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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, how can i effectively express my motivation for higher education in my college essay.

I need to start working on my college essay and I'm seriously pondering over how to convey my true motivation for wanting a college education. It’s more than just getting a degree for me. How do I put this passion into words without sounding cliché?

I completely understand your desire to express your genuine passion for higher education in a way that stands out. It's important to show the admissions committee what drives you, and how your experiences have shaped your decision to pursue college education. To avoid clichés, focus on specific experiences or moments in your life that ignited your enthusiasm for learning. For example, you could write about a project or subject that you explored on your own time and how that deepened your interest in a certain field.

Additionally, you could talk about mentors or role models who have influenced your academic journey, or how particular challenges have strengthened your commitment to further education. Remember to be reflective and introspective; focus on your personal growth and development. It's not about grand statements, but about showing how your unique story connects to your educational aspirations. Tie these experiences back to your motivation for seeking a higher education, highlighting how college is a necessary and meaningful next step for you. By doing so, you'll be able to craft an essay that is both compelling and personal, clearly demonstrating your passion to the admissions committee.

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How to Write Motivation Letter for University with Examples

Table of Contents

University applications can be stressful and daunting, but one of the most important parts of the process is writing a motivation letter that stands out from the rest. A motivation letter is a crucial part of your application that can make or break your chances of getting accepted. It gives you the opportunity to showcase your personality, skills, and passion for the subject you are applying for. Crafting a perfect motivation letter that can impress the admission committee can be challenging, but with the right guidance, you can create a letter that will put you ahead of the competition. In this blog post, we’ll provide you with some tips and tricks on how to write an impressive motivation letter that will help you achieve your goals and get accepted into your dream university.

Purpose of a Motivation Letter:

Researching the university and program requirements:.

Before diving into crafting your motivation letter for university, it is crucial to thoroughly research the specific requirements of the university and program you are applying to. Each educational institution has its own unique values, goals, and academic standards that they look for in prospective students. Start by exploring the university’s official website to gather information about their mission statement, academic programs, faculty members, research opportunities, and any special initiatives they may have. Understanding the university’s educational philosophy and culture will help you tailor your motivation letter to demonstrate how you align with their values and goals. Additionally, delve into the specific requirements of the program you are applying to. Pay close attention to the course curriculum, research areas, and any specific skills or qualities they are seeking in applicants. Highlighting how your academic background, skills, and personal experiences align with the program’s requirements will make your motivation letter stand out. By conducting thorough research on the university and program requirements, you will be able to customize your motivation letter to showcase your genuine interest in the institution and demonstrate why you are a strong candidate for admission.

Structuring Your Motivation Letter Effectively:

Crafting a compelling opening paragraph:.

Crafting a compelling opening paragraph is crucial when writing a motivation letter for university. This is your opportunity to grab the reader’s attention and make a strong first impression. Start with a hook that immediately captures the reader’s interest and highlights your passion for the field of study you are applying for. Consider sharing a personal anecdote, a thought-provoking quote, or a brief but impactful story that illustrates your motivation and dedication. Additionally, clearly state your purpose for writing the letter and express your enthusiasm for the university and program you are applying to. Show that you have done your research and understand why this particular institution is the perfect fit for your academic and career goals. By setting a positive and engaging tone from the very beginning, you will draw the reader in and set the stage for a compelling and persuasive motivation letter.

Highlighting Your Achievements and Qualifications:

Demonstrating your passion and interest in the field of study:.

When crafting a motivation letter for university, one of the key elements to focus on is demonstrating your passion and interest in the field of study. Admissions officers are looking for candidates who are genuinely enthusiastic about the subject they wish to pursue. Begin by sharing personal anecdotes or experiences that have shaped your interest in the field. Whether it’s a childhood fascination, a transformative moment, or a recent discovery, highlighting the roots of your passion can make your motivation letter more compelling and authentic. Moreover, it’s essential to showcase your knowledge of the field. Discuss any relevant coursework, projects, or extracurricular activities that have deepened your understanding and commitment to the subject. Demonstrating that you have taken proactive steps to engage with the field beyond the classroom can set you apart as a dedicated and motivated applicant. Lastly, don’t forget to tie your passion back to your future goals and aspirations. Explain how pursuing this field of study aligns with your long-term career objectives and personal growth. By illustrating a clear connection between your passion, academic pursuits, and future plans, you can convey a sense of purpose and determination that resonates with admissions committees.

Personalizing Your Motivation Letter for Each University:

Showcasing your unique qualities and experiences:.

Additionally, emphasize any relevant achievements, extracurricular activities, or volunteer work that reflect your character and commitment to your chosen field of study. By painting a vivid picture of who you are and what drives you, you can make a compelling case for why you are a perfect fit for the university and the program you are applying to.

Remember, the goal is not just to list your accomplishments, but to weave them into a narrative that conveys your authentic self and your aspirations for the future. This personal touch will help your motivation letter resonate with the admissions committee and increase your chances of securing a spot at the university of your dreams.

Concluding With a Strong and Memorable Ending:

Editing and proofreading your motivation letter:.

Editing and proofreading your motivation letter is a critical step in ensuring its effectiveness. After you have poured your thoughts and experiences onto the page, it’s time to refine your message and ensure it is polished to perfection.

Final Tips for Writing an Impressive Motivation Letter:

When it comes to crafting an impressive motivation letter for university, the final tips can make all the difference in showcasing your unique qualities and aspirations. Firstly, ensure that your letter is personalized and tailored to the specific university and program you are applying to. Generic letters can often be spotted a mile away and may not make a lasting impression on the admissions committee. Secondly, be sure to highlight your passion and genuine interest in the field of study. Admissions officers are looking for candidates who are enthusiastic about their chosen subject and can demonstrate a clear motivation for pursuing further education in that area. Moreover, it is crucial to showcase your relevant experiences, skills, and achievements that set you apart from other applicants. Provide specific examples that illustrate your capabilities and how they align with the program’s objectives and requirements. Lastly, remember to proofread your motivation letter carefully to ensure there are no errors in grammar, spelling, or punctuation. A well-written and polished letter demonstrates your attention to detail and professionalism, which can leave a positive impression on the admissions committee. By incorporating these final tips into your motivation letter, you can enhance its overall impact and increase your chances of standing out as a strong candidate for admission to the university of your choice.

Below Are the Some Examples:

Having a keen interest in [Field of Study], as demonstrated by my academic achievements and involvement in extracurricular activities, I have diligently endeavored to establish a firm base of knowledge in this discipline. In addition, I have participated in internships, research programs, and community initiatives to acquire practical experience and advance my comprehension of how [Field of Study] impacts real-world challenges.. I am confident that the [Name of Program] program can provide me with an opportunity to enhance my skills and knowledge in [Field of Study]. The program’s curriculum is designed to foster interdisciplinary education, which I am excited to explore. Additionally, the program’s emphasis on experiential learning appeals to me as it can allow me to apply my theoretical knowledge to practical situations.

I am confident that [Name of University] is the right fit for me to achieve my academic and personal objectives. The University’s dedication to academic excellence, engagement, and diversity resonates with my values and ambitions. What appeals to me the most is the program’s interdisciplinary curriculum, which allows me to delve into the overlap of [Field of Study] with other disciplines and gain a holistic understanding of how to tackle practical challenges.

Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to express my desire to pursue [Degree] in [Field of Study] at [Name of University]. I have completed my undergraduate studies in [Subject Area] and am eager to explore [Field of Study] further through the [Name of Program] program. After careful consideration, I have concluded that [Name of University] aligns with my academic and personal aspirations. I am impressed by the University’s reputation for academic excellence, research innovation, and active involvement in research. The interdisciplinary approach to learning and customizable curriculum offered by the program is particularly attractive to me as they can help me to achieve my specific academic and personal goals.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the significance of a well-crafted motivation letter cannot be overstated. It serves as a powerful tool for students to showcase their unique strengths, aspirations, and passion for their chosen field of study. A compelling motivation letter has the potential to set you apart from other applicants and leave a lasting impression on the admissions committee. By investing time and effort into writing a personalized and impactful motivation letter, you demonstrate your commitment, dedication, and enthusiasm for your academic pursuits. This document allows you to convey your story, goals, and reasons why you are a perfect fit for the university or program you are applying to. Ultimately, a well-written motivation letter can open doors to new opportunities, academic excellence, and personal growth. It is a reflection of your character, values, and potential contributions to the academic community. Therefore, approach the crafting of your motivation letter with care, attention to detail, and a genuine desire to make a positive impact. Your motivation letter is your voice – let it resonate with authenticity and conviction as you embark on your journey towards academic success.

Example of internship report, 7 unique sample thank you letter to therapist, 11 attractive self introduction examples.

How to write a Motivation Letter for University (Sample)

is usually a straightforward process. Yet, aspiring students must be extra careful in every step and do the required paperwork correctly and meticulously, especially when they are expected to provide additional material, which they must write themselves.

For example, most educational institutions expect candidates to submit more than just basic information about their achievements, degrees, grades and . Not to make it harder for them, but out of a necessity that seems inevitable. Evaluating numerous applicants with similar qualifications is a laborious process. So, universities ask potential students to differentiate themselves in some way. That's usually done by providing their honest, personal take on why they should be admitted and demonstrating their drive to excel in their studies.

That's called a , and if written well, it could be the decisive factor in an applicant's admission.

A motivation letter is a brief (usually one-page long) letter to the selection committee. In it, candidates have to present their and demonstrate within its system.

In a few words, universities want aspiring members of their student body to be more than confident of their choice and fully motivated to make the most out of this opportunity. Of course, putting it into words is not enough. Applicants have to support their statements with valid arguments, exhibit a deep understanding of their preferred institution, and show they have a plan for their future.

Submitting a good CV is the first step to drawing attention to your application. But matching your list of qualifications to your personality, dreams, and aspirations makes you stand out in the eyes of your evaluators.

As mentioned above, university officials often have to go through several CVs that may not have distinct differences (especially when applicants are fresh out of high school). So, there aren't enough grounds for picking one over the others. That is when a can separate you from the lot by persuading the committee of your conviction, work ethic, and desire to succeed.

In a way, writing a motivation letter is like standing in front of your evaluators and telling them confidently that you would be a perfect fit for their institution because:

Now, imagine every candidate did just that. Then, for your presentation to make a difference, you’d have to:

Let’s see how you can do that in written form with a motivation letter.

Writing a near-perfect motivation letter is critical to a university candidate's success, so it cannot be taken lightly. It's not just a matter of finding a nice , filling in your information, and calling it a day, neither a secondary task to postpone until the last minute.

In many cases, your is your application’s most . That's why you must start writing it the moment you decide which program to apply to. And you must make it as distinct as possible without diverging from the general guidelines and best practices.

If you're considering applying to a university in Germany, make sure to check out our specialized !

Before we continue our guide on how to write a good motivation letter, here's some to keep in mind beforehand.

Nobody knows how to write a motivation letter inherently, and neither should you. The best way to is by checking out what other candidates have written in the past, or some of the examples found on educational or university websites. That way, you will get a feel of the common elements and the variations which are generally acceptable.

If you're going to demonstrate why you picked that particular school and program and how you will fit in it and blossom, then you must really . Thus, you must sink your teeth into the school's academic and campus life and picture yourself learning the ropes, making yourself at home, and giving it your best every single day. Then paint that picture in words, so your evaluators can also see it when they read your motivation letter.

Outlines are great for organizing your thoughts and content before writing your first motivation letter draft. For example, you can (i.e., intro, body, conclusion), then note down what you need to answer with each one and add any content that might make it into the final draft. The goal here is to avoid too many rewrites and focus on what matters most from the very first line of text.

When asked to write a personal account of anything, it may be tempting to write more candidly than necessary. Although it's crucial to instill your in your motivation letter, you still must adhere to some basic rules regarding your and tone. To put it roughly, it helps your readers focus on your goals if you don't ramble aimlessly or diverge attention with bits of untimely humor. So, don't be afraid to be yourself but bring forth your most focused version.

As we said earlier, you cannot treat your motivation letter like a thankless chore. You must give it your best and even study a bit to find out how to reach the best possible outcome. And after you write it, don't be afraid to or it as many times as needed. In the end, you must be confident that you did your best, no matter the results. Also, don't forget to your motivation letter thoroughly because sending it with a typo is plain self-sabotage.

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First and foremost, a motivation letter is meant to be read. Therefore, it must be brief, simple, polite, and . If you want your point to be heard loud and clear, then your motivation letter must be reader-friendly and concise.

Starting from the structure, you must keep it and easy to navigate from section to section. For example, your motivation letter could consist of just:

As for the , it depends on what the letter of motivation is for. More specifically, a letter for a bachelor's degree is different from a motivation letter for a master's or a PhD. That's because there are other criteria for admission to a post-graduate program and a broader academic background for the candidate to present for evaluation.

To give you a point of reference, here's a for applying to a bachelor's program:

*Dear Sir or Madam,

With this letter, I would like to express my interest in studying for a bachelor's in X at the University of X.

I chose this program because it matches my academic strengths in my final years at X High School. During that time, I showed particular interest and excelled in X, Y, and Z, getting my highest marks and many praises from my teachers. A few months before graduating, I researched all possible academic paths based on my strongest subjects and eventually decided to study X. My subsequent research into the available X programs led me to apply to the institution you represent.

My decision was finalized after learning more about the University of X and its educational approach, campus life, internship programs, and post-graduate options. I gave it a lot of thought, and I believe it's the best environment for me to study what I'm passionate about and enjoy a rewarding academic and social life on the way. I especially look forward to participating in the various educational and recreational activities and becoming part of the U of X culture and community.

Also, I'm confident that the University of X has an excellent system for supporting my future plans. Whether I decide to continue my studies or start my career, I found there are many research-oriented courses and diverse internship opportunities to help me prepare for succeeding in my next endeavor. To me, this degree is the beginning of a long journey, and I'm eager to make it the basis for building a fruitful life and career.

Thank you for considering my application. I look forward to your positive response.

Yours faithfully,
X*

The above motivation letter includes some for drawing positive attention to your candidacy. Feel free to add your own or make the tone and style a bit more personal. Just remember to always keep the final draft lean and readable.

When applying to a university, you cannot rely on your CV alone, no matter how bulked up it is. Since you don't know who you're competing against, you simply have to give your best at everything that is required of you.

The motivation letter is an excellent medium for and making a solid case for getting their thumbs up. That's why you have to put in the extra work and be sure to:

What do you say? Do you feel ready to write a great and get into the university of your dreams with flying colors?

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Essays on Motivation

🌟 the importance of writing a motivation essay 📝.

Motivation is like that extra sprinkle of magic dust that gives us the boost we need to achieve our goals and dreams ✨✨. It's the driving force behind our actions and the fuel that keeps us going when things get tough. Writing an essay about motivation allows us to delve deeper into this fascinating topic and explore its various aspects. So, why not grab your pen (or keyboard) and let's dive into the world of motivation! 💪📚

🔍 Choosing the Perfect Motivation Essay Topic 🤔

When it comes to choosing a topic for your motivation essay, there are a few things to consider. First, think about what aspect of motivation you find most intriguing. Is it personal motivation, motivation in the workplace, or maybe the psychology behind motivation? Once you have a general idea, narrow it down further to a specific angle that interests you the most.

💡 Motivation Argumentative Essay 💪📝

An argumentative essay on motivation requires you to take a stance and provide evidence to support your viewpoint. Here are ten exciting topics to get those creative juices flowing:

The role of intrinsic motivation in academic success
The impact of extrinsic rewards on employee motivation
Does social media affect motivation levels in teenagers?
The connection between motivation and self-esteem
How does motivation differ between genders?
The influence of music on motivation levels
Does money truly motivate people in the workplace?
The effects of positive reinforcement on motivation
The link between motivation and mental health
How does goal-setting impact motivation?

🌪️ Motivation Cause and Effect Essay 📝

In a cause and effect essay, you explore the reasons behind certain motivations and their outcomes. Here are ten thought-provoking topics to consider:

The causes and effects of procrastination on motivation
How does a lack of motivation impact academic performance?
The relationship between motivation and success in sports
The effects of parental motivation on children's achievements
How does motivation affect mental well-being?
The causes and effects of burnout on motivation levels
The impact of motivation on work-life balance
How does motivation affect creativity and innovation?
The causes and effects of peer pressure on motivation
The relationship between motivation and goal attainment

💬 Motivation Opinion Essay 💭📝

In an opinion essay, you express your personal thoughts and beliefs about motivation. Here are ten intriguing topics to spark your imagination:

Is self-motivation more effective than external motivation?
Are rewards a necessary form of motivation?
Should schools focus more on intrinsic motivation?
The role of motivation in achieving work-life balance
Is motivation a learned behavior or innate?
The impact of motivation on personal growth and development
Does motivation play a significant role in overcoming obstacles?
Is fear an effective motivator?
The role of motivation in maintaining a healthy lifestyle
Can motivation be sustained in the long term?

📚 Motivation Informative Essay 🧠📝

An informative essay on motivation aims to educate and provide valuable insights. Here are ten fascinating topics to explore:

The psychology behind motivation and its theories
How to stay motivated in challenging times
The impact of motivation on personal and professional success
Motivation techniques for achieving fitness goals
The role of motivation in leadership and management
Motivation in the context of mental health and well-being
The history of motivation research and key figures
Motivation strategies for students and educators
Motivation and its connection to creativity and innovation
Motivation in different cultural and societal contexts

📜 Thesis Statement Examples 📜

Here are a few thesis statement examples to inspire your motivation essay:

1. "Motivation, whether intrinsic or extrinsic, plays a pivotal role in driving individuals towards achieving their goals and aspirations."
2. "This essay explores the multifaceted nature of motivation, examining its psychological underpinnings, societal influences, and practical applications."
3. "In a world filled with challenges and opportunities, understanding the mechanisms of motivation empowers individuals to overcome obstacles and reach new heights of success."

📝 Introduction Paragraph Examples 📝

Here are some introduction paragraph examples for your motivation essay:

1. "Motivation is the driving force behind human actions, the invisible hand that propels us toward our goals. It is the spark that ignites the fire of determination within us, pushing us to overcome obstacles and realize our dreams."
2. "In a world where challenges often outnumber opportunities, motivation serves as the compass guiding us through life's intricate maze. It is the unwavering belief in our abilities and the fuel that keeps our ambitions burning bright."
3. "Picture a world without motivation—a world where dreams remain unfulfilled, talents remain hidden, and aspirations remain dormant. Fortunately, we do not live in such a world, and this essay delves into the profound impact of motivation on human lives."

🔚 Conclusion Paragraph Examples 📝

Here are some conclusion paragraph examples for your motivation essay:

1. "As we conclude this journey through the realm of motivation, let us remember that it is the driving force behind our accomplishments, the cornerstone of our achievements. With unwavering motivation, we can surmount any obstacle and turn our aspirations into reality."
2. "In the grand tapestry of human existence, motivation weaves the threads of determination, perseverance, and success. This essay's culmination serves as a testament to the enduring power of motivation and its ability to shape our destinies."
3. "As we bid farewell to this exploration of motivation, let us carry forward the knowledge that motivation is not just a concept but a potent force that propels us toward greatness. With motivation as our guide, we can continue to chase our dreams and conquer new horizons."

