也聊 phd 的 sop

转自网络，看到了一篇CMU的ap写的，非常有趣
还有一些有趣的关于sop的，可以看这里

cc.gatech.edu
In my opinion, a statement of purpose is where you tell the professors why
you want to go to graduate school. When I read applications, I want to
know *why* this person wants to go through the pain of several more years
of very difficult classes, a lot of "hoops", late late nights for no pay,
etc. Why do you want that unpleasantness for the next 6-8 years of your
life when you could be out making $40K a year for a 40-hour work week -
what is it that *you* want to do in the world that you can't do without a
PhD? What makes you think you want to do whatever-it-is and what makes you
think you can't do it without a PhD?

BTW, this doesn't apply for a masters - a masters is short, not that much
different from an undergraduate degree (there not as painful) and gets you
more money when you get out - so the motivations are pretty obvious. PhD
programs on the other hand are much more difficult, much longer, and mostly
degrading and demoralizing unless you have a "vision", a "burning desire"
that will see you through. The statement of purpose is the place to discuss
that burning desire.

You can use my name.

Bonnie

Bonnie E. John
Assistant Professor
Computer Science and Psychology Departments
Human-Computer Interaction Institute
School of Computer Science
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh PA 15213
Phone: 412-268-7182
FAX: 412-681-5739
E-mail: 1point3acres.com