Most UK universities require you to prepare a Statement of Purpose (SOP) or Personal Statement that goes with your university application. Universities in the United Kingdom look beyond the grades you received in school when deciding on student candidates for admissions.
What Is a Statement of Purpose(SOP)?
The Statement of Purpose summarises the purpose of taking a specific course offered by the educational institution. The SOP lists your abilities, goals, and how you plan to apply the knowledge you will receive from the university.
With an SOP, you can stand out from other candidates and impress the Admissions department. Therefore, you need to know how to prepare the perfect SOP for the university in the United Kingdom you want to get admission in.
The Importance of the Statement of Purpose
The Statement of Purpose helps you communicate with the admission authorities and impress them with your skills and experience. Your skills and experiences may not be found in your mark sheets, making the admissions department aware of them can increase your chance to get accepted by the UK university. You need to show your aspirations, skills, ambitions, motivations, and achievements. The SOP talks about your intentions, study plan, career dream and reason behind choosing a particular university that can raise your voice about your dream career plan.
The Length of the Statement of Purpose
Some universities in the UK will provide you with specific instructions and guidelines to follow regarding the word limit. We recommend checking any requirements the university may have for writing the Statement of Purpose.
Some universities in the UK require the Statement of Purpose to be a maximum of 4,000 characters. You are strongly advised to keep within the required word limit when drafting your Statement of Purpose.
What if the University Has Not Specified the Word Limit?
In the event the university has not specified the word limit, you can assume the word limit to be around 1,000 to 1,200 words. Again, you are advised to check the university’s guidelines and ask the university or a current or previous student about any Statement of Purpose specifications.
The Statement of Purpose Answers Why You Want to Enrol in a Particular UK University
You are encouraged to write a few lines on why you want to study at this particular university in the United Kingdom. Next, you need to tell the university’s admissions department why you chose this university over other universities in the UK. The course you wish to apply, you should speak about the course contents and about the course outcomes. As a student of choosing the particular course, you should also include clear goals about how the individual modules may contribute towards your long term career i.e what would be the learning outcome for your career development.
Additionally, the Statement of Purpose conveys to the admissions department that you have thoroughly thought-out the decision to study at their educational institution by learning more about the UK university and the programme you wish to enrol in. Knowing this information helps the admissions department sift through hundreds of applications and select candidates they feel are most suitable.
Write a Proper Conclusion to Conclude the Statement of the Purpose
After you have emphasised your eagerness to study in a UK university and have listed all the relevant qualities, the last thing you need to do is to conclude your Statement of Purpose with a proper conclusion. Your conclusion needs to sound positive and formal.
A well-written conclusion creates a lasting impact and expresses how enrolling in this programme can help you succeed in your chosen career. The conclusion also highlights your determination and motivation to study in the UK university.
The Structure of the Statement of Purpose
The structure of the Statement of Purpose is divided into three parts — Introduction, Body, and Conclusion.
- The introduction reels in the readers. Makes the first line catchy. Be specific from line one and show your enthusiasm of studying the particular subject. You should talk about recent inspiration for the particular subjects. It is also an opportunity for you to write about yourself explaining your motivation and understanding on the prospective course.
- The body should mention your goals or future career goals, previous studies, and work experience. It needs to explain your reason for choosing this particular university to pursue the programme and you should also connect your previous study, qualification and relevant experience with the prospective course and clearly demonstrate how the prospective course may develop your deepest understanding, skills and knowledge as a part of your long-term career. You should share your interests and hobbies as well.
- The conclusion is your closing statement that summarises everything and focuses on your desire and dreams to study at the UK university and tells them why they should accept you. You should connect the conclusion with the introduction and re-emphasise on the key points to take the particular course. Your entire writing should be realistic and connected to the past, present and long term future explaining all the steps that you are planning to cross.
6 Tips to Write the Perfect Statement of Purpose
We suggest reading the Statement of Purpose sample given by the UK university to understand how to write the Statement of Purpose. Apart from this, there are a few tips which are universally acceptable for writing a Statement of Purpose by universities all over the world, including UK universities.
The following tips will help you improve and perfect your Statement of Purpose and increase your chance of studying in the UK university of your dreams:
Some universities in the UK outline specific questions for you to answer through the Statement of Purpose. You need to ensure you have answered these questions clearly.
- The admissions department specifically look at your goals and aspirations. You need to mention them in the Statement of Purpose.
- Do not mention your academic achievements in detail in the Statement of Purpose unless they help you reinforce a certain goal or aspiration. If you do need to mention them, do not go into great detail about them. You do need to mention any extra-curricular activities and achievements you participated in.
- You need to grab the attention of the admissions department with the very first line of your Statement of Purpose. You need to engage them and entice them to read further. You need to mention your purpose and dreams in the Statement of Purpose as well. For example, you can talk about a specific incident or a conversation that took place that motivated you to enrol for this particular programme.
- You need to write your Statement of Purpose in first-person, as it is a narrative document.
- You should never plagiarise your Statement of Purpose. You have to convey your personality through your words.
- You should always take the time to read, edit, and review your Statement of Purpose before submitting it. You can also ask another person to read your Statement of Purpose and provide you with the feedback you need to improve it further.
Important Things to Include in the Statement of Purpose
You can impress the university’s admissions department with your Statement of Purpose by including all relevant details about yourself. Most students forget that the Statement of Purpose is not a resume, which means the most important objective is to highlight your eagerness to enrol in the programme at the UK university and describe your related goals.
When you sit down to write your Statement of Purpose, keep the following in mind:
- Your motivation for the programme, including the reason that made you interested in pursuing a career in your chosen field.
- Mention your career, long-term, and short-term goals.
- You need to include your academic profile and any subjects you have studied, the projects you have done, and the workshops or seminars you have participated in.
- You need to mention any work experience that you have obtained in the field of study or any other skills you have obtained through various certifications.
- You need to tell the admissions department about other interests apart from academics that you have, such as cultural activities, sports, and/or volunteering. These types of activities give them an insight into your personality.
- You need to mention any professional and academic achievements that you have obtained.
- You need to tell the Admissions department how the programme will help you achieve your goals.
Once you have written your Statement of Purpose, we can help you submit all the necessary documents to the university of your choice in the United Kingdom. Contact us today.
