Applying for MSc in Finance Program in the National University of Singapore

A Letter of Motivation for MSc of Finance program in NUS

Hi. I would really appreciate your feedback for my letter of motivation. The program does not require candidates for work experience, in fact, candidates with more than 2 years experience are encouraged to apply to different program. Therefore, I emphasized more on academic matters. Max words are 500 so I hope I've utilized it well. Thank you in advance.

Dear Sir/Madam,

In this letter, I would like to express my interest in applying for MSc in Finance Program in the National University of Singapore. With my strong academic and non-academic background, I believe that I fulfill your criteria for a candidate.

I graduated from X in Financial Management major, which initially introduced me to the world of finance and business and instilled a desire in me to build a career in this industry. My goal is to work in private equity, as the thought of determining potential companies to invest in and witness their profitability growth over time really appeals to me. To achieve that, I am particularly eager to learn deeper about value investing and corporate finance.

I chose NUS because first, it is ranked 17th by QS World University Rankings 2018 for Accounting and Finance, thus making it internationally recognized for its academic teachings quality. Second, it is because the MSc in Finance program offers a thorough curriculum in finance and there is also a precious opportunity to gain internship experience that will be crucial in preparing me for professional environment. Furthermore, Singapore is a perfect place to study about finance because it is currently on its way to become the leading global financial hub in Asia. The global exposure will create unlimited opportunities for me to expand my career.

For my bachelor degree, I have taken several courses that enable me to possess enough basic skill that is relevant and will be helpful for my Master's degree endeavor, particularly, the course of Financial Management, Corporate Finance, and Business Risk & Venture Capital. Not only do they provided me the foundation of financial skill, they also introduced me to sheer excitement in playing with numbers. Through these courses, I discovered more about my mathematical and problem-solving abilities and it helped me be more certain that I wanted my future career to involve working with numbers.

In college, apart from studying activities, I enjoyed doing voluntary works in my spare time. I joined a community development organization which focuses on education and business development in rural areas. These activities helped me to hone my social and teamwork skill, as well as the capability to manage my time effectively to pursue my academic goals at the same time and it did not hinder me to graduate with cum laude designation.

Finally, I understand that thriving in finance industry is not an easy feat without preparation. Therefore, besides arming myself academically with a Master's degree, I also try to learn more through other things. I have been engaging myself in stock trading for three years now and getting precious lessons from it. I am also enrolled in CFA program and my CFA Level 1 exam is scheduled this June. I have been preparing for it since last year so I am confident I can pass.

Thank you for considering my application and I really look forward to joining your program.

Laras, the problem with your presentation is that the motivation aspect of your presentation is not strong enough. The reviewer will not be interested in your academic accomplishments as those represent the personal application essay information, it does not relate to the motivation in an appropriate manner. While this masters degree does not require the minimum 2 work experience, the motivation would have been made stronger if you had used an internship experience as one of the motivating factors for the essay. Remember, the motivation represents the "reason" why you feel that your future career will benefit from this early training. Most students who apply for non work experience related programs almost always use their internship experience instead of highlighting their academics. That is because the academics do not represent the skills that you have developed in an actual workplace which will tell the reviewer that you can handle the course requirements. So, no work experience is alright provided you have internship experience to help support your application.

In addition to that, the information as to why you chose the university is based on cookie cutter information. Rather than telling the reviewer information he already knows about the university, you should be looking into the program itself that you will be enrolling in and from there, picking out the personal motivating factors for your choice. These should be related to your academic and career goals as a masters student. What work skills do you hope to develop through this program? Which courses address that? How do you see the course helping you in the future? Those are the motivating factors for the choice of university.

It would be better, in my opinion, if you wrote a totally new essay to go with your application instead so that the focus of the essay will be more precise. Don't represent irrelevant information regarding your academics. It doesn't help the essay represent your motivating factor.