PhD - Letter of Intent

[gluegun]

I have to write a letter of intent for my graduate school application. Has anybody ever written one of those before? Any suggestions?

[lynseymay]

Yup I wrote one when I applied to the University of Hawaii. It was a difficult essay because I had to convey to them that although I lacked a background in meteorology, I had a degree in Computer Science which I had hoped to use in conjunction with a masters degree in computer science, specifically I wanted to do computer modeling. The funny part, is that I think the essay is what really got me into the school as there was a professor doing the exact thing looking or someone with my background and I was offered a research assistantship, which I turned down...long story and too depressed to talk about :( But yes spend quality time on the essay as it can really set up apart from other applicants.

[gluegun]

Shit. It is due day after tomorrow and I'm just starting. I kind of assumed the letter of intent is just a formality and they are more interested in transcripts and test scores. Now I'm worried.

[anaphora]

These letters are often used as a tiebreaker between students with comparable numbers and backgrounds.

[lynseymay]

well don't stress yourself out about, sorry :( I think it depends on the school and how much they way your essay. Obviously in my case it carried heavy weight as I didn't have a background in meteorology. But if you had a good GPA and good letters of recommendation you should be fine :)