My Statement of Purpose - SOP

The only oppurtunity to write an SOP for me was when I applied for Rhodes India Scholarship. In my wildest dreams I did think I had a chance to be be among the final 40 students shortlisted for the interview in Bangalore. I didnt get the scholarship but that event gave me lot of self-confidence which has been driving me even today.

Hope this SOP helps other in some manner.


I hope that this essay serves as the best tool in describing myself and putting my aspirations before you and to throw light on why I am applying for Rhodes scholarship.

Presently I am in my final year of B.Tech (EEE), from GPR Engineering College, Kurnool and will graduate in May 2003. My willingness to accept certain risks and to make a strong commitment in exchange for interesting and varied work motivated me to join the Engineering stream and I was fortunate enough to get enrolled with specialization in Electrical and Electronics, which is considered to be one of the hardest disciplines. The experience of last three years was very fascinating as I learnt the vital role electric power plays in every walk of life; it has been my breath since three years.
The CBSE, New Delhi recognized my merit and awarded me Certificate of Merit for outstanding academic performance and for being among the top 0.1 percent of successful candidates in Social Sciences in Class X .I worked hard to maintain my good academic record; its evident from my first position in class with an aggregate of 85.5% in class 64.My testimonials are proof of my consistency in academics.
Till my sixth standard I was topper in class, but I was not sure of where I was heading. My life took a very positive turn when I started playing football as a hobby. I tried quite a few sports but football fascinated me very much and I stuck to the game. I captained my school team in various tournaments with pretty decent outcomes. The high point for me on field was when I represented Andhra Pradesh in Under-19 team in January 1999. My undergraduate course left me little room for active participation in football; still I represent my college team and this year I got selected for the University team. I desire to play at Manchester United Club some day. Sports have been good for me. Apart from keeping me fit, they have taught me the importance of teamwork and helped me develop leadership qualities, which have been a boon in later part of life.
I attempt to enjoy life to the fullest, in accordance with the motto: “You only live once”, I place less faith in luck and more in my own deeds. There was a time when I had to choose a comfortable time for study or opting for playing football for AP and risk my studies in my Class XII. I took the risk and represented my state and later put extra effort to secure a good rank in EAMCET.
My visits to various places as a part of football team exposed me to the realities of life and how people suffer for a single meal. This motivated me to contribute for the cause of under-privileged; I joined as a student volunteer in the Vivekananda Sanskrit Vidyalaya (help line for orphans in kurnool). My job as Secretary for Vivekananda Study Circle, in College was very satisfying; I was in charge of organizing medical camps for poor in 8 villages, near by our college. The work included collecting detailed information about the village people, their health problems, and age group affected and giving them schedules for the medical camp. I was delighted to see people thanking us for the service we rendered them.
My course of Engineering provided me the right environment for research and analysis of technology in real life. I worked on two projects till date, one is Electricity distribution automation and other is project on Demand Side Management. Both the projects involved solving problems in a practical, uncomplicated manner through research and creative thinking. I presented these two papers at National Level paper contests winning first and second prizes for my work.
My department organized a survey on the actual possibility of supply of free power to farmers (this is a big issue in our state), I participated in the hands-on survey in Anantapur and Kurnool districts where the shortage of power was acute, later I documented and presented it to Loksatta (an NGO working for social-legal causes). These projects gave me a chance to feel the present day betrayal of under-privileged in hands of politicians.

I like being sociable and want to lead people. This made me to work as the secretary
for the EEE Technical Forum, Center for Awareness and Discussion (CAD). I am an
active member of ISTE chapter in our college. My experience as Class Representative
and Secretary of various committees in college gave me the chance to interact with
different kinds of people, which made me more confident in dealing with people and I
realized the importance of being sympathetic to others problems.


My good performance in the academics in the undergraduate level will be of no use if I cannot continue that in my higher studies. I want to enrich my knowledge and I feel this is possible through study at Oxford University. I got glued to the idea of continuing my graduate studies at Oxford University after thorough consideration and reception of strong advise from all my professors.