Example of a Motivation Letter Dear Sir or Madam: With this letter, I would like to express my interest in studying at the University of X as an !rasmus student" I am #urr #urrently ently studying studying Mast Master$s er$s Degr Degree ee prog program ramme me in %egi %egional onal &eography &eography at the '() University in *ondon" +aving looked through the materials of the oreign Department of my unive un iversi rsity ty,, I was ve very ry de delig lighte hted d to fin find d the op oppo portu rtunit nity y to spe spend nd one sem semest ester er lea learni rning ng geography at the University of X" I have de#ided to apply for this programme -e#ause I am sure it would strongly enri#h my future studies and help me in my prospe#tive #areer" Moreover I #onsid #on sider er thi this s pr prog ogra ramme mme as a gr grea eatt op oppor portun tunity ity to ge gett in tou tou#h #h wit with h (ri (ritis tish h #ul #ultur ture e an and d edu#ational system" *ast -ut not least, I am very #urious a-out different approa#hes to the geography at the foreign university" I have #hosen to apply for University of X, -e#ause I really like its module system of study" I spe#ially appre#iate the wide range of offered modules and the freedom in making your study plan" Many of the modules offered are uni.ue for me, -e#ause there is no e.uivalent at my home ho me un unive iversi rsity ty"" /e /ery ry im impor portan tantt for me is al also so an 0! 0!x#e x#elle llent nt11 ra ratin ting g for tea tea#hi #hing ng of the &eography &eogra phy department and the overall friendly atmosphere atmosphere at -oth the university as well as the #ity" 2he third main reason why I have #hosen X is its Ur-an and %egional 3oli#y %esear#h Institute" It spe#iali4es in interdis#iplinary resear#h on key regional and ur-an poli#y issues, whi#h is the field of geography very familiar to me" During my prior studies I have found out, that I would like to spe#iali4e in Ur-an and 2ransport &eography" &eogra phy" 2he 2he University of X gives me a #han#e to get in tou#h with these su-5e#ts through modules from -oth Department of &eography and Department of 2own and %egional 3lanning" In my last year at the '() University I worked on an empiri#al study with main fo#us on transportation #osts of su-ur-anisation and ur-an sprawl" I really liked my pro5e#t and I am keen to #ontinue in it" I would like to use my stay in X for further developing my skills in empiri#al resear#h and starting working on my diploma pro5e#t" 2he possi-ilities that gives me University of X further expand those at my home university" I would take modules fo#using on 2ransport and Ur-an geography and !uropean Studies" I would very mu#h like to spend one semester at the University of X" 2his would give me a #han#e #han #e to dee deepen pen my geo geogra graphi#a phi#all know knowledg ledge e in the inspi inspiring ring,, #rea #reative, tive, and #osm #osmopol opolite ite environment of one of the largest (ritish universities" urthermore I #ould improve my !nglish and in#rease my #onfiden#e in passing the 26!* examinations after I return" Moreover, I am #onfident that my experien#e in *ondon would -e extremely ex#iting, fun, and valua-le for -oth my studies and overall general development" 2hank you for #onsidering my re.uest" I look forward to your positive response" ours Su4an 3arent
faithfully,
Sample College Admission Essays
College Essay One Prompt: 3lease
su-mit a one7page, single7spa#ed essay that explains why you have #hosen State University and your parti#ular ma5or8s9, department8s9 or program8s9" State University and I possess a #ommon vision" I, like State University, #onstantly work to explore the limits of nature -y ex#eeding expe#tations" *ong an amateur s#ientist, it was this drive that -rought me to the University of 2exas for its Student S#ien#e 2raining 3rogram in ;<=" Up to that point s#ien#e had -een my private past time, one I had yet to explore on anyone else$s terms" My time at U2, however, #hanged that" 3arti#ipating for the first time in a full7length resear#h experiment at that level, I felt more alive, more engaged, than I ever had -efore" *earning the #omplex dynami#s -etween ele#tromagneti# indu#tion and opti#s in an attempt to solve one of the holy grails of physi#s, gravitational7waves, I #ould not have -een more pleased" 2hus vindi#ated, my desire to further formali4e my love of s#ien#e -rings me to State University" 2hanks to this experien#e, I know now -etter than ever that State University is my future, -e#ause through it I seek another, permanent, opportunity to follow my passion for s#ien#e and engineering" In addition to 5 ust s#ien#e, I am drawn to State University for other reasons" I strive