[quote name='lordwow']Hey, I haven't been on since yesterday. I wrote a different statement of purpose to each grad school, but at least for me, each grad school had a different focus or area of specialty, so I focused it more towards that. For example in my field, some programs are very counseling-focused and others view college students as customers so its more business.
I would spend less time discussing things you think you could improve on and more stuff you're great at and what you're interested in, specifically in the field. I view a statement of purpose just like a cover letter for a job.[/QUOTE]
Most of the programs I have looked at have been quite similar. There are some deviations, but many of them have similar requirements ( the biggest deviation being how the thesis is approached). Most of the stuff I have been working on has been on my desire to return to school, the specific features of the MA program (fewer survey classes, focusing in depth on a foreign language, the communal aspect of the classroom), and why I would be a good fit. It just seems kind of hard to tailor a whole letter to a specific school when so many of them tend to have similar requirements.