contacting profs again...

I started to contact more professors a few days ago. Yes, I know it is a bit late, but I thought what harm would it make? So I emailed to 3 professors, and I'm glad that one of them, Prof L, replied quite positively. We are now having a good discussion pertaining to the research that I'm keen to do.

The good thing is that I have not submitted the personal statement for the school where Prof L is in. Hence I have some time to factor in our discussion into the essay.

sop - yes! yes! yes!

Yes, I have just done up version 6.2 of my SOP. Showed it to my wife, and she liked it. To her, this must be it. Personally I am also quite satisfied with this version. Not only has it addressed various important issues but also presented them in the best way (yet).

There are a total of 14 versions, from ver. 1 to 6.2. Man, that's a lot. Anyway, I have started to adopt my SOP mastercopy to the requirements of the respective school. Quite a lot of work. Seems like I'm on my last mile in the application process.

a statement that is more than just a statement

Why is it call a statement of purpose when:

1. You need to write quite a few paragraphs

2. You need to write about more than just your purpose but also your experience, strength, weaknesses, blah blah blah.

Anyway, I'm thankful that I'm on version 5.4 of my SOP. I don't think I will polish it or change it anymore, unless it is absolutely necessary. I have accepted the fact that there is no PERFECT SOP. I think I have presented a holistic picture of myself as a PhD candidate as best as I can in this version.

However, I will still need to adapt it for the various schools' requirements.

SOP ver. 5

Done up a 4th and 5th draft of the SOP over the weekend, although I was down with a bad flu. My wife, Y, has been very involved in my SOP drafting, and she gave a very good comment after she read the 4th draft. "Dear, you need to show some passion... Ultimately, this is what will help readers remember of you...".

I have been quite effective in bringing out the key points in the SOP concisely. Why I want to do this? What are my strengths? How I overcame my weaknesses? Perhaps a little too effective, so much so that I did not show the "passion". Pondered about Y's comment and started to think about the stuffs that show my passion in what I did and what I want to do.

So out came the 5th (which actually evolved, and not revolved, from the 4th). And I am quite satisfied with this draft. I think it paints the story that I really want to tell the ad com - Why I want to do a PhD. And it shows some passion. Now, it is time to send it out for some further comments....