to work with the diverse group of people that State University wholeheartedly a##ommodates > and who also share my mindset" 2hey, like me, are there -e#ause State University respe#ts the value of diversity" I know from personal experien#e that in order to a#hieve the trust, honesty, and su##ess that State University values, new people are needed to #reate a respe#tful environment for these values" I feel that my -a#kground as an 'meri#an Sikh will provide an innovative perspe#tive in the university$s sear#h for knowledge while helping it to develop a -asis for future su##ess" 'nd that, truly, is the greatest su##ess I #an imagine" 2his emphasis on diversity #an also -e found in the variety of spe#iali4ed departments found at State University" 6n top of its growing #ultural and ethni# diversity, State University is -e#oming a master at #reating a ni#he for every student" +owever, this does not isolate students -y for#ing them to work with only those individuals who follow their spe#ifi# dis#ipline" Instead, it is the seamless intera#tion -etween fa#ilities that allows ea#h department, from engineering to programming, to #reate a real learning environment that profoundly mimi#s the real world" 2hus, State University is not 5ust the perfe#t pla#e for me, it is the only pla#e for me" Indeed, having the intelle#tual keenness to a-sor- every oun#e of knowledge presented through my time in the I( program, I know that I #an #ontri-ute to State University as it #ontinues to #ultivate a s#holarly #limate that en#ourages intelle#tual #uriosity" 't the Department of !le#tri#al and )omputer !ngineering at State University, I will -e a-le to do 5ust that" In a department where edu#ation and resear#h are intermixed, I #an #ontinue to follow the path that towards s#ientifi# ex#ellen#e" *ong7mesmeri4ed -y ho--ies like my work with the I%S2 %o-oti#s team, I -elieve State University would -e the -est #hoi#e to #ontinue to nurture my love for ele#tri#al and #omputer engineering" I have only s#rat#hed the surfa#e in this ever evolving field -ut know that the te#hnologi#al potential is limitless" *ikewise, I feel that my time at State University would make my potential similarly limitless" 2his is a pi#ture7perfe#t response to a university7spe#ifi# essay prompt" What makes it parti#ularly effe#tive is not 5ust its #ohesive stru#ture and elegant style -ut also the level of details the author uses in the response" (y dire#tly identifying the spe#ifi# aspe#ts of the university that are attra#tive to the writer, the writer is a-le to #learly and effe#tively show not only his #ommitment to his studies -ut > perhaps more importantly > the level of thought he put into his de#ision to appl y" %eview #ommittees know what generi# responses look like so spe#ifi#ity sells" ind your s#hool with our US' S#hool Sear#h
College Essay Two Prompt: What
motivates you?
or as long as I #an remem-er, I have dreamed of s#ien#e" Where others see the engineering, experimentation, and presentation of s#ien#e as a #hore, I only see ex#itement" !ven as a #hild I #onstantly sought it out, first on television with (ill @ye and 2he Myth-usters, then later in person in every museum exhi-it I #ould find" S#ien#e in all its forms fas#inated me, -ut s#ien#e pro5e#ts in parti#ular were a #ategory all to themselves" 2o me, s#ien#e pro5e#ts were a spe#ial 5oy that only grew with time" In fa#t, it was this #ontinued fas#ination for hands7on s#ien#e that -rought me years later to the sauna that is the University of 'la-ama in mid7Aune" 3arti#ipating in the Student S#ien#e 2raining 3rogram and working in their la- made me feel like a kid in a #andy store" Aust the thought of parti#ipating in a pro5e#t at this level of s#ientifi# rigor made me forget that this was supposed to -e my summer -reak and I spent the first day eagerly examining every pie#e of e.uipment" !ven at first, when the whole resear#h group sat there doing rote #al#ulations and others felt like they were staring down the -arrel of defeated purpose, I remained enthusiasti#" 2ime and time again I reminded myself of that famous phrase Bgreat effort leads to great rewards,B and sure enough, soon my aspirations -egan to -e met" 2his shift in attitude also #oin#ided with a shift in lo#ation: from the #omputer desk to the laser la-" It was finall y time to get my hands dirt y" @ow things -egan to get really interesting" During the experimentation phase of the pro5e#t, I spent the ma5ority of my waking hours in the la- > and I en5oyed every minute of it" rom de-riefing with my #oordinator in the morning to #he#king and re#he#king results well into the afternoon, I was on #loud nine all day, every day" I even loved the ele#tri# f eeling of anxiety as I