Statement of Purpose

Forum for the GRE subject test in mathematics.
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dasgut
Posts: 250
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2010 12:20 am

Statement of Purpose

Post by dasgut » Fri Dec 09, 2011 11:15 am

How closely do the top programs read the SOP? I know in some of the sciences (including the social ones) that departments don't even care.

owlpride
Posts: 204
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2010 2:01 am

Re: Statement of Purpose

Post by owlpride » Fri Dec 09, 2011 1:28 pm

I have 4 data points for this. The admission folks at Penn and MIT said that they don't care about SOPs except in special circumstances because they all read alike. UT Austin seems to pay a lot of attention to your self-stated research interests. I fell through the cracks and was "accidentally" rejected because I expressed interest in two different fields (geometry and topology), which lead neither of those two research groups to nominate me for admission. Finally, the admissions director at Michigan really seems to want to know how likely each admitted student is to enroll. I *assume* but do not know that he reads SOPs more carefully to gauge your level of interest in their graduate program, and he certainly does ask others who know you (e.g. your professors and students from the same university) about your level of interest.

dasgut
Posts: 250
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2010 12:20 am

Re: Statement of Purpose

Post by dasgut » Fri Dec 09, 2011 2:20 pm

Owlpride,
As is always the case, your response is great and much appreciated :)

castlevania87
Posts: 38
Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 2:38 am

Re: Statement of Purpose

Post by castlevania87 » Fri Dec 09, 2011 2:32 pm

I asked the graduate committee chair in my university, who is one of my referee. He said he read these very selectively. He would pay attention to those on the shortlist. The rest he doesn't care.



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