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How I Wrote the SOP That Got Me Into Columbia: 3 Key Parts (Part 1)
Updated 2026/10/16
Jason’s Memo
A good SOP answers a set of “why” questions. Write its three core sections in this order:
- Motivation and interest: open with a short personal story or get straight to the point. Don’t start with a famous quote, a big global trend, or your name and degree.
- Why you: describe your background, your achievements and how you got past challenges, then explain what you can bring to the school and the classroom.
- Why this school: tie it to your short- and long-term goals, and work from the curriculum, faculty research, location and local industry connections.
This is the first chapter of my application essays series. It covers the core logic of an SOP and it’s all practical, so bookmark it!
I’ll share the essay tips that got me into Columbia’s MBA: how an SOP differs from a PS, four things to work out before you start writing, and the three core sections of an SOP.
First, what is an SOP?
SOP stands for Statement of Purpose.
As the name suggests, an SOP should show your professional background, abilities and future goals, and use them to convince the school that you are a candidate worth admitting.
Put simply, an SOP is “your personal story combined with your future plans”. It usually covers:
- An introduction and your academic background
- Your academic interests and professional goals
- Why you chose this school
- Your future plans
- Your personal qualities and strengths
An SOP also has to show “fit”, which works on two levels:
- The basic level: show that you have enough academic and work experience to handle the program’s coursework.
- The advanced level: show your fit with the school, including whether your qualities match what the school looks for, how your experience fits into its culture, and how the school can help you reach your goals.
A common mix-up: SOP vs. PS
Many people confuse the SOP with the PS (Personal Statement), but the two are clearly different.
- SOP: emphasizes professional ability and academic goals. It focuses on your background, motivation and career plans, and even on how you plan to contribute to the school. The tone is more formal.
- PS: freer and closer to personal storytelling. You can write about how you grew up, challenges you overcame, or themes like diversity and inclusion (DE&I). The tone can be more relaxed, and you can even tell your story in an autobiographical style.
Four things to work out before you write your SOP
When I was writing the essays that got me into Columbia’s MBA, there was a stretch where I had no idea how to start. Looking back over the whole process, I’ve boiled it down to four points you should think through before you start writing your SOP:
Pin down your career goals and why you want to study abroad
To convince a school to admit you, you first have to convince yourself. Understand why you need to study abroad and dig into your reasons for applying; that is how you win over the admissions committee. For example:
- Have you hit an academic ceiling that you want to break through by going abroad and going deeper into the field?
- Have you run into challenges at work, with your growth limited by your location or industry, so you want to explore a bigger market?
Tip: work backward. First decide what your goal is after you study abroad, then trace back from that goal to what you’re still missing today. If studying abroad can fill that gap, you have a story that makes sense. Say your career goal is to work overseas. You’ve already built solid work experience and hard skills in Taiwan, but you realize you still lack experience working on cross-cultural teams and the right to work abroad. That gap in between is a very solid reason to study abroad.
Research your target schools in depth
The other big part of an SOP is tailoring it as much as possible to each school you apply to. Knowing your target school well is what lets you write a targeted SOP, so good school research matters a lot. I suggest looking at three areas:
- Academics
- Curriculum and graduation requirements (such as a thesis or project)
- Faculty research areas, required and elective courses
- Class size and student-to-faculty ratio
- Chances to connect with people, and the paths you can choose within the program
- Hands-on resources
- Facilities, such as labs and specialized classrooms
- Program resources: practice-oriented courses and signature programs
- Team project opportunities
- Career resources
- Internships and partnerships with local companies
- Alumni network
- Location
Source 1: Objective data ➜ public information that gives your SOP a solid foundation
The school’s official website is easy to overlook, but it has plenty of information. Even when the school hasn’t published something, you can ask directly in a polite, thoughtful email, which can also leave the impression that you put in the effort. Useful information you may find on the website includes:
- The school’s employment report: graduate employment rate, industries and companies, countries, and average salary
- Class profile: nationalities, undergraduate majors, age distribution
- Overall and subject rankings, and how well the program is recognized in its field
An example from my own application: I noticed that a relatively high share of Columbia MBA graduates go into finance, consulting and tech. So my SOP focused on my interest in tech, and I pointed out that the school’s large alumni network could help me get past the information barriers of that industry and give me a way into tech through alumni connections after graduation.
Source 2: Subjective information ➜ show you’ve done your homework and make your SOP stand out
- HOW: find alumni and current students through networking sites such as LinkedIn and OfferLand.cc. For example, on OfferLand you can find people who applied to the same school through the admission results (in Chinese) that applicants report, or reach the alumni network through the form linked from the site’s “mutual-help network”.
- WHAT: hear about the school’s culture and strengths straight from alumni, and mention them by name in your application essays
Distill your personal insights
This usually comes down to two things: reflecting deeply and showing critical thinking.
- Analyze your own background and experience closely and turn what you learn into your own “methodology”. This shows that you understand yourself better than other applicants do.
- Before writing an SOP, I always keep “why me” in mind. Whatever insight goes into the SOP has to be convincing to the school and has to show why it should be me.
Show your interest
If you want people to think you’re funny, saying “I’m funny” won’t do it. You have to tell a good joke and make them laugh. Interest in a school works the same way: if you just say you’re “very interested” or keep praising the school, it comes across as superficial.
The takeaway: before you start writing, work out what makes the program you’re applying to distinctive and how those features connect to you and make you interested in it. That is how your SOP shows a convincing motivation.
The three core sections of an SOP
Next, the three core sections of an SOP. Writing a good essay really comes down to asking yourself a set of “why” questions:
Motivation and interest
Show why you’re interested in the field right at the start of the essay. I suggest a short personal story to catch the admissions officer’s attention, or getting straight to the point: say what you’ve done and what that made you passionate about. That makes your opening more engaging and personal, so the admissions officer quickly gets your story and wants to keep reading. Don’t open with a famous quote, a big global trend, or a dull self-introduction with your name and where you graduated.
Why the school should choose you
Huge numbers of people apply every year. Besides showing a solid academic background, work experience and achievements, you should show how you overcame challenges and kept growing, and how clear you are about why you want to study abroad. The school wants to know you’ll make full use of its resources, maybe even donate after graduating, and land a good job that lifts the numbers in its employment report, such as graduates’ average salary. It also helps to explain what value you’d bring to the school, how you’d contribute to class discussion, and what perspectives you could offer classmates.
Why you’re applying to this school
Tie in your long- and short-term goals to explain why you chose this school and program. Work from the curriculum, faculty research, the school’s location and local industry connections to show why this school in particular is the best place to help you reach your goals. That keeps your essay from sounding like a template and strengthens your fit, so the school sees you as a strong applicant and also as someone it is best placed to help.
That’s it for this post. In the next one I’ll focus on how to stand out through storytelling, how to write an SOP, and the role it plays in your application, so you know how to tell your story and in what order to prepare. After reading Chapter 2 of the SOP series, you can start thinking about your study-abroad goals early and, with enough thought, write strong essays that are truly your own.
I hope this helps. If you’re interested in growing faster, careers at multinational companies or studying abroad, subscribe on YouTube and leave a comment telling me which topics you’d like to hear about next. See you next time!
Jason’s Takeaway
Decide on your goal after studying abroad first, then work back to what you’re missing now. If studying abroad can fill that gap, you have a solid reason to go.
Jason, admitted to Columbia Business School’s MBA at 22 and founder of OfferLand.cc
Next step: Write down your career goal for after you study abroad, list the skills you still lack, and check which ones studying abroad can fill.
