how to format your letter
You may be wondering how to write a letter to the college admissions office. First, we’ll cover some etiquette tips, then we’ll cover how to write each part of an email. the princeton review has great tips for writing letters or emails to college admissions offices.
“keep it short!”
While you want to make a good first impression with your email, it’s important that you don’t use this email to brag about yourself. By asking smart questions that the school’s website doesn’t answer yet, you’ll demonstrate ambition and intellect, so there’s no need to include other details about yourself. keep it short and to the point.
“introduce yourself”.
While you want your email to be brief, you also want the college admissions office to know who you are. Please include your name, year of high school graduation, high school name, and home address in the first part of your email. this is especially important if you are asking a question about your application; you don’t want the admissions officer to have to search for your information. Also, if your email makes a good impression, it will be easier for them to remember you.
“check spelling and grammatical errors”.
We can’t overstate how important this is. If your email or letter has spelling or grammatical errors, your email will seem much less formal and mature. Making sure your letter or email is free of typos shows great care, which is what college admissions offices want to see from you.
One way to approach this is by first typing your email into a document. you can read it aloud to catch grammatical errors. You can also put it in a different font and color to check for spelling and grammar errors, because changing the way it looks helps your brain catch any mistakes.
“be professional”.
To be professional, you need to evaluate more than just the content of your email or letter. you should consider your subject line, introduction, signature, and even your email address.
don’t use any jargon. If your email address includes slang, nicknames, or anything other than a form of your name, consider creating a new email account to communicate with colleges.
Now that we’ve covered some general tips to keep in mind when contacting a college admissions office, let’s go through each individual part of your letter or email.
subject line
This may seem like a minor part of your email, but make sure your subject line is also direct, to the point and professional, just like the rest of your correspondence. try to communicate exactly what you are asking for in as few words as possible.
For example, let’s say you want to ask about diversity initiatives at Duke University. You could title your email, “Duke University Diversity Initiatives Question,” but that’s an awfully long title. Plus, if you email the Duke Admissions Office, they know you’re asking about their school, so there’s no need to include that in the subject line. instead, aim for something else like “diversity initiatives question”.
intro
Aside from your subject line, your introduction is your first chance to show that you’re mature and smart. This may seem like a lot of pressure for first words, but there’s a world of difference between saying “hello to whom this may concern” and “good morning, mrs. brown.”
First, let’s talk about your greeting. be formal, appropriate and friendly. don’t use the same kind of language you would use when texting your friends. for example, you don’t want to start with “hello” or “hello”, but it is appropriate to say “hello” or “good morning”.
Ideally, use the name of your admissions officer in your name introduction, rather than a more general “to whom it may concern.” This isn’t always available on the college or university website, but by the time you’re a senior in high school, you’ve probably been in contact with the colleges you want to apply to. Usually, you will have been contacted by a specific college admissions officer. you can try to find its name from matches like that.
so, with those two pieces, your intro should look like this:
“hello, mr. miller,”
“good afternoon, mrs. Mary,”
body
This is where most of your email will be. The first thing you want to do is report to the admissions officer, even if you’ve already written in before. Admissions officers receive hundreds of emails a day, so it’s helpful to include your basic information at the beginning.
After introducing yourself, go directly to your question. If it is a question about your application, please explain the confusion or problem and include the due date if urgent. If you want to confirm that the university received a certain part of your application, you can express it in the following way:
“While polishing my application, I noticed that my letters of recommendation have not been confirmed. To ensure that I have submitted all aspects of my application by the January 1 deadline, is there any way I can confirm that the school has received my letters of recommendation? Thank you very much for your help, I appreciate it.”
The purpose of your email or letter may not be to confirm information about your application. Instead, you may want to show an interest in the school by asking about a specific aspect of the school you want to know more about, or some combination of these. then what?
The most important thing about writing an email or letter like that is to do your research beforehand. If you come up with general questions that are already answered on the school’s website, you’re not going to make a very good impression.
Here is a list of topics you should avoid asking about when contacting a college admissions office (although this is not an exhaustive list):
- what the university looks for in applicants
- tuition rates
- acceptance rates
- lists of majors offered & minors
Basically, you want to ask specific questions that show your ambitions and also that you have done adequate research on the school. you can ask about specific opportunities within specific majors or programs, details about student life not yet listed, and more.
When writing questions like these, remember our advice from earlier: be professional and to the point, but let your voice shine so you don’t sound like a robot. your natural personality will make a great first impression.
At the end of the body of your correspondence, it is vital to thank your admissions officer for taking the time to help you and answer your questions. it’s a kind thing to do and reflects on you as a kind person.
signature
Just like your presentation, your signature can seem like an inconsequential part of your correspondence. but just like your introduction, that’s not true. Your signature can show professionalism and maturity just like the rest of your email or letter. use an appropriate signature, such as “best,” “best regards,” or “sincerely,” and sign your name. You can also add alternate contact information (such as a phone number) after your name, in case the school needs another way to contact you.