Demand for foreign education has risen globally in recent years because of easy access to information and the trend of cultural inclusivity. Most of the top international universities are looking for top talents from different parts of the world to welcome diversity and new perspectives. But, with the increasing acceptance of global students, the competition has also increased manifold in recent years. When applying for a study permit in a foreign university, there are some academic documents the applicant needs to submit along with the application form. The most important part of your study abroad process is SOP and LOR Writing. The statement of purpose for applying to the programs decides your selection or rejection from the program. The Statement of Purpose for Visa Application (Visa SOP) is your proxy at the immigration office, and based on it, you get your study permit approved. After SOP, comes the second most important one – A letter of Recommendation, most of the top universities need a recommendation letter (LOR). There are two major types of recommendation – Academic and Professional, academic LOR you need from your previous school, college, or university, and professional LOR you need from your workplace by your boss, manager, or colleagues. We have prepared a comprehensive guide to help you in preparing better SOP and LOR for your higher studies abroad.
Statement of Purpose (SOP)
SOP or Statement of Purpose is a personal statement an applicant submits along with their application to a particular university. As the name suggests, it is a statement that specifies the purpose of selecting a particular course, university, and country. In an SOP, you have to mention your goals, aims, and ambitions after the completion of the course. You have to clarify your intentions – why you are doing that course in a particular foreign university and how this course can help you in achieving your goals. You should highlight your strengths and achievements in the colleges or job, to convince them that you’d be a good choice. But, an SOP is not just a list of your scores and achievements. You also give a sneak peek to the committee into your personality and life through your SOP. You have to showcase your resolve to do a particular course and mention some revolutionary work in the field.
Importance of writing a Statement of Purpose (SOP Writing)
Several aspects are considered in a candidate’s profile to make a decision regarding admission to a particular program. These include your academic scores, transcripts, internship certificates, etc but these documents are essentially objective in nature. The admission committee receives tonnes of applications for every program and they have to choose only a handful of candidates. In the current competitive academic arena, every other student is a meritorious student and this makes the job of selection a difficult job. An SOP, on the other hand, is subjective in nature as it establishes your uniqueness. Through this document, you describe your motivation and conviction to the authorities. It helps them get an idea about your mindset and background. They learn about your reasoning behind choosing a particular course, university, and country. This is the reason why it is the first document that the assessors check. So, you have to show your individuality through your Statement of Purpose using a strong narrative. Through this document, you can portray that you’re a promising candidate for that program and you’re not just a part of the crowd. Therefore, this is the document that has a huge impact on the decision of your acceptance.
The importance of an SOP can be summarised as follows:
- Personalized Introduction
The introduction of your statement of purpose should be very interesting to engage the reader. SOP is also called a personal statement and thus it is highly recommended to keep your SOP unique and personalized so that authorities will know better about you without an interview. Instead of using very generic statements, your SOP should include some anecdotes. For instance, a student applying for a computer science program could share a personal project that sparked their interest in the field.
- Showcasing Unique Personality
From your SOP, the authorities try to make a picture of you. So, your SOP should uniquely describe your personality. Whatever stories you mention in your SOP, should be written so well that your unique personality shines through it. For instance, instead of simply sharing your degrees and qualifications, you should specifically share your learnings from those experiences. Your SOP should narrate experiential learning of qualities like resilience, leadership, teamwork communication skills, etc. An applicant for a business program might describe how they initiated a small business venture during college, showcasing entrepreneurship and initiatives at early stages.
- Written communication skills
Your SOP reflects your proficiency in the language. So, it has to be syntactically and semantically correct. There should be no scope for any errors in your SOP. Use simple and smooth language, and it should have an engaging flow in the SOP. A clear, precise, and error-free Statement of purpose showcases the strong communication skills and writing abilities of the candidate. For instance, a candidate applying for a literature or history program should portray his ability to express ideas coherently.
- Exact candidate profile
Millions of students send applications to get admission to a given university. It becomes difficult for the admission committee to select a student solely based on their scores. Therefore, knowing them & their goals helps in selecting the right candidate. For instance, if someone is applying for a public health program, they should discuss their past experiences in community service and social volunteering, emphasizing their commitment to public service and welfare. This provides a clear picture of the candidate’s profile beyond grades, certificates, and test scores.
