this kind of activities.
Yes, this is such a simple.

Now, If you feel that you did not do some thing extraordinary as extracurricular activity or say you did not participated in extracurricular activities at all in your department while you were in undergraduate level in university. So what should you do now?
Well, just ask yourself that how you spent a day. May be you just finish university and go home and watch TV. Then describe this in a different way that "every day after finishing your university you maintained a regular schedule to find out best creative-entertaining work on tv with a hope that one day you will excel in such works.

Try to highlight what you really are, but in a constructive manner. Don't write something that you really not, never lie... When some junior student sent me their SOP to review, In most cases I noticed that they wrote something common (like everyone was member of "Social Responsibility Club", everyone arranged cultural program etc.). A senior professor working in admission pool is not a stupid or fool, that he/she can't differentiate the truth or fabricated statements. So always be careful and truthful.


এহতেশাম রেজা
Grad Student (Industrial Pharmacy), New York, USA
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