John Proctor’s Motivation in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible

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Motivation Letter (bachelor of Business Administration)

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My Letter of Motivation: Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Assessment of my motivation and values, overview of the motivational theories for business, autonomy, mastery, and purpose: motivation, applying work motivation theories to business situations, drive-reduction theory and motivation, the impact of motivation and affect on judgement, my motivation to study biomedical engineering in the netherlands, research of the theories of motivation: expectancy theory and the equity theory, understanding of my personal motivation, the motivation letter for you, herzberg two-factor theory of motivation, motivation in different aspects of our lives, the importance of motivation in human resource management, my motivation to get a bachelor degree in nursing, my potential and motivation to excel in the field of medicine, my motivational letter: mechanical engineering, motivation letter for computer science scholarship, effective management and motivation of employees, your motivation to do sports.

Motivation is what explains why people or animals initiate, continue or terminate a certain behavior at a particular time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-directed behavior.

There are four main tyoes of motivation: Intrinsic, extrinsic, unconscious, and conscious.

Theories articulating the content of motivation: Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Herzberg's two-factor theory, Alderfer's ERG theory, Self-Determination Theory, Drive theory.

Relevant topics

Growth Mindset
Procrastination

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Tips for Writing Your Motivational Statement and Essays

While it’s one of our favorite parts of the application reading experience, we know that writing essay components can be anxiety-inducing for applicants. As you start or continue your application , we hope you find this guidance on the motivational statement and essays helpful.

Motivational Statement

All students applying to the Master of Public Policy (MPP) , MA in Public Policy (MA) , MS in Computational Analysis and Public Policy (MSCAPP) , and MA in Public Policy with Certificate in Research Methods (MACRM) programs are required to submit a 300-word motivational statement answering the questions: Why policy? Why Harris? (Or a version of these questions more specific to your program).

Some suggestions as you are thinking about your answers to these questions:

Answer the prompt. Don’t worry about using precious space to introduce yourself—jump right into answering the question.

Write first, edit later. Get your ideas onto the page—whether that means bullet points, idea webs, or a journal entry. Don’t worry about crafting the perfect opener, meeting the word count, or checking grammar when you are first getting started.

Reflect. Think about the professional, personal, or academic experience that has inspired you.

Be specific. When answering Why Harris? , be specific to the University of Chicago and Harris. Analyze why certain programs, centers, classes, or professors made you want to apply here.

Optional Essay Questions

Although the Motivation Statement is required, the essay questions are optional. For all optional essay questions, we aren’t just interested in the “right answer,” but how you are thinking about and approaching these complex questions.

Students applying to the Master of Public Policy (MPP) program may pick any of the three questions below. Completing question three will allow you to be considered for Pearson fellowships open only to MPP students.

Students applying to the MA in Public Policy (MA) , MS in Computational Analysis and Public Policy (MSCAPP) , and MA in Public Policy with Certificate in Research Methods (MACRM) programs may choose to complete optional essays 1 and

Option 1: Challenge—Describe briefly the biggest challenge you have ever faced. How did you tackle it and what did you learn? (max 300 words)

Tip: In essay one, you may write about a personal, professional, or academic challenge when answering this question. Perhaps more than the challenge itself, we are interested in how you tackled the challenge, and what you learned in the process.

Option 2: Community—Where do you see yourself getting involved in the community during your time at Harris—either at the University of Chicago or in the city of Chicago? (max 300 words)

Tip: If you are answering essay two, please make sure to speak specifically to Harris or UChicago.

Option 3: Pearson—If you would like to be considered for The Pearson Fellowship , please answer the following: In reflecting on the complexities of past and present protracted global conflicts, please analyze what singular global conflict most puzzles you personally, and discuss why.

Tip: Please note that “global conflict” can refer to a range of conflicts (i.e. inter/intra state; those involving non-state actors, etc.) and a range of issues associated (i.e. refugee crises, religious conflict, gang violence, drug wars, domestic violence, etc.). Remember to consider: Is the conflict actually puzzling? For example, does it involve actors acting against their own best interest, or operating irrationally? And finally, for the purposes of this essay, you will not need to cite sources.

We hope you find these tips helpful as you move your application forward.

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6 Unique Tips for Writing a Brilliant Motivational Essay

5 unique tips to writing a brilliant motivational essay

Fortunately, in the contemporary world we live in, we can pursue have numerous education paths.

However, choosing college and career path is only half the battle.

The hard part is gaining admissions into the school of your dreams. Make no mistake: this is not an easy task. Most schools require not only outstanding grades, but also a thorough motivational essay explaining your motives for pursuing your chosen major at their institution.

This is the opportunity to stand out and show your character and ability to turn your education into a successful venture.

In the following article, we will give you some writing tips and practical advice on how to write a superb essay for college admissions and earn that acceptance letter.

1. Do your research

One of the most common mistakes people make when writing a motivational essay is creating a template piece for every college they apply to. This is a huge no-no, and here’s why: each academic establishment has its own agenda and preferences.

Some appreciate social initiatives and volunteering experience, some look for passion and determination to succeed, while others pay more attention to grades and test scores.

Try to research your chosen school as much as possible and write a unique essay accordingly. Sometimes colleges provide specific questions they want to see answered in your essay, so be sure to read the instructions carefully. Edit your work so the readers will feel the school’s spirit in your essay. It’s a good start to help your application stand out from the crowd.

2. Be personal

This part may surprise you: you don’t need to be an excellent writer. Sites like EduBirdie might save you some time, but they skip over the real reasons colleges want a motivational letter. Colleges want to get to know you — the person behind the application forms, documents, and numbers.

They want to see what your aspirations are, what you like to do, why you decided to pursue this particular path, and what you consider your strengths to be.

A generic, standard letter with no personality simply won’t. Don’t just repeat your application verbatim — embrace your life and interests and show off the real you! Try to present yourself in an informal way; don’t worry about formalities.

Let the university staff get to see your unique character and way of thinking; perhaps you can include a relevant joke or an anecdote from your life that is connected with your choice of profession, etc.

A strong personal approach goes a very long way here — trust us.

3. Drafts are important

First impressions matters. In the case of college applications, your first impression is in your motivational essay . Of course, you want to give a good first impression. Proper grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation are the key. This is why editing and revising your text is crucial.

Play around with word choice, ensure the paragraphs are clear and concise, and pay close attention to sentence structure. You can even use an Online Word Counter Tool to help you size up your draft properly.

Online programs like Grammarly are great for checking spelling and other possible issues in your writing. If the admission committee reads an essay with a clear sense of purpose, excellent grammar, and determination, they will see the applicant as a good fit because they understand the applicant’s goals and abilities. Don’t underestimate the power of proper styling and grammar.

4. Survey your essay

This may seem like an odd tip, but it can help with your essay quite a lot. If you’re unsure about the motivational essay you’ve written, or maybe you’re looking for ways to make it more memorable, try creating an online survey. You can put it out to the masses on social media, or even ask a few close friends to take a read and give you their thoughts.

Ask their opinion on your writing: what points are the strongest, what areas did you struggle, and how could you improve. This will provide you with real feedback to identify any issues you may have overlooked.

5. Get to the point

It may seem alluring to include every seemingly-relevant detail in your motivational essay. However, this can make the whole piece come across as vague and all over the place. Pick a couple of routes to follow, assess your best qualities, and decide what areas of your life and background you wish to include.

Don’t try to cram in every idea that crosses your mind; this will only clutter your essay! One good suggestion is to ask your friends and family to list your best characteristics, skills, and talents, then pick a few of most common to include in your essay.

6.Professional goals matter

While showing personality in your essay is essential, don’t forget to talk about your professional goals. Clearly state your motivation for choosing this career path and why you’re most suited for it. Explain why you are the best candidate for the program. Don’t overdo it by showing off or praising yourself too much.

Instead, talk about what personality traits will help you success, and where you plan on going with the degree you earn.

Remember, balance is the key to a good motivational essay; putting less information than needed is just as bad as putting too much. Getting too personal and informal will harm your application,but so will being too bland and official.

The secret is to maintain balance, and include only the points that matter. The most important advice is be yourself and be inspired.

For more great college tips, check out the other blogs on College Basics.

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9 Tips for Writing a Brilliant Motivational Essay

Whether you are a high school student caught in the crossroads of your educational journey or an undergraduate debating on a graduate degree, several steps must be taken, from choosing a college or master’s program to applying for your dream job.

On the other hand, choosing is the easy part; getting into the college of your choice is a different story. Most colleges and universities require students to have excellent grades and write a motivational essay describing why they want to pursue his\her desired major at their university.

Writing college motivational essays is a required part of any educational institution’s application process. Then again, some employers require job applicants to submit inspirational articles along with their resumes.

A motivational statement allows you to show off a little more of your personality and explain why you are qualified for the university course or job position in question. This is an opportunity to stand out and demonstrate your integrity and your ability to turn your knowledge into a successful career.

This article will teach you how to write a motivational essay that will help you get into your dream university or land your dream job.

Table of Contents

9 Tips to Write a Motivational Letter

There are a few things to keep in mind when writing inspirational statements to help you write a good paper. Many students struggle to find the motivation to write an article or are simply stumped when asked “What motivates you in life?”. Motivational papers are not as complicated as you may believe. To write a perfect inspiration paper, use the following tips:

1. Research the Institution to which you are applying

It is not in your best interest to simply copy and paste motivational essay examples or templates from the internet. The first step is to learn how merit-based admissions work at your preferred college. If you already have outstanding grades, you have to figure out what other aspects of your life could boost those grades.

Many universities, for example, seek students who have good grades, participate in extracurricular activities, have some volunteer experience, and are involved in social initiatives in school and their community.

Researching your preferred university will assist you in writing a tailored inspirational essay that will showcase all of your personality and goals. It’ll also broadcast how your social and volunteer work will continue to be a factor when you get into the university. Knowing about the university and including that information in your inspirational paper will be a breath of fresh air for the reader. It will give them the impression that you are confident in your decision.

Be sure to sprinkle some positivity and determination in your motivational statement.

2. Be Creative

I know this may seem obvious to most people but it is still critical. The first two or three sentences of your motivational letter are crucial to the reader. Remember that the person reading your inspirational statement has most likely read thousands of others before it. Keeping the reader’s attention early on will thus benefit you.

Assume your college motivation letter isn’t exciting and doesn’t hook the reader from the first sentence. The reader is likely to close the letter and decline your application at that point.

You want the first paragraph of your motivation essay to keep them guessing and interested in reading until the end. You can include a mysterious story about your motivations and leave the culmination until the end.

3. Get Personal in your Motivational Essay

Make your motivation letter specific to the employer or university to which you are applying. Your letter should reflect your distinct style and personality. Your employers or university are interested in getting to know you better and no one knows you better than yourself. So, don’t just look up some motivational essay examples and use them as your own. The inspiration article should include the things that make you tick, your passions, and more!

Many students prefer to entrust the writing of motivational letters to a professional writing service. However, I can assure you that this is a bad option because you should write the motivation essay yourself.

4. Adopt a Straightforward and Succinct Tone

The objective of a letter of motivation, as the name implies, is to demonstrate your motivation for attending college to the school board or the reasons why you deserve a job to an HR manager who will read it. Avoid using long phrases and, instead, get right to the point. Explain in simple terms what you’re looking for and what you have to offer. Concentrate on what is vital; the rest will be addressed later.

5. Clearly Explain your Motivation

Make it a point to convince the school board or recruiter that this is the right college or job for you. Hit the nail on the head as many times as possible. Demonstrate that this is, without a doubt, the best place for you. Make use of all of your persuasion skills.

If you’re a student who can’t seem to motivate yourself to write the letter, think of it more as your motivation for earning a degree paper. This way of thinking will make you come up with points that are straightforward for your motivational letter.

If you’re writing an inspirational paper to apply for a job position, make sure it includes all of the qualities listed in the job description. Explain how each of the qualities relates to you.

6. Share your Professional Goals

In your inspirational essay, don’t be afraid to put yourself in the future. Outline your career goals and how the university or job offer is a step in the right direction. Also, talk about what you’ve accomplished and what you’re proud of.

7. Find The Right Balance

Of course, you must present yourself in the best possible light and persuade the recruiter that you are the right person for the job but don’t be too smug. At the same time, don’t undervalue yourself or appear overly modest. Try to summarize your accomplishments but avoid bragging about them. Please keep it simple; don’t fill the entire page with your achievements; instead, choose the ones that are relevant to the university or job requirements.

8. Back up what you’re saying

Simply stating that you are organized or that you have a sense of responsibility is not enough. Avoid overused phrases and explain why you’re organized. In your inspirational letter, provide some examples. When writing your motivational paper, one approach is to write as if you were a narrator. Narrating allows you to see yourself through the eyes of another person, telling the story of your life and goals.

9. Ensure that your Essay is Grammatically Sound

When it comes to writing motivational letters, grammar errors are a no-no. So, double-check and have someone else read your inspirational paper because they may spot grammatical errors that you’ve missed. Also, it would be best if you avoided abbreviations and technical jargon. Do not try to sound like you’re writing a school assignment; instead, use the most elegant yet straightforward language and tone to make your point.

Don’t make writing a motivational statement more difficult than it should be. Focus on the essential things and let the rest go. Keep in mind that the college or company is curious to learn more about you. So, stay relaxed and make use of the tips we have mentioned above and you will be on your way to a brilliant motivation letter. For more information on college writing tips and essay writing services, check other articles on Essay Advisor .

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Motivation Letter / Statement of Purpose

Learn how to persuade the admissions team at the university to give you a place by using your personal statement.

Types of content that should be included in your motivation letter
How to format a personal statement for university
5 Tips to make your personal statement more interesting
Mistakes to avoid when writing your personal statement
Samples of university personal statements
Difference between personal statement, cover letter and motivation letter

A Guide For Writing an Effective Personal Statement For University Admissions

When making your applications to your universities and colleges of choice, writing your academic personal statement is the first opportunity that you have to show your personality, to get across what motivates you, and ultimately to clarify why the admissions staff at your chosen university should accept you on the course you want.

Here you will find recommendations and advice on structure, content, as well as what mistakes to avoid when creating your personal statement for university or college.

Keep in mind that if you are applying to UK universities through UCAS you can only write one statement even if you apply to five different courses.

Types of Content That Should Be Included in Your Motivation Letter

Most probably you know that you would be an excellent addition to any university, but we often freeze when we’re put in a situation where we have to explain the reason why. Writing about ourselves is not something most of us do under normal circumstances, so getting some practice before you sit down to write your first draft of your personal statement can help you organise the topics you want to speak about in your mind.

Below you will find two planning tables to help you quickly and easily clarify what kind of skills and information about yourself you should include in your motivation letter for university.

Consider sharing some information about how you arrived at this point in your academic life. What exactly makes you passionate about the course you’re applying for compared to any other course?

What challenges have you faced and overcome? This doesn’t have to be a dramatic example, but you can feel free to describe experiences such as conquering your fear of public speaking, being the only person in your family to go to university, and other ordinary situations. This is your chance to show off some of your virtues, such as how determined and hard-working you are when you have a goal.

Motivation Letter Content Planning Table

Using this table you can start to create a vision for what you want to speak about, and what story you want to tell the reader.

What course/courses do you want to apply for?
When did you become interested in the course/courses?
Are there any aspects of your current studies that relate to the course/courses that you have chosen?
Why have you applied to study this course?
Are there any parts of the subject that you especially enjoy?
What have you learned about the subject that has inspired you to want to study it at university?
What personal qualities do you possess that make you suited to this area of study?
What relevant experience do you have?
What are your future career plans? How will the knowledge and skills gained through your studies help?

Around two thirds of your personal statement should consist of the information that you use to answer these questions, and to do that you have to be aware of the character limit that has been established for your statement. In the case of UCAS’ personal statement, this is set at 4,000 characters (between 570 and 1000 words).

The remaining third of the personal statement should be about yourself and why you believe you’re a good fit for the course that you are applying for, with this being focused on what would make you a valuable addition to the university. You should only include information that directly supports your case for studying at your chosen university , rather than talking about the dreams that you’ve had since you were a small child. The golden rule is that the more recent the information, the better , because Admissions Selectors want to know about the person you are today.

Filling out the table below and having it with you as you write your personal statement can help you remember to include the qualities that you possess.

Brainstorming For Skills to Include in a Personal Statement

As always, all information that you choose to include should build upon the narrative of why the university should select you for the specific course you are applying for . This can be easy to forget while you’re expanding on your talking points.

Skills
Commitment
Communication skills
Computer literacy
Confidence
Determination
Entrepreneurial skills
Flexibility
Interpersonal skills
Organisation skills
Problem solving
Responsibility
Team work
Time management
Using initiative
Working independently
Working to deadlines

Even though there are no rules written in stone about how to write a successful university application, you now have the information you need to get started with creating a unique and impactful personal statement that demonstrates to your chosen university why you should be accepted as a student.

Writing a personal statement that truly manages to make the author stand out from the crowd is a process that can take days or even weeks to finalise, while you get feedback from your teachers, friends and family. For this reason, start drafting your personal statement today and you’ll see that all you have to do is be yourself and present yourself in a way that is honest, authentic and enthusiastic.

Hopefully, your mind is buzzing with ideas of what you’d like to speak about in your motivation letter – just make sure you follow the etiquette of how to present everything before you get started!

How to Format a Personal Statement For University

One of the main decisions you need to make about how to present your statement is how many paragraphs should be used. While there are no absolute rules about what admission staff will like, it is generally accepted that between five and seven paragraphs with a maximum of 500 words is the best approach . The reason for this is that you have to touch on a variety of topics, and separating them in this way allows you to organise them logically and make your point effectively.

You should speak in the past-tense when sharing your story of how you got to where you are today as a student and individual. Towards the end of your personal statement, you can change to the present-tense to give the reader a sense of narrative and purpose.

For example:

“During my work experience placement, I had the opportunity to…”
“From time to time, I volunteer as…”

Again, although there are no rules with how you should write, there are some formats that are reliable and have survived the test of time. One example of a format that helps applicants write clear and concise statements is the following template:

Start by explaining why you have chosen this course , and very briefly let them know a little about your background. Keep it simple!
Demonstrate to the reader what you know about the subject by mentioning current developments or important research topics, and how they impact areas of society in a broader way. Universities are not just looking for people who can keep up with the news, but people who show vision and enthusiasm. Be sure to check out the downloadable prospectus that your preferred universities offer, to make sure you have really understood what is being offered.
Now is the time to speak about any extracurricular activities or experiences outside of academia that are relevant to the course you are applying for. If your experiences don’t directly relate to the subject, you can try to explain how the skills that you developed during these experiences will be meaningful in the context of your university course. With that said, be careful not to exaggerate here, as you may later have to answer questions about anything you include.
Conclude your statement in a professional and formal tone by thanking the reader for their time, and expressing your eagerness to start university in the near future.

What to Keep in Mind When Writing Your Personal Statement

The way you write your personal statement gives the admissions committee an instant impression of how much care and attention you are capable of while producing an important piece of work, and for that reason we want to give the best first impression possible.