- How you are the ideal candidate for the program?
The SOP gives an idea to the authorities as to why they should select you. What are you going to give back to the institute or the field you’ve applied for? Apart from taking the benefits of the program, you should also share how you can contribute to the university, student community, and clubs there. For example, a student applying for a chemistry program could discuss a research project that he was a part of and his potential contributions to the field. That not only demonstrates the applicant’s passion for the subject and the potential impact he can make through his efforts and intent.
- Comparative Evaluation
As mentioned before, many students send in their applications. Therefore, through your SOP, the authorities can decide whether you’re worth selecting in comparison to other candidates. Suppose two candidates are having similar backgrounds and their SOP can be a deciding factor. For instance, if two candidates with similar backgrounds java applied for an environmental science program, and one of them discussed specific conversation initiatives ideas, then that candidate will have better weightage than the other.
SOP Writing Tips, Formats, Guidelines, and Examples
An SOP can be broadly divided into 7-8 paragraphs depending on the content you wish to include in your SOP. There is no set word limit for an SOP as it depends on the country and university you’re applying for. The general format followed in an SOP is as follows: The first paragraph is an introductory paragraph where you introduce yourself. This helps you in making your first impression on the authorities. The paragraph needs to be creative and captivating to get the authorities interested in you. The second paragraph should give a brief about your academic background. If you have any professional background, then that is also included here. The third paragraph is dedicated to the achievements you have had so far in your academic and professional life. You also mention the major projects you have been associated with, your role in it, and how the project performed. In the fourth paragraph, you discuss why you chose a particular course or program. You mention your expectations from the course, and how the course is in line with your goals and ambitions. In the fifth paragraph, you mention your short-term and long-term goals. You also mention how your decision to go for the course of your choice will help you in achieving these goals. In the sixth paragraph, you justify your reasoning for choosing a particular university and country for the course you have opted for. In the conclusive paragraph, you thank the authorities for giving you the opportunity. Make sure your endnote leaves a memorable impression on the reader.
SOP Writing Formats can vary as per the program, university, and country but certain standards fit most of the programs this is there are no specific guidelines provided by the university and thus we have listed some of the guidelines and standards formats with their details
Standard word count for SOP Writing – 500 to 100 words
Standard no of pages for SOP Writing – 1 or 2 pages
Standard Fonts for SOP Writing – Any simple font, Arial or Times New Roman
Standard Font Size for SOP Writing – 10-12 Font Size with single spacing
Letter of Recommendation (LOR)
LOR stands for Letter of Recommendation. This letter aims to establish your experience, achievements, contributions, and skills before the committee. But, it is not you who communicate this to them. But, a person who has closely seen you working in a professional environment or someone who has taught you in school or college writes a LOR to authenticate your candidature. The selection committee gets an insight into your learning abilities and skills. So, this helps the selection committee decide whether you’re a suitable candidate for admission to the respective university or not. This is the reason why LOR Writing should also be considered equally important as SOP Writing services.
Types of Recommendation Letters (LORs)
When it comes to higher studies, two major types of LORs are required from recommenders – Academic and Professional LORs.
1. Academic LOR
An academic LOR is written by a faculty member of your previous institute. If you’re applying for a bachelor’s, then your LOR may be written by your school teachers. Whereas, if you’re going for a master’s program, you need to get it written by your college professors. Generally, a university asks you to submit two to three LORs from your previous institute. The format and structure may vary, and the university usually shares the details. But, in general, the content entails the student’s accomplishments while s/he was pursuing the course. Check some of the Academic LORs Samples online for more information.
2. Professional LOR
Generally, in master’s programs, many universities have a prerequisite work experience. So as per that, they demand an LOR written by an immediate supervisor. The content in a professional LOR is primarily focused on the applicant’s efficiency in the work environment. This includes things like whether they’re able to show teamwork, interpersonal skills, leadership qualities, and how much exposure they’ve had in the workplace. Check some of the Professional LOR samples online for more information.
The standard format of Recommendation (LOR)
The format of a professional LOR is different from an academic LOR. The academic LOR majorly focuses on the accomplishments of the student in the course they were pursuing. Whereas, in the case of professional LOR, the focus is on the student’s career growth. It describes the student’s role as an employee, particularly in any project they were associated with. It mentions the professional qualities of the students and how efficient they were in managing the assigned tasks.