waited for the results" Most of all, though, I loved the pursuit of s#ien#e itself" (efore I knew it, I was well into the seventh week and had #ompleted my first long7term resear#h experiment" In the end, although the days were long and hard, my work that summer filled me with pride" 2hat pride has #onfirmed and reinvigorated my love for s#ien#e" I felt more alive, more engaged, in that la- than I have anywhere else, and I am #ommitted to returning" I have al ways dreamed of s#ien#e -ut sin#e that summer, sin#e my experiment, I have dreamed only of the future" 2o me, medi#al s#ien#e is the future and through it I seek another, permanent, opportunity to follow my passion" 'fter all, to follow your passion is, literally, a dream #ome true" In addition to i ts use of #lear, demonstrative language, there is one thing that makes this an effe#tive essay: fo#us" Indeed, noti#e that, although the .uestion is -road, the answer is narrow" 2his is #ru#ial" It #an -e easy to wax poeti# on a topi# and, in the pro#ess, take on too mu#h" Instead, -y highlighting one spe#ifi# aspe#t of his personality, the author is a-le to gi ve the reader a taste of his who he is without overwhelming him or simply reprodu#ing his rCsumC" 2his emphasis gives the reader the opportunity to learn who the writer is on his terms and makes it a truly #ompelling appli#ation essay" ind your s#hool with our US' S#hool Sear#h
College Essay Three 2he winter of my seventh grade year, my al#oholi# mother entered a psy#hiatri# unit for an attempted sui#ide" Mom survived, -ut I would never forget visiting her at the ward or the #omplete #onfusion I felt a-out her attempt to end her life" 2oday I reali4e that this experien#e greatly influen#ed my professional am-ition as well as my personal identit y" While early on my professional am-itions were aimed towards the mental health field, later experien#es have redire#ted me towards a #areer in a#ademia" I #ome from a small, e#onomi#ally depressed town in @orthern W is#onson" Many people in this former mining town do not graduate high s#hool and for them #ollege is an idealisti# #on#ept, not a reality" @either of my parents attended #ollege" eelings of -eing trapped in a stagnant environment permeated my mind, and yet I knew I had to graduate high s#hool I had to get out" 'lthough most of my friends and family did not understand my am-itions, I knew I wanted to make a differen#e and used their dou-t as motivation to press through" our days after I graduated high s#hool, I 5oined the U"S" 'rmy" 2he E years I spent in the 'rmy #ultivated a deep7seated passion for serving so#iety" While in the 'rmy, I had the great honor to serve with several men and women who, like me, fought to make a differen#e in the
world" During my tour of duty, I witnessed several shipmates suffer from various mental aliments" Driven -y a #ommitment to serve and a desire to understand the foundations of psy#hologi#al illness, I de#ided to return to s#hool to study psy#hology" In order to pay for s#hool and #ontinue -eing a#tive in the #ommunity, I enlisted in the 2exas 'rmy @ational &uard as a Medi#" Due to the in#reased deployment s#hedule and demands pla#ed on all -ran#hes of the military after Septem-er <<, my attendan#e in s#hool has ne#essarily #ome se#ond to my #ommitment to the military" 2here are various semesters where, due to this demand, I attended s#hool l ess than full time" Despite taking a long time and the diffi#ulty in #arving separate time for s#hool with su#h o##upational re.uirements, I remained persistent aiming towards attending s#hool as my s#hedule would allow" My military #ommitment ends this Auly and will no l onger #ompli#ate my a#ademi# pursuits" In #ollege, as I -e#ame more politi#ally engaged, my interest -egan to gravitate more towards politi#al s#ien#e" 2he interest in serving and understanding people has never #hanged, yet I reali4ed I #ould make a greater differen#e doing something for whi#h I have a deeper passion, politi#al s#ien#e" 3ursuing dual degrees in -oth 3sy#hology and 3oliti#al S#ien#e, I was provided an opportunity to #omplete a thesis in 3sy#hology with Dr" Sheryl )arol a 3rofessor in So#ial 3sy#hology at the University of 2exas 8U29 2his fall I will #omplete an additional thesis as a M#@air S#holar with Dr" Fen )ham-ers, 'sso#iate 3rofessor in *atin 'meri#an studies in the U2 3oliti#al S#ien#e Department" 's an undergraduate, I was privileged to gain extensive resear#h experien#e working in a resear#h lawith Dr" )arol" During the three years I worked in her la-, I aided in designing a study, writing an Institutional %eview (oard 8I%(9 appli#ation, running parti#ipants through -oth pilot and regular studies, #oding data, and anal y4ing