How to Write a College Application Letter
Writing a college application letter can be both exciting and nerve-wrecking. You want to say everything you can, but you don’t want to ramble or bore the readers. College applications are designed to introduce you to the administration and counselors. You want to make your letter stand out without getting thrown out.
- Begin your letter with a date on the left-hand side of the paper. You can type it in military style or normal style, whatever you prefer.
- Skip three lines and type your name, address, city, state and zip code, as if you were addressing a letter. The three lines should start at the left margin.
- Skip another line and write the words, “To Whom It May Concern” or “Dear College Admissions.”
- Skip another line and begin your letter. The first part of the letter should introduce yourself to the reader. Do not write “I am going to tell you about myself” or “In this letter, I am going to say.” This is not an acceptable way to begin a college application letter.
- Introduce yourself by telling a story or antidote. Something like, “Ever since I was a child, I have always wanted to become a teacher. I would spend hours in my room teaching my stuffed animals how to spell and write. As I got older, I learned that your university has an excellent education program that can help me become the teacher I was born to be.”
- Discuss your current classes and grades. Be honest about the grades. Admission counselors will see your transcripts. Don’t blame anyone for a bad grade. You may not even discuss the grade or you may discuss what you learned by getting that grade.
- Make sure that the body of your letter is at least three paragraphs long and no longer than two typed pages. Admission counselors do not have time to read an autobiography. Summarize what you want to say into a concise and well-structured letter.
- End the letter with “Sincerely” or “Yours in Education” followed by space for your signature and your typed name. Be sure to sign the letter after you have printed it. You may also want to ask a friend of family member to read over the letter to make sure you have not made any spelling or grammatical errors.