- Check out our Video Course (64 min.)
- What is a Statement of Purpose?
- Do Universities provide samples?
- Why you should NOT use a sample?
Video Course
Get Accepted into Your Dream German University — with the Perfect Letter of Motivation!
22 videos
incl. Checklist + Template
As you may already be aware, no matter whether you are applying for a Bachelor's, Master's, scholarship or student visa in Germany, you need to write a Statement of Purpose (SOP). When it comes specifically to Bachelor's in Germany, over 80% of the programs require you to submit a Statement of Purpose. This document is quite important for your Bachelor's application, as undergraduate programs in Germany usually assign this document 10%-30% of the total application score. To put it differently, if you want your Bachelor's application at a German University to be successful, you have to invest enough time in writing your SOP. Otherwise, you will end up with a poor SOP, and consequently, your chances to succeed will significantly drop. The problem is that, based on our experience and research, students usually find SOP writing is the most challenging task of their application.
That's why many students search the internet to find a high-quality SOP sample. Unfortunately, this decision can lead to dramatic consequences because
1
Students end up using a poor SOP sample as a guide, as finding a very good SOP example is extremely difficult (and they are by virtue of their situation unable to tell the difference), and/or
2
Students end up plagiarizing.
Both of these generally lead to students having their applications rejected. In order to help you to avoid this trap, in this article, we decided to address the key issues when it comes to the Statement of Purpose sample for Bachelor's in Germany.
Check out our Video Course (64 min.) on "How to write a Letter of Motivation"
22 videos plus checklist and template
Go to the video courseWhat is a Statement of Purpose for Bachelor's in Germany?
Generally speaking, a Statement of Purpose (SOP) is a (mandatory) application document requested by most German undergraduate study programs in which you demonstrate your motivation to get into the given program and explain why you are the best fit/candidate. In other words, it is through the SOP that you can "advertise" yourself in the best possible ways (i.e., showing your strengths, your determination, your qualifications, and so on) and make a formal request for placement.
Do German Universities provide SOP samples?
No, German Universities do not provide Statement of Purpose samples. Why? Because they strongly urge and even demand you to do it independently, without following anyone's example. The Technical University of Munich, one of the most prestigious schools in Germany, is among those universities that are quite explicit about this requirement. At most, German universities sometimes provide students with guidelines for writing their SOP. We provide several examples in the table below.
Table: Guidelines by German Bachelor's Programs
|
University |
Program |
City |
Status |
Guideline |
|
Freiburg in Breisgau |
Public |
|||
|
Munich |
Public |
|||
|
Berlin |
Private |
|||
|
Bremen |
Private |
|||
|
Stuttgart |
Public |
Why you should NOT use a Statement of Purpose sample?
1
Poor quality
The Internet is full of SOP samples. However, we do not suggest relying on these while writing your own SOP for your German bachelor's program applications. As was already mentioned, one of the reasons is that, in most cases, the quality of these SOP examples is quite low. To be more precise, 90% of the Statement of Purpose samples that you can find on the Internet would be rejected by selective undergraduate study programs in Germany.
The reason is that what they usually suggest with respect to the structure, content, format, etc. is simply wrong - their advice will lead you astray, not showing you what you actually need to do to meet the expectations of German professors sitting on admissions committees. You can find examples of these kinds of bad SOP samples here.
2
Plagiarism
Even if the sample is of high quality, you still should not heavily rely on it, as you might end up plagiarizing it, which is a no-go. You should rather use the good SOP sample as a general guideline for the purpose of getting an overall idea of what the SOP should look like. In general, if you plagiarize or copy anything directly from any source, you will not be able to get away with it. The study program will find out about it, and your application will be immediately rejected.
You can find examples of good Statement of Purpose samples here. Despite the fact that the University of Heidelberg does not provide a sample per se, we recommend you to read through their tips with respect to SOP writing, which are going to be useful for your bachelor's application to a German university.
Advice Box
If you want to be on the safe side and at the same time learn how to write a very good Statement of Purpose for your German Bachelor's program application, check out our comprehensive video course on this topic and familiarize yourself with our articles, which you can find here. Moreover, if you sign up for our video course, you will get a high-quality Statement of Purpose sample created by our team!
Do not forget about the danger of plagiarism! Just use our sample (or any other high-quality sample) for the purpose of getting an overall idea of what the SOP should look like. Otherwise, your application will be rejected.
