% Source: http://tex.stackexchange.com/a/5374/23931
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry}
\newcommand{\HRule}{\rule{\linewidth}{0.5mm}}
\newcommand{\Hrule}{\rule{\linewidth}{0.3mm}}
\makeatletter% since there's an at-sign (@) in the command name
\renewcommand{\@maketitle}{%
\parindent=0pt% don't indent paragraphs in the title block
\centering
{\Large \bfseries\textsc{\@title}}
\HRule\par%
\textit{\@author \hfill \@date}
\par
}
\makeatother% resets the meaning of the at-sign (@)
\title{Statement of Purpose}
\author{name}
\date{Ph.D. Applicant}
\begin{document}
\maketitle% prints the title block
Emergency medicine has always been a passion of mine\ldots
\end{document}
