How to compose a stand-out "letter of interest"

Nurse_Thema · Jul 21, 2013

I'm applying for the LPN to bridge program at my school and i'm having the same problem:barefoot:....I'm stuck they asked for a short essay on why I want to become an RN and why i choose this school. I now what i want to say. It's just starting the essay ugh

Panasonic · Jul 21, 2013

Hi! Here is my advice, for what it's worth...

I recently started searching for help on a graduate school letter of interest. Some of the helpful tips I found are:

For starters, please do not state those ridiculous lines like "I've always wanted to help people" or "I've wanted to be a nurse ever since I was a little girl" etc.

-focus on the future, not the past. ("This program will prepare me to contribute to professional nursing and be a stepping stone to my ultimate goal of being an NP, CNM" whatever...

-talk about your goals specifically and how you have shown you can overcome diversity... something like, "We had no car and I walked to school at 6:00am every day to meet my tutor..." nothing sappy and nothing terribly long.

-Keep it Truthful!!! the stuff you write in this letter might be brought up if you have a face-to-face interview. you don't want to be scrambling in your mind "crap! what did I make up??"

-keep it to the point.

-don't get ridiculous on vocabulary. This is not the time to prove you know what "plethora" means or that people describe you as "gregarious." The people you are writing to want to know you can communicate effectively, not pompously.

-don't use cliché's ("it's my calling" or "I just love people" or "nurses have the kindest hearts")

-relate to the mission or vision of the program (you can usually find these statements on the school's website)

-have someone proofread it. someone you trust, as this can be kind of embarrassing, and someone who writes as well as, or better, than you. don't have your neighbor proofread it when you've read some of her stuff and know it to be junior-high level.

-they only know what you tell them, so don't add negatives. if you have some bumps on your transcripts and you feel the need to address them, do so briefly and focus on how you bounced back or are making up for it. if there is a legitimate reason for a bad semester, say so. "my mom had cancer" "I ended a 7 year relationship" etc.

-keep it professional, avoid cute-ness but be polite. they want to read the letter and have a good idea that you will be a committed student, that you are serious about this, that you will probably not drop out, that you know how to organize ideas and communicate them effectively in written form, and that you are mature.

-don't over analyze the letter, but remember it is about the only part of the application packet that you have control over.

-last of all, KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid

you can do this! Good Luck!!