the thing about a top-notch statement of purpose is that you don't want it to be like anyone else's. So this could defeat your purpose. A statement is a very personal thing, unique to you, your goals, passions, and experiences. It's going to take a long time to write and its going to be very difficult. Start now and plan on revising many times. Show it to people you trust to give you an honest opinion - professors, colleagues, friends, your mom, etc. Eventually, you'll know when it is complete - or the deadline for admissions will tell you it's complete....

Good luck!

Hutch's advice is dead-on, Alliecat.

Two things I've learned over the years in academic work when writing these kinds of things:

1) Whatever else you do in your essay, make sure you answer the question(s) posed of you.

2) "Good writing is re-writing." As Hutch says, "top-notch" means well-written, and most of us don't crank that out in one pop. Leave yourself enough time (a month minimum-- 3 is better) between first draft and mailing it in.

don't send a 'standard' one that sounds all generic to every university. reading over and over again 'i was blessed with that special gift, being good at art and science and all, and that was what led me to architecture.' gawd i hate reading those fucking things.

make it a manifesto. boldly state what architecture means to you, and what makes you different [and better] than others. anything unique you can enthusiastically explain will engage the readers and be more likely to get you in.

I was sitting on the floor playing with legos (only the yellow ones as I don't like other colors) when I realized that I was God to my little lego people. With such a responsability placed upon my small shoulders I cried for days. When I had emerged from the parental-induced prozac coma I began to built my utopia. Then I went to play outside in the rain. Well, to make a long story short, I like architecture a whole lot and I think if you give me chance at your great school I could be, like, better than The Courbousier.

some one sent us one this year and the first line was about how he was offered a starring role in an adult film. don't know if he got in or not. j read one where some guy was talking about how he likes to lift weights, making analogies to architecture with his body.

Where is the Spelling Bee when I need him/her?

I'd avoid being "super curious" in your essay. And I AM fabulous whether you think so or not.

i am currently a student at princeton - my statement was extremely specific in regards to two things:

1 - why i wanted to go to princeton (yes, i named facutly members).
2 - why princeton should want me.

There was very little (ie none) of the "what i think of architecture" writing, and also none of the "what i want to accomplish" writing. Basically, I made it clear that this is where I wanted to go to school for reasons x,y, & z. I let the portfolio do the rest of the talking.

thank you all for responding, and yes, you are all fabulous... except not per corell...
generally, i expected the responses to my post to be along the lines of what you wrote. i.e., everybody is different, and my s.o.p. should be unique as well...
every resource i search specifies those as essential criteria to writing your application essay, i was just hoping to get a glimpse at a bona fide, 'this got me into the MArch program of my dreams' essay, not only for the content, but also for the structure, flow, grammar, intro, conclusion, etc...
I mean, what if i start too many sentences with the word "I", will that kill my chances of getting in!? and as far as including unique content, i think that there is a fine line between what could make my essay unique in a good way and unique in a bad way...
i worry that integrating life-altering events into the essay to show that i am a unique, resilient and determined individual, may be misinterpreted as a plea to take pity on me...

You could write about why you think a personal statement is bugus in a world of stamps and mass production. In stead fill the last couple of paragraphs with ones and zeros.

i have never written a statement of purpose but I would argue that contemporary architecture is more about the question than the statement. i think youre statement should be in the form of a question. Id say thats inherently curious rather that "super curious" But what do i know I got into the ivy league by saying i wanted to learn how to read.

i contemplated using 'insatiable curiosity' but figured, hey its a discussion board i don't have to be proper... plus, i was just being my unique self...

i thought it was sarcasm like the "curious" grad student was cliche. It was my casual reading of the posts that created this misunderstanding. be as proper or improper as you please.

alliecat - your posts seem to exhibit your ability to use the english language, you should have a pretty good idea of when you're using too many "I"s or being too "unique" (whatever that means). the way i see it, you have two options, be extremely crazy (yes, risky) or cut the BS and get to the point (why you want to go to the school you are applying to). If you can't answer this question, then you should seriously consider why it is you are applying to this school (or graduate school in general) in the first place. Show them why you are the right fit. If you're a sure fit, you should be able to do this no problem.

Also, don't use the two pages they oftentimes allow - one page is enough. Show the statement to a professor, writing tutor, etc. - they'll let you know if there is something seriously wrong. Spend more time on your portfolio.

marketfair, i think your fabulous:)

thank you for your insight, i know i'll right a good essay... i just hope its better than the competition's...

Sorry, Alliecat, but...

your fabulous ---> you're fabulous

i'll right ---> I'll write

...unless you were kidding, in which case...nevermind...

thanks for the redlines citizen... not kidding just rushing and dead tired... apparently i was in phonetical mode...

oh, wait, were you offering to red-line my statement of purpose for me? I'm sure YOU'D do a fabulous job...

Hey, I'll do it, if you send it to me early enough. When I was writing mine, I showed it to several people. Some for content and form, some for grammar. The more pairs of eyes on it, the better.

