Guidelines for Writing Your Letter to the Admissions Committee

Directions: The following instruction contains 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 to the 

Admissions Committee. 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 to which degree program you are applying 

as well as the specialization you wish to pursue within that degree program.

Content: There are 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 under the section headings.

• Personal/Professional Goals 

o Why you are 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 must 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 (e.g., study abroad, unique work or research 

experience) that influenced your choice of graduate program/specialization.

o Explain any inconsistencies in academic record or work experience. If your GPA is 

not what you would have liked, explain special 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 that 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, you should indicate this. You can also address any cultural knowledge or experiences you may have acquired that may better prepare you for the 

field.

• Personal Qualities

o Include in this section personal qualities (e.g., interpersonal skills, team work skills, 

etc.) you possess that you believe will contribute to your success in your field and 

graduate study.

• Why Walden?

o Indicate why Walden would be a good match for you and your future goals.

o What interested you about Walden (this could include courses, faculty, and / or 

research projects and facilities)?

o Why are you interested in an online program? 

• Reasons 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.