Importance of Letter of Recommendation – LORs
A LOR is an extremely important document that provides credibility to all the claims you have made in your resume and SOP. The importance of a LOR is summarised as follows:
- It validates your resume
The universities refer to your LOR to validate the claims you have made in your resume and SOP. The LOR proves that whatever work or achievements you’ve mentioned are indeed true. For example, you mentioned that a certain project was well received and earned you a grade. If it was indeed well-received, then your professor will also mention that in your LOR.
- It gives a third-person perspective towards your candidature
A LOR will also give an insight into your personality. The assessors will learn about your attributes which are relevant and essential in a student. Generally, when a university asks for a LOR, they want to validate your abilities. That is, they wish to verify whether or not you’re a sincere, diligent, and disciplined student. So, your professor here is providing your future professors with their perspectives of you.
- It gives valuable insights into your abilities
You are as good a leader as others think. Suggesting that you’re a good leader is one thing, but your superiors also admit that is another. Therefore, your professors or seniors should mention that you have leadership qualities and can work and manage a team to verify your claim. It is considered a major requirement in professional LORs, particularly if it is written for MBA courses. It is, in fact, given 8% weightage.
- It highlights your weaknesses with the scope for improvement
Mostly, if LOR is form-based, then a question that is always there is regarding your shortcomings. Often, an SOP dodges this section, i.e., many applicants refrain from adding their weaknesses. So, in a LOR, the recommender is asked to mention the areas where you need to improve yourself. This gives them an unbiased perspective of you. Given the immense importance of a LOR in getting your study permit, students should know what they want in their LOR. Also, it is equally important to choose the right recommender. Almost every application demands the submission of at least 2-3 recommendation letters. Therefore, you should choose your recommenders and convince them to write a LOR for you well in time.
Note: A LOR cannot be written by a friend or by yourself. It has to be written by a person of authority only.
LOR Writing Tips, Formats, Guidelines, and Examples
As per the program’s need and the candidate’s achievements, an LOR can be 4-5 paragraphs. Provided, each paragraph gives relevant information about the applicant. The general word limit for a LOR is 750 words. The general format that can be followed for writing a LOR is as follows:
The first paragraph should include the details of the person writing the LOR. It should also include why they’re recommending the applicant for a particular course at a particular university. The second paragraph should mention the relationship between the writer and the applicant. It should explain for how long the two of you have known each other. The third paragraph should elaborate on the projects you have worked on together during your graduate, undergraduate, or postgraduate programs. In the fourth paragraph, the skills and talents of the applicant should be mentioned. It should elaborate on the applicant’s qualities, dedication, and potential to achieve in life. In the conclusive paragraph, the writer should mention how the applicant will benefit by joining the course they have applied for. The writer should also leave their contact details so that the authorities can contact them in case of any doubts.
What is the difference between SOP and LOR?
The major difference between SOP and LOR is the author of these two documents. A student writes an SOP to describe their purpose for applying for a particular course in a particular university and country. A LOR, on the other hand, is written by a person who knows the student personally. The writer, in both cases, highlights the applicant’s personality, strengths, and achievements. But in the Statement of Purpose, the writer themselves suggests it, while in the Letter of Recommendation, the writer validates the claims made by the applicant. Also, in an SOP, the writer must provide the documents as proof, including the LOR. While in LOR, the writer is not supposed to attach any proof.
SOP and LOR, both are very important documents for your acceptance to a foreign university. The SOP is important as it gives the authorities an idea about the applicant without having to personally meet the candidate. It helps in determining whether or not the applicant is worth giving an opportunity to. A LOR, on the other hand, provides the authorities a validation of the claims made by the applicant. It gives them a third-person perspective regarding the applicant. Both documents are given importance by the authorities in deciding the future of the applicant. Therefore, due diligence should be made by the applicant in preparing both documents.
We, at Contentholic, provide SOP Writing Services in India. Our Online SOP writers have more than 12 years of experience in SOP and LOR Writing. Therefore, if you are someone who can not pen a good story out of your life then connect with our team.
