How to craft a stellar application letter
If you’re applying to top universities, especially to post-grad courses, you’ll have been asked to write a letter of motivation or application letter. The university may have stipulated what they want you to say, or given questions you should answer.
Without intentionally seeking out the calling, I’ve coached dozens of young people to prepare for university applications around the world. This gives me fascinating insights into other’s aspirations, but what I especially enjoy is helping budding students grasp what truly motivates them.
But why would someone ask for external help writing an application letter?
We are rarely forced to think about our intentions or commit to future plans so, for many people, applying to further or higher education is the first time they’ve had to put their hopes and dreams down on paper. Knowing how difficult this can be, I've collected all the recommendations I most frequently make into one place, to help you stand out on your university application.
Before you get started:
- Know the institution’s specialty.
Do your research so you can express why that course is perfect for you, and why that institution is the only place you can get that experience. “I want to attend your university because of its prestige,” is commonplace. Be inventive with your compliments.
2. Crystallise what’s motivated you through school and work.
Your life-long motivation can be as grand as changing a fundamental aspect of society to as specific as making someone special proud. Perhaps you had a lightbulb moment when you realised your true purpose. The important part is crystallising this into a succinct idea.
3. Lay out your long-term plan.
Educational institutions want to know their efforts are well allocated, that they two are contributing to something greater by accepting you. Describing aspirational yet realistic plans for your future, and how their course will contribute to this plan, will put you a head above the rest.
While you’re writing:
- Avoid overused phrases like “I’m passionate about…”
In short, this says nothing about you. Try describing specific events, and call on anecdotes: “I realised my calling was A when B happened. Since then, I have spent C hours every week investigating how to get better at this and took D actions to get there.”
2. State it, prove it, explain relevance.
Ensure every point you make about yourself has an example to back it up, and that it is relevant to the specific institution and/or the course that interests you.
3. Express examples of how you overcame adversity.
I will qualify this suggestion: sob stories are not what universities are looking for. They are, however, persuaded by stories of challenges you’ve faced personally or professionally, when they are qualified by learnings you gleaned from the experience. Ensure these learnings are relevant to your desired course or future plan.
During the editing phase:
- Cut, ruthlessly.
To self-edit, rank your points in order of relevance to your message, and cut as many points from the bottom of the ranks until you reach the word count. Every time you read a sentence, ask yourself, “would someone who doesn’t know me find this information interesting? Does this reflect a quality that the institution values?”
2. Think about the audience
Would the name of your secondary school or first employer mean anything to the reader? Or would a description like “bilingual school” or “construction company” be a better use of your word count?
3. Read the guidelines before and after writing.
Educational institutions lay out detailed rules for how they want to receive applications, to ease the reviewal process. Ensure that every question is answered, and don’t stumble at the starting line by submitting 1009 words when the institution asked for 1000.
Expressing a personal vision concisely is daunting (even for us writers) so if you’re going through this process right now, bon courage! I hope these tips help you strengthen your application letter.