It’s important to remember that the university is not trying to trick you when they ask you to tell them about yourself . They don’t know you, and they would like to know more about what you do with your time, and where you would like to go in life.

Focus on common themes that your courses of interest share, and avoid including the specific course or university names in order to keep it general . Those students who are applying through UCAS can find information on important deadlines here .

With everything in the right place in your motivation letter, the next task is to learn how to make your motivation letter as interesting as possible, as well as avoid some of the common pitfalls and mistakes.

5 Tips to Make Your Personal Statement More Interesting

Maybe you already know what type of content you want to include in your personal statement, and you just need a little help with how to structure everything. The following suggestions are a good place to start:

An introduction that immediately stands out from other applicants. It’s important to appreciate that the people who read university applications have seen a lot of the same thing, so this is your chance to be different and grab the reader’s attention. This does not mean trying to be as unorthodox as possible, but just show your personality and don’t try to impress the reader.

Tips to make your personal statement more interesting

What your goals are and how the selected course will help you achieve them . To make sure that you give university tutors the impression that you fully understand what their courses are about, you should do some of your own research by reading the university’s prospectus. These can usually be downloaded from their official website, and often include external links intended to help the applicant understand the approach of a particular course.
Why you have a passion for your chosen subject. Throughout your application, you should show how passionate you are about the subject in question. Was there an event in your life that made you pursue the path that you’re on? Let them know about it!
Show ways that you have immersed yourself in the subject outside of the classroom. Admission tutors are looking for evidence that your interest in your subject continues even when your classes are finished for the day. A simple but effective way to speak about this is highlighting the books you have read on the subject, or workshops and seminars you have attended in your own time.
Your participation in clubs or societies . This does not need to be strictly related to the courses you are applying for, as admission committees value your intellectual and creative ability to relate your experiences to your subject of choice.

Consider focusing on topics such as public speaking, staying organised, and the discipline and perseverance required to excel in a sport. Speaking about your experiences in this way will communicate that you are a person that pursues their goals earnestly.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Your Personal Statement

Writing a personal statement is a process that can take time, and it would be a shame to commit the simple and avoidable mistakes that some students make. In this list you’ll find some of the most common errors when it comes to personal statements.

Avoid using your application as a chance to show how many sophisticated words you know . This is likely to be distracting from the overall point of what you’re trying to convey.
UCAS and other organisations all use software designed to detect plagiarism , which easily detects when applicants use parts of their colleagues’ personal statements. Writing your own application is important, because you can be asked unexpected questions later during your interview.
Related to the previous point: always tell the truth!
Try to resist the temptation to procrastinate with getting started on your statement , as this is another common mistake that applicants make. This will be a process of writing multiple drafts, and getting your friends and family to proofread for you, and these things can take longer than you expect to get done.
Humour and quotes are usually inappropriate . This doesn’t mean that you have to take an overly serious tone, but you simply never know whether the member of staff reading your personal statement shares your sense of humour. In the case of quotes, this is considered a cliché writing technique by most admissions officers, and if you do choose to use one then there should be a clear reason to justify it.

In the next section you will find some explanations from tutors at Oxford, Greenwich and Bangor University on their typical reasons why they might reject an application.

There are many potential reasons why admission staff might consider that an applicant isn’t suitable for the requested course, and the following are some of the points of view that tutors expressed when asked to describe their usual reasons for rejecting a personal statement: “I work at Bangor University, and I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve been reading personal statements and I see a sentence mentioning the name of a completely different university or course than the one the student is applying for. This makes a bad impression because it shows that the student hasn’t really planned their application properly, and this qualifies as an instant rejection for me.”

“Something I personally find off putting in their personal statement for Media Studies is when the student talks too much about their Dad who owns a radio station, or their Auntie who is a journalist. Not only is this irrelevant for us, but it gives the impression that the applicant is trying to look good based on the achievements of their family . I only want to know about the applicant and what motivates them.”

From these professionals’ perspectives we can see that a light, authentic and concise style is preferred . Even with their helpful points of view, you can benefit from checking out some visual examples of university personal statements.

Samples of University Personal Statements

Examining a diverse variety of university personal statements can help you get a sense of which tone and style you would like to use in your own statement , as well as the opportunity to observe some of the shortcomings or mistakes that have been made by others so that you can avoid making them yourself.

Below you can find two examples of personal statements from students, and a brief summary of their strengths and weaknesses. Also you can check out this enlightening two minute video from a Dartmouth Former Admissions Reader to learn what admissions officers look for in college applications.

Personal statement from a biochemistry student :

“When I was eleven years old, my father was involved in a road accident with a lorry. His injuries were quite serious, and he was only able to recover after receiving a blood transfusion. Ever since then, I’ve had the goal of working in transfusion science myself, to do for other families what those professionals did for mine. As I’ve had the privilege of knowing what I wanted to do with my life from an early age, I’ve been able to do extensive research into the skill set that these kinds of scientists must have. I consider myself an efficient and focused person, which are critical attributes when it comes to being responsible for patients’ lives. I feel that I am academically prepared to take the next step on this career path due to my deliberate A-level choices in Biology, Chemistry, Psychology and Maths.

Due to studying both biology and chemistry, I’ve been able to develop laboratory skills that will serve as a good foundation for more advanced techniques at the university level. Maths has improved my ability to interpret numerical information logically, while Psychology has given me the chance to improve my writing skills.

During my time at school, I have always taken on positions of additional responsibility. I was elected as the form captain twice, and also Head Girl in my last year. This position was a challenge, because it was my job to represent my school at important events, but it was this challenge which sharpened my public speaking skills. I’ve received prizes for both biology and maths, and I was also awarded the Stubbs Cup, which I consider one of my main achievements.

In my spare time I go for long walks in the countryside with my two dogs, which are energetic huskies. Taking care of all their needs by myself requires discipline, since they are such a demanding breed. I also use this time to socialise with other people who are out with their animals, as I love to meet new faces. One of the reasons I’m excited about university is for the chance to meet so many new people.

Apart from that I also like to lift weights in the gym, because I find that keeping healthy makes me more motivated for other areas of my life. The gym I attend has a service that looks after clients’ children while they work out, and I recently started working there because I love working with children. In order to work here, I had to earn my first aid certificate.

I think that a career as a biomedical scientist would be an enriching and satisfying career for me because it’s a job that both improves and saves lives. Taking the next step to university has been my main aspiration for a long time, and I look forward to the challenges that it will bring.”

Pros	Cons

Personal statement from a drama student :

“From an early age I have always been fascinated by the stage. For me it’s much more than entertainment, as I believe that a well-produced drama production can make an emotional impact on an audience. My main involvement with the craft has been through acting, however I’m also very interested in learning other aspects of theatre such as lighting and set design in a university setting.

For my GCSE Drama final production, a group of us produced a play based on a short story by A.L. Kennedy. Because there were only six of us in the group, we shared a lot of responsibility. I played one of the main characters and was also in charge of obtaining the props we needed. These tasks were enjoyable but the most challenging part of the production was to adapt the story for the stage, and produce a script as close to the original story as possible. This was a demanding but enjoyable job and really opened my eyes to the complexity of adapting stories to the stage.

As well as Theatre Studies, my other AS-levels are in English Literature, Sociology, and Biology. In English Literature we have just completed a module on plays in which we studied Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Shakespear’s Henry V. I go to the theatre as often as I can, and have seen many amateur and professional productions. My favourite playwright is Willy Russell. I think all his plays provide an interesting social commentary, and successfully blend comedy and tragedy. I have seen many musicals, but Blood Brothers is by far my favourite; I have now seen it four times! I am looking forward to discovering more playwrights while at university.

My interest in drama and the theatre takes up a lot of my social life. I have taken part in all my school’s productions and am also involved in a local drama group ‘The Bournemouth and Boscombe Light Operatic Club’ – BBLOC for short. Every year we hold a major production, the most recent being Oh What a Lovely War. I value the experience of being part of this group as I get to work with people of all different ages. I also have a part-time job in a local Beefeater restaurant. This job has taught me the value of being able to work as part of a team, and I think helps me improve my performance within BBLOC and at school, as good teamwork is crucial to a successful production. I am looking forward to joining a drama society at university, and also possibly a film society, as cinema and film are another of my passions. I feel I have a lot to contribute to university life and hope you will consider me for a place at your university.”

Pros	Cons

If you have made it this far then you now have a plan of attack for how to make an outstanding motivation letter – well done! Click here for tips on how to structure a strong academic CV and how to request notable letters of recommendation .

Frequently Asked Questions About Motivation Letters

What is the difference between a personal statement and a motivation letter.

The two terms are often used interchangeably, but if we want to get specific about it then in reality a motivation letter invites the writer to speak about the academic or work position they are applying for will be a crucial step in their career or personal development.

A personal statement’s content is more likely to be oriented in the past, describing the activities and achievements that have brought you to where you are today.

In other words, very similar information appears on both documents, but the story that you’re expected to tell with that information is where the difference lies.

What is the difference between a cover letter and a motivation letter?

A cover letter is usually used in the context of applying for a job position, with the intention of demonstrating how the experiences that you’ve had and the skills you’ve developed make you the perfect candidate.

Motivation letters are generally used for describing to the reader where you want to go in the future, and how that would become a real possibility by becoming a part of their organisation.

What should I write in a motivation letter?

The answer to this depends on what type of organisation you want to apply to, because the content and style can change significantly depending on the context. Just a few different scenarios that would change the delivery of your motivation letter might include:

Student exchange programmes
Internship positions
Scholarships
Job selection processes
Undergraduate education
Graduate education

The post above is intended to help anybody drafting their motivation letter in an academic context .

Craig Plunkett

Fabiola López Marín

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Essay Samples on Motivation

What motivates me as a student.

What motivates you as a student? This question delves into the driving forces that ignite my passion for learning and shape my academic journey. From the pursuit of knowledge to personal growth and future aspirations, my motivations are diverse and ever-evolving. This essay will explore...

Rising Above Negativity: A Journey in Music and Self-Belief

My Early Music Career Let me inform you about a time when I realized a life lesson. A couple of weeks ago, I started out producing music; I was once just starting as a producer, and I had no prior expertise in song theory. I...

Life Lesson

Main Disadvantages Reward System and Recognition

The reward system is a group of neural structures responsible for incentive salience, associative learning, and positively balanced emotions, particularly ones which involve pleasure as a core component. The Reward is the attractive and motivational property of a stimulus that induces appetitive behavior, also known...

Reward System

Carl Rogers and Anna’s Case Study

Carl Rogers was born on the 8th of January 1902 and passed away at the age of 85 on the 4th of January 1987. Rogers was known for developing the person-centered approach and helping found the humanistic approach. Rogers was influenced by Abraham Maslow who...

Abraham Maslow

My Ambition Far Exceeded My Talents

One important thing to ask about Ambition is if being too motivated is inherently wrong or selfish. This question is important because ambition is motivation, which helps business-men create businesses, Writers to write novels, and Creators to create. A common misconception seems to be that...

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Motivation: Learning What Motivates You

The theoretical structure is the essential piece of each study since its fill in as a manual for deliberately distinguish, the coherent and entirely characterised relationship among variable. It doesn't just help researchers decided the relationship among variable yet, also, equips the researcher with a...

Personal Experience

Motivation Of People Seeking For Revenge

People tend to become extremely motivated in the pursuit of seeking out revenge on others for various reasons. From something mediocre to an extreme. Revenge is the forceful desire to inflict hurt or harm to another for a wrong suffered at their hands or just...

Application Of Motivation Models In Employee Engagement

Introduction Motivation Motivation means the procedure by which an individual's endeavours are empowered, coordinated, and supported toward accomplishing a goal. The given definition has three key components: vitality, course, and persistence. Vitality The vitality component is a proportion of power of the drive. An inspired...

Employee Engagement
Persistence

The Promising Advantages of Honor Codes for the Student's Future

My name is Rosine Uwayesu, and I am currently a sophomore at Tyler Junior College. I am pursuing an associate degree in Biology to complete my pre-med qualifications. After I finish my associate degree this coming fall of 2019, I plan to transfer to UT...

Honor Codes

How My Favorite Author's Work Has Changed Me

Starting with an exercise to describe your favorite person, Finding a Job in Tough Times by Dr. Tim Johnson leads the reader on a journey of self-discovery. Through introspection, reflection, and self-direction, the book challenges the job-seeker to become more emotionally fit to weather the...

Favorite Author

How Motivation and Dedication Helped Me to Find My Goal in Life

When you have motivation, it helps you build determination to achieve your goals and do things that exceeds your limits. It is hard to strive for success and happiness when there is no motivation in the air. You need it to keep you from failing...

How to Succed in College and Avoid Dropping Out

College success can be defined in several ways depending on a student’s goals and why they enrolled in the first place. Some students focus on completing the next class task or assignment and overlook the overall effect that education plays in their future life. Which...

Success in Education

Finding the Motivation to Focus on One Objective

We should all figure out how to focus on the extremely significant errands that will have the best effect on accomplishing our satisfaction and objectives throughout everyday life. We just can't stand to invest important energy to randomly experience life doing the simple things that...

Selfishness as an Integral Part of Human Nature

“It is truth universally acknowledged that humans are selfish and self – centered. Selfishness is not a characteristic only a bad person has, but is part of our human nature. Despite most human being’s perspectives, “selfishness is the driving force behind everything we do.”(Richard) We...

Personal Qualities
Selfishness

Who Moved My Cheese: Overcoming the Obstacles

The author of Who Moved My Cheese is Spencer Johnson. He was not only a writer but a physician too. He graduated from Notre Dame High School and then got a Bachelor of Arts degree in phycology from the University of Southern California. He then...

Overcoming Obstacles
Who Moved My Cheese

Child Development Theories: The Narratives and Application

Introduction Theories on child development centre around understanding how children change and develop through the span of youth. Theories of development provide a framework for thinking about human growth and learning (Cherry, K. 2019). Such theories focus on different parts of development which include social,...

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

The Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as the Motivational System of Achievements

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The Loss of Motivation in Professional Chess

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1. What Motivates Me as a Student

2. Rising Above Negativity: A Journey in Music and Self-Belief

3. Main Disadvantages Reward System and Recognition

4. Carl Rogers and Anna’s Case Study

5. My Ambition Far Exceeded My Talents

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7. Motivation Of People Seeking For Revenge

8. Application Of Motivation Models In Employee Engagement

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Obedience to Authority
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Motivation Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on motivation.

Everyone suggests other than the person lack motivation, or directly suggests the person remain motivated. But, no one ever tells what is the motivation of how one can stay motivated. Motivation means to face the obstacle and find an inspiration that helps you to go through tough times. In addition, it helps you to move further in life.

Meaning of Motivation

Motivation is something that cannot be understood with words but with practice. It means to be moved by something so strongly that it becomes an inspiration for you. Furthermore, it is a discipline that helps you to achieve your life goals and also helps to be successful in life .

Besides, it the most common practice that everyone does whether it is your boss in office or a school teacher or a university professor everyone motivates others in a way or other.

Role of Motivation

It is a strong tool that helps to get ahead in life. For being motivated we need a driving tool or goal that keeps us motivated and moves forward. Also, it helps in being progressive both physically and mentally.

Moreover, your goal does not be to big and long term they can be small and empowering. Furthermore, you need the right mindset to be motivated.

Besides, you need to push your self towards your goal no one other than you can push your limit. Also, you should be willing to leave your comfort zone because your true potential is going to revel when you leave your comfort zone.

Types of Motivation

Although there are various types of motivation according to me there are generally two types of motivation that are self- motivation and motivation by others.

Self-motivation- It refers to the power of someone to stay motivated without the influence of other situations and people. Furthermore, self-motivated people always find a way to reason and strength to complete a task. Also, they do not need other people to encourage them to perform a challenging task.

Motivation by others- This motivation requires help from others as the person is not able to maintain a self-motivated state. In this, a person requires encouragement from others. Also, he needs to listen to motivational speeches, a strong goal and most importantly and inspiration.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Importance of Motivation

Motivation is very important for the overall development of the personality and mind of the people. It also puts a person in action and in a competitive state. Furthermore, it improves efficiency and desire to achieve the goal. It leads to stability and improvement in work.

Above all, it satisfies a person’s needs and to achieve his/her goal. It helps the person to fight his negative attitude. The person also tries to come out of his/her comfort zone so that she/ he can achieve the goal.

To conclude, motivation is one of the key elements that help a person to be successful. A motivated person tries to push his limits and always tries to improve his performance day by day. Also, the person always gives her/his best no matter what the task is. Besides, the person always tries to remain progressive and dedicated to her/his goals.

FAQs about Motivation Essay

Q.1 Define what is motivation fit. A.1 This refers to a psychological phenomenon in which a person assumes or expects something from the job or life but gets different results other than his expectations. In a profession, it is a primary criterion for determining if the person will stay or leave the job.

Q.2 List some best motivators. A.2 some of the best motivators are:

Inspiration
Fear of failure
Power of Rejection
Don’t pity your self
Be assertive
Stay among positive and motivated people
Be calm and visionary

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How to Stay Motivated at University

Posted on: July 20, 2023

Picture the scene. There’s an important deadline hanging over you and it just keeps getting closer. You’ve known about it since the beginning of the semester, but it was such a long time away, then why would you worry about it? Unfortunately, all these weeks later, the essay you need to research and write is getting harder to complete the nearer the deadline gets. The pressure continues to build, but you still can’t bring yourself to start working until you have no choice. Things are so dire now that you must write through the night to get the work done. The finished essay just passes, but imagine what you could have achieved with a steady and well-planned program of study and writing? All this scenario is avoidable, and the hardship is entirely self-inflicted. But often, when the pressure is on, we are unable to motivate ourselves to do the work we know we need to do.

Unfortunately, maintaining motivation isn’t straightforward. In this blog, we’ll discuss several strategies to ensure you can maintain motivation to complete your study. We’ll discuss ways you can take care you are not working too many hours or putting yourself under more stress than is necessary. We’ll also look at ways that you can make time for classes, exercise, and, just as importantly, that you are making time for socializing and fun.

What is motivation? Motivation is commonly defined as that which explains why people or animals initiate, continue, or terminate a certain behavior at a particular time. It is a very complex concept that is extremely difficult to measure, predict or control. We know in our own lives when we feel motivated to do something, we don’t feel quite as tired, we are more clear-headed, and the task in front of us seems easier. Conversely, if we don’t feel motivated, the task at hand feels impossible to complete, hundreds of other jobs suddenly seem more important, and brain fog descends. So, what can we do?

Start to plan your days. A rigorous schedule will improve productivity and motivation. Perhaps use a calendar app on your phone? A weekly timetable will not only ensure your work is done but will improve the smooth running of your entire life. It’s also an opportunity for you to design how your own most rewarding and effective life might look. Start by putting your lectures, seminars, and lab time in right away. Now put in your mealtimes, make sure you have a one-hour break at lunchtime and that you eat properly three times a day. Next, put in your social time. Events, hobbies, and socializing. We now know when the gaps are we where we can plan our study time. Plan this time at the beginning of the semester so you will be able to timetable study and writing time weeks in advance. It will also mean that you can keep those work sessions to a reasonable length and should mean that you don’t need to put yourself in a position to have to work through the night to achieve a deadline.

