Every year, about 1 to 1.5 lakhs of Indian students move to Canada for pursuing higher studies in their dream universities. A few quintessential prerequisites lead to the triumphant entry into their preferred colleges. Out of these prerequisites, writing the Structure of Purpose/Intent is an essential step in the process of a college application. However, writing a proper SOP that highlights one’s key strengths can be daunting. So, it is vital to understand the important factors that make an SOP for a Canada visa stand out from the rest.
SOP – Significance and Effectiveness
An SOP or Statement of Purpose is an essay written by students that helps the university’s admission committee and visa officers understand the objective and vision of a student. This essay emphasises academic and professional achievements, career aspirations and goals, and the purposes behind selecting a specific course.
Universities in Canada seek a more personal approach to the statement of purpose. The SOP for Canada will differ across universities. However, there are a few requisites that are required in applicants’ essays that all colleges in Canada search for:
- Academic scores and achievements
- Work experiences, if any
- Skill sets and extracurricular activities
- Volunteering in any cultural, social or humanitarian events
- The financial position of the family, etc
Importance of the Statement of Purpose
The students need to prepare the SOP for Canada study visas and university admissions. The primary objective of this essay is to educate an admission committee about the applicant’s goals, aspirations and a few other vital events. This helps the committee and visa officer to understand students’ mindset behind choosing a particular course or joining a university.
A well-structured SOP establishes a better understanding of an applicant’s expectations from the university. Furthermore, clarity of the information presented in the SOP will increase the chances of obtaining a Canadian student visa. Therefore, every student preparing an SOP must abide by a uniform structure.
Essential tips on how to write an ideal SOP
It is essential to systematically and logically draft the statement of purpose. In addition, it helps admission committees ideate an applicants’ career and personal objectives. Here are a few essential tips and tricks that will help a student to write an ideal SOP for Canada Universities:
- Provide quantitative and qualitative information – The SOP presented should be able to give a clear understanding of an applicant’s qualities and emotional quotient.
- Formal tonality – The person reading the statement of purpose must read it like a novel. Hence, students should write the SOP in a slightly formal tone with a story-writing approach. It should be unique and not friendly.
- Write authentic anecdotes – The applicant should narrate authentic anecdotes and not falsify any stories to make SOP more interesting. Penning down stories that one has lived up to will make more sense, and the reader will relate greatly.
Dos and Don’ts of writing a perfect SOP
| Dos | Don’ts |
| The Statement of Purpose should be grammatically correct. This essay should be free from any errors, and uniformity in tonality should be maintained. | The applicants should not copy, paraphrase or manipulate the Statement of Purpose. For this reason, applicants can take inspiration online and conduct research before starting with it. |
| Maintain a personal approach in the SOP that describes a person’s originality. Admission committees search for profiles that can show their personality’s unfiltered and ethical version. | It is not a good idea to present information that doesn’t have a career-related perspective. The admission officers look for a concise, apt and logical SOP. |
| An SOP must clearly present the vision and purpose behind applying to a certain course. While writing SOP, it is quintessential to mention all achievements related to academic or extracurricular level. A well-written SOP will capture the interest of the admission committee and create a positive impression on the applicants. | It is unnecessary to add all academic scores and achievements in-depth as all this academic information will be added to the CV/resume. |
| Students preparing to write SOP can choose to share any anecdotes in the application. However, the incident shared must be authentic and share how that incident has its impacts. One can also add any. | The SOP should be short and precisely drafted to keep it professional. One does not have to provide all the information about him or her. |
| Before preparing a final SOP, it is beneficial to write samples. This writing practise will eliminate the chances of any mistake and provide a clear understanding of the structure to be maintained. |
A well-written SOP for Canada Universities is a crucial step to getting enrolled on a preferred course. The ultimate work to achieve professional aspirations begins with the presentation of this statement. Hence, an applicant cannot afford to make any mistakes while writing the Structure of Purpose.
