Motivation Letter

Writing the best possible motivation letter is an important step in the application procedure - it is the basis on which the organising groups select their participants! There are no perfect templates or instructions on how to write your motivation letter for a BEST course - every student is unique, and this should be reflected in this letter! However, there are some general tips and hints that might be useful, and might help you in getting accepted more easily!

First of all - when writing a motivation letter, do keep in mind that it is going to be read by students, just like you. They get many applications from which they have to choose - and the only tool they have to choose is the student's motivation letters. It might be that the organisers have to read a few hundred motivation letters, so to attract their attention, try to be creative and funny.

Do not write a formal letter, do not start it with "Dear Madam or Sir", and importantly, do not make it look like a CV - do not state all the schools you visited, all the jobs you did during your life, etc.. write an interesting letter in prose style!

In general, your motivation letter should focus on the following parts:

• Something about yourself - what you study, what you do in your life, what are your hobbies, sports you do, maybe what languages you speak...
  BEST courses are always a lot of fun, so the organisers should know that you are a funny person!
• Why you want to go abroad, and why you want to go to a BEST summer/winter/spring course!
  It is important for the organisers to have internationally minded, open persons - the course does not consist only of the academic program!
• Why you want to go to especially THIS event you're applying for: why is the topic attractive, why might the knowledge you can gain there help you (in your studies, in your future career...) - the event does neither consist of only the social part, so let the organisers know that you are interested in the course as well!!!
• Sometimes, it is needed to tell the organisers that you have a sufficient knowledge of the topic - so let them know that and how you do! To find out what is expected - read the course information on the webpages carefully, as probably there are some hints telling you which kind of participant are expected to apply!
• Be careful, and send the appropriate letter to the appropriate place (don't mix them if you apply to more than one course!)
• Don't let the letter be too short or too long – One, or half of an A4 page is just enough to get the organisers notice you. If the letter is too long, they might not want to read it. But if it's too short, they will think that you are not interested enough in the course!
• Of course, the letter has to be written in English ;-)

These are just some general hints - take the ones you want, leave the ones you don't like, but in any case, add your own imagination and style, be creative, and you'll have your motivation letter to go on a BEST course!

Limitations

To give other people also a chance to enjoy BEST, we have the following limitations:

• You can apply to at most 3 BEST Courses within the same season, except for Events on Education and Leisure Events.
• You can only visit one of the BEST Courses you applied within the same season, except for Events on Education and Leisure Events
• You can participate at most 3 BEST Courses in your life

If you have your three courses already, why not join BEST and go as a co-organizer ?