To support the schedule that you are going to put in place, it is helpful to keep a routine, particularly Monday to Friday. This doesn’t have to feel like a strict or oppressive thing. It should replicate the natural rhythms of your day while also reflecting your wishes and desires for how your life might look for you to achieve your goals. For example, get out of bed at the same time every day. Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at similar times every day. Make sure you make time for exercise; this doesn’t mean you have to get in the gym every day or train for a marathon! It is making time for yourself, so a simple walk in the morning before you start work can help. Whatever your chosen activity is, make sure you organize time for it. When you are designing your schedule, it’s always worth making time for mindfulness or quiet reflection time. Again, whatever works for you, perhaps you like to sit quietly with a cup of tea? Make the time to consciously enjoy that activity.

Now we have our schedule. We are going to have time to attend our lessons. We have plenty of manageable sessions to get our work done. We are eating, sleeping, and playing properly, and everything is beautifully set out in lovely colors. Job done, right? Not quite. Now comes the trickiest part. You must make the decision honestly to buy into the schedule and commit to your new way of working. Because getting the best out of your schedule will require self-discipline to implement and maintain. Once you have made this agreement and commitment with yourself, there are a few more details to consider and organize.

Make certain you set yourself achievable goals to complete within your designated study time. Having a lengthy to-do list might feel like you are working hard, but if you are constantly failing to achieve small goals, you will become demoralized and will likely lose motivation. When you make your to-do list for the following day, break big jobs down into small bitesize pieces and make sure there is enough there to keep you busy but not too much that it is impossible to complete. You will get better at doing this. But you will find that being able to complete your to-do list everyday will feel like a significant achievement. Break down your substantial, seemingly unachievable goals into small pieces so you can make progress towards the top of the mountain every day. When you complete your to-do list for the day, reward yourself. For most of us our phone is the biggest cause of lost and wasted time. Therefore, perhaps plan social media time into your schedule. It’s also likely that your laptop will be connected to the internet, which can be incredibly distracting. You are just a few clicks away from YouTube, and the risk will need to be managed. Again, there will have to be a certain amount of self-discipline to mitigate this, but depending on what you are doing, perhaps turn off the Wi-Fi on your laptop while you are writing or reading. Or use social media time as a reward at different points in the day.

Lastly, the most important thing is to not keep feelings of being overwhelmed to yourself. If you are feeling completely consumed by the amount of work you must do, make sure you speak to friends, family, or engage the support that the university can put in place. Look after your mental health as a priority. Try to tweak your schedule if you are finding you don’t have enough time for certain things or too much time for others. There will inevitably be periods where you must put in more time with work as deadlines approach. Try to schedule this time and ensure you get a reasonable amount of time away from your desk. A circle of like-minded study friends is a good way to keep motivated. You might find that your social friends do not like to work like you do or in the way that works best for you. Either studying too little to make us feel that we are doing more than them, so it must be fine. Or working so much we assume we aren’t doing enough and start to work more and more to keep up with this unrealistic expectation. Always remember you are not competing with other people; you’re competing with yourself. It’s very important that you are honest with yourself about how much time you are spending studying and the quality of your work. Your teachers will be happy to give you feedback on the latter point. You can then tweak your schedule to address this.

Motivation is a delicate and intangible quality, and we all experience the peaks and valleys of it differently and can all mitigate it differently. Arranging your time and being disciplined when it comes to observing your new schedule is a great way to make sure you achieve what you need to. But it shouldn’t be a tyrant. This is a tool designed to help you, if it isn’t helping, then change how you use it. Make sure you plan for mistakes, the unexpected, or things not going as smoothly as anticipated. So that when these things happen it does not completely derail your day. Once you get into the swing of living to your routine, you will find that everything becomes easier to achieve, and when things feel easy to achieve, it becomes much more likely that you will sit down to do them. You don’t need to isolate yourself to be a good student. You can have all the rewarding experiences and wonderful friends you want but don’t neglect one side of your university experience for the other. As always, the message is one of balance.

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Write a motivation letter

A motivation letter is the most important document in an applicant's application. How to write it? Look for examples, ideas, recommendations, as well as common mistakes in the article.

Admission committees are simply piled with documents of honor students, competition champions and other remarkable students. Everyone writes how good he is and how eager he is to study in this particular institution. But how to choose among thousands of profiles just a few dozen of those who are really worthy to study there?

In this article, we look at the world of admission through the eyes of those who make this decision. And we will tell you in detail how to write the one motivation letter (also called the statement of purpose ) that will break through this insurmountable barrier.

Examples of motivation letters

Specialty	Degree	University
Medicine (Neurobiology)		Brown University
Engineering	Bachelor’s	Caltech
Biology	Bachelor’s
Telecommunication technologies	Master’s
Engineering	Master’s
Law	Master’s
Medicine	Master’s
Management

It is harder than it seems

" It is possible to redeem yourself (in certain cases) or to kill your chances of admission with the personal statement. " — Ruth Miller, Former Director of Graduate Admissions to The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (Princeton University).

A motivation letter through the eyes of the heads of faculties and the admission committee is the most important document in the application of the student. The rest of the papers will not be able to tell much about your personality unlike a motivation letter. In a few hundred words you need to fit your interests and achievements along with your hopes and dreams. Yes, it’s not easy... But it’s worth doing, because it is right here where you have a chance to turn the tides and show your uniqueness, even with sub-par language skills and not so outstanding achievements.

Let's try to figure out how to write a perfect motivation letter. After all, your future depends on it.

What does the admission committee expect?

The answer is quite obvious. The selection committee wants to find out who is hiding behind a mountain of similar documents that end up on their hands.

Motivation letter should create a vivid idea of personality. What describes you as a person? Ambition? Sense of humor? Self-awareness? Imagination? Sociability? This is what you have to find out during the preparation of the motivation letter.

Here are some citations of the representatives of leading American universities confirming this idea:

“ The most important thing [for me to do] is communicate what we’re not looking for, which is to say that there is no magic formula for admission, there are no right answers .” — Bob Alig, Director of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid, the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania).
“ Applicants make a mistake when they try to write something they think will please the committee. When they try to anticipate what that might be, they run a great danger of going astray. ” — Albert R. Turnbull, Associate Dean for Admissions and Placement University of Virginia School of Law.
“ We look for honesty (as far as we can discern it), simplicity, straightforwardness .” — Dr. Andrew G. Frantz, Chairman, Committee on Admissions College of Physicians and Surgeons (Columbia University).
“ You want to come alive off the page and write the story that only you can write .” — Linda Meehan, Assistant Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid, Columbia Business School.

An interesting short story written in a vibrant, dynamic language is the main requirement that experts insist on. Through a motivation letter, professors want to find out what goals future students are pursuing, what they want to achieve in life, how they can be useful to their university and society as a whole. The main thing is not to overdo it: avoid wordiness, deceit and floridness in the text. No need to send a letter that is bizarre and hard to follow — you need to be yourself, but try to express your thoughts vividly, since you can not use gestures and facial expressions.

More precise recommendations were made by Vince Gotera, professor of English Language and Literature, University of Northern Iowa. In his opinion, the motivation letter should show the applicant as a person:

Passionately interested in the field. You can do this at the very beginning of the letter using the “hook”, which will be discussed in the following sections;
Educated , which is obvious from the letter itself, its structure, expressiveness, logic, etc .;
Well-trained academically, which can be demonstrated through the use of highly specialized terms to describe the achievements of the applicant, and by the achievements themselves;
Able to cope with the curriculum of the university and finish the program on time, which can be confirmed by prior experience in overcoming problems with performance;
Ready for cooperation with professors and other students, in other words — collegial. This is not a priority, but developed soft skills will be an obvious plus;
A potentially prominent representative of this university in the professional field, which can be deduced by the current success of the applicant, as well as by how the student speaks about the previous educational institution.

This is a lot of stuff to fit in a few hundred words, so it is worthwhile to approach each of the points sensibly. No need to describe them in the same order in which they are on the list of the university. Combine, move them, do everything to show yourself as an inventive person, and not a parrot following a line of Brazil nuts to crack.

Formats and structure of motivation letter

In general, most motivation essays can be divided into two categories — unstructured letters, and essays in the form of interviews (or short essay answers to specific questions). The latter are often written by the applicants of overseas MBA programs . In an unstructured essay, the candidate provides information about himself — his achievements, personal qualities, interests, experience, and future goals. Despite the name, in an unstructured essay it is also advisable to adhere to a specific structure, or format. For example:

Option 1: Yesterday — Today — Tomorrow

I have the experience necessary to study at a university successfully;
At the moment I want to get the knowledge for further development;
Your program is ideal for these purposes since I can achieve ...

Option 2: I — You — We

The description of my achievements, talents, interests;
The chosen program fully corresponds with my ambitions;
My potential in combination with your program will bear the following fruit ...

Option 3: What — Why — For what purpose

What exactly I want to study;
Why I want to study this particular specialty, why it is so important to me;
The selected program will help me achieve my goals ...; I expect to receive...
Introduction . What is my main point? What brought me to this program? ( The first paragraph should attract the attention of the reader. It can be a simple, funny or interesting anecdote from life, leading to the essence of motivation letter ).
Why me? What significant knowledge and experience I already possess? What have I learned from this experience?
Why here? How does my academic experience correlate with the faculty / field of study ? Is there a specific project I want to work on, or a specific teacher with whom I am eager to work?
Why now? What are my short / long term goals? How will teaching on this program, at this time , at this university, help me in their implementation? What will I achieve with this knowledge?
Conclusion. What is the reader meant to take away? How will they remember this personal statement in particular? ( Here you can create a ring composition by linking the conclusion with the initial thought and ending the essay with the thesis emphasizing the unique features of the applicant and the contribution that he or she will bring to the new learning environment ). [1]
Describe an experience (either personal or professional) in which you failed. What did you learn from that experience?
How would you want your professional achievements and contributions to be remembered after your death?
Discuss an ethical dilemma you have faced and how you dealt with it.
If you could have dinner with any three people (alive now or from another era), who would they be and what would you hope to learn from them?
If you are unable to submit the minimum number of recommendation forms that we request, please give your reasons.
Please explain anything in your application that does not accurately reflect your abilities or potential for successful graduate study.
Discuss any unique aspect of your personal or professional background that may not be adequately presented elsewhere in this application.
Describe a situation in which you were compelled to take a stand against the majority. How did this experience strengthen your understanding of leadership?

Tips for organizing the text of a motivation letter

The requirements of a specific university . This is especially important for candidates who wish to apply for a master’s program. Some universities request not one, but two motivation letters for different master's programs. Others require you to send only handwritten versions of motivation letters, specifying even the color of the ink that should be used. You can find the exact instructions on the official website of the selected university.
The introduction should start with some original statement or a fact from life in order to grab the attention of the reader and make him follow the whole story to the very end;
The most interesting facts should be presented at the beginning of the letter, or at least in the first part since no one knows if a member of the admission committee will want to finish reading your letter.
A logical and sequenced story : as you read through the letter, the character in it should develop as a person in all areas of his or her life.
An easy-to-follow narrative. Divide the text into smaller paragraphs and try not to use long and flowery expressions along with complex grammatical constructions. This will help you to avoid unnecessary mistakes and confusing punctuation. Each paragraph should have its own small story with the beginning, climax, and end. The speech should be simple and clear, although it is acceptable (and even encouraged) to use highly specialized terms, provided that you understand what they actually mean.
The conclusion should be a summary, briefly reviewing the information and expressing hope for further cooperation with the university. Reading the letter should leave a pleasant aftertaste, do not describe any negative events or criticize yourself.

Stages of writing a motivational essay

" If you are going to write a winning personal statement, you cannot do it in two or three hours; it requires a lot of thought ." — Faye Deal, Director of Admission, Stanford Law School.

A good essay cannot be written at the snap of a finger. That is why many experts advise starting preparing a few weeks, or even months, before the deadline.

For convenience, let us divide the process into three stages: preparatory, main and final.

Preparatory stage: study and reflection

" What I would love to have people do in preparing their essays is to do a great deal of self-assessment and reflection on their lives and on what’s important to them because the most important thing to us is to get a very candid and real sense of the person. " — Jill Fadule, Director of Admissions, Harvard Business School.

It is often difficult for people to start writing something personal about themselves that requires introspection. If you often face a fear of a blank slate, try the following tips [2] . Creative solutions will not take long.

Record all events that happen to you, be that new experiences or abilities. Never underestimate anything. You may think that a summer trip to Europe, a recently read book or your newly discovered talent as an artist is not so significant, but it is. The sooner you start doing this (several weeks, months), the better. At the same time, you should not immediately evaluate your experiences in terms of their usefulness. Keep this until the next stage.

Try creating an experimental sample of your essay . Imagine that you are taking a creative writing course, and your task is to write a couple of pages about an event from your life that has had a significant impact on you. This must be done so that after reading the essay in front of strangers, they feel as if they have known you for a very long time. It might feel like a rather stupid exercise, but as we heard from the statements of the members of the admission committee, they expect this approach from the applicant.

Brainstorming

Before you start writing, it is advisable to brainstorm ideas. Try to answer questions about yourself, your goals and features, while outlining as many variations as possible. Then select those that will serve as your guidelines in the process of writing your essay. Be honest and remember that the answers often lie beneath the surface.

What is special, unique or impressive about me? What details of my life can help the admission committee to better understand and distinguish me from other candidates? ( Remember the history of the family, the significant achievements, the people or events that shaped you or influenced your goals ).
When was the first time I showed interest in this professional field? What have I learned about it and about myself since? What contributed to the development of my interest and strengthened my confidence that I was ideally suited for this profession? What conclusions have I made?
How did I find out about this profession/field/activity/area of training? ( Perhaps it was in the classroom, at work, during a conversation with practitioners ).
If I already had work experience, what did it teach me? ( Leadership, managerial skills, etc. ) How did work contribute to my personal growth?
What are my career goals? ( Don’t be afraid to dream. It doesn’t matter whether everything goes according to plan or not, the main thing is to find what you really want to do, no matter how ordinary or extravagant your dream is ).
Are there any though spots or discrepancies in my academic performance at the previous place of study that I should explain? ( For example, stable excellent grades but the average result of the entrance exam; a sharp improvement/decline in performance in one of the training periods ).
Have I had to overcome unusual obstacles or difficulties in life? ( Health problems, financial, family difficulties, etc. ).
What personal qualities can help me achieve success in the profession? ( For example, honesty, compassion, perseverance ). How can I confirm this?
What skills do I have? ( Leadership, communicative, analytical, etc. ).
What makes me different from other candidates? What will allow me to be better / stronger / more successful / more efficient in my chosen professional field?
Why me? Why should my candidacy interest the selection committee?

An outside perspective

It is equally important when preparing a motivational letter to find someone who could share their perspective. If you could not immediately answer all the questions from the previous exercise or if you have doubts, seek help from professors, friends, colleagues, and just acquaintances whose opinion is valuable to you. You can send a small questionnaire by e-mail or ask to answer in a personal conversation.

What do you think should the admissions committee know about me?
What seems to be the most unusual / unique / impressive about me?
Do you know any events from my past that might be of interest to the admissions committee?
Do I have special qualities / skills that make you think that I will succeed in studying and working in my chosen profession?

Main stage: writing a motivation letter

In the main section, we decided to provide some practical recommendations from the article How to Write a Great Statement of Purpose by the Professor of the University of Northern Iowa, Vince Gotera [3] .

The best advice from Vince Gotera

The Statement of Purpose required by grad schools is probably the hardest thing you will ever write. I would guess virtually all grad-school applicants, when they write their first draft of the statement of purpose, will get it wrong. Much of what you have learned about writing and also about how to present yourself will lead you astray. For example, here's an opening to a typical first draft:

" I am applying to the Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing at the University of Okoboji because I believe my writing will blossom at your program since it is a place where I will be challenged and I can hone my writing skills. "

How's that? It's clear, it's direct, and it "strokes" the MFA program, right? Wrong. All of it is obvious and extraneous.The admissions committee knows you are applying to their MFA program because everyone in the stacks of applications they are reading is applying for the same thing. The admissions committee will also know that your writing will "blossom" there since they feel they have a strong program. Of course you will be challenged — all undergrads going on to a grad program will be challenged, no matter how well-prepared they think they are. And of course the new grad student will "hone [her] writing skills" — isn't that the main purpose of the MFA program?

Let's assume the required length of this particular program's statement of purpose is 300 words. Well, with this opening you will have used up 15% of your space saying virtually nothing. 15%!

In fact, not only is this opening paragraph obvious, extraneous, and space-stealing, it's boring! Imagine who's reading this and where: five professors "locked" in a room with 500 applications. Do you think this opening paragraph will command their attention? Will they read the rest of this statement of purpose with an open mind that this applicant is the kind of student they want? Will they remember this application later? You be the judge.

"Hook", which demonstrates the applicant’s passion for the chosen subject.

For a successful motivational essay, you need the so-called "hook". For example, one student of the master's program in library science made an excellent “hook”. It looked something like this:

" When I was eleven, my great-aunt Gretchen passed away and left me with something that changed my life: a library of 5,000 books. Some of my best days were spent arranging and reading her books. Since then, I have wanted to be a librarian ."

Everything is clear, it's direct, it's 45 words, and, most important, it tells the admissions committee about Susan's almost life-long passion not just for books but for taking care of books. When the committee starts to discuss their "best picks," don't you think they'll remember her as "the young woman who had her own library"? Of course they will, because having had their own library when they were eleven would probably be a cherished fantasy for each of them!

The connection of the chosen course with an event in life or extracurricular activities

A student named Jennifer wanted to get a master's degree in speech therapy. When asked why she chose this direction, Jennifer said she had taken a class in it for fun and really loved it. But during further discussion the girl remembered that her brother had problems with speech. This was a discovery to her. She had not entered the field with that connection in mind — at least not consciously. But there it was; Jennifer now had her hook.

You have the same task: to find this "hook", to understand why the choice fell on this particular direction, what benefit the applicant can bring with his work in the future, how this will affect him and the others. Find your own truth, and then choose a memorable way of expressing your thoughts.

Equally important for the commission will be your extracurricular activities and hobbies associated with the educational activities. For example, you want to enter the faculty of linguistics, you speak a foreign language at a decent level and help others to study it by organizing free courses.

Universities require a letter of motivation not only to learn about the performance and awards of the applicant, but also so that the applicants themselves really think carefully about why they generally take such a serious step in life as entering a university, and whether they truly desire this.

Is originality the key to success?

The average size of a motivation letter is 300 words, but for some applicants three dozen are enough to declare themselves. One such example is an essay by a student named Nigel, who said that he had written a three-sentence statement of purpose to get into Stanford:

" I want to teach English at the university level. To do this, I need a PhD. That is why I am applying ."

That was the whole thing. It definitely portrays Nigel as brash, risk-taking, no-nonsense, and even arrogant person. If this is how you want to portray yourself, then by all means do this. But you should also know that Nigel's statement of purpose is an all-or-nothing proposition. You can bet there will be members of probably any admissions committee who will find Nigel's statement of purpose offensive, even disrespectful. And they might not want such a student at their school, although there still remains a chance to get the approval of one of the professors.

