Admission Letter
LETTER TO THE ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE GUIDELINES
OCTOBER 2019
Guidelines for Writing Your Letter to the Admissions Committee
Directions: The following instructions contain information about your letter to the Admissions
Committee, which is a required part of your application to be presented for review. Please focus only on
the information requested about you, your background, and your future goals. You are strongly
encouraged to carefully proofread, grammar check, and spell check your letter. Overall writing
presentation and clarity are very important.
Your Full Name: You must include your full name in your letter to the Admissions Committee.
Degree and Specialization: You must clearly indicate the degree program and specialization in which
you are applying to within that program.
Content: There are eight (8) sections described below. Please include the following information when
preparing your letter to the Admissions Committee. While not required, we strongly suggest that you
format your letter by heading each section with the headings shown below. Write your information in
paragraph form and do not use bullet format within the sections.
• Personal/Professional Goals
o Why are you interested in graduate school and what are your plans after you receive your
degree?
o What influenced you to choose the field?
o Why are you interested in the program and specialization to which you are applying?
*Please note that your personal/professional goals should be in line with the specialization to
which you are applying.
• Academic Experience
o Describe your previous undergraduate and graduate academic experience; if you do not
have the specialization background, you may want to explain how you plan to apply your
prior academic skills to your chosen specialization.
o You may include any experiences (unique work or research experience, study aboard, etc)
that influenced your choice of graduate program/specialization.
o Explain any inconsistencies in your academic record. If your GPA was not what you would
have liked, explain any personal, physical or family circumstances that may have adversely
affected your GPA.
• Research Experience
o Address prior research experience, significant research papers/projects or other research
accomplishments in your field. If you do not have any prior research experience, you must
indicate no research experience under this section in a complete sentence.
• Work/Other Experience
o What is your prior work experience? Include any volunteer work and/or extracurricular
activities that complement your career decision. If you do not have any relevant experience,
please indicate that in this section. You can also address any cultural knowledge or
experiences you may have acquired that may better prepare you for the field.
LETTER TO THE ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE GUIDELINES
OCTOBER 2019
• Personal Qualities
o Include in this section personal qualities (e.g., interpersonal skills, teamwork skills, etc.) you
possess that you believe will contribute to your success in your field and academic program.
• Why Walden
o Indicate why Walden University would be a good match for you and your future goals.
o What interested you about Walden (this could include accreditation, courses, faculty,
research, etc.)?
o Why are you interested in an online program?
• Reason(s) for Admissions Committee Review
o Address the reason(s) why your file is being presented to the Admissions Committee for
review.
o For example, if you have a low GPA, state the reasons for your low GPA or poor academic
performance.
• How will you be successful?
o Address how you plan to be successful at Walden if admitted.