1. Writing Your Statement of Purpose David Gard, Ph.D. & Kate Hellenga, Ph.D. Psychology Department SFSU

2. Overview  What is a Statement of Purpose?  How are they used in admissions?  Important things to know about statements  How to write a statement  Important dos and don’ts  The process of writing  Readers’ pet peeves  Some examples of how to ‘frame’ statements  Answers to your specific questions

3. First, are there crucial questions we should definitely address?

4. Second, a note about our biases…  Our experience reading applications  Background is in clinical programs (both research & clinically-oriented programs)  Suggestions about writing a statement are guidelines only  Different readers have different pet peeves (but many are the same)  Please feel free to interrupt us & ask questions at any time

5. What is a Statement of Purpose?  A written essay (usually 2-5 double spaced pages) that addresses a variety of topics:  Past experiences  Future goals  Reponses to specific application questions  A reflection of who you are and where you are headed  Likely the most important part of your graduate application… so take your time

6. How are they used in admissions?  A narrative format for your experiences (but not simply a narrative of your CV)  Assessing whether you are a good fit  Assessing your excitement for their specific program  A place to (briefly) explain deficiencies  Evaluation of your writing skills  A note on the process of how universities often review applications…

7. Important things to know about statements  *Know your program*  Masters versus doctoral  General versus mentorship programs  Clinically-oriented versus research-oriented  Mentorship model  Know your faculty member’s research (read their publications closely)  Make sure he/she is accepting students  Email that faculty member (but do your homework on them first)

8. Important things to know about statements  Mentorship model (continued)  Do I need to write separate statements for each university?  Only if you want to be accepted  Can I just change the last paragraph to say ‘University X and Professor Y is a great match for my interests because yada yada yada…’  No

9. Important things to know about statements  Mentorship model (continued)  Good statements tell a story, theme, or focus on an idea/concept throughout  Excellent statements tie that theme to a specific mentor’s research  This, of course, means that those who write excellent statements write several different statements

10. Important things to know about statements  Remember your reader!  Reads dozens of these  Probably overworked, tired  Wants you to excite them about you  Good writing requires good editing  Stay within the requested limits  Editing does NOT include:  Changing the font size, margin or spacing (11-12pt TNR!)  If it is ‘a little long,’ something needs to be cut

11. Important things to know about statements  Balance is the key to good statements  Excitement but professionalism  Detailed but not jargony  Unique/creative but not disturbing  Be ‘humbly boastful’ (don’t minimize or overstate experiences)  Excitement … not hyperbole

12. How to write a statement  Tell your story  Grab the reader in the intro – you have only a few sentences to do this  What is unique about you & your interests?  What got you interested in this field?  Create a theme or story that weaves in:  Unique aspects of yourself  Your experiences  Your goal in their program & your career direction (e.g., academia)

13. How to write a statement  It is OK to write a linear narrative but:  This is not a place to re-write your CV  Keep it interesting  Make the narrative a theme – focused around unique aspects of your experience and interests  Write about IDEAS & concepts  Consider cutting anything that diverges from this theme, except:  Frame ‘tangential’ experiences (clinical or research) as creating a foundation

14. How to write a statement: General format  Introduction – opening paragraph  Grab the reader’s attention  Begin the main theme of your statement  Program & career goals  Middle section  Experiences, how the program fits  Mentor fit (for mentorship programs)  Concluding paragraph – wrap up themes  Note: This is just a guideline – It’s OK to be creative!

15. How to write a statement – Other important points  Be specific – Depth over breadth  All research (& clinical) experience is good experience (even if it doesn’t fit your theme)  E.g., “This research helped lay the foundation for my understanding of…”  E.g., “This clinical experience broadened my understanding of …”  Express your excitement about all of your research (and clinical) experiences  OK to express excitement about what you learned in a course (especially about ideas)

16. How to write a statement – Other important points  Self-disclosure – Do I do it?  Generally not a good idea in research oriented programs  May be necessary for clinically-oriented programs that ask for an autobiography or for some form of self-reflection  But, be: judicious, thoughtful, and insightful…  Should reflect growth (not an endpoint of enlightenment)  Have others read this closely!

17. How to write a statement – The process of writing  Good writing is difficult  Remember this is a statement about you. It is not you. Let it go.  Ask as many people (professors, friends, family) to read it as possible  Ask someone to read it who does not know you well  Read other successful statements (people will be flattered that you asked)

18. How to write a statement – The process of writing  Good writing is difficult (continued)  Reward yourself (internally & externally) for even a little progress  Put it away for a week or two and come back to it later  Don’t be afraid to ‘start over’  In fact, good statements require several completely different versions

19. Statement readers’ pet peeves  10 point font or less, small margins  Rambling, directionless statements  Statements that are vague and/or filled with undefined jargon  Mentorship model programs: No real interest or statement about working with a specific faculty member  Not responding to specific questions  Typoes Typos

20. Some examples  ‘Karen’ is interested in getting into a clinical research Ph.D. program where she can do research in depression. Her goal is to teach & do research. Her experiences:  Honors program at her undergrad  RA experience in developmental lab & a social psych lab  Internship with children and adolescents  How to frame this, especially with no real experience working with depression?  Theme focused on ideas (e.g., self-fulfilling prophecy – perhaps with a clinical example), excitement, research experience & how these match with faculty

21. Some examples (continued)  ‘Steven’ is interested in getting into a developmental Ph.D. program (mentorship- model) where he can do research on emotion regulation in children. His goal is also academia. His experiences:  RA in I/O lab, RA in social psych lab  Wrote a senior thesis focusing on infant cognition  Some work in preschools  How to frame this, especially with no research experience working with children?  Theme focused on ideas (e.g., delay of gratification), work with children, research experience & how these match with faculty

22. Some examples (continued)  ‘Maria’ is interested in getting into a clinically oriented Ph.D./Masters program where she can be trained as a clinician. Her goal is to work in the community. Her experiences:  Some traumatic experiences in childhood  Honors research at her undergrad  RA experience in a social psych lab  Internship in community mental health  How to frame this, especially with limited clinical experience? Self-disclosure?  Theme focused on clinical experiences & clinical ideas, research is OK, but don’t make this the only focus. Judicious self-disclosure in moderation if fits interest and theme

23. Questions?