Lively style

Try to make your paper-and-ink self come alive. Don't just say, "I used to work on an assembly line in a television factory, and one day I decided that I had to get out of there, so I went to college to save my own life ." How about this: " One Thursday, I had soldered the 112th green wire on the same place on the 112th TV remote, and I realized the solder fumes were rotting my brain. I decided college would be my salvation ." Both 35 words, but the latter is more likely to keep the admissions committee reading.

Explain the controversial moments of your academic past

If there are controversial moments in your academic past, tell about them so as not to lose the trust of the admissions committee. For example, in one of the semesters you had only Cs. In this case, it is worth writing a short paragraph about what caused this (emotional problems, life difficulties), then demonstrate how skillfully you were able to deal with this, and now your average score is quite high. Presenting such a situation under a favourable angle, you will make an impression of a determined person, able to face challenging situations and overcome difficulties in a timely manner.

Experience and internships

If you have already managed to work somewhere or took an internship, be sure to indicate this in a motivation letter. Pay particular attention to the details of employment that are directly related to the chosen profession. Consider how you can relate the work done and experience gained to the acceptance criteria.

Skills, abilities and achievements

Members of the selection committee are interested in your strengths: talents, skills, sports achievements, victories in school or university competitions, participation in scholarship programs and more. It’s not at all necessary that the achievements are too significant; it’s enough to tell in a motivational essay what you recall with pride and warmth in your heart, for example, you successfully passed exams at a music school, participated in various clubs (drawing, sports, dancing, etc.), or did volunteer and charity work. It is important to describe those moments that speak of you as a talented, versatile, and interesting person. At the same time, members of the selection committee are interested not in a dry list of skills and achievements (for this there is a CV, or resume), but your ability to reflect and draw conclusions from the experience gained.

Element	Question	Example
A — Activity	What have I done?	I am the school captain of the football team.
B — Benefit	What skills have I gained?	This shows I have good communication and teamwork skills.
C — Course	How will this prepare me for the course?	This is relevant to business studies as being able to communicate effectively is an important skill when working on group projects.

Mentioning specific university professors

To begin with, describe the reason you chose this university. Then name one or two professors and what exactly attracts you to their program. Such an approach will introduce you as a person who "did his homework", who is so interested in the chosen direction that he laid the groundwork.

You do not just need to write their names, since anyone who uses the Internet (which is almost everyone) can do this. Mention something that will show respect for the work done by professors. Moreover, it is not necessary to choose the most famous of them, since it is likely that other potential students will do the same. It is better to opt for a lesser-known professor who really seems interesting to you.

The final stage: evaluation and editing of a motivation letter

" The best essays that I've read are from people who've said they’ve learned a lot about themselves through this application process. " — Sally O.Jaeger, Director of Admissions, The Amos Tuck Business School, Dartmouth College.

Before sending the final version, be sure to take the time to analyze the resulting essay: you should carefully review its contents, pay attention to the presentation style, the presence of grammatical and lexical errors. Usually even the obvious errors cannot be seen on the first or second reading, so ask a friend or senior colleague to check the motivation letter. Or just let it rest for a couple of days and then read it again to understand what needs to be fixed.

Does my letter meet the formal requirements? ( Look at the questions initially posed, the required wordcount, and other requirements of the university ).
Does it make the kind of impression that I would like to make on the committee? ( Refer to the list of qualities and skills that you made during the preparatory phase ).
Are there any ambiguous phrases in my text, conflicting points?
Did I learn something new, unusual about myself after writing a motivation letter?
Is my story unique? Does it contain cliches and bland phrases that other candidates may include?
Was I honest with myself?

Evaluation of the final result

Yes, we already said that it is worth getting an opinion from the outside, but this time you are asking questions not about yourself, but about what you got as a result. Ask professors or teachers about the format and style of writing that is most appropriate in a particular case. Along with the text, be sure to indicate the initial requirements that were presented to the letter of motivation.

Did the opening paragraph draw your attention?
In general, did you find the motivation letter interesting / well-structured / optimistic?
In your opinion, is the essay an honest and sincere representation of me?
Does it answer the questions posed?
Is there anything important that I missed / should be added?
Were there moments that seemed out of place to you?
What conclusions did you draw about me after reading?
Have you encountered any typos or errors in the text?
In your opinion, will this letter set me apart from other candidates?
Do you consider my desire to enter __ (university) __ on __ (specialty / specialization / program) __ justified?

Adjust the essay, taking into account the advice received. But do not think that this is where your work on the letter ends. An epiphany may strike you even after sending an essay to a university. This might end up being crucial information so it is wise to write it down in case you want to submit documents again for later deadlines.

Letter structure, text organization;
A “hook” that demonstrates your passion for the selected field;
Achievements in the chosen direction;
The logical connection of your motivation with your achievements;
Special and additional courses in relevant disciplines;
Extracurricular activities in the selected field;
Publications and other professional achievements in the direction (reports, papers);
Explanation of controversial issues in the academic past (if any);
Arguments for choosing this university;
Mentioning specific university professors whose work you are interested in;
Features of the university program that attract you;
Gathering advice from teachers or professors;
Checking and adjusting material;
Further refinement of the letter for subsequent deadlines.

Top 10 mistakes in writing a motivation letter

In order to spark the interest in the admissions committee, you should avoid the most common mistakes made by applicants.

Repetition of the information that is already given in the academic resume . A motivation letter is a chance to show your personal qualities and desire to develop in the chosen academic field. Therefore, your past victories and achievements should not be the sole focus of your letter, try to look into the future.
The dull beginning of the essay . Feel free to skip the lengthy introduction of yourself at the beginning of the letter. It would be much better to immediately describe a situation or circumstance that influenced your decision to study in this university. At the same time, try to avoid expressions such as “As a child, I was fond of,” “For as long as I can remember, I liked ...” and other cliched phrases. According to a UCAS study, every year they number in the thousands [5] .
Writing a single essay for all universities . This approach is fundamentally wrong, because each university has its own advantages, which are worth highlighting in a motivation letter. Having thoroughly examined the site of the chosen university, you will be able to evaluate its contribution to the development of science.
Faceless narration . Not every motivational letter is embedded in the memory of the members of the selection committee, and the reason lies in the presence of many superficial phrases and the lack of personality. A good essay stands out from the rest with the uniqueness, truthfulness and originality of the author's judgments.
Unfunny jokes . In their practice, members of the selection committee meet a lot of comedians who want to be remembered for their sparkling sense of humor, but this approach is not always appropriate. The joke may seem harmless to the author of the letter, but members of the selection committee will not appreciate it and might call it offensive. Here you need to clearly understand that everyone has a different sense of humor, and in case of foreign universities — they also have a different worldview. Therefore, we advise you to exclude jokes, of course, if this is not subtle English humor.
The desire to write as much as possible about yourself . For each topic, it is worth dedicating a single paragraph to reveal more details. Focus on the information that is not in the academic resume.
Lack of spell checking and text editing . Before sending the letter, ask a teacher or another competent person to check your essay to avoid annoying typos and errors. Even the most interesting motivation letter might be put aside if members of the committee find mistakes in it.
Writing an essay a few days before sending it . It is advisable to devote enough time to writing a motivation letter. Try to write several letters, then compare them and choose the best.
Demonstration of other people's achievements . Never appropriate qualities and merits that are not really yours. Be yourself, disclose in your letter only your positive aspects, hobbies, hopes for the future, because in a personal interview, members of the commission may ask you about a fictional hobby or achievement, and then you will have to improvise...
Lackluster representation of the topic . When writing a motivation letter, it is advisable to adhere to a certain structure of the text, i.e., to gradually explore each paragraph. Otherwise, instead of an ordered essay, you will get a messy gibberish, which will definitely not interest the admissions committee.

Analysis of motivation letters

We have collected several interesting excerpts from the motivation letters of real students in two versions: the original and edited by UniPage specialists.

* Spelling and punctuation of the authors are preserved in their original form.

Ideas for writing a motivation letter for various specialties

In addition to general recommendations that apply to almost any motivation letter, it is necessary to take into account the specifics of a future specialty. We tried to collect tips for you in several areas of preparation. This section, of course, does not provide comprehensive recommendations, but can be a source of inspiration and ideas [6] .

Politics . First of all, note that politics as an academic discipline is not just the current political agenda covered by the media. The ambitious plans to become a prime minister or president would look somewhat superficial and are unlikely to set you apart from other candidates. Try to dig deeper into your chosen course to understand what exactly attracts you to it. What topics of political debate do you like? What books and ideas fit your understanding of the profession? Of course, the selection committee will be interested to learn about how you came into contact with the world of politics, in what activities you participated, but the ideological filling of your essay will come to the fore.
Philosophy . Applicants to programs related to philosophy are advised to have some prior theoretical training. Describe your reading experience. You may also have attended lectures on philosophical topics outside of class. Do not be afraid to express your own opinion on issues of morality, free will, and consciousness. The best way to show the level of your readiness for studying philosophy is the ability to think rationally, deeply analyze problems and argue your case, which should be reflected in the entire content of the motivation letter.
Sociology . Your task is to demonstrate awareness of social issues and, ideally, a desire to help the social perception of a diverse and rapidly changing world. Think and personally formulate your interest in studying the relationship between a person and the society.
Geography is a fairly large-scale discipline, which includes many types of activities and research areas. You can mention your travel experience, but at the same time, it is worthwhile for the members of the selection committee to specify your scientific interests: geographical information systems, individual regions, tropical savannahs or coastal zones, tourism, geopolitics, etc. If the course you are applying for already has a specialization, for example, migration or marine ecology, refer to actual scientific discussions on this topic or to your own practical experience (you may have made notes during one of your trips and came up with the conclusion...).
History . Describe which historical periods, topics or trends attract you and why, what books you have read or maybe historical places you visited have influenced you, made you love history. At the same time, do not limit yourself to the banal “I fell in love with history when my dad took me to the castle on a tour” or “I think that history is important for understanding the world in which we live.” Try to identify the reasons, give specific examples. You may recall a powerful documentary or a discussion with your grandfather about World War II. Give evidence that you or any other modern person interacts with history in one way or another. For example, you play in a band, looking for inspiration in the music of the early 20th century performers. If you wish, you can even reflect on the fundamental issues of historical science, such as whether there is the only right and truthful way of displaying historical events.
Economics . Think about the unique characteristics of a local, national, regional, or global economy that you can highlight. Show understanding of economic and mathematical principles and concepts, but avoid retelling. Your task is to communicate something new, describe how these principles can be applied in the modern world in general and in everyday activities. A typical economics applicant will indicate that he is subscribed to The Economist , The Financial Times, or Frakonomics , thinking that this is a very original idea. Well, it is not. Better choose a couple events or questions and analyze their implications.
Psychology . Many applicants focus solely on the practical part of psychology — helping people, and neglect the importance of scientific theory, statistics and experiments, which often repels the admissions office. You are not required to retell the work of Sigmund Freud — it can be thematic books, magazines, websites or even podcasts that you found out of a love of psychology. If you have a personal story that brought you to the program, you can share it, but you should not spend a whole page on autobiography, describing every little detail of your mental condition. If you do not have any experience in the professional field, examples from your life will come to the rescue. For example, you can analyze the observations from your previous place of work or your participation in volunteer and other extracurricular activities.
Social work . In most cases, a social worker is not limited to helping only one group of the population, so it is worth showing your involvement with the problems of various layers of society. In your essay, remember the moments when you supported someone, be it in nursing homes, youth clubs, Sunday children’s groups, kindergartens, mentoring programs, or anti-bullying campaigns. Perhaps you had the opportunity to talk with a social worker and you have your own thoughts on the matter. Remember that the letter should carry the value of non-discriminatory behavior and awareness of the consequences of social inequality.
Teacher training and education . Tell us about your experience of studying or working in an educational environment. What, in your opinion, is the role of the teacher? What challenges do they face? What strategies of motivation and involvement do they use in the classroom? Describe the skills or qualities of the teacher that you think are of the utmost importance. Does any of them match with yours? Do not forget to explain why you chose the profession of a teacher, a specific age group of students and subject specialization. At the same time, avoid cliches like “I love children”, “I was born (a) to teach”, “Since childhood I (dreamed) to become a teacher”, etc.
Literary study . Obviously, in literature, as in no other direction, the admission committee will be especially sensitive to the language content of your letter. However, you are not required to imitate Tolstoy’s skill. Abstract philosophical statements, sentences stretched over the entire paragraph, elaborate syntactic constructions or overly complex vocabulary — none of these is the winning tactic. Indicate the works of the writers you like, which areas of literature you are particularly interested in. Be careful when choosing the most popular or well-known book from the school curriculum, but at the same time do not pick some strange poem or an eccentric writer for the sole reason of making an impression on an admission committee. What matters here is not what you have on the bookshelf, but whether you can demonstrate creativity, thoughtfulness, and critical thinking. At the same time, you can also appeal to broader cultural interests — theatrical productions, journalistic texts, etc. Of course, all this should be connected with the chosen course — the tale about Cinderella, that you read when you were 6, is unlikely to interest the commission.
Linguistics, modern languages . When writing a letter, take into account the specifics of the course you are applying to. If the focus is shifted towards applied linguistics, tell about the methods of learning languages that turned out to be the most effective for you. For specialties related to intercultural communication, note what opportunities for immersion in culture you used. It is not a single experience that is important, but the process of developing your interest, and the degree of involvement. If you have been abroad — what thoughts do you have about the culture, history, politics of the country you visited? If you spent a semester as an exchange student — were there any difficulties and how did you cope with the language barrier? If you watched an English film — are there any major differences from French movies that cover the same themes (for bilingual programs)?
Media studies and journalism . Decide in advance what you want to do — conduct media research, create your own media content, or combine both activities. Demonstrate an understanding of the role of media in the modern world, its social and cultural impact. You can even select a movie, TV series, game, website, indicating what features of their production, distribution and analysis you would like to master on the program. In case of practical journalism, it should be clear from your letter that you know about the work of a journalist, correspondent. Be sure to follow the main stories that are circulating in the media at the time to confirm your awareness if necessary. You can reflect on the difference in coverage of events and its objectivity. Although the admission committee insists on having work experience, do not be discouraged if you have none. A personal blog or school newspaper can sometimes teach more than a news agency. You can refer to your publications in a motivation letter, as well as send them along with the application documents.
Biology . Remember how you came into contact with biology in real life. Perhaps it was a camping trip or a visit to the university’s laboratory. Make sure to specify the areas of biology that interest you the most: the cellular structure, human physiology, the environment, or the science of living organisms in general. Do not mix biology with medical specialties, thereby showing lack of motivation in this area.
Environmental science . Show your knowledge of the subject and describe what attracts you to it — its interdisciplinary nature (research approach) or the possibility of a comprehensive theoretical and practical training. Think about the current environmental issues and what impact they have on you personally. What new ways to deal with them can you offer?
Chemistry . Many applicants try to demonstrate their knowledge by describing a particular theory or by bringing unsystematic observations on a subject that do not intersect with their real interests. Most often this is what the experts from the admissions committee know as well. Instead, try focusing on one or two examples of applying chemistry knowledge in real life. This may be a case at work, a lecture you attended or a documentary you watched — the main thing is to show that your interests go beyond the classroom. Do not forget to describe how you imagine the learning process itself (why are you sure that you will not get bored for 3-4 years of lectures and chemical experiments in the laboratory?) And your career goals.
Art and design . Name the artists or designers that you admire, reflect on the exhibitions or art galleries that you recently visited and which influenced your own work. Of course, it is important for members of the admission committee to understand your view on contemporary art, but it is much more important to see the uniqueness of your practical experience. Remember that a motivation letter is a kind of addition to the portfolio: you can refer to specific pieces you submitted, projects, explain what they represent.
Photography . Describe how you interact with visual art, what forms your professional interest (photographers, exhibitions, magazines and even websites), but do not limit yourself to the sphere of photography alone — perhaps you are also inspired by artists or writers. Do not forget to turn to your own work: the admissions committee appreciates the applicants who can tell what is hidden behind the objects in the picture, what methods the creator used to convey his idea of how he left the comfort zone. At the same time, be careful indicating your narrow specialization (for example, fashion photography), if you submit documents for a course with a general curriculum — this may reduce the chances of admission.
Performing arts . It would seem that motivation letters for such creative specialties, such as performing arts , should demonstrate the greatest degree of creativity. However, it is here that the most cliches can be found: “I am a natural born dancer”, “on stage I become a different person”, “music is my life”, “music is a universal language”, etc. Talking about your practical experience, it is worth remembering that your desire and ability to perform and play are good, but not enough for the university level. You need to understand what kind of professional development the degree can give you. The admission committee expects analytical skills, the ability to think critically, to interpret certain dance, theater, and musical works.
Dance . According to experts, the experience the student has in areas related to the movement, be it sports, martial arts or even a circus is very important. The main thing is to show how this led to the chosen program. Remember, in which dance groups you participated as an artist or organizer, what lessons you learned.
Drama . Write a letter knowing the program you are applying for, the alleged ratio of theory to practice is especially important. Think what areas are interesting to study: the work of directors, artists, designers, editors, theater troupes.
Music . Music is the basis for a number of programs: from creation technologies to stage performance, from composing lyrics to writing journalistic reviews, from pop to opera. Be prepared to justify your passion for a particular area, not music in general.
Architecture . Given that architecture belongs to creative professions, many admissions committees insist the applicants present themselves and their motivation creatively. For others it is important to hear what specific buildings, structures you like. However, avoid the dry listing of tourist attractions — look for reasons. Indicate the architects whose work you admire, their signature style, and your opinion about them.
Construction , Building . Remember that each program is unique: if you apply for “Architectural Technologies”, you should not say that you want to become an architect, because it means that you do not know the difference and take this program as a backup option.
Planning . Explore the social, economic, and political aspects of urban planning, its relationship with design, and environmental factors. Find out what problems professional designers are dealing with, what ethical and practical challenges of this profession, you may have to face personally.
Physics . The main requirement is to demonstrate a genuine interest in science and technology. You can tell about how diligently you studied a particular issue of physics, what literature you found particularly interesting. But do not just say “I read “ A Brief History of Time ”(by the way, a fairly typical choice of the applicants). It is better to express your opinion on an urgent problem, for example, whether it is necessary to build more nuclear power plants. The most striking may be the part of the letter in which you talk about your own discovery, or even invention. Perhaps you built a rocket launcher out of a water bottle, and then realized that it was operating under Newton’s second and third laws. Similar stories really stand out.
Maths . Reading math books that are not in the curriculum, participating in math clubs, winning competitions, solving non-standard math problems. Try to remember the moments that brought you closer to choosing a future profession. Perhaps you participated and won in mathematical competitions. Which area of mathematical science is closer to you? Algebra, geometry, statistics or something else?
Computer science . Judging by the statements of the members of admission committees, letters with a story about the purchase of the first computer at the age of three did not age very well. Be unique. Express your point of view regarding a professional issue that has been a point of contention for you, for example, data privacy (consider the profile of the course you have chosen). Since computer science is closely related to mathematics, experience in both areas can make a difference. In addition to reading relevant literature, indicate whether you have been involved in programming projects. You may have written one simple program, but even this may be enough to show your involvement in the subject. Avoid general statements like “I am excited about artificial intelligence” or “You cannot do without a computer in the modern world” if you cannot explore them in a new and interesting way.
Engineering . Describe the work experience, project, or training course associated with the selected course. What was so interesting about them? What caused you some difficulties? If you haven’t had the chance to try yourself in a specialized field, focus on something that helped you develop your technical abilities and soft skills. However, do not go as far as talking about how you liked to play Legos or that the first word you spoke was “hydraulics”. Better remember your recent experience. Even if you just like to disassemble and repair items, watch their internal structure, include this in your essay.
Law . Any experience related to the activities of lawyers can be significant, be that actually working in a law office, a mini-internship, volunteering in the department of citizen counseling or just attending a court session. At school or university, you could have participated in debates or even been the organizer of your own debate club. Show that you have or are doing everything you can to develop the skills that are important for a lawyer — public speaking, persuasion, attention to detail. Mentioning certain events, show your interest in the analysis of their legal component.
Medicine . In medicine, practical experience is especially valuable. However, it is obvious that not everyone is able to observe the work of a doctor before admission (such a practice is known as shadowing a doctor ). You can show interest in the profession by indicating the experience of caring for patients, mentioning some real situation that happened in the hospital (the doctor helped the unconscious patient, how the staff quickly manages even the most unusual incidents, etc.), including from the side of the patient (maybe once you were helped). At the same time, it is important to mention not so much the knowledge of medical techniques (which most likely you could not get by just observing), but your own understanding of the profession of a doctor, as well as ethical issues related to it. So, one of the representatives of the admission committee said in an interview that they are looking for candidates who not only want to help people, but also are really interested in improving the healthcare system and the wellbeing of society, and are not afraid to talk about death.
Dentistry . Perhaps the most popular and highly paid medical specialty. Of course, this may serve as a motivation for choosing the profession of a dentist, but ideally, the selection committee expects you to have a higher goal that is significant for society. In any case, always be honest with yourself. As in the case of general medicine, practical experience is valued here, which is not limited to medical practice alone (just observing how the doctor applied the filling is already an experience if you can tell what you learned from this). It will not be superfluous to mention a hobby that requires fine motor skills (modeling, playing a musical instrument), which will confirm good hand-eye coordination and attention to detail — important qualities for a future dentist.
Nursing . Describe your experience with the healthcare industry as a practitioner or observer. However, you do not need to spend valuable space on a general explanation of what the nurse is responsible for (rest assured the admissions committee knows this). You will demonstrate a greater understanding of the future profession if you reflect on what you personally thought was unusual, interesting, and special in nursing practice. Depending on the course you have chosen, consider what challenges you may encounter when working with people suffering from mental health conditions (mental health nursing), children (child nursing), adults and elderly people (adult and elderly nursing), etc.
Business and management . In this field, the selection committee wants to see a future innovator, an entrepreneur who is able to effectively communicate information. The structure and organization of a motivation letter is especially important here (otherwise how can you organize yourself if you cannot organize your letter). Express your own point of view on topical business issues: for example, why this or that company went bankrupt, which factors contributed to the revival of a brand. Present yourself as an initiative person who is able to identify and solve real business problems. You may have personal observations related to consumer market behavior, management styles, or marketing campaigns.
Marketing . Demonstrate an understanding of the marketing industry, how it changes depending on the needs of society, what role marketing plays in the functioning of business operations. Describe the situation when you were directly involved in the marketing processes. At the same time, it is important to show not the extent of the impact, but how this experience benefited you, even if the project as a whole turned out to be unsuccessful. Therefore, school or university initiatives also matter if you can properly sell them. You can mention the statistics that you read in reliable sources or a meeting with a successful businessman (of course, indicating that the conclusions were made by you).
Finance, accounting . In addition to general requirements, it is worth showing your interest and ability to quantitatively analyze business related issues. It is worth giving specific examples of how you applied mathematical skills to the analysis of business cases. By analogy with the previously mentioned fields, any experience counts: from an internship in a large financial company to a simple conversation with an accountant, from your own business to a student part-time job in a retail clothing store. What conclusions could you draw from this or that activity?
How to Write a Great Statement of Purpose by Vince Gotera;
Personal statements by Fulbright Commission;
How to Write the Perfect Personal Statement by Mark Alan Stewart;
Personal statements: subject guides by Which? University;
How to write a personal statement for a UK university by Kathryn Abell;
10 things to put in your personal statement by Alan Bullock;
UCAS' personal statement tool by UCAS;
The dos and don'ts of writing a personal statement for languages by Abby Young-Powell;
Motivationsschreiben fürs Studium: Infos, Tipps & Muster für eine erfolgreiche Bewerbung ;
How to start a personal statement: the killer opening by Alan Bullock;
How to Write a Personal Statement by EssayEdge;
Things to avoid in your postgrad personal statement by Charlotte King;
Writing the Personal Statement by Berkeley Graduate Division;
Cover Letter & Personal Statement by Cornell College.

