SOP WorkSheet -

SOP Preparation Worksheet

The SOPs or Letter Of Motivation as some schools call it are an essential part of your application packet and require you to not only be extremely clear about your goals both professional and personal but also concise and eloquent. SOPs are your chance to “talk to the admissions committee” and convince them that you are a suitable candidate for their university.

To get started on your SOPs, the wrong approach would be to start off chronologically i.e: with the first SOP and then the second SOP and so on and so forth. A better strategy would be to first prepare the raw material, so to speak, and then use that raw material (points) in various SOPs. Basically, do a lot of introspection and collation of ideas over an extended period of time and when ready you can pick up the points for your SOPs. The SOP writing process becomes much faster and far more coherent.

The worksheet given below contains the necessary questions that need to be answered to prepare this ‘raw material’. Do take time to answer these questions and introspect over them in depth. This isn’t the final draft of your SOPs; therefore, feel free to rework and reword any idea, or to look to people and books for ideas and inspiration. The questions may seem obtuse but the points that will emerge will be a revelation and will also be useful in discussing letters of recommendation with your recommenders, besides lending focus to the application itself. Treat this worksheet as the sole foundation on which you will build all your application packets.

All the Best!

IMS Centre for International Education67 Jayant Building, Jain Hostel Road, Nr. Sion Circle, Sion –West , Mumbai - 22

Tel: 022-24020224, 24020568 Website: www.cieglobal.com

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SOP Worksheet1. List down three of your strengths

a. Not succumb to pressureb. +ve attitude and motivational skillsc. Logical thinking

2. List down three of your weaknessesa. _______________________________________________________________________b. _______________________________________________________________________c. _______________________________________________________________________

3. List down the ten most important events in your life in chronological order. Please state your reasons for choosing these.

a. Solving a maths sum involving division when I had not known division correctly when a maths teacher cudn’t as a 6yr old giving me confidence on my thinking abilities.

b. Failing in my physics terminal exam where I scored more marks in practicals out of 30 and lesser in theory out of 70 and then later scoring good marks in re-exam.We can always fight back.

c. Simple event of booking tickets via telephone At my favt cinema hall when I didn’t had the pleasure of using debit card .Tells me there is always a way-out

d. Unable to clear _______________________________________________________________________

e. _______________________________________________________________________f. _______________________________________________________________________g. _______________________________________________________________________h. _______________________________________________________________________i. _______________________________________________________________________

4. What department / degree are you applying for?a. MiM_______________________________________________________________________

5. In what subject will you specialize in your degree program?a. _______________________________________________________________________

6. When did you first find this subject interesting? (it may be more than one event / person / project / lecture / book / etc.)



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__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. What projects (or technical papers) have you worked on in this area? Clarify which of them was a part of the curriculum.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Any other notable projects or industry experience Explain the project or assignment and your role in it.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. How do you think you will change after your MS?___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. What are your plans after an MS? (Hint: Come back to India and apply the knowledge gained / Work in the industry to further your understanding of the subject / Start your own business, etc)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



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_______________________________________________________________________

11. What is your greatest dream in life? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12. What extra-curricular activities did you pursue in college? Any notable achievements in any of them?

a. ___________________________________________________________________b. ___________________________________________________________________c. ___________________________________________________________________d. ___________________________________________________________________e. ___________________________________________________________________f. ___________________________________________________________________

SPORTING ACTIVITIES : (Starting with the most active)

Sports / Games Played Level (University / College / School)

Position Played



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Documents

SOP WorkSheet -