Letter of Intent

[driekus]

I was wondering if anybody has some good references for writing a letter of intent for my MBA application. Any sample letters would also be greatly appreciated, just so I have a reference.

[julie_shah]

Hi Driekus!

I can recommend a few good resources:

1. When I was applying, I used mbaMission's (free) personal statement guide to help me frame my letter of intent, or goals essay. You can get that here: https://www.mbamission.com/docs/mbamissi ... _guide.pdf

2. I also really like the book, Your MBA Game Plan, as a comprehensive guide to the process. They also have great advice for your personal statement.

Since applying, (and getting accepted to Wharton, Columbia, and Tuck), I've started my own admissions essay editing service, My MBA Story. If you'd like me to review your letter of intent, I'd be happy to. What schools are you applying to?

I also write a blog at https://mymbastory.tumblr.com/, which has some free advice. I recently wrote a post on how to write effectively about why you want to go to a specific school (an important component of your letter of intent for each school). You can read that post here: https://mymbastory.tumblr.com/post/11627 ... ter-essays

Feel free to e-mail me if you have additional questions, and good luck!

Julie

[driekus]

Thanks for the information Julie, very interesting.
I'm looking to apply at the University of Alberta, a well ranked Canadian MBA program with a solid technology commercialization program.

I met with an admissions staff member today and he was very helpful. I talked to him about the statement of intent among many other things. He did tell me though he does not want a "Growing up in the suburbs of Australia, my father......." He wants it to be kept purely professional, which was a little wierd considering many of the letters I have read are written in this manner.

[driekus]

Ive come up with a fairly good one page essay.

The program asks for a 1-2 page letter of intent. My letter is about 600 words and about 1 1/4 pages (Times, 12 pt, 1.25 line spacing) Do you think this is enough or do they expect you to make the whole two pages. Im not one for writing fluff (im a scientist) so my essay is straight to the point.

Should I lengthen it?

[julie_shah]

It's hard to say whether you should lengthen it just based on the current length. It seems like you've met the requirement of writing 1 - 2 pages, but the substance of what you've written is much more important in assessing your next steps.

Wish I could give you a more concrete answer, but I can't really do that without reading your essay!

Good luck!

Julie

[driekus]

When writing a letter of intent, should it be treated the same as any other letter, ie be addressed the person in charge of admissions?