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How to Motivate Yourself to Write a College Essay

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Do you sometimes wonder where all those famous personalities got their motivation from?

For instance, would physics be what it is if Albert Einstein was not motivated by his curiosity to determine the defining laws of modern physics?

Would Michael Jordan be one of the best basketball players of all time if he was not motivated enough to succeed and get past his failures?

Would the United States be united if Abraham Lincoln was not motivated and determined to preserve the Union? Come what may?

..and here you are, unable to even start your college essay!

If you are lacking the motivation to start your essay or are struggling to stay motivated because your essay does not seem to end, first of all - stop stressing. You are certainly not the only student to be in this situation.

It’s true. It would be best if you were charged up and motivated about something to do an excellent job at it. Motivation is the fuel that drives you - it pushes you to stay committed to your goal despite hurdles and challenges along the way. It stems from vision and your willpower to turn it into reality.

Believe it or not - there is a science behind motivation .

Finding the Motivation to Write Your College Essay When You Hit a Dead End

You have an essay to complete, but you are nowhere close to starting it. The fact that you might have to put together a last-minute essay is no longer enough to get you started because you are deeply demotivated and unenthusiastic to begin working on it.

Don’t worry - we have put together a list of tips and tools that will get you out of this phase and jumpstart your motivation.

Why are you Losing Motivation to Write an Essay

There are many reasons that might be contributing to your lack of motivation. The first step is knowing why you are not motivated enough to complete your essay so you can arrest it and get beyond it.

Here are five common reasons behind losing the motivation to write -

Not Interested in the Topic

If you find yourself saying, “but I hate the essay topic” or “I couldn’t care less about the topic,” it’s inevitable that the core reason behind your lack of motivation is your absolute disinterest in the essay topic.

We agree - it’s challenging to write when you don’t relate to something or worse still, dislike the subject. How do you start? How do you express your thoughts? How do you begin the research?

..but you gotta do what you gotta do.

At such times, what helps is knowing that this particular writing assignment will take you one step closer to your academic goals. Remind yourself that doing well here has long-term benefits. So, put aside your aversion and get onto it.

Lack of Confidence in your Writing

This reason is unfortunate - when you second-guess yourself to the extent that you start doubting your writing abilities which takes a hit on your confidence and jolts your motivation. The next thing you know, you are struggling with all the writing assignments that come your way.

You don’t have to deal with the entire essay in one go. Doing that will just scare you more and take you further away from finishing it. Instead, break it down and take it one step at a time. You are likely to maintain your sanity and motivation when you do so.

So, set aside time for research, outlining, writing, editing, and proofreading. Even in the writing stage, don’t aim to write everything out together. Break it down paragraph-wise and let yourself do justice to each one of them instead of rushing with it.

Keep a Strong Writing Schedule

How will you regain your confidence if you don’t give yourself a chance?

For a moment, forget what your teacher will say after reading your essay or how you will be perceived. Just write with the aim of pushing your limits and doing the best you can.

Read more books. Ask yourself what it is that you want to communicate—plan and practice writing. Most importantly, stop letting your fear and anxieties from telling you that you cannot write - be more significant than that.

Tips on building confidence as a writer from Reedsy community

Cannot Stop Procrastinating

Ask any student what their biggest enemy is, and they will tell you it’s procrastination.

That’s your story too? Then the only way to battle that is to plan well. Yes, get all those productivity apps and tools out and get disciplined. That’s the only way to get around your assignment.

No one said assignment writing is fun but it’s necessary to take it up with all seriousness to get the scores you want. So, stop procrastinating and just START.

Feeling Overwhelmed

Considering the number of assignments a high school, college, or university student deals with on a daily basis, it is extremely common to feel overwhelmed and intimidated. When this overwhelming feeling is not tackled early, it takes over one’s thought process and becomes a deterrent.

This is primarily in the case of college essays because there is so much pressure riding on them. Essay writing is a cognitive, time-consuming process that requires an extensive amount of planning and work, but when you take it one step at a time, it helps to feel less overwhelmed and re-ignite your motivation.

Too Focussed on Grades

A study suggests that when students are overly focused on grades, it affects learning.

..and we agree.

The same applies to writing college essays. When you start obsessing over the grades you will get, you are likely to work under immense pressure, which affects the quality of your writing.

While grades do matter, it’s important to shift focus from the final outcome to getting immersed and enjoying the process. Try it!

So, what’s your reason? Accept it to overcome it.

What to Do When You Lack the Motivation to Write a College Essay

Contrary to what people think, no one is “born” motivated. You can make changes in your life and mindset to become motivated and at the same time, if you are not persistent enough, your motivation may even start to fade.

So, if you are stressing over the fact that you are losing motivation to write your college paper, here are ten hacks that can help you get out of that phase and get started on your essay -

Write and Revisit your Goal

“Does that even help?”

Oh. It does.

When you write down your goal, it registers better. Whether it’s finishing your essay in a given amount of time or aiming for the grades you want - when you write your goals down, however big or small, it remains in your subconscious and ignites renewed passion in your mind to go after that goal.

What’s more, on days when you are not particularly charged up or are feeling listless and demotivated, revisiting your goals is an essential reminder and helps you get back on your feet.

So, get a journal, write your goal down, and maybe even stick it on your study table, so you never lose track.

Watch Mary Morrissey deconstruct the power of writing down your goals

Break Down the Writing Process

Earlier, we spoke about how writing assignments tend to get overwhelming. In such cases, you know what helps? Breaking down the writing process.

You don’t have to deal with the entire essay in one go. Doing that will scare you and take you further away from finishing it. Instead, break it down and take it one step at a time. You are likely to maintain your sanity and motivation when you do so.

So, set aside time for research, outlining, writing, editing, and proofreading. Even in the writing stage, don’t aim to write everything together. Break it down paragraph-wise and let yourself do justice to each one of them instead of rushing with it.

Once you have broken down the writing process into smaller steps, allocate a definite period to each of them - that includes the exact dates because only then can you hold yourself accountable for it.

Another aspect of keeping a solid writing schedule is knowing when you are your productive best and when your ideas are flowing. For some, it can be early morning, for others, it can be late at night.

So, find your favorite writing period and maintain an intense writing schedule wherein you can get most of the writing done. Try and write at least something every day, so you don’t lose touch and go back to square one.

Create the Essay Outline

One of the most overlooked aspects of writing essays is creating outlines. “What has created an outline got to do with being motivated,” you may ask.

It helps because when you work on a solid outline, you realize that the next step is just populating the essay, knowing that you are not going off-track and following a logical sequence.

Creating an essay outline makes you feel closer to the end result because you know you have your research, notes, and outline in place - now, you can get onto the writing part.

Conquer Writing Anxiety

Writing anxiety is when you are filled with fear and tension when you are met with any writing assignment. It may have arisen due to a bad experience wherein you were dissed for your writing - and then this perception just stuck on.

Well, guess what? That’s not helping your “motivation” at all. It’s crippling.

Firstly, stop comparing your work to others and set unrealistic expectations aside. For a change, don’t look at the bigger picture and just focus on the task.

Read the assignment instructions, reach out to your instructor if you have concerns, and start the process. Every time you second-guess yourself, identify it and reason it out instead of giving in to it.

As Antoniou and Moriarty stated, “the most important lesson in developing one’s writing is to WRITE.”

Practice Freewriting

Sometimes, instead of feeding your demotivated self, you need just to put your foot down and start writing. This is what freewriting is - writing whatever comes to you.

It helps you to overcome your mental blocks and gets you started on something you have been delaying for the longest time. Once you get the ball rolling, you can always come back to polish your essay and make it worthy of submission.

Here are five tips to free-write successfully

Write the Introduction Last

When we started writing essays in school, we were taught to create essays with introductory paragraphs.

Yes, introductions do come first, but that does not mean they need to be written first.

Let’s face it - introductory paragraphs face the most amount of pressure. Starting with an interesting hook , engaging the reader from the word go, and ensuring your essay begins with a bang is the kind of pressure we are talking about.

Someone who is not too motivated to write is bound to crumble under this pressure. Hence, it’s a good idea to start with the body paragraphs and even write the conclusion before you can come back to write the introductory paragraph with a calm, composed, and confident mind.

Find your Perfect Writing Space

Many might think this is overrated, but we beg to differ.

You might think you can write on the couch today and tomorrow and get the writing down while sitting on the bed, but that’s where you are making a mistake.

A dedicated space to think and write helps because you create a motivating and safe environment for yourself. From ensuring you sit in the correct posture and having easy access to your tools and resources to maintaining a distraction-free space - sitting there to write is enough to get you in the ‘writing zone.’

So, find your perfect writing space, and you will see a spike in your productivity levels.

Reward Yourself

Do you remember how as kids, our parents gave us chocolate to tidy up our room or took us to the amusement park to score well in our exams? It helped. That’s because we were told we would be rewarded for doing something.

Not much has changed. You can try the same thing for yourself even today.

Rewards boost motivation because who doesn't love getting rewarded? So, every time you finish a chunk of your writing, celebrate that small win and reward yourself. It can be as simple as catching another episode of your favorite show on Netflix or anything else that brings you joy.

Take Breaks

Talking about joy, taking regular breaks is extremely important to remain motivated because otherwise you just turn into an unhappy machine and you certainly don’t want that, do you?

Take a break from your writing - watch a movie, spend time with friends and family, go to your favorite restaurant or just head out for a walk in the park. Do anything to get away from your books so you can come back to your essay with a fresher mind.

Practical Tools to Stay Motivated While Writing your College Essay

If there is anything more complex than finding motivation, it is staying motivated. But hey, why fear when technology is here?

Here are four practical online tools to help you stay motivated right through the essay writing process -

WriteMonkey

Today’s most prominent online distractions come from social media channels, Netflix, and e-commerce websites. How is one supposed to even begin writing, given these circumstances?

This is where WriteMonkey can come to your rescue. This tool does not let anything come between you and your writing. It displays an empty screen, letting you stay focussed on paper and nothing else.

The organization is critical - all the more when it comes to writing college essays. Trello is a planning tool that makes organization fun.

From keeping track of websites and planning drafts to creating a to-do list and adding priorities - this tool lets you arrange your assignments well such that you don’t miss anything.

Remember the tip about breaking down the writing process we spoke about earlier? Yes, Trello has a feature that lets you create subtasks and track their progress.

Focus Keeper

As the name suggests, Focus Keeper is meant to keep your focus going. This easy-to-use app needs you to plug in the tasks that need to be completed, set the timer, and start writing. It also allows for timely breaks to prevent you from reaching burnout .

Cold Turkey

Let’s face it - you cannot possibly finish your essays without the internet, and where there is the internet, there is bound to be a distraction.

Downloading Cold Turkey lets you maintain discipline because it turns your computer into a typewriter and allows you to set a time limit and word count goal. You are literally locked into this app - unless you don’t meet the daily goal, you won’t be able to log out.

While we agree it is not easy to be motivated to write a college essay, it is not impossible either. So, follow the tips, hacks, and tools we have put together for you to supercharge your motivation and write a brilliant essay!

However, if everything else fails and you are still struggling to start your essay, we have a sure-fire solution for you and that is reaching out to essay writing experts.

Writers Per Hour is one such expert that can help with your college papers, no matter the type or length of time you have in hand. Just write to us with your requirements, and we will get our professional writers on the job, guaranteeing to deliver superior quality, 100%-plagiarism-free, and authentic essays.

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Essays on Motivation

As you write a motivation essay you get to explore the concept of motivation. The word itself comes from the Latin word “movere”, which means “to move”. Motivation essays define Motivation as: an encouragement to action; a person's ability to satisfy their needs through certain activities; a dynamic psychophysiological process that controls a person’s behavior and determines his level of organization, the orientation of actions, and activity. Authors of essays on motivation note such types of motivation: external/internal, positive/negative, stable/unstable, etc. There is much to discover about motivation. You can view our motivation essay samples for some more facts about this concept, which will help perfect your essay. You can find all the essay samples below.

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Larry has been a great asset and highly valuable worker, who has been able to accomplish his daily work by even going an extra mile to deliver the job done. On the same note, Larry’s performance might have been changed due to his experience in the company having worked with...

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Who is really an excellent university student and how to identify them? A development of a comprehensive framework of excellence in higher education

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Published: 26 June 2024

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Ivana Mašková ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-2533-7745 1 , 2 ,
Dalibor Kučera ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-7023-8140 2 &
Alena Nohavová ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0386-4440 2

This paper addresses the need for a more comprehensive framework of excellence in higher education, which goes beyond academic achievement alone, placing emphasis on its integration with personal characteristics, and acknowledging the diversity in the student population. Two research studies were conducted to establish this comprehensive framework. The pilot study aimed to offer a conceptual definition of the excellent university student according to the perceptions of the academic community. The study, which involved 26 teachers and 159 students, was informed by teacher interviews, student essays, and focus group discussions. The established conceptual framework of excellence was based on a subset of essential attributes that could be embodied by a real student. The conceptual framework comprises facets of expertness, proactive learning, and being a good person organised within the dimensions of educational and personal excellence. It is complemented by academic achievement and underpinned by genuine study motivation. Building upon the findings of the pilot study, the main study aimed to develop and implement a systematic procedure for identifying excellent students. The study, which involved 53 teachers and 112 students, was based on a multisource assessment of multiple contextually relevant criteria of excellence. The identification procedure involved three phases: teacher nomination and assessment, academic achievement assessment, and peer assessment. As a result, 10 excellent students were identified who met all the conceptual criteria of excellence. In conclusion, this paper presents a comprehensive conceptual and methodological framework for defining and identifying excellent university students, grounded in both theoretical principles and empirical findings.

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Since ancient times, individuals excelling in any field of human endeavour have been the subject of broad fascination and admiration serving as role models and inspiring others to reach their own highest potential. Naturally, excellent individuals generate considerable interest also for psychologists and researchers who have devoted special attention to studying, understanding, and explaining excellence to find which specific behaviours, traits, and experiences excellent athletes, professionals, or students share, and which developmental paths they follow (Chen et al., 2020 ; Fuster de Hernàndez, 2020 ; Hirsch & Segolsson, 2021 ; Kallas, 2014 ). Although we believe that the notion of excellence is highly relevant across disciplines, in this paper, we highlight the importance of concentrating on individual-level excellence within the context of higher education. In the field of higher education, there is a growing body of research focused on investigating the characteristics, motivations, and trajectories of excellent university students. The ultimate goal of this research is to identify qualities associated with excellence that universities could cultivate in other students as well (e.g. López et al., 2013 ; Mirghani et al., 2015 ). To ensure that such research generates valid findings and meaningful conclusions which can accurately navigate educational policy and practice, it is first necessary to develop a rigorous conceptualisation and operationalisation of excellence in higher education. However, the field lacks clear and practical guidance on how to conduct research on individual-level excellence in a conceptually and methodologically sound way.

