SOP for Course Change

SOP or Statement of Purpose is one of the most essential parts of the application process and the admissions committee puts a lot of weight on it. So you know that a strong and unique SOP can get you into your dream college and course whereas with a generic and simple one, you can lose your chance. Most people generally just think of it as an essay about themselves and do not put enough effort in it which shows negatively or worse doesn’t get your attention enough to get you selected. It is even more important for you to have a solid SOP if you want to change your course which might be different from your previous background. We understand these concerns so we are providing a few pointers which you can use while writing your SOP for Course Change to make it stand out.

Tips to Write SOP for Course Change

Below are the tips you can use to make your SOP for course change convincing and better –

 Unique introduction – Where most of the students take SOPs for granted and write a very generic essay about them which drones on about their qualities and background. It honestly bores anyone out of their mind reading such superficial and basic stuff. Try making your SOP original and interesting by making it formal but conversational enough to catch the interest of the person reading it. Remember how it was boring to read chapters in your school book but novels or stories are way more interesting to read? It all depends on how you present yourself. You can either be generic like all the other thousand SOPs or catch their attention by showing them that you are genuinely interested and putting effort into the SOP. Once you have caught their attention you can be sure that they will read the rest of it with interest as well.

Reason to discontinue the course or field – You should be clear and precise about why you do not want to continue the course or field you have been in. You can tell them why you lost interest in a specific field or what makes you want to change to a new field. Keep it genuine and sincere. Sometimes trying to be interesting can make you seem a little unreal or like you are trying too hard which is not a very good thing for your SOP.

Explain your background – You do not have to wait too long to talk about your background. You do have to tell them about it because this is something they will want to know to assess your profile and know about your strengths and weaknesses. Your background includes your academics, profession, internships and any other extracurricular things you may have taken parts in. Tell them what all you have done so far like why you took a particular course or a particular job and what all you learned while doing it.    

Influence of the new field – Tell them which new course or field you want to do and why. What attracted you to the field please do not write that it gives a better job opportunity while it can be a possible reason for your choice of a specific field it will not help you in your application. Try to tell them about what new discoveries you made because of this new field, what you wish to learn and achieve from it now. Show them your interest in the field and how you will use your knowledge to achieve your goal.

Your introduction to the field – You can tell them how you got introduced to this field or course like you could have attended a seminar or workshop or read about it in a book or an article. Try to be specific about how you encountered your interest in this new field but try to avoid the usual phrases like a hobby you could not pursue due to something or that you were interested in it since childhood because it looks like you do not know what you want and cannot make decisions. You need to have strong reasoning of why and what you want to do with this course or field.

Your passion or interest in the field – Show them how interested and passionate you are in this field or course which would not be very difficult for someone with genuine interest. Ever seen a friend try to tell them about something they like a lot, the shine in their eyes and excitement which you can feel even through the phone line or when you are in front of them? You can feel the genuine excitement of your friend from so far you have to make the person reading your SOP feel your interest like that.  

Your initiative and effort to know more – You can tell them what all effort you made to learn more about the domain you are interested in. You can tell them about the seminars or workshops you attended to increase your knowledge or the books you read or even if you took special training or internship to explore this field and gather in-depth knowledge which shows that you are really interested in it and that you have the drive to take that step to change your field.

Relevance of the new field/ course – you need to have a purpose and reason to change your field and course to something different from what you have already known. Tell them how this field is relevant to your interest, academics or job right now, how it is relevant to your future goals and what you plan to do with this new knowledge. They will try to help you out when they see the relevance of your choice.  

Highlight your extracurricular skills and abilities – Your extracurricular activities and being active in things other than just academics highlight your social, communication and people skills along with leadership, managerial, organizational, and teamwork skills. These skills will make them consider you as a good candidate for their university no matter which course you take.

Also read 

• How to write an SOP?
• How to write SOP for MBA
• SOP for MIM
• SOP Samples for MS to Study Abroad 
• Sample SOP for MS in CS 
• SOP for MS in Data Science
• Sample SOP for Australian Student Visa

So these were some pointers for you to use when writing an SOP for a course change. They will help you make your SOP stronger, unique and outstanding. We hope this blog will help you with your admission process and get you admission in your dream course and college. You can get guidance, advice or career counseling from our experts who are always happy to help you throughout the admission process. Read more or contact our experts on Leverage Edu.