How to Write SOP for Harvard University - SOP Letter

My aspiration to work at the frontiers of scientific research leads me to apply to your university. I believe that a comprehensive knowledge and a good grasp of fundamentals are essential for such a career. I feel that Graduate studies in Computer Science in a good University like yours will help me realize this objective. Therefore I am seeking admission to the Ph.D. Program at Harvard with a specialization in Computer Science. I have compelling reasons to believe that I will be extremely successful both as a Graduate student and later as a researcher.

As a first step towards obtaining a Ph.D., I am seeking admission to the Master’s program at Harvard University with a specialization in Computer Science. I would prefer doing a direct Ph.D., if it is possible.

My superlative performance in school fetched me a number of awards at the national level. I was awarded the prestigious National Talent Search Scholarship in class ten and was in the top twenty-five in the National Standard Examination in Physics in my twelfth. I had developed a keen interest in science and decided to choose it as my career. I, therefore, took the Joint Entrance Examination for admission to the five ****, which are considered the best academic centers for science and Engineering in India and qualified in the top 0.3% of those who took the test.

I have always adopted a rigorous approach in order to attain an in-depth understanding of the subject at hand. This has given me a broad conceptual basis, which, I believe, is essential for my research career. My grades in the basic courses reflect my quest for fundamentals. My overall grades in my undergraduate studies have been good, but not excellent. This again reflects my approach to courses more as an introduction to concepts that need further independent study by the student, rather than as a run-up to a semester-end examination.

Over the past two years, in the field of Computer Science, I have developed a special interest in Programming Languages and Distributed Parallel Systems. I have been involved in research in these areas and have consistently obtained good grades in the related courses. In Spring’ 95, I will be taking two Graduate level courses in these fields namely Distributed Databases’ and Advanced Compilers’. I have written an article on “Distributed File Systems’’ with Prof. yyy, which appeared in the September 1994 issue of {bf CSI (Computer Society of India) Communications}. In this article, the basic concepts underlying the design and implementation aspects were discussed and contemporary systems like Locus, Andrew and Unix United were surveyed in detail.

I am currently working on Register Allocation Algorithms for my B.Tech thesis under the guidance of Prof. yyy. In my project, we have introduced a technique of live range confinement, which adapts the live range of a data item to the availability of register. Instead of splitting a live range like in a Chow-Hennessy allocator we are implementing the confinement technique. Half-way through the project, we have already sent part of our work for the ACM SIGPLAN’95 Conference on Programming Language Design and Implementation sponsored by the Special Interest Group on Programming Languages, Association for Computing Machinery.

I had also presented a course paper on language Linda, which consists of operators that embody tuple space model for Parallel programming and involves Distributed Data Structures. I also have reason to be confident in my ability to teach. As part of a nation-wide teaching program, I have taught school children subjects like Physics, Mathematics and English for four semesters (three hours per week). This was an interesting experience, which I feel would stand in good stead in the future.

I take immense pleasure in learning new concepts. This inquisitive nature of mine along with a desire to realize my full potential drives me to pursue research. I am aware that research calls for complete dedication and commitment. I consider myself to be mature, perceptive, persistent and open to criticism; qualities which I believe are essential for group research.

By working under the guidance of distinguished professors like Prof yyy, whose interests match closely with mine, I am confident of making an original contribution to the field of Computer Science. I have studied in one of the best institutes of our country and feel the need to expose myself to research in the United States, which is currently a world leader in Computer science. I have chosen to pursue Graduate studies at Harvard University because the facilities at Harvard seem to foster a healthy research environment as I could gather from the brochure of your department. I believe that I possess the motivation, the intellectual ability, and the preparation to set out on this exhilarating and arduous path, to do justice to a demanding Graduate program and to make significant contributions to the ongoing work at your University. I have chosen to pursue graduate studies at Harvard University because by working under the guidance of distinguished professors like Prof, whose interests match closely with mine, I am confident of making an original contribution to the field of Computer Science. I believe that I possess the motivation, the intellectual ability, and the preparation to set out on this exhilarating and arduous path, to do justice to a demanding Graduate program and to make significant contributions to the ongoing work at your University.

I look forward to joining Harvard University as a Graduate student at your esteemed department.