How Specific Should My Statement of Purpose / Personal Statement Be?

How specific should your grad school Personal Statement / Statement of Purpose be? In this video, we explore how you thread the needle between not being expert enough and being overly narrow in a way that suggests you’re inflexible.

The core challenge that many applicants face is that they feel like they have to split the difference perfectly. If they don’t dig in too deeply on the subject they hope to pursue in graduate school, they risk coming across as a dilettante who isn’t well-versed in the topic and is otherwise unprepared for graduate school. If they get too specific, the concern is that they’ll sound inflexible or intellectually incurious.

In fact, as we spoke to professors (who typically serve on the admissions committees) about this topic, some were concerned about overly specific approaches, and others were concerned with overly vague ones. There’s a way to show BOTH that you’re prepared AND to demonstrate intellectual flexibility, openness, and curiosity. In this video, we provide an answer and some specific strategies!

For more help, check us out at Gurufi.com. Our editors have decades of experience helping clients get into top Masters and Ph.D. programs in STEM, humanities, fine arts, and social sciences. Our specialty is helping you craft compelling personal statements that move the needle in your admissions process! For questions, shoot us an email at service@gurufi.com. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.