My Letter of motivation, please help me ^^

Hey guys!
Its the first time I wrote such a letter, so could anyone please read it through and tell me what to improve?
That would be great!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Dear Madame/Sir,

I am writing to apply for the Bachelor's degree programme in XXX.

I did my A-Levels in July 2007 in a German grammar school, XXX, in XXX, a town near the Dutch border. My main subjects focused on Mathematics and English. Furthermore, I took part in a two year politics course. In this period I learnt basic knowledge such as how supply and demand form the equilibrium price, Keynesian policy, monetarism and duties of the ECB, which provoked my strong interest in economy.

As I live less than an hour away from XXX I seized the opportunity to visit the Open Day at XXX in spring 2006. When I came back home that evening I was certain that XXX is the right university for me. There are several reasons why I prefer XXX compared to German universities.

In the first place, the whole program is taught in English, which is in my opinion necessary when aiming at an international career. Secondly, as I am an open-minded person, I like the international character of XXX. Furthermore, the opportunity to study abroad and choose from a wide range of partner universities all over the globe make it even more interesting for me to study in XXX. Moreover, I appreciate the small classrooms at XXX. When I was on the Open Day I was able to take part in a tutorial group simulation and I believe that XXX is an excellent way of learning.

Talking to former students at your university and knowing about the brilliant reputation your faculty is enjoying, I am convinced I will be well-prepared for my future career. Not only by learning theories but also by gaining analytical and practical skills, improving my proficiency in English and studying in an international environment.

After school I went to for seven months for several reasons:
It was important for me not to directly go to university after school, but to do something else apart from studying. Going to the other side of the globe for more than half a year, working and traveling my way, experiencing something new and meet different people made me more self-sufficient, open-minded and not at least more motivated to study than I was ever before. I lived and worked with lots of people from nearly every continent, which assured me of the fact that I will do well in an international environment such as XXX.


Thank you very much for considering my application