In the theoretical part of this paper, we discuss limitations of the current approaches to define and identify excellent university students, which tend to focus solely on high academic achievement. We advocate for a more holistic framework that integrates academic achievement with the personal and motivational characteristics, acknowledging student diversity and the variability of ways in which excellence manifests itself (Gardner, 2015 ; Miller & Kerr, 2002 ). We argue that the exceedingly high value placed on academic achievement may have negative consequences, such as a decrease of student well-being, an increase of academic dishonesty, and a switch towards unfavourable motivational patterns (Kötter et al., 2017 ; Luthar & Kumar, 2018 ; Yaniv et al., 2017 ). Methodologically, we advocate for greater consideration of the socially-construed context-dependent nature of the construct of excellence (Terzi, 2020 ).

The empirical part of this paper consists of two distinct yet interrelated research studies, conducted at a European university. The first pilot study, based on qualitative data from teachers and students, seeks to establish a context-specific conceptual framework of the excellent university student. The second study aims to develop and implement a methodological framework for identifying excellent university students. As a result, this paper presents a comprehensive framework of excellence that could be particularly helpful for research based on sampling excellent university students.

Conceptual underpinnings of excellence

Since the term excellence has recently become a ubiquitous buzzword in social science and beyond, it is often used broadly to refer to any field-specific desired outcome. Thus, despite its growing appeal, excellence has been documented as an ambiguous, or even as an empty concept (Bruno-Jofré & Hills, 2011 ; Brusoni et al., 2014 ). To unravel the real meaning behind the term, it is necessary to first review its conceptual underpinnings.

Excellence is generally defined as an “outstanding merit or quality” (“Excellence”, n. d. ); the corresponding adjective excellent as “extremely good, of very high quality” (Summers, 2003 , p. 350). The specific understanding of excellence at an individual level, however, diverges into distinct viewpoints along a continuum with technical goodness (being good at or doing well) at one end, and non-instrumental moral goodness (doing good) at the other (Franks, 1996 , p. 297). The first perspective acknowledges a person’s excellence through the resulting product they created (Norton, 1980, as cited in Franks, 1996 ). Put differently, excellence equals outstanding performance, and individuals are considered excellent when they reach a certain level of a key performance indicator (Brusoni et al., 2014 ). The opposite view is in accordance with the original understanding of the term and has its roots in the ethical theory of the Ancient Greeks. From this historical perspective, excellence, or arete , had to do with values and ideals rather than performance, since it was related to quality of character, and thus a feature of the noble and good human (Jahanbegloo, 2014 ).

The most comprehensive conceptualisation of excellence integrates the duality of professional or performance excellence (observable, measurable outcomes) and personal excellence (personal qualities or virtues) into a single framework (Miller & Kerr, 2002 ). While the integrative approach to excellence is rare in the existing literature, parallels can be identified, mainly in integrative conceptual frameworks of giftedness. Although the conceptual definitions of excellence may not explicitly include high intellectual abilities, the indirect link between excellence and intellectual abilities can be presumed based on the predictive power of cognitive ability on academic achievement, which is an integral part of excellence (Rohde & Thompson, 2007 ). In this respect, the conceptual frameworks of giftedness emphasise several closely related but distinct elements, including, but also going beyond, ability as measured by conventional test scores (Renzulli & Reis, 2020 ; Sternberg, 2009 ). As each of these elements plays a crucial role in contributing to the manifestation of gifted behaviour, their synthesis becomes imperative. In essence, an individual cannot be considered gifted if they lack any of the qualities that together form the theoretical foundation of giftedness. For example, the Three Ring Conception of Giftedness is based on three interacting clusters of traits: above-average, though not necessarily superior, ability in terms of both general and specific ability; task commitment, referring to focused motivation directed toward a specific task or performance area; and creativity (Renzulli & Reis, 2020 ). Likewise, the conceptual framework of giftedness proposed by Sternberg ( 2009 ) synthesises wisdom, intelligence, and creativity. Here giftedness is considered

a function of creativity in generating ideas, analytical intelligence in evaluating the quality of these ideas, practical intelligence in implementing the ideas and convincing others to value and follow the ideas, and wisdom to ensure that the decisions and their implementation is for the common good of all stakeholders. (p. 255)

Specifically, wisdom, regarded as the most crucial yet rarest quality of a gifted individual in the giftedness conceptual framework (Sternberg, 2009 ), clearly aligns with personal excellence in the excellence framework.

The present study strongly advocates the holistic approach to excellence, since it promotes the realisation of the human potential to its fullest extent. We argue that the emphasis on both facets of excellence is particularly important when conceptualising excellence in higher education to be in line with the core mission of higher education institutions: to help individuals fulfil their potential by fostering intellectual, personal, and moral growth (Astin & Antonio, 2012 ; Hoff, 2009 ). Moreover, excellence in higher education goes beyond the academic world since it also represents that which students take with them after leaving university to become excellent professionals, parents, and citizens (Gardner, 2015 ). Given that excellence in the workplace entails high-quality work and ethical and social responsibility at its centre (Gardner et al., 2001 ), it can be assumed that excellence in higher education cannot only pertain to high-quality academic work, but also to the development of personality and character (Hoff, 2009 ).

Conceptual frameworks of the excellent student

Although excellence is one of the most fashionable concepts in education these days (Astin & Antonio, 2012 ), relevant literature providing solid conceptual underpinnings of the construct of the excellent student is limited and entails predominantly theoretical work that lacks empirical data on how the construct is perceived by students and teachers. Since sources focusing exclusively on university students are extremely scarce, all the literature presented here covers students of all educational levels. In this respect, several integrative conceptualisations of the excellent student that acknowledge both achievement and personal attributes can be found in the existing literature. The technical facet of excellence, equivalent to individual expertness, comprises the knowledge and strategies that are needed to address specific tasks, and it is manifested in high academic achievement (Ferrari, 2002 ; Li, 2004 ; Parkash and Waks, 1985, as cited in Bruno-Jofré & Hills, 2011 ). The non-technical personal facet, on the other hand, prevents the reduction of excellence to merely a matter of technical expertness, and emphasises the importance of the values, skills, and outcomes that people need to function well in a particular community (Ferrari, 2002 ). Hence, an integral part of excellence is outstanding academic achievement coupled with personal qualities that have been conceptualised as (a) being a good person (Ferrari, 2002 ) or possessing a moral and virtuous character (Li, 2004 ), (b) showing personal mastery including the desire for self-improvement, curiosity, and willingness to work hard to fulfil this curiosity (Erez, 2004 ), and (c) having good work habits in terms of neatness, persistence, efficient time use, and self-discipline (Franks, 1996 ). In addition, a certain level of intellectual skills may be considered part of excellence, as intellectual skills, particularly general cognitive ability, strongly influence academic achievement (Rohde & Thompson, 2007 ). Indeed, being intelligent was identified as one of the relevant aspects in conceptualising an ideal university student (as discussed below; Wong et al., 2021 ).

In contrast to limited conceptualisations of excellence, a rich empirically-based conceptual framework of what is valued in a student provides the related notion of the ideal university student. In this respect, the characteristics of the ideal student include good grades and personal qualities, such as reflectiveness and supportiveness towards others, but also the education-related qualities of engagement, interest, and taking responsibility for their own learning (Llamas, 2006 ; Wong et al., 2021 ). Nevertheless, whereas the features of an excellent university student can be embodied by a real person, the notion of the ideal student constitutes the aspirations and imaginations of desirable student characteristics that may not exist in one individual (Wong et al., 2021 ). Thus, although the aforementioned conceptualisations may resemble the conceptual frameworks of the excellent student to a certain extent, they are not intended to guide research in student sampling as they are far too complex and not very realistic.

Research on excellence in higher education

This paper specifically highlights the relevance of a notion of excellence in the context of higher education. University students are a specific population in multiple ways. They find themselves in the final stage of formal education, and, at the same time, at the beginning of an unfolding career path. Since excellence in higher education is considered a direct antecedent of occupational (and citizenship) excellence (Gardner, 2015 ), it is of particular significance. Moreover, the stage of emerging adulthood, which usually overlaps with studying at university, is characterised by malleability of attitudes, traits, and behaviours. Emerging adults may greatly benefit from interventions focused on establishing positive behaviour patterns that may, in turn, help them to fulfil their potential and live a fulfilling and meaningful life in the long term (Arnett & Schwab, 2012 ; Nelson et al., 2008 ). If universities use the unique opportunity of this life stage to cultivate excellence in university students, it may not only have a direct effect on students’ personal growth, but also promote the growth of communities, organisations, and the whole society (Gardner, 2015 ; Hoff, 2009 ).

Educational researchers may already be aware of the above-mentioned significance of investigating and cultivating excellence in higher education, as there is a growing body of empirical research focused on concrete excellent students. These research studies typically aim to explain determinants of excellence, such as contextual or personal factors that impact the development of excellence (e.g. López et al., 2013 ; Monteiro et al., 2014 ). Alternatively, they explore the career paths pursued by excellent students with the aim of better understanding, for instance, their career choice decisions (e.g. Fuster de Hernàndez, 2020 ; Kass & Miller, 2018 ). Reviewing the approaches adopted by the most recent research, several criteria have been used to operationally define excellent university students. Sampled excellent students achieve high grades (e.g. Mirghani et al., 2015 ; Monteiro et al., 2014 ), exceed a set cut-off point of the grade point average (GPA; e.g. Al Shawwa et al., 2015 ), or they are enrolled in degree programmes designed for high-achieving students (e.g. Shonfeld & Ronen, 2015 ). Additionally, the samples of excellent students were constituted of those scoring high (exceeding a set cut-off point) on admission examinations (e.g. Kass & Miller, 2018 ; López et al., 2013 ) or national standardised examinations (e.g. Fuster de Hernàndez, 2020 ).

The above-described approaches suggest that current higher education research favours the unidimensional technical view of excellence and equals excellence with high achievement. From the standpoint of the present study, defining excellent university students solely via academic achievement indicators is problematic in several ways as discussed in the following sections.

Shortcomings of approaches equating excellence with high academic achievement

The negative side of high academic achievement.

Excellence, by its nature, is an inherently positive construct (Gardner, 2015 ). Likewise, high academic achievement has commonly been perceived as a surrogate of desirable and positive outcomes, linked for instance to job performance or earnings (e.g. French et al., 2014 ). Nevertheless, there are several less-considered negative aspects associated with high academic achievement, including problematic motivational patterns, an increased tendency towards academic dishonesty, and psychological vulnerability in high-achieving students. Performance pressure resulting from the high value placed on academic achievement may be deemed a common culprit of these issues (Bardach et al., 2020 ; Luthar & Kumar, 2018 ; Ma et al., 2013 ).

First, a matter of concern may be the motivation of high-achieving students that does not necessarily derive from genuine interest in the study material, but tends to be fuelled by the external pressure to stand out (Luthar & Kumar, 2018 ). As a consequence, high achievers may be more interested in obtaining a high GPA, high class ranks, and awards than in true learning (Geddes, 2011 ). In the classroom, high achievers tend to pursue performance-competitive goals, which means that they are primarily motivated by the desire to outperform their peers. On the contrary, the students who display a genuine interest in the course material and strive to develop knowledge and skills are lower achieving mastery-oriented individuals (Senko & Miles, 2008 ).

Even more problematic is the potential link between academic achievement and academic dishonesty. While evidence based on self-reported survey data suggests that students with higher GPA cheat less (Whitley, 1998 ), research based on observation of actual or experimentally-driven behaviour showed that high achievers behave in a dishonest way just as much as low achievers (e.g. Williamson & Assadi, 2005 ). Further, Yaniv et al. ( 2017 ) showed that under competitive conditions, high-achieving students (in terms of GPA, high-school matriculation average grades, and psychometric exam scores) were more likely to cheat in an examination compared to their lower achieving counterparts. The obvious discrepancy between survey-based and actual data can be explained by the inverse relationship between actual and self-reported cheating since the students who cheat more are also more likely to be dishonest in self-reports about their cheating (West et al., 2004 ).

These results suggest that high-achieving students tend to behave dishonestly at least in that they may pretend to behave in a more favourable way than they actually do. Since the desire to do better than others can significantly increase the likelihood of cheating (Van Yperen et al., 2011 ), the suggested link between academic achievement and academic dishonesty may be mediated by the above-mentioned performance-oriented motivation (Senko & Miles, 2008 ). In fact, both performance-oriented motivation and dishonest behaviour may be directly promoted by the high value placed on academic achievement (Bardach et al., 2020 ; Ma et al., 2013 ). With respect to cheating in the university setting, grade pressure was identified as one of its strongest determinants (Ma et al., 2013 ).

Finally, performance pressure can have detrimental effects on the well-being, healthy personal development, and even cognitive functioning of students. There is a consistent body of evidence showing that the highest-achieving students display the highest levels of both subjectively perceived stress and physiological stress reactions (Kötter et al., 2017 ; Yoo et al., 2021 ). The elevated levels of stress resulting from the high and ongoing pressure to achieve can make high-achieving students a particularly vulnerable group prone to psychological health issues, such as depression and anxiety, or to the misuse of drugs and alcohol (Luthar & Kumar, 2018 ). Moreover, the findings of Modrek and Kuhn ( 2017 ) suggest that high-performing students in demanding, highly competitive academic settings may be at risk not only with respect to their well-being, but also to cognitive regulation and independent learning skills.

Such findings further highlight the need for a more sustainable framework of excellence particularly in higher education settings. From this study’s perspective, linking excellence solely to high academic achievement may induce performance pressure, leading to detrimental effects on students’ motivation, moral behaviour, and healthy development, potentially resulting in high-achieving students displaying behavioural and motivational patterns incongruent with personal excellence attributes. Moreover, among the various occupational and age groups, university students tend to be the most psychologically vulnerable in terms of poor mental health outcomes (Evans et al., 2018 ; Stallman, 2010 ; Wittchen et al., 1998 ). Thus, we argue that university students could particularly benefit from a framework of excellence that attenuates the excessively high value placed on academic achievement.

Lack of attention to diversity in the student population

Currently, higher education is characterised by a substantial increase in diversity of the student body related to student demographics, socio-economic status, language, cultural and educational background, skills, values, and attitudes (Smit, 2012 ). This trend has been followed by the emerging discourse calling on universities to acknowledge and appreciate diversity, and to actively search for ways to understand student competences and find ways to recognise the dignity of difference (Sacks, 2002 ; Smit, 2012 ). The notion of excellence is in accordance with this discourse as it concerns student’s heterogeneity in terms of the diverse abilities, interests, dispositions, and ambitions of students. Since also diverse paths to excellence are acknowledged, excellence becomes a plural rather than a uniform concept (Terzi, 2020 ). In this respect, Gardner ( 2015 ) noted that

in the intellectual field alone there are many kinds of excellence. There is the kind of intellectual activity that leads to a new theory, and the kind that leads to a new machine. There is the mind that finds its most effective expression in teaching and the mind that is most at home in research. There is the mind that works best in quantitative terms and the mind that luxuriates in poetic imagery. (p. 127-128)

From this perspective, Gardner ( 2015 ) encouraged “to honour the many facets and depths and dimensions of human experience and to seek the many kinds of excellence of which the human spirit is capable” (p. 134).

The current research approach towards excellence in higher education, however, fails to consider the diversity of student biographies, experience, and competences promoting instead a very narrow view of excellence that can be achieved only by the students whose talents and interests match the one-sided criteria of excellence. Moreover, equating excellence with high academic achievement contradicts the call for a widening diversity in the student population and for addressing equity issues because it is inattentive to the vulnerable students. Specifically, using GPA as a proxy of excellence seems to put vulnerable students at a further disadvantage. GPA tends to be lowered, for instance, by students with learning difficulties or physical health issues, or by students who work during their studies (Bergey et al., 2017 ; DeBerard et al., 2004 ; Tessema et al., 2014 ). Thus, the narrow approach to sampling excellent students may overlook vulnerable individuals, such as students with conditions that affect their learning, those from disadvantaged backgrounds who work to pay for their university studies, individuals who approach learning tasks differently, and those with highly specialised talents, interests, creativity, or motivation (Renzulli & Reis, 2020 ).

The present paper adopts a view on excellence that refers to the culmination and realisation of an individual’s potential to the fullest extent, and it manifests itself in an individual-specific way by extraordinary doing and thinking (Astin & Antonio, 2012 ; Gardner, 2015 ). Indeed, the perception of excellence in this paper aligns with the current perspective on high ability and talent development. As Van de Vijver and Mathijssen ( 2024 ) suggest

the ultimate goal of talent development is self-actualization in the meaning of realizing one’s potential and having a meaningful way of living driven by self-determined goals that integrate personal interests and societal contributions. This also implies that a wide range of talents should be nurtured and developed, including moral talents, in order to be able to capture the uniqueness of each individual. (p. 34)

Thus, we argue that more attention should be paid to diversity in the student population and that a broader set of criteria needs to be employed to sample excellent university students.

The nature of excellence: the attribute of context specificity

In literature, two significant attributes of the construct of excellence have been identified, and research on individual-level excellence should align with these for conceptual and methodological soundness. These attributes are: (a) the attribute of diversity (Gardner, 2015 ; Terzi, 2020 ), as discussed above, and (b) the attribute of context specificity (Terzi, 2020 ), which is explored in this section.

Excellence is a social construct made real through social processes and interactions. By their definition, social constructs are complex, dynamic social realities that can be (re)interpreted and (re)shaped in different ways and hence, different populations and cultures may promote different meanings of excellence (Ferrari, 2002 ; Terzi, 2020 ; Young & Collin, 2004 ). Thus, the relevance of criteria employed to operationally define excellent individuals should closely match the perception of a prototypical excellent individual in the target population to enhance the ecological validity of a study. In other words, the fundamental task for research on individual-level excellence should be the rigorous conceptualisation and operationalisation of the phenomenon under investigation to ensure valid findings and meaningful conclusions (Mašková & Kučera, 2022 ; Terzi, 2020 ).

In this respect, occupational research focusing on excellent professionals in various occupations gives an example of good practice in dealing with the construct of excellence. In this area, the selection of excellent individuals has been based mainly on the evaluative judgements of a particular reference group in relation to its standards, such as awards received from the professional communities (e.g. Chen et al., 2020 ), nomination or recommendation by supervisors (e.g. Hirsch & Segolsson, 2021 ; Kallas, 2014 ), peers (e.g. Collinson, 1999 ), or students (in the case of teachers; e.g. Fichten et al., 2018 ). Thus, the methodologies of these studies reflect the context-dependent nature of excellence, since they operationalise excellence in accordance with its socially-construed definition arising out of the communities which excellent individuals are members of. The contextual relevance of criteria used to define and identify excellent university students in higher educational research is, however, unclear, since there is a lack of justification for the use of particular criteria in studies on excellent university students.

