Do you have to follow the instructions for a statement of purpose/personal statement? I'm currently preparing for PhD applications (CS) and had a question regarding the SoP/PS.
Many people have advised me to follow the guidelines prompts (&quot;Why are you applying...,&quot; &quot;What experiences prepared you...,&quot; etc.) but have also been advised to talk about future research.
I personally agreed with the latter and wanted to talk about what I was planning to do or why I am interested in the interests I have stated, but given that I have a 500 word limit and there are many more instructions I realized I'll have virtually no room for the other provided questions.
How important is it that an applicant follows the provided prompts? Would it be a red flag is they didn't? Thanks.
Yes
If you've ever asked a question here on SE that goes &quot;hey, I need help with X&quot; and someone answers with &quot;I think you're actually asking Y, here's the answer to Y&quot; you'll know how annoying it can be. It's even more annoying when the person apparently didn't read the question before writing the response, or when the submitted statement of purpose reads like it's written for another university with minor modifications for this one.
Answer the question that is asked, not the question you wish was asked or the question you wish to answer.