I sent the same one to every school. It wasn't about architecture, never mentioned architecture, and never mentioned the names of any schools or faculty. It was about an idea that interested me at the time and that was influencing my work, though the statement didn't discuss my work either. It tied in well with my portfolio, though either could stand on its own. It was something I could write about with clarity and passion at that particular moment. I was accepted to all but one of the programs to which I applied. Is there anything that you've written recently - for instance for a class, or to describe a project - that you think is a strong example of your writing and/or something about which you cared very deeply as you were writing it? If so this might be a good starting point. My statement evolved from various things I'd been writing and editing for quite awhile prior to applying to grad schools.

The variety of responses (and successes) listed on this topic shows that there is no one right way to write an admissions essay. Mainly you want to demonstrate that you:

1 can communicate well
2 have reasonable intelligence
3 can focus the first two enough to produce something.

This can be done a dozen or a hundred different ways, or more. Start early.

P.S. The various suggestions to write on something about which you're passionate are also dead-on. It (almost) doesn't matter what the topic is. The point is that this will free your thinking and expression from the straightjacket of "what do they want to hear?" thinking. Deadly.

I wrote three application essays to get into PhD programs. The first two stank, because I had no idea what to write. I made up stuff that I thought sounded good to an admissions committee. I was honest and correct, but without inspiration or focus.

After two rejections, I wrote the third essay about what I knew, and was curious and passionate about: how much I hated dealing with codes in architectural practice. I was applying to a planning program, but mentioned how I had come to hate planners for what I perceived as their demonic torture of architects. (I was applying to study urban design.) I got in.

you could always just skip the personal essay, and send a headshot...lets face it, architects are superficial and like to see pretty pictures more than they like to read...

That will only work if you're "pretty," though...

well, last night a bum told me i could hit a home run with my face... so i think i have the 'pretty' thing down... or i'm so ugly someone should bash me in the face with a softball...

i'd rather get into a program based on my skills... but i wouldn't mind a face to face interview, i think it would help my chances...

to clarify, i'd like face to face interviews because i think i present myself better in person... i've gotten every job i've ever interviewed for and usually receive an offer the same day I interview...

Well, before someone asks you to post a headshot here, I'd off the following: Whatever you do, don't answer the "why do you want to be an architect question" - doing so will guarantee that you'll be forgotten in the pile - write about something you know woo much about - ESPECIALLY if it involves something that has nothing to do with architecture (shopping, navigating the national highway system, xerophytic deciduous forest growth patterns in paraguay, detailing developer condos in chicago. . .you name it). Everyone writes about how they've wanted to be an architect since they were a kid, or how they want to change the world, or how design can help people. . .and there's nothing like some bright-eyed optimism to piss off an admissions committee. The trick is finding some way to write about this thing you know too much about in some terms that could make it architectural - and that's something you have to figure out on your own. If you can't figure it out, perhaps you should forego the cost and years lost in school and just jump straight to the big time:
link

that was mind numbing. I'm ready now.

Anyone in this post familiar enough with the admissions process....
Advice, corniest letters ever, some excellent letters.

Whats the thing you put in your letter that now you are most embarrased about?

Put it all out here, Im interested, more on the bad letters, than on hte good ones...

I wrote an insanely long autobiography (like 10 pages) followed by a one-page statement of purpose. I doubt anyone read the bio, but it helped write the SoP. Might be good to do this as an exercise, but then just chuck out the bio.

out of the 4 essays i wrote last winter, 3 got positive responses. and at the beginning i was totally scared out of my mind, since i dont think id written anything more than email for the three years ive been out of undergrad. mostly i answered every question they asked, in some way, and tried to suggest why going to grad school (particularly theirs) was important to the overall scheme of my life. i mentioned what i did not know, and what i wanted to learn. using specifics helped organize my thoughts too. the last essay i wrote was for the 'reach' school, the one i thought i had absolutely no chance of getting into. and i really at that point was so sick of writing them, re-doing the portfolio (the school, harvard, had pretty strict portfolio guidelines) compiling all the gre scores, reccommendations etc. (it was like a full time job) i basically didnt give a shit and wrote what i felt. answering their questions too. i made it personal, but ive always felt that way about what i was studying. i was critical, but offered the hope that i could solve problems that i saw, by going to their school of course. in the end, id say its the whole package you send (reccomendations, portfolio, essay . . .) but get some great music, turn it up loud, and write from your heart. say what you feel, be honest and confident. if you are not a match for them, and you dont get in, its not the best place for you to study anyway. i dont really know, but i dont think you can go wrong with being yourself. i am going to harvard in a month . . . even scarier thought, now ill have to write essays all the time . . .

write about how you want to serve. its all about serving not service.

Spoken like a true waiter vado.

i worte about waitressing.

sorry, wrote. (cant type to save my life)

thats what they wanna hear man...

See, there is no a right answer to your question. The main and the most important idea of a statement of purpose - no matter if it is a Harvard statement of purpose or for any other university - to show that you are definitely the best candidate. So, if you want to work with architecture think about qualities and skills which are relevant to this field and try to connect them with your abilities and experience. Also, you should make that connection clear and understandable for admission officers. And in addition try to show your uniqueness and great motivation. Good luck!

having friends with people that in served in the admission committee that reviewed students statements, i've heard stories of students writing 1-2 sentences and still getting accepted. Assuming that everything else was up to par; ie. grades/gpa, recommendations.