All You Need to Know About SOP for MBA

What Is an SOP for MBA and Why Is It Important ?

The Statement of purpose is an integral document that enables you to exhibit your skill sets and previous experiences. It not only helps the selection committee to know about your academic, but also your personal background. Moreover, it delivers a clear intention of the candidate to pursue a particular program at the university. MBA SOP serves as a first impression of the students in front of the panelists.

Students from all over the world apply to top universities, and in every intake, these SOPs are in a huge number. Therefore it becomes important for your SOP to stand out. It helps the officials to analyze your perspective on your career and more. It gives them an idea about your goal and if you would be able to fit in.

After getting along with the importance of an SOP, let us now move on to top-ranking MBA universities and their requirements.

Requirements for Top MBA Universities

Each college has different and separate eligibility criteria for students. Hence, it becomes vital that you are aware of all the conditions for acceptance. Below mentioned are some of the best universities for an MBA, admission requirements and fees for the program.

UNIVERSITY NAME	ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS	FEES
Harvard Business School	Transcripts GMAT/GRE TOEFL/IELTS/PTE/Duolingo Essay 2 Letters of Recommendation Resume Interview Post-interview reflection	$87,872
Stanford Graduate School of Business	Transcripts GMAT/GRE TOEFL/IELTS/PTE Personal Information, Activities, and Awards 1-page Business Resume 2 Letters of Recommendation 2 Personal Essays Optional Short Answer Question	$79,860
Wharton School of Business	Transcripts GMAT/GRE TOEFL/IELTS/PTE Personal Information, Activities, and Awards 1-page Business Resume 2 Letters of Recommendation 2 Personal Essays Optional Short Answer Question	$84,830
MIT Sloan School of Management	Cover Letter Resume Video Statement 1 Letter of Recommendation 2 Additional references Organizational chart Transcripts GMAT/GRE Coursework and Professional certificates Optional short answer question	$86,550
London Business School	2 Essays 1-page CV Letter of Recommendation GMAT/GRE IELTS/TOEFL/PTE	$1,47,871

Now that you are thorough with the admission criteria, let us move on to how to write an SOP. Moreover, the top universities in UK require SOP for MBA programs.

Read more on why MBA in UK:  An Ultimate Guide to Pursue MBA in UK for Indian Students

How to Write an SOP for MBA?

An SOP for MBA admission is sort of an essay that aims to deliver the intent, goals and interests of an individual. It depicts how the college aligns with your goals and also how will you be able to contribute to the growth. Further, there is a sample of SOP for MBA admission for your reference.

It must have an attractive introduction, and an overview of your work experience and should communicate your goals.

Mentioned below is the format and SOP for MBA sample for your reference.

Steps to Write an SOP for MBA

To write an efficient SOP there is a set step-by-step procedure. Your essay must provide all the details of your past career and personal background. Here are the steps to write the statement of purpose.

Step1: Engaging Introduction

Write the introductory paragraph, in this, the candidate must mention all details such as the name and other personal information.

Step 2: Academic Qualifications

In the next paragraph, all the academic details are to be stated. It must cover all the records and your qualifications and extracurricular activities.

Step 3: Work Experience

The third paragraph should be about the work experience that you have had as a professional. You must specify all the organisations you’ve worked at and what was your role like.

Step 4: Future Goals

This paragraph in your SOP for MBA would reflect where you see yourself in the future and what your career aspirations are.

Step 5: Powerful Conclusion

Finally, the concluding paragraph of an SOP will be a summary of your purpose for pursuing an MBA. Moreover, it must have an answer to why choosing the particular university and program.

Sample for SOP

For further clarity let us look at the samples for SOP. It will give you an idea of how an SOP must be written. Here are two examples provided for your reference for both freshers and experienced professionals.

For Freshers

Here is a fresher SOP for MBA sample for your reference. Read below to understand better.

Now that you have an idea about both fresher SOP for MBA , let us also see an example of SOP for experienced professionals. 

For Experienced Professionals

Here is a sample SOP for MBA of experienced professionals. Read below to get a better understanding of the same.

For more such SOP example, read:  SOP for MS in Computer Science: Samples, Tips, Common Mistakes

Stated below are the guidelines that will help you write a great SOP:

• Your intent must be clear, crisp and to the point.
• The ideas that you mention must be unique.
• Avoid using slang and informal language.
• You must proofread before submitting the SOP.
• The SOP must be customized for each college.

Let us now look at some tips for writing an SOP for MBA, these will help you make your SOP attractive.

Things to Avoid While Drafting an SOP! Tips & Tricks

Drafting an SOP is a vital part of your admission process. Hence, before writing an SOP you must be certain about what is to be mentioned and what is to be excluded. Listed below are some of the tips and tricks that will help you to improve the overall quality of your statement of purpose for MBA. Read below.

Firstly, let us go through some things that shouldn’t be included in an SOP.

• Negative Incidents: Do not mention bad experiences, it might portray a negative image in front of the panel. The aim of an SOP is to tell the officials how serious you are to get into the university.
• Avoid Plagiarism: Your statement of purpose is a document that acts as proof of your interest in the college and the program. Moreover, it aims to convince the college to accept the student.Hence, it should be unique and free of plagiarism.
• Inaccurate Data: Avoid putting false information about yourself or any fake achievements. You must have the verifying records as to whatever you’ve claimed to achieve.

Now, let us look at some tips that would help you ,

• Focus on creating an interesting beginning that engages the interviewer and an ending with an impact.
• Be clear and concise with what you write, it shouldn’t be too long.
• Cover all the previous achievements and all the qualities that you possess.
• Your SOP must deliver a compelling story about you. Besides, it should also have a brief about your future goals.
• Try to draft your content in an SOP in an active speech, also, it must deliver a positive intent.
• Take a decent amount of time to draft your entire SOP, properly proofread and avoid any grammatical errors.
• It is advisable to get help from professionals as they provide you with apt feedback.

Keeping these above-mentioned things in mind before and while writing an SOP will help you in drafting your SOP.

Summing up, the statement of purpose is a vital document for the admission procedure in MBA and all the other programs in foreign universities. Hence, candidates must know all the steps that are to be taken to draft an SOP for MBA. Moreover, it must be unique and customized for each university differently.

FAQ's

         1. What Are the Important Parts of an SOP for MBA?

The Statement of purpose itself is a vital document and plays an important role in your study abroad journey. However, here are some important things that you should cover in your SOP for MBA:

• Career Goals: A candidate should state his/her future goals along with past work. It is essential to specify your aims and aspirations in an
• Skills Set: You must mention all the qualities that you possess. The interviewer must understand all your strengths and weaknesses.
• Course Interest: The university wants to know if the student is interested in the program. Moreover, how the candidate will contribute to the organization.

        2. Which Country Is Best for MBA?

The top countries for MBA are the UK, the USA, Canada and Australia. Students from all over the globe prefer to study in these countries. Foreign universities are famous for its academic excellence and high-tech infrastructure. Moreover, the technique of teaching is what attracts most students to study there.

        3. How Long Is an SOP for an MBA?

The statement of purpose for MBA is a document that contains approximately 800 - 1000 words. It must be formatted according to the standard procedure. It must be two pages long with a font size of 12 at max.

         4. Do’s and Don'ts in an SOP

To engage the interviewer in your SOP there are some things to be kept in mind. Read the following:

• Keep the SOP short and crisp. Overloading with details makes the SOP lengthy.
• Have a flow, you must write your SOP according to a set procedure.
• Do not make false claims. You must provide all the supporting documents for whatever you mention.
• Avoid making grammatical errors. It makes a bad impression on the reader.