You should be able to leave much of your statement unchanged from application to application. Your history, your goals, and the reason you have chosen your field will not need to change. You should, however, include a short section towards the end explaining how a specific university can help you meet your academic goals. You should customize this statement for each university., It is important to ensure that your statement of purpose follows the guidelines for each application. Tailoring will be worth your time even if you end up rewriting most of your statement. If the admissions committee feels that you haven’t answered the provided questions, they may dismiss your application.


Ensure the length of your statement follows the guidelines (if it doesn’t, add to or reduce appropriately).
Look for any specific requests, such as “describe how your past academic history has prepared you for graduate school.” Then be sure that you have already done that; if you haven’t, go back and add it.
Read and follow any “tips” that the university provides for the statement of purpose. Some may provide a list of “dos” and “don’ts.” If the university provides such a list, ensure that you “do” the things they ask and “don’t” do the things they specify not to do., A university’s website often provides a specific mission statement or strategic plan for the institution. It may be helpful to include these in your section about why you are choosing that university.


Realize that sometimes an individual department may not be wholly engaged with the exact goals of the university administration. Look for evidence in the department’s page or in the work of the professors at the university that implies that they are working towards the same mission as the university.
For example, if the university and department webpages specify a wish to connect learners to the community, specifically address how your research can act as a bridge between the university and the greater community.
 After you have found out about the program, connect your specific academic and career goals to the program.You should be explicit about how the program can help you achieve your goals. You may even mention specific professorsthat you are looking forward to working with because their research interests overlap with your own.


For example, you might say something like “Dr. Smith’s recent work on the influence of early intervention on later speech impediments parallels my own work. My master’s thesis involved studying kindergarten students’ response to early intervention. I would love to become part of her research team to continue exploring this area of study.”

, It is good to sound as though you admire a school and department. However, you should avoid providing empty flattery or telling them information about themselves that they already know.


For example, avoid statements such as: “I want to study at XYZ University because it was recently ranked as the #1 graduate school for my subject area in Newsweek.”
Reuse most of your statement.
Read the instructions for the statement of purpose.
Read the university’s website.
Connect your goals to the program.
Avoid flattery.
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