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Hey everybody!I have to write an letter about why I would like to study at a certain university! Here it is - please correct my mistakes! Thank you!Dear Sir or Madam,my reason for contacting you is that I would like to explain my motivation and reasons why I am applying at xxx.First and foremost I am convinced that your concept of studying – a high staff-student ratio combined with the possibility to build my own distinctive profile out of a variety of courses – is both more effective and more motivating then studying at one of the “big” universities where personal support and the opportunity to follow your interests are not given in equal measure. I do not want to specialise right from the beginning of my studies. Instead I would rather satisfy my curiosity by getting an insight into more then just International Business or International Law. In my opinion only xxx offers me this option.Secondly I set a high value on studying in small groups or even self-studies. Self studies not only require a lot of discipline and motivation but also teach you self-reliance. Teaming up however teaches you the qualities of discussing, compromising and social skills. The third reason why I would like to study at xxx is that I seek an international career and therefore an international-oriented course of studies. From May 2006 to May 2007 I travelled around Australia and Singapore and for me it is hard to imagine to live in the same place for the rest of my life. Instead, I would rather see other countries, learn about other cultures and meet people with different traditions and customs. Studying at xxx would be an excellent start to an international career. Furthermore, already being at xxx as an international campus would give me the opportunity to meet people from other countries and to widen my understanding of how people live in other countries. This sort of “learning” does not take place at other universities where you mostly study with people from your own country.Forth, I set a high value on studying in English. Partly because I simply enjoy speaking English but mostly because I would like to use what I have learned while travelling around Australia. Moreover, I think that studying in English is of great advantage compared to studying in your mother tongue. As I already mentioned I seek to work abroad and good knowledge of English as the lingua franca is of unmeasurable value.Thank you for your time and consideration. I hope to hear from you soon.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

I worked on the letter again and it is finished now. Please have a look at my pink remarks which highlight passages which don´t sound too good to me.. I don´t know how to express it in a different way..here it is:

Dear Sir or Madam,

having graduated from school this year, I am now looking for new challenges in life. In school I took Politics/Economy and English as intensive courses. I finished both with good marks: the former with 12 and the latter with 11 points out of 15. Looking for universities which offer international-oriented courses in English I found University College Maastricht the most convenient one (does "convenient" make sense..or is the sentence right?) for a variety of reasons which I would like to explain to you.

First and foremost I am convinced that your concept of studying – a high staff-student ratio combined with the possibility to build my own distinctive profile out of a variety of courses – is both more effective and more motivating then studying at one of the “big” universities where personal support and the opportunity to follow your interests are not given in equal measure. I do not want to specialise right from the beginning of my studies. Instead, I would rather satisfy my curiosity (is this expression right?) by gaining insight into more then just International Business or International Law. That is why I think that studying at University College Maastricht suits me best. Concerning my motivation I would like to add that I spent a gap year in Australia and that I am now keen on continuing my education, especially in an international environment.

Secondly I set a high value on studying in small groups or even self-studies. Self studies not only require a lot of discipline and motivation but also teach you self-reliance. Teaming up however teaches you the qualities of discussing, compromising and social skills. Altogether both kinds of working contribute to an improvement of your soft-skills. (the whole sentence..right or wrong?) I am looking forward to work ("to work" or "to working"?) together with other people, especially people from other countries who probably approach things slightly different to what (is "to" the right word?) I have learned in Germany. Being a very open-minded and communicative person I am always eager to learn about different cultures and their traditions and customs which leads me to the third reason (does this make sense to you or it is too german? ^^) why I would like to study at the University College Maastricht.

I seek an international career and therefore an international-oriented course of studies. From May 2006 to May 2007 I travelled around Australia and Singapore and it is hard to imagine for me to live in the same place for the rest of my life. Instead, I would rather see other countries and learn about other cultures. Studying at University College Maastricht would be an excellent start to an international career. Moreover, just studying among people from a lot of different countries would give me the opportunity to build a worldwide network of friends and to widen my understanding (how about this expression? right or wrong) of different cultures. In my opinion, this sort of “learning” does not take place at other universities where you mostly study with people from your own country.

Forth, I set a high value on studying in English. Partly because I simply enjoy speaking English but mostly because I would like to use what I have learned while travelling around Australia. Additionally, I think that studying in English is of great advantage compared to studying in your mother tongue. As I already mentioned I seek to work abroad and good knowledge of English as the lingua franca is of unmeasurable value (the whole sentence..first is good knowledge right, second is "lingua franca" a common expression, third unmeasurable value in this context..right or wrong?). So far, I participated in two student exchange programs which led me to Poole/England in 2002 and to Franklin/Wisconsin in 2004. In Poole I attended the Eagle School Junior Vacation Program. Furthermore I worked in Australia among “true Australians” on a camel farm and completed an Intensive General English Program at the Embassy CES in Sydney.

I thank you in advance for your kind attention to my letter and I hope to meet you in the near future.

Sincerely,

And one general question: Personally, I would use "studying at the University College Maastricht" but on the website the always say "studying at University College Maastricht"..do you need an article?

Thanks for ur help..if you find any other mistakes, please do not hesitate to correct these as well ;-)

Anonymous · Answer

Fourth, not forth?

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