Dear all
Kindly critique my SOP and provide useful comments.
It would be really helpful if it can be pointed out what material to include and what not to include.
I have attached my resume for reference.
GRE/Tofel - 316/99
I am already a post grad from IIT roorkee in Electronics and Comm. Based on work exp of 3 years as software developer I am applying for MS in CS with specialization in networking.
Statement of Purpose
I am really inspired by the vision where two fundamental qualities of Human being i.e. "ability to make decisions" and "ability to communicate" can be partially imparted to objects around us. That is why, ever since my introduction to computer technology, I was always driven towards operating system (ability to make decisions) and networking (ability to communicate).
Having acquired substantial knowledge of practical implementation of networked systems through a three year work experience at Cisco in operating system group and rigorous academic program at IIT Roorkee, I developed curiosity to understand theoretical concepts and latest research in area of distributed computing and network engineering; and this is actually what is driving me to pursue MS in Computer Science at Purdue University. My ultimate aim is to pursue doctorate in computer networking and contribute in developing technologies that make data processing and communication faster, cheaper, accessible and disabled friendly. However, with the fluency in understanding 'how' software engineering works, I have become fascinated with question of "why" it works the way it does. A master degree in computer science with specialization in networking will surely broaden my horizon and help in designing scalable & rugged system and will prove to be a major factor in achieving my aim.
My childhood, I would say, was not bad. It helped me to grow up. I stayed out of trouble. I suffer from partial deafness. Even at the age of 18, my hearing loss was so prominent that I could not properly hear what used to be discussed in class. . I hail from rural background from traditional farming community where unfelt problems like hearing loss is often misunderstood as "lack of attention" attaching a social stigma. The panic of the depression loosened my inhibitions against being different. So, I worked really hard and ensured that my grades are good. I have never let my disability to become my weakness; rather I have made it my biggest strength. . I can easily focus on studies and does not get disturbed by small noises or even condemnation by people. I believe that there are no limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder. I have exploited this reality in fixing my aim. After joining Cisco Systems, I procured a world class hearing aid and started enjoying interaction with people which I have missed so much. In fact, to enjoy bliss of learning in classroom which I have missed throughout my life is also one of the reasons for pursuing Master's degree.
Owing to my interest in communication technologies, I took Electronics and Communication as my area of specialization in under-graduation. I scored 96 and 99 percentile in GATE in pre-final and final year respectively. However, curiosity of knowledge and willingness to understand depth of subjects drove me towards pursuing M.Tech specialization in wireless communication. I secured admission in India's oldest and one of the best technical university IIT Roorkee. My thesis research was based on "Design of efficient dual band power divider based on CPW technology". I also did TAship for 1 year under Dr. Nagendra Pathak and helped him in designing and evaluating assignments of "Basic electronics". If I get opportunity to do TAship at Purdue University, I believe the bright undergrad students of Purdue can challenge my understanding of system and further enrich my experience.
During my master degree, I realized that hardware has its inherent limitations, which can be overcome by software technologies for customer ultimate satisfaction. I took programming language course and secured "A" grade. I acquired workable knowledge of software systems through online videos and courses. Truly speaking, easy way has never really been my genre, from entering into IIT and emerging out as a valedictorian in my discipline after 2 years and making my way into Cisco, a software firm, with a degree in hardware with three consecutive prizes in last 6 months. No matter what I suffered, I never felt lack of confidence, ambition, hard work and persistence. My motto always has been to fall seven times and to get up eight times.
I joined as software developer in operating system group working at Transport layer protocol and eventually became subject matter expert and single point of contact for TCP across Cisco. The multi operating system environment helped me to understand how operating system is designed, packaged, customized and can be run as process over another OS. Till today, I have fixed a large number of crucial and time bound bugs in area of memory corruption, protocol behavior, and layer to layer interaction. During this period, I delivered major features including IPV6 support for TCP adjusting MSS command, socket extension to support and manage applications opening sockets with same port number, SNMP support in TCP etc. In the process, I learnt software design and delivery mechanism from coding, reviewing, testing, regression, packaging, installing and delivering to end user using waterfall as well as agile methodologies. I have also learnt various tools like GDB, static analysis etc. Furthermore, I successfully mentored 2 people and assimilated them in team.
I also attended 'System Programming Training' in which my team designed and executed the project "Distributed Computing Using Multicast". I was major factor in success and my team won Best Team Award for its dedication and hard work. I also developed prototype of "Connected Food App" for Cisco employees so that they can see food options in their smartphones at their respective desks. My persistent efforts won me three awards viz Amaze2 once and Inspire2 twice. As a hobby, I worked for NGO "Youth for Sewa" where I helped unprivileged children to learn & speak English and acquire self-confidence.
During my work experience, I realized various research problems like scalability of network operating system to support 64,000 connections concurrently along-with a lot of research gaps in protocol development and layer to layer interaction in networking model. Also, current set of protocols is not updated to deal with next generation technologies like Internet of Things and Named Data Networking. I wish to address all these problems and make my mark in world of technology.
Since Purdue is world Class University known for computer networking research worldwide that is why I wish to join the same. I am impressed by unique and innovative teaching methodologies, like using XINU OS for instruction purpose, at Purdue University. Since I have worked in Cisco IOS at transport and IP layer, I also want to relish the opportunity to work with Prof. Kihong Park and become part of Network Systems Lab where I can assist him in project "Scalable QoS provision architecture". I am also driven towards research interest of Dr. Sonia Fahmy and want to assist in her research on "Internet measurement and tomography". I was really impressed by her paper "Flow-based Partitioning of Network Test-bed Experiments" in which she discussed about platform independent mechanism of how large network flow analysis can be divided into smaller series of experiments which can be sequentially executed.
Ambition is path to success. I believe in voice that says "you can run a little faster ", "you can throw a little harder ", "you can dive a little deeper" and, for you, the laws of physics are merely a suggestion. I want to prove that disability or weak background is never a barrier to person success in fact at times it can act as reason for success as it makes one feel more motivated and more responsible. I believe Inclusive environment of Purdue University is best place to achieve my aim. I want to give wings to my imagination and go forth on the road not taken into the wilderness of life and reclaim what Mother Nature granted me at the time of birth, the right to pursue the untrodden path.
I hope you will help me in turning my dreams into reality and in becoming the useful member of the society. I hope to hear good news from you. Thanking you in advance.
Hi Arpit, though i'm an undergrad but still i'll like to suggest something.
try to organize the SOP, like first talk about your hearing problems/background, then what inspired you to take Computer and then talk about your work at Cisco.
As a hobby, I worked for NGO "Youth for Sewa" where I helped unprivileged children to learn & speak English and acquire self-confidence.
Dont say hobby, try to use more kind words.
Hope this helps..:)
My childhood, I would say, was not bad . It helped me to grow up. I stayed out of trouble . I suffer from partial deafness.
these lines are not necessary.
I scored 96 and 99 percentile in GATE in pre-final and final year respectively
I assume they will have your GATE results so no need to specify it in the SOP.
Ambition is path to success. I believe in voice that says "you can run a little faster ", "you can throw a little harder ", "you can dive a little deeper" and, for you, the laws of physics are merely a suggestion
you can rephrase it in a better way.
For further comments, you need to provide a new revised draft.
Hope i was helpful.all the best.
Btw, what is the limit?
