- Check out our Video Course (64 min.)
- What is a Statement of Purpose?
- Do Embassies/Consulates 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
If you are not from the EU or a small number of other countries (see the full list here), you will need to apply for a German student visa. In turn, this means that you will have to submit a Statement of Purpose (SOP) in order to be considered for the visa. You might already be aware that, in the case you fail to produce a proper high-quality SOP, you run a risk of being rejected. If that happens, you will need to postpone your studies by one or two semesters (6-12 months), depending on whether your desired program has intakes in both winter and summer semesters.
Long story short: the stakes are quite high, and that is exactly why you should take the Statement of Purpose seriously and invest as much time as you need to write a quality SOP.
The problem is that, based on our experience and research, students usually find SOP writing the most challenging task of their German student visa 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.
But don’t worry: we are here to help you! Being well-informed equals being safe — that is why in this article, we decided to address the key issues when it comes to the Statement of Purpose sample for visa applications at German Embassies/Consulates around the world.
It is our goal to inform you honestly and accurately, therefore, we need to add a DISCLAIMER:
You should use this text as a general guide, but it cannot be a legal consultation. The visa regulations are made and executed by the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt), Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI), and the local Foreigners’ Offices (Ausländerbehörde). Please be aware: Some rules and procedures can vary from embassy/consulate to embassy/consulate (even within one country), and from Ausländerbehörde to Ausländerbehörde in Germany. That is why we highly recommend you also consult the German representation abroad near you, and the local Foreigners’ Office in Germany (which Ausländerbehörde is responsible for you depends on your residence in Germany) for information that applies to your case.
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 a student visa in Germany?
Generally speaking, a Statement of Purpose is an obligatory application document required by German Embassies/Consulates. Through this document, you should convincingly demonstrate your motivation to come to Germany, to study in the specific study program to which you have gained admission, and explain why you are the one who deserves to get a chance to study in Germany. In other words, it is through the SOP that you make a formal request for a German student visa.
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Do German Embassies/Consulates provide SOP samples?
No, none of the local German Embassies/Consulates provide Statement of Purpose samples. They do this on purpose, as they expect and require you to produce it yourself, independently. At most, what local German Embassies/Consulates do is sometimes provide tips. You can find some of these in the table below. It is noteworthy that some of the Embassies/Consulates mentioned in the table explicitly highlight that the SOP must be written by YOU. Moreover, the German Embassy in Armenia states that if someone else writes your SOP for you, the Embassy will notice this and take appropriate action.
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 them while writing your own SOP for your German student visa application. 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 your local German Embassies/Consulates. The reason is that what they usually suggest with respect to the structure, content, format etc., is simply wrong. Here is one example of this kind of SOP.
2
Risk of 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 can, however, 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. As already mentioned above, the responsible Embassy/Consulate will find out about that, and your application will be immediately rejected.
Advice Box
Although the Embassies/Consulates mentioned in the table above do not provide samples, their tips can be quite useful for writing a high-quality SOP for your German student visa application. Thus, we suggest you carefully read through them and make good use of their advice.
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 Student Visa 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 the 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.
