Writing a Letter to Admissions Counselor/Dean of Admissions

Acticore · April 13, 2011, 5:46pm

I’m writing a to my admissions counselor (I know his name), and I was wondering how to format the letter. I’ll probably stick to the typical block form business letter, though I might use an indented form if the block form looks too impersonal and stiff. What I’d like to know is how to set up the heading for the letter. The format I’m going with now is this:

Dear <name>,</name>

Sincerely,

How should I tweak this to fit a format for a college admissions letter? Right now I have this:

<name of=“” recipient=“”>
Assistant Director of Admissions
<something needs=“” to=“” go=“” here=“”>
<street address=“”>
<city>, <state> <zip code=“”></zip></state></city></street></something></name>

Dear <do i=“” use=“” his=“” her=“” first=“” name?=“” is=“” that=“” too=“” personal?=“”>,</do>

Since this is going to an admissions office, and not a company, I can’t simply list the person’s position followed by a comma and the company name, then the street and state information. There’s his/her position, then the the office of admissions, the building it’s in, the school name, the street the school is at, etc. When I put all of that in, it feels too crammed. What do you guys recommend I do? Does this format look ok?

(fake names for demonstration)

13 Mystery Street
Magic Town, Rhode Island 01234

April 13, 2011

Bob L. Smith
Assistant Director of Admissions
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Johnson Center
University of Hopes and Dreams
107 Institute Road
Dream Town, NY 04321

Dear Bob (maybe Dear Mr. Smith, or Dear Mr. Bob Smith),

I feel like there’s too much crammed into the block and it’s going to take up too much space. I could be wrong though. Should I trim it down to something like this, or is this a poor format:

Bob L. Smith
Assistant Director of Admissions, UHD
107 Institute Road
Dream Town, NY 04321

or

Bob L. Smith
Assistant Director of Admissions, UHD
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Johnson Center
107 Institute Road
Dream Town, NY 04321

I rarely write letters of this form, so I’m no sure what’s considered professional enough for an admissions officer or dean of admissions. Sorry this ended up being so long. I’m really anal retentive about having things look professional in circumstances like this. Thanks for any help.

Acticore · April 13, 2011, 5:48pm

Oh, and what’s considered standard for spacing after the “Sincerely,” line?

stradmom · April 13, 2011, 6:00pm

Definitely not the first name. “Mr Smith” would be an appropriate salutation.

A Couple of spaces after the Sincerely is fine.

If the address block is long, it’s long. Nothing you can do about it. If you’re responding to a letter from the admissions office, you could mimic whatever format they used in their letter.

Your word processing program should have some sample letter formats under the file tab.

Acticore · April 13, 2011, 6:20pm

Thank you very much for your help. I have one more question I forgot to ask before. After writing “Sincerely, <down a=”" few=“” lines=“”> First name Last name," should I leave it at that, or add more information about myself? I know professors and office staff typically write their title and the institution they work for, but because I’m I student I don’t know what’s appropriate. I could write my major and the institution name, but I feel like that should be left for people with higher authority, and that writing that would seem unprofessional since I’m still just a student.</down>

stradmom · April 13, 2011, 8:34pm

Just your name should be fine. After all, you’ll probably mention information about yourself in the letter, so they’ll have that. Good luck!

Acticore · April 14, 2011, 3:40am

Thank you.

ingerp · April 14, 2011, 10:47am

Date should be indented approximately half-way across the page.

Just the name/address of person you’re sending it to.

Then the “Dear Mr. XXX” line, followed either by colon or comma (less formal).

Body of letter.

“Sincerely,” should be indented to line up under date.

Skip five lines for your signature.

Your typed name, indented to line up under date and “Sincerely”.

You can put your address and phone number(s) under your typed name.

Writing a Letter to Admissions Counselor/Dean of Admissions

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