The following statement of purpose is written by an applicant who got accepted to top graduate programs in economics. Variations of this SOP got accepted at Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. Read this essay to get inspiration and understand what a top economics school SOP should look like.

You might also be interested in reading this Sample Personal Statement in economics that got admitted to Oxford, Cambridge and LSE.

Sample Statement of Purpose Economics

I was the third daughter born in 1984 to parents hailing from a conservative joint family setup. True to its South Asian values, the family believed that only the birth of boys meant a continuation of the family name and its legacy. This was in stark contrast to the birth of girls, which only meant the loss of family land and property to ‘outsiders’. Hence, it was not out of place that my birth was marked by dirge having undertones of regret.

The neighbours could not but shake their heads in solidarity with the paternal side of my family. All the while, my mother cuddled me lovingly, dreading the onslaught of shifting responsibility from the Y chromosome’s failure to solely hers. However, I had one advantage, even as a female, which put me ahead of my male counterparts. My family was economically sound. This meant I could afford an elite education accessible only to the top 1-2% of the country’s hundreds of millions of people.

As I grew up, I witnessed a pronounced difference in the treatment meted out to boys and girls both in the private (home or school) and public (parks or supermarkets). This inequity was reinforced through mass media, cultural stereotypes, and the continuous tightening of the public space available to females. The prevalent discriminatory and misogynistic phenomenon became all the more disconcerting as soon as I was able to read the newspaper. The pages that stared at me were filled with violence against women for various reasons, from family honour to stepping out of the house for a job. The public space for women was advanced but only in its constriction.

I was fortunate to be educated in a co-ed school and free to socialize with men as much as with women. However, with its nuanced mores and tacit calibrations, the social milieu was indicative of socially acceptable behaviour and left an indelible mark on me. Yet it was not until my undergrad that I decided to mindfully pursue the agenda of women empowerment. My interest precipitated when I took a few humanities courses in which my thesis highlighted the plight of women – the socio-economic disadvantages caused by society’s apathy and continued discrimination.

My resolve was further cemented when I got selected for the prestigious civil service on a seat reserved for women. As a catharsis to my journey, I want to contribute to women’s empowerment by promoting gender mainstreaming across all sectors and in particular.

My country of today is much better placed to cater to the growing needs of the modern woman; as if an ode to this blossoming, my career has rivalled it. I was the youngest and only female member of the team in the Ministry of Finance that committed to introducing Gender Based Budgeting (GBB). I strived to introduce GBB at the grass-root levels as part of fiscal reform conditions of the World Banks’ economic reforms advice. With women entering the workforce in droves, GBB is bearing results as I witness the earmarking of funds for females in the Government’s annual development plan.

As I continue this journey, I want to be a trailblazer who, if not breaks, seeps through cracks in the glass ceiling in a workplace dominated by male “sahibs”. I am accomplishing this in my current Ministry of Economic Affairs job by solarizing around 7,000 primary schools for girls. In addition, I have been managing $100 million under the ADB’s Access to Clean Energy Investment Program. Moreover, I have recently got five schemes approved worth $60 million for women’s economic empowerment. The money will go into women’s skill development, gender mainstreaming, and regulation of safe living spaces for women with daycare facilities.

During these years, I served on the anti-Sexual Harassment Committee in the Establishment Division – Human Resources government. Here I have prudently processed two cases, resolving one case where both parties amicably came to an understanding. I have volunteered for the same role in my current organization as well.

As I go forward, I want to pursue a graduate degree specializing in energy economics. I want to carve a niche in an area hardly known for women leaders. I plan to harness a sustainable economic policy for renewables to provide affordable and sustainable energy for women who are running small businesses and who are purusing education.