Such a document as a motivation letter is an important component of the package of documents for enrolling in foreign schools , universities and higher schools . This is almost half the success, the opportunity to demonstrate to your foreign institution your uniqueness, value and compliance with the chosen program.
What is a motivation letter?
A motivation letter (or Statement of Purpose, Personal Statement) is a short essay (1-2 printed pages) about personal interests, achievements, experiences and individual goals, priorities and values. It is able to provide objective and complete information about the personality of the entrant, the level of development of analytical and critical thinking, and therefore it is very serious to approach the writing of the letter. There are two common formats:
- Unstructured (in free form)
- The answer to the question (this is a set of several answers to the questions posed, basically this option is used at for admission to the Bachelor's program or for the MBA program ).
The motivation letter aims to prove Members of the admission committee that you are the person they are looking for, it is you who deserve to be trained on the program. To effectively and correctly send information, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of the educational institution and the expectations of the target audience.
What do the members of the admissions panel dislike?
- Negligence. This can include grammatical and other errors, typos, frequent repetitions - all this can show you as an inattentive, frivolous and unorganized person. Thoroughly check the text before sending!
- Cliché. Common, pattern phrases and hackneyed expressions will not add weight and interest to your letter in the eyes of the admissions committee, it will demonstrate your predictability and lack of ideology.
- Full retelling of the resume. Believe me, the admissions committee will get acquainted with your resume and it will not be necessary for you to repeat the retelling. One or two key arguments or facts can be mentioned, but not more than
- Ambiguous "dangerous" topics. Undoubtedly, a motivation letter should disclose your point of view, but it is necessary to avoid harsh statements on complex and contradictory topics (for example, religion or politics)
- Excess volume. Multiple repetitions or excessive detailing can stretch your essay more than the planned 1-2 pages (with a single interval) - try to avoid it
- A bookish, dry and overly academic syllable. The use of accessible, understandable words and expressions (of course, without familiarity and jargon) will show that you can clearly and briefly express, and, accordingly, think, are able to convey your ideas to a large number of people.
What do members of the admissions committee like?
- Thoughtful analysis of personal qualities, objectivity, concrete and real examples of success from personal life
- Sincerity. Try to maximally reliably tell your own story, reveal yourself, and not fully adapt to the expectations of members of the admissions committee, this may seem like toadying
- Preparation and sufficient motivation. Show that you really understand the priority area for you, are interested in development and well imagine the ways of achieving your goal. Tell us about real experience in this area (any research, project work, seminars and master classes, profile courses). Justify your choice of this particular specialty and prove why it is you who are suitable for training. For example, if you are applying for a place in a master's degree in applied sciences, mention the practical experience of work, if you submit documents for doctoral studies, indicate the studies conducted, etc.
- Purposefulness. Argument your choice - why mastering this specialty will help you achieve personal, career, professional goals
- Justification of choice. It will be excellent if you are familiarized in advance with the content of the chosen program and indicate which electives and areas of study you are most attracted to, selected aspects of the curriculum, qualifications and scope of scientific activity of teachers.
- Ability to write and competent syllable. Correctly composed sentences, rich vocabulary, consistency and structured text are your strengths.
Below we have prepared for you several structured blocks of questions. Consistently responding to them, you will be able to focus on the most important facts for you, events and personal experiences that will form the basis for an excellent motivational writing.
Preparation of the content
- Personal achievements and experience.
What is unique, distinctive in your life than in life Are you special? Tell us about the events and impressions of your life, if necessary - your family members, mention important events or people that influenced the formation of your personality.
Have you ever overcome significant or unusual difficulties, obstacles, complex and conflict situations? Recall examples from various areas - economic, physical, social and family - tell how you defeated your problems. Important: make sure that the story of the difficulties encountered does not justify your failure.
Were there any moments in your life when you were responsible or cared for by other family members? How did you manage this, how did this affect your studies and career development? It is important: do not press on pity, be as objective and impartial as possible.
You can follow these questions:
- Have you ever worked while getting an education? If so, how did this experience affect you, did it help development of leadership skills, the ability to distribute tasks and manage time?
- What are your most vivid, attractive and valuable qualities? How can they help you achieve success in the chosen field?
- What examples of your life can you give, illustrating the practical application of your merits? Ideal is the option when listing your work experience visually shows your best qualities without their direct mention.
- Why do you need to be considered the best candidate for this program?
- Why are you more likely to succeed in the chosen field than other candidates?
- How do you plan to become a better student?
- Why are you sure that make a successful career in the chosen specialty?
- What can you interest other students and employees, teachers, scientific supervisors?
Short-term and long-term goals
- 1) What attracts you to this training program: its main aspects, directions, teachers and their scientific interests, Technical and laboratory capabilities?
- 2) What do you want from the learning process?
- 3) What career goals do you seek? How will the chosen program help to achieve them?
- 4) What is the work of your dreams? What do you want to do, what professional do you want to become a professional at, what do you want to do in 5 or 20 years?
Studies and academic achievements
- 1) When you first felt interest in The chosen field of knowledge? How much did you learn new from that time? What keeps heating up your interest? Is there any factor that strengthens you in thinking about the correctness of the choice made?
- 2) Where was the "acquaintance" with the chosen specialty - in high school, school, you read the book or watched the film, visited the conference, master class, talked with the profession?
- 3) Do you see any gaps in your knowledge or discrepancies in the passed training path?
After answering the questions, you will be able to formulate several main topics (it is recommended to choose 2-4), which will become the basis for your motivation letter. If you decide to select more than 2-4 topics - they will be difficult to disclose, and this will lead to an inevitable (and undesirable) increase in volume. You can take as the basis of the letter an important, key event in your life, if it fully reveals all aspects and subtleties to those that you would like to use.
How to choose the right theme, which ones are ideal for writing a letter?
- They are directly related to the area of ​​interest you are interested in
- Create a complete, complex representation of you
- Original
- Are closely related to your personal experience, impressions, conclusions and conclusions. Conclusions
- Contain real and accurate facts, arguments
- Can keep the reader's interest.