said data, with these experien#es #ulminating in my honors thesis" 2his thesis, entitled Self7!steem and @eed7to7(elong as predi#tors of impli#it stereotypi# explanatory -ias, fo#uses on the relationship -etween levels 8high and low9 of self7esteem and an individual$s need to -elong in a group, and how they predi#t whether an individual will tend to explain stereotype7in#onsistent -ehavior" 3arti#ipating in su#h a large study from start to finish has validated my interest in a#ademi# resear#h as a profession" 2his fall I will em-ark on writing an additional honors thesis in politi#al s#ien#e" While the pre#ise topi# of my thesis is unde#ided, I am parti#ularly interested i n Mexi#o and its development towards a more demo#rati# government" Minoring in Spanish, I have read various pie#es of literature from Mexi#o and have #ome to respe#t Mexi#o and *atin 'meri#an #ulture and so#iety" I look forward to #ondu#ting this resear#h as it will have a more .ualitative tilt than my thesis in psy#hology, therefore granting an additional understanding of resear#h methodology" My present de#ision to swit#h from so#ial psy#hology to politi#al s#ien#e is further related to a study a-road #ourse sponsored -y the !uropean Union with Dr" Samuel Mit#hell, an 'sso#iate 3rofessor in the 3oliti#al S#ien#e Department at U2" 3rofessor Mit#hell o-tained a grant to take a #lass of students to (elgium in order to study the !U" 2his #ourse revealed a dire#t #orrelation -etween what I had studied in the #lassroom with the real world" 'fter spending several weeks studying the !U, its history and present movement towards integration, the #lass flew to (russels where we met with offi#ials and pro#eeded to learn firsthand how the !U fun#tioned" My interest in attending the University of %o#hester in parti#ular, relates to my first semester at 6U and the opportunity to take an i ntrodu#tory #ourse in statisti#s with the now retired Dr" *arry Miller" 2hrough the #om-ination of a genuine appre#iation and kna#k for statisti#s and with his en#ouragement, I pro#eeded to take his advan#ed statisti#s #lass as well as the first graduate level statisti#s #ourse at 6U" I #ontinued my statisti#al training -y #ompleting the se#ond graduate statisti#s #ourse on model #omparisons with Dr" %oger Aohnson, a 3rofessor in the 3sy#hology Department" 2he model #omparison #ourse was not only the most #hallenging #ourse I have taken as an undergraduate, -ut the most important" 's the sole undergraduate in the #ourse and only #ollege alge-ra under my -elt, I felt .uite intimidated" et, the rigors of the #lass #ompelled me to expand my thinking and learn to over#ome any inse#urities and defi#its in my edu#ation" 2he effort paid off as I earned not only an G'$ in the #ourse, -ut also won the 2"6"3"S" 82op 6utstanding 3sy#hology Student9 award in statisti#s" 2his award is given to the top undergraduate student with a demonstrated history of su##ess in statisti#s" My statisti#al training in psy#hology orientates me toward a more .uantitative graduate experien#e" Due to the University of %o#hester$s reputation for an extensive use of statisti#s in politi#al s#ien#e resear#h, I would make a good addition to your fall #lass" While attending the University of %o#hester, I would like to
study international relations or #omparative politi#s while in graduate s#hool" I find the resear#h of Dr"$s +ein &oemans and &ret#hen +elmke intriguing and would like the opportunity to learn more a-out it through the &raduate /isitation program" 3arti#ipation in the University of %o#hester$s &raduate S#hool /isitation 3rogram would all ow me to learn more a-out the Department of 3oliti#al S#ien#e to further see if my interests align with those in the department" 'dditionally, my attendan#e would allow the 3oliti#al S#ien#e department to make a more a##urate determination on how well I would fit in to the program than from solely my graduate s#hool appli#ation" 'ttending the University of %o#hester with its fo#us on .uantitative training, would not only allow me to utili4e the skills and knowledge I gained as an undergraduate, -ut also would expand this foundation to -etter prepare me to #ondu#t resear#h in a manner I find fas#inating" rom attending S"!"%"!" 8SurvivalH36W training9 in the military and making it through a model #omparisons #ourse as an undergraduate, I have rarely shied away from a #hallenge" I thrive on diffi#ult tasks as I en5o y systemati#ally developing solutions to pro-lems" 'ttending the University of %o#hester would more than likely prove a #hallenge, -ut there is no dou-t in my mind that I would not only su##eed -ut ena-le me to offer a uni.ue set of experien#es to fellow mem-ers of the in#oming graduate #lass"
