As a study abroad aspirant, you all must have known the importance of drafting a solid Statement Of Purpose. An SOP is a letter of intent that holds descriptive content about your career, goals, knowledge, skillset, interests and hobbies. It also speaks about the driving force and the primary reason behind pursuing a particular course or program.
Every admission and recruiting panel of top universities considers this as a significant factor to take you onboard since it will represent who you are and narrate your plan to pursue higher education!
For a professional degree like MBA, having an in-depth SOP is essential since there will be career expertise with academic and co-curricular knowledge.
So let us find out how to draft the start SOP for MBA!
Also read: Statement of purpose example
Table of Contents
The importance of drafting an SOP
- The SOP for an MBA is a crucial element in your application process.
- It gives an idea to the admission committee about you and gives them a peek into your background.
- It acts as the portrayal, and the sneak peek for your complete application and even your aspirations!
- It is the podium and the space where you can pitch your purpose and the reasons why the admissions panel should choose you over other applicants!
- To sum up, the SOP is a magic tool to leverage your GPA and average test scores. Statement Of Purpose adds a subjective aspect and thus optimises your application!
Drafting a strong Statement of Purpose
Now we know the crucial role an SOP plays in an application. So let us move forward on learning more about top points to add in an SOP.
Well, there is no typical format and structure to complete your SOP. But most of the significant universities guide their applicants with jotted down points on what is to be kept in your Statement Of Purpose.
Your SOP does not contain bullet points and just facts on the sheet. Instead, it will be narrative, descriptive and free-flowing like a story. Your key attributes to be stated will be distributed coherently in consecutive paragraphs. So here are a few points that have to be present in your Statement Of Purpose.
- Your history
- Accomplishments that you have done in your personal life.
- Your professional objectives
- The reason why you are planning to pursue higher education and especially an MBA degree.
- A reason statement on why you believe that the university you are applying to is the best space to achieve your goals.
Moreover, an SOP should have a clear flow from start to finish, and the readability should be engaging. Make sure that your SOP contains 3-4 paragraphs. The significant statements should be broken down and distributed evenly and coherently throughout your SOP article. In most cases,
The first paragraph is the central introduction part that throws significant light on how you decided to pursue your MBA degree and your primary motivation behind pursuing that course. Since the first impression is the best, make sure that this first part is evocative, innovative, crisp and witty! This will engage the readers to continue further!
Then, the second paragraph generally narrates your background, academic and professional achievements and goals for the future. At the same time, when you are describing the last part, curate specifically as short and long-term goals. In the former one, give a brief on your professional plans. For the latter one, say about your future and lifetime objectives.
The third paragraph should spotlight why you chose to pursue an MBA in that particular university specifically at this point in your life.
Finally, the last paragraph should be the conclusion of your SOP for MBA. So, keep it impactful and powerful. Describe your plans to contribute to the university and how your skillset, accomplishments and past experiences influence your contribution. To sum up, keep it in a nutshell on how will you be an asset to the institute!
Also read: How to write an SOP
How to write an SOP for MBA?
While curating the content specific to your MBA application, the SOP should not be dull or cramped up with more data. So make sure that the paragraphs are coherent and the vital information is distributed evenly. The word count should be 1000-1500.
To provide you with a picture of how key attributes should be distributed throughout your SOP for MBA, here is a quick sum up to place them in your content.
| Academic background and Achievements | 15% |
| Professional background and work experience | 20% |
| Co-curricular accomplishments | 10% |
| The reason why you are pursuing MBA at this time | 20% |
| Your career goals and aims post-MBA | 15% |
| Long-term goals | 10% |
| Solid and impactful conclusion on why you chose the particular university to pursue your MBA | 10% |
| Total | 100% |
Let us look at the SOP for each specialisation in the administration and management stream!
| Specialisation | Objective | Essential skillset to be highlighted on SOP |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | Should showcase a high level of motivation and strong willpower to forerun. | In-depth knowledge and understanding of diverse marketing areas Handling senior marketing responsibilities. |
| Finance | Understanding financial administrations, banking, acquisitions and mergers. | Analyse the company's financial reports. Manage diverse financial data. Strategise budget plans in a firm. |
| Human Resource Management | Students' ability to understand and handle a company's culture. | Team handling. Understanding and studying people's character. Decision-making and solution strategising. |
| Operations Management | Planning, creation and management of resources. | Business statistics, project management and innovation management. |
| International Business | Should be aware of how the globalisation of business will integrate commercial activities with global trade. | Communication skills, ability to handle challenging tasks, and knowledge of trade policies. |
| Information Technology | A focussed discussion on data management, e-governance and communication in the internet world. | Basic knowledge of software engineering, innovative ideologies on expanding one's business via technology and understanding technological trends. |
DOs and DON'Ts while drafting an SOP for MBA
Dos
- Keep an engaging beginning and an impactful end to your SOP for MBA.
- Let your SOP speak about your accomplishments and goals that brushes your past, present and future.
- Do brief research about the university you are applying to and the course you plan to pursue there. This will help you keep your SOP connected to your plans in relevance to the value you can add to that institute.
- Write your Statement of Purpose in active voice. Let the tone be positive, conveying your passion for the course and your goals.
Don'ts
- Do not exceed the word limit or be so short. Keeping the SOP crisp doesn't mean it should be so shallow.
- Do not mention your assessment scores specifically.
- Avoid repetition or plagiarism.
Guidelines for a perfect SOP!
Here's what our Edvoy experts suggest as tips for writing a winning SOP to land on your dream destination and pursue an MBA! Visit our knowledge base to have a clear vision of the concept!
You can follow this wireframe to kickstart your SOP seamlessly
- Prepare a list of what you wish to include.
- Ideate on the theme of your SOP.
- Prune the list.
- Research about the course and the university.
- Write, edit and proofread!
Make a note of these essential tips while curating your SOP for MBA!
- The admissions committee will focus on self-motivation, competence, potential as a graduate student.
- Emphasise everything positively and write in active voice.
- Demonstrate everything with an example.
- If something important happened to you in your life that impacted your grades, quote that. Keep your tone affirmative, showing your perseverance despite obstacles. You can elaborate more on your statement.
- Make sure everything is linked with coherence.
- Unless the specific program says otherwise, be concise; an ideal essay should tell everything it needs to with brevity. Approximately 500 to 1000 well-selected words (1- 2 single space pages in 12 point font) is better than more words with less clarity and poor organisation.
So, did you get rid of the writers’ block and are you all set to type the first line of your SOP? That’s great! You can visit edvoy and connect with our experts to complete your application process after getting your doubts cleared!
