Writing a Motivation Letter for University, School or College

Writing a Motivation Letter for University, School, or College

A good motivational letter to a university follows a very simple format. Sadly, that doesn’t make it easy to write.

One page – keep it to one page. Review boards and admissions officers are busy. You won’t get much of their attention, make it count.

Three parts. Introduction – introduce yourself, use your name and the name of the university.  If it’s appropriate, use the name of the program.  “My name is Yukiko Watanabe and I’m proud to submit my application to Oxford University.  It has long been a dream of mine to go to Oxford.”  A good introduction can be that simple. Body – The body is the main part of your motivation letter.  It will contain some of the information that we put together before.  Usually, three paragraphs is a good goal. These should be decent paragraphs that are easy to read. Conclusion – Summarize things, thank them for their time and offer to speak to them more if they have questions or anything else you can do to improve your chances.

This format of a motivational letter for a university admission sounds easy right?The introduction is pretty straightforward. To write the body, though, look through your notes from before and pick out the things that really make you stand out.

If in doubt, it’s okay to write more initially and then go back and edit it.  Sometimes, it’s easiest to start with the body and then move on to the introduction and the conclusion.  This might give you a really powerful sentence or two in your introduction to tell the reader to get ready for you to wow them. This is your chance to show an admissions officer why you should be the next student at their school.  Use this chance wisely and take a careful look at all of your accomplishments and qualifications and find the most powerful and interesting.

How Do I Write a Motivation Letter for a Bachelor’s Degree?For a motivation letter for a bachelor’s degree, you won’t have any university coursework to show so you need to demonstrate why you are a great candidate using other means.  Your grades are certainly a big part of that. Of course, schools often want to see more. You will want to include any programs, volunteer activities, or jobs that you have held.  Add any accomplishments, awards, or unique projects that you participated in.

Motivation Letter for University Admissions – Dos and Don’ts. Here are a few things to consider before you submit your letter.  Write your letter first and then go through these.

Check Your Spelling and Grammar – You are applying for an academic position.  They are likely academic professionals with strong spelling and grammar skills.  Remember those admission rates?  They are often looking for reasons to say no.  A student who can’t spell can give them that reason. If you aren’t a strong speller then use spell check and then have someone read it for you and help you edit it.  We recommend using a tool like Grammarly.  Grammarly has a great free tool that often does better than spell checkers.  It can tell the difference between words like “to” and “too”.  Grammarly’s paid tool is even better, helping with things like tone and readability.

One letter per application – Of course, you are likely to apply for more than one university or program. There is nothing wrong with that.  Do not reuse the same letter for all of them.  Do this whole process each time.  Each university is different.  If you write a form letter it will read like a form letter. Don’t Be Humorous – You’re not a comedian (unless you are) so don’t try to be one.  It’s okay to have a humorous story but you want the tone to be appropriate and making jokes or treating it lightly can give the impression that you don’t care. Be Respectful and Appreciative– You are writing to people who can have an impact on the direction of your life.  Treat them that way.  Be respectful and appreciative of their time. These may sound difficult but they really aren’t.  For some, spelling is a challenge but you can work around that. There are tools to help you.

Your first instict might be to google "Motivation letter template" and use one of the first few examples in the search results. Don't do it! The admissions committee already memorized the most popular templates on the web and will instantly recognize it. Instead, use the structure below to get yourself oriented and take a couple of days to actually think about what you will write. Your honesty and sincerity are valued much higher than a perfectly written text found on the web. Alexander Safonov. Vice President for Development