Research setting

The research was conducted in the setting of the Faculty of Education, University of South Bohemia (FE USB), which is a public higher education institution in the Czech Republic that ensures bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programmes mainly in teacher education, and provides also several non-pedagogical degree programmes, such as psychology, geography, informatics, and linguistics. In 2019, when the research was conducted, 2160 students were enrolled at the FE USB. Out of this number, 1693 were full-time students (71% females; 1% doctoral students; < 1% international students). The FE USB provides only Czech-language study programmes free of charge. The population of the Czech Republic is ethnically homogenous (Czech Statistical Office, 2014 ); thus, the number of minority students at the FE USB is negligible.

Research ethics

The research was undertaken in accordance with the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the FE USB Ethics Committee (Ref No EK 003/2018). All participants approved informed consent statements before participating in the study.

Pilot study

There is a paucity of empirical data on how the construct of the excellent university student is perceived by teachers and students in various cultural settings. This study makes an initial step in attempting to fulfil this gap by investigating the perspective of the academic community at the FE USB. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, we aim at providing a comprehensive overview of the characteristics attributed to the excellent student by teachers and students. Second, we attempt to establish a realistic set of essential attributes that may be embodied by an actual student and to convert them into a rating scale. The results of this study should inform the procedure of the excellent student identification that is designed and implemented in the main study. The central research question for this study is:

How is excellence defined in university students?

In addition, we address the specific research sub-questions:

What are the attributes of the excellent student according to the FE USB academic community?

What are the essential attributes of the excellent student?

In this respect, we established three criteria, all of which need to be fulfilled for an attribute to be considered essential Footnote 1 : (a) the attribute is a core attribute of the excellent student, i.e. a student cannot be considered excellent if they fail to show the respective attribute, (b) the attribute is universal in that it applies to students across different disciplines and study levels, and (c) the attribute is broadly agreed upon by students and teaching staff members at the FE USB.

Participants

A total of 185 individuals participated in this study, thereof 26 teaching staff members (66% females, 77% assistant professors, 15% associate professors, 8% full professors, mean age = 45.92, SD = 6.82) representing the various departments at the FE USB and 159 full-time students (73% females, mean age = 23.06, SD = 3.82) pursuing bachelor’s or master’s degree courses of varying specialisations including teacher education, psychology, informatics, and geography. The first phase of the study included 107 student participants enrolled on a psychology course designed for students of various degree courses and study levels, and 14 teaching staff members who represented all the departments participating in full-time student education at the FE USB. To recruit teacher participants, the heads of respective departments were informed about the study aims and invited to either participate themselves or recommend a colleague who might be interested. The second phase involved 12 teacher participants and 52 student participants from various departments at the FE USB. The teacher and student participants were recruited through an e-mail invitation and classroom announcements (in the case of students). The participants of the third phase were 40 teacher education students enrolled in a psychology-focused course. The student participants of the first and third phase were invited to participate during their respective lectures.

In the first phase of the study, which aimed at providing a comprehensive description of the attributes of the excellent student, the student participants were asked to write a short essay in answer to the questions: “In your opinion, who is the excellent university (undergraduate and full-time) student? How do they typically behave and what characteristics make them stand out among other university students?” Concurrently, interviews were conducted with teacher participants (for the interview schedule see Supplementary Material 1 ). The recordings of the interviews, typically lasting 20—30 min, were transcribed and further analysed, along with the content of the essays, which varied from one to several paragraphs. To enhance the credibility of the findings, we subsequently shared a draft of the list of the attributes of the excellent student with the participants (Creswell, 2012 ). Specifically, we asked the entire group of student participants and two teacher participants to reflect on its accuracy.

In the second phase, which aimed at extracting a subset of the essential attributes of the excellent student, focus group discussions with students and teaching staff members at the FE USB were conducted. Focus group discussions were selected as the optimal research method because they facilitate gathering a broad range of perspectives while also providing valuable data on consensus and diversity among participants (Hennink, 2014 ). Four student focus group discussions and two teacher focus group discussions were conducted. The student focus group size varied from 12 to 15 participants, whereas the teacher focus groups comprised 5 and 7 teaching staff members. The duration of the focus group discussions ranged from 80 to 120 min. Each focus group discussion was moderated by the first author, accompanied by a research assistant (a trained psychology undergraduate student) responsible for taking detailed notes on the key points raised and any significant nonverbal behaviour. Subsequently, the first author reviewed the notes to prevent observer bias. Each session began with introductions and an overview of the study’s purpose, schedule, and ethical considerations. The participants then engaged in a data-generating activity where they discussed the relevance of the pre-established set of the excellent student’s attributes and suggested modifications (for the discussion guide see Supplementary Material 1 ). All focus group sessions were audio-recorded and the discussions were transcribed verbatim. After each session, the data were analysed to derive a preliminary set of the essential attributes of the excellent student, which was then presented to the participants in a consecutive focus group to discuss the credibility of the findings. In this step, we employed the process of progressive, iterative content validation (Kidd & Parshall, 2000 ). Data saturation was reached after the sixth focus group session when no new data emerged that would lead to further refining the final set of essential attributes of the excellent student (Saunders et al., 2018 ).

In the third and final phase, which aimed at developing an other-rating scale to assess an individual’s match with the essential attributes, the resulting list of essential attributes of the excellent university student was converted into an evaluative instrument by adding a Likert-type scale and instructions. The suitability of the other-rating scale for the purposes of identifying excellent students at the FE USB was tested by administering it to the participants involved in the third phase of the study with the instruction to assess a fellow student they considered excellent. In addition, the participants were asked to reflect on the accuracy of the list of essential attributes of the excellent university student to enhance the credibility of the results.

Qualitative analysis – interviews and essays

To process the qualitative data from the individual interviews with teachers and student essays, thematic analysis was used, which is a well-established method for identifying, analysing, and reporting themes within qualitative data (Boyatzis, 1998 ). A theme is a pattern found in data that describes and organises the dataset or even interprets aspects of the research topic. For the purpose of this study, inductive thematic analysis was conducted, which means that data were coded in an inductive (data-driven) way without being informed by a pre-existing coding frame (Boyatzis, 1998 ; Braun & Clarke, 2006 , 2013 ). To enhance the rigor of the analysis, multiple coders took part in the coding process to bring diverse perspectives on the data, thus resulting in a more robust data analysis and enhanced credibility of the analytical framework (Boyatzis, 1998 ; Olson et al., 2016 ). Specifically, the first author and two research assistants (trained psychology undergraduates) analysed the data collaboratively using the systematic six-stage procedure suggested by Braun and Clarke ( 2006 , 2013 ).

In the first phase of familiarisation with the data, each coder independently read and re-read all textual materials (interview transcripts and student essays) to identify potential patterns in the data.

In the second phase of generating initial codes, all coders produced preliminary codes, i.e. the most basic elements of raw data or information that can be assessed in a meaningful way regarding the research topic (Boyatzis, 1998 ) from the data. Coding was performed manually without the assistance of any commercially available software. During this phase, the coders met regularly to discuss the individually produced codes, which were refined, merged, and deleted to avoid redundant and irrelevant codes. This resulted in the early version of a codebook which was applied to the data set. The process of mutual discussions, revising and refining the codebook, and reapplying it to the data was repeated until full agreement on the coding system was reached.

In the third phase of searching for themes, the codes and the collated data relating to each code were reviewed to identify a thematic overlap of different codes. After discussion, the codes were sorted into potential themes.

In the fourth phase of reviewing themes, the collaborative analysis was followed by a revision of the themes, whereby the coders returned to all the coded data in the first step and then to the entire data set to ensure that the themes fit the data well. To determine whether the coders were consistent in assigning text segments to the themes, we calculated the percentage of agreement as suggested by Creswell ( 2012 ), which showed a 100% agreement among coders. As a result, a set of 24 coherent, distinctive, and conceptually significant themes was established to provide a meaningful overview of the data in terms of breath and diversity.

In the last phase of defining and naming themes, each theme was provided with a fitting label, description, and an illustrative sample of extracts from the data.

Qualitative analysis – focus group discussions

Qualitative content analysis was used to study the focus group discussions systematically (Krippendorff, 2019 ). The concept-driven (i.e. based on what is already known) and data-driven (i.e. based on the actual data) approaches of qualitative content analysis were combined to develop the main categories. These categories were based on the pre-established comprehensive set of the excellent student’s attributes, and they specified the essential observable qualities and behaviours related to such attributes in a data-driven way (Schreier, 2012 ). The transcripts were double-coded by two coders (the first author and the research assistant involved in the focus group sessions) after each successive focus group session. As in the above-described process of interviews and essay analysis, coding was performed manually without the assistance of any commercially available software.

In the first step, an initial coding frame was generated containing data both relevant and irrelevant to the research question to avoid bias when selecting the relevant parts of the material. The criteria for considering the data relevant were: (a) the attribute was a core attribute of the excellent student, i.e. it was necessary for a student to be considered excellent, (b) the attribute was universally applicable to students across disciplines and study levels, (c) the attribute matching criteria (a) and (b) was agreed upon within and between focus groups. The main criterion for considering the data irrelevant was that it described the non-essential attributes of an excellent student. For such attributes, broad agreement within and between focus groups was not reached in that one or more participants considered an attribute unnecessary/redundant and/or specifically related to a particular discipline and/or study level. The consistency of the coding between the two coders was checked with respect to relevant and irrelevant data.

The second step involved the creation of a substantive coding frame that applied only to the relevant data. The coders then jointly divided the material into coding units according to thematic criteria allowing each unit to correspond to one topic, which fit exactly one category in the coding frame (Schreier, 2012 ).

In the third step, they performed the coding independently, checked the consistency of the coding, and modified the coding frame until full agreement on the set of essential attributes of an excellent student was reached. Each essential attribute was then converted into an item referring to readily observable and quantifiable student behaviours and qualities.

In the last step, the final set of attributes was further analysed and structured in higher-order categories describing the nature of the essential attributes of the excellent student. The coders inductively generated three comprehensive and fittingly labelled categories, to which the respective attributes were assigned. Finally, informed by the conceptual underpinnings of the construct of excellence, they subsequently assigned each of these categories to an overarching dimension of either educational or personal excellence , which represent the basic conceptual distinction related to the construct (Ferrari, 2002 ; Miller & Kerr, 2002 ).

Main findings

The first phase of the study resulted in a set of 24 attributes of the excellent university student, validated through the member checking procedure. This set provides a comprehensive overview of characteristics attributed to the excellent student by the academic community at the FE USB. The attributes range from prerequisites or direct manifestations of professional success, such as cognitive abilities, integration of theory and practice, achievement, through inter- and intrapersonal skills, such as healthy self-esteem, respectful behaviour and good manners, to intrinsically motivated and proactive study behaviour, such as genuine study motivation, engagement in classes, and field of study as a hobby. The labels and descriptions of the attributes, along with sample quotes are presented in Supplementary Table 1 (see Supplementary Material 2 ).

The second phase of the study revealed that although all the attributes are perceived as desirable student characteristics, only a subset can be considered essential. During the focus group discussions, the participants acknowledged that reducing the entire set to a subset of core attributes was necessary because these attributes should pertain to a real person: “An excellent student is not a superhero, just a human being of flesh and blood that has the right to not be perfect (student participant, 3rd student focus group)”. Nevertheless, the crucial role of personal excellence in the conceptualisation of the excellent student was strongly emphasised: “A good student has to be a good person in the first place. They can have the best grades in the world and the rest, but it matters little if they are a horrible person (student participant, 2nd student focus group)”. In this respect, a final set of 10 essential attributes of the excellent student was established that matched the dualistic conceptualisation of the construct of excellence. Specifically, the three essential attributes of thoroughness and punctuality, deep and complex knowledge, and integration of theory and practice were aggregated into the category labelled expertness . Another set of four essential attributes, (engagement in classes, openness to interdisciplinarity, openness to extra learning and experience, and field of study as a hobby) were aggregated into the category labelled proactive learning . Finally, the three essential attributes of fairness and honesty, cooperativeness and helpfulness, and self-reflection were aggregated into the category labelled being a good person . Whereas the category of being a good person matches the personal excellence dimension, the expertness and proactive learning categories correspond to the educational excellence dimension. The 10 items describing the essential attributes of an excellent student are displayed in Table 1 . The presentation of the items is structured according to the overarching categories and dimensions, which altogether constitute the conceptual framework of the excellent university student.

Finally, the third phase of the study, which aimed at pre-testing the newly developed rating scale based on the 10 items, identified no problems concerning the clarity of the instructions, item formulation, or the feasibility of assessment. In addition, the list of essential attributes was validated by the participants. For the instructions and the answer options regarding the rating scale see Table 1 .

Other relevant findings

To gain a comprehensive picture of the conceptual framework of the excellent university student, further relevant findings that resulted from the focus group discussions have to be acknowledged. Specifically, two additional attributes – genuine study motivation and academic achievement – were considered a fundamental part of the conceptual framework of the excellent student although items referring to these attributes were not included in the rating scale.

First, the focus group discussions revealed that genuine study motivation was broadly perceived as a core attribute of the excellent student. However, it was not included in the rating scale due to the fact that in current psychological research, it is uncommon for an external observer to assess an individual’s motivation. It is also questionable whether such methodology would generate reliable results unless combined with other approaches (Fulmer & Frijters, 2009 ). Nevertheless, study participants perceived that genuine study motivation is inherently expressed through the behaviours and qualities referring to the excellent student’s essential attributes:

An individual has to be genuinely motivated to display all the qualities we are talking about here [participants were discussing the final set of essential attributes]. I cannot imagine that without being genuinely motivated an individual could be like this. I mean, if they were just extrinsically motivated, maybe they would display one or two of those qualities, but definitely not the entire set. Genuine motivation is a fundamental prerequisite for a student to be excellent. (teacher participant, 2 nd teacher focus group)

Thus, although the rating scale lacks an item explicitly referring to genuine study motivation, this attribute is considered an inherent underlying attribute upon which the conceptual framework of the excellent university student is built. For purposes of further empirical investigation, genuine study motivation was conceptualised as a combination of mastery-goal orientation and the deep learning approach to learning (Biggs, 1987 ; Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996 ). For further details see the main study and Mašková and Nohavová ( 2019 ).

Second, academic achievement plays an important role in the conceptual framework of the excellent student although the participants had moderate and non-specific expectations for the academic achievement of the excellent student. The participants acknowledged that a student’s excellence should be translated into more tangible outcomes: “An excellent student should excel in something, but not necessarily in everything (student participant, 3rd student focus group)”. Further, grades were perceived as a complementary indicator of student excellence since it is not necessary for an excellent student to achieve the best grades although they need to have an above-average GPA. “Grades aren’t everything; however, a student with under-average grades definitely cannot be considered excellent (teacher participant, 1st teacher focus group)”. Academic achievement was not integrated into the rating scale, since objective methods of academic achievement assessment were available, and they were preferred to external assessment.

The conceptual framework of the excellent university student, displayed in Fig. 1 , consists of 10 items organised within the dimensions of educational and personal excellence. The dimension of educational excellence is complemented by academic achievement and both dimensions are underpinned by genuine study motivation.

A conceptual framework of the excellent university student

This study aimed to fill the gap in the empirically-based conceptualisations of the excellent university student by providing the perspective of the FE USB academic community. To fulfil the objectives of the study, three subsequent steps were undertaken. First, based on the data from interviews with teachers and student essays, we established a comprehensive overview of the desirable characteristics attributed to the excellent student. Second, based on data from focus group discussions, a subset of broadly agreed-upon essential attributes of the excellent student was established. Finally, we developed a rating scale based on these attributes, allowing for assessment by teachers and peers. Importantly, our results support the multidimensionality of the construct of excellence, recognised in theoretical literature but neglected empirically (e.g. Ferrari, 2002 ; Parkash & Waks, 1985, as cited in Bruno-Jofré & Hills, 2011 ). The 24 characteristics constituting the comprehensive depiction of the excellent student are congruent with the theoretical underpinnings of excellence in that they include but also go beyond academic achievement. The identified excellence-related qualities range from cognitive abilities (Rohde & Thompson, 2007 ), through good working habits (e.g. thoroughness and punctuality, time management skills; Franks, 1996 ), to qualities associated with personal mastery (e.g. self-development, genuine study motivation; Erez, 2004 ), as well as morality and virtuousness (e.g. fairness and honesty, cooperativeness and helpfulness; Li, 2004 ). Because of its complexity, the overview largely overlaps with the conceptual framework of the ideal student by Wong et al. ( 2021 ). In contrast, the more parsimonious conceptual framework of the excellent student based on three categories (expertness, proactive learning, and being a good person) and two overarching dimensions (educational and personal excellence), is more realistic and applicable to real students. The category of expertness emphasises mastery of study-related knowledge and skills, aligning with the technical dimension of excellence (e.g. Li, 2004 ; Parkash and Waks, 1985, cited in Bruno-Jofré & Hills, 2011 ). The category of proactive learning involves students’ active engagement beyond requirements, reflecting the conceptual characteristics of taking responsibility for their own learning, curiosity, and self-motivation (Erez, 2004 ; Llamas, 2006 ). The category of being a good person represents the ethical aspect of excellence, such as morality, virtuousness, and supportiveness towards peers (Ferrari, 2002 ; Li, 2004 ; Llamas, 2006 ; Wong et al., 2021 ).

The findings lay the groundwork for reconsidering individual-level excellence as a multifaceted phenomenon that goes beyond academic achievement alone. Moreover, they have practical value for higher education institutions, offering a conceptual framework for understanding desirable student qualities.

The objective of this study is to develop and implement a procedure for identifying excellent students. Specifically, we aim to identify students who meet all the conceptual criteria of excellence as presented in the pilot study. The key research question specific to this study is:

How can students meeting all the conceptual criteria of excellence be identified?

Three groups of participants took part in the study: members of the teaching staff (teachers), students nominated as excellent by their teachers (nominees), and the nominees’ fellow students (peers).

Regarding the participating teachers, only holders of a PhD degree and primary faculty members at the FE USB participated in the study. External teaching staff and lecturers without a PhD degree were excluded since these teachers may have had limited contact with students. 106 teachers fitting the above-mentioned criteria were invited to participate via a paper form delivered to them by the assistants of their respective departments; thereof 53 (50%) were both willing and able to participate since they knew at least one student who they considered excellent.

All participating nominees were full-time students at the FE USB pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Doctoral students were excluded, since their study duties as well as their roles at the university significantly differ from that of undergraduate students. Part-time students were excluded because they attend in-person lessons less frequently and have limited contact with both teachers and peers. Out of the 80 nominees who were invited to participate personally or by e-mail, 60 (75%) actually participated; thereof 49 were once nominees and 11 were multiple nominees (nominated by more than one teacher). Out of the 60 participating nominees, 16 were classified as the most eligible nominees (based on the criteria mentioned in the Procedure section), and 13 of the most eligible nominees actually participated (3 once nominees and 10 multiple nominees).

A peer was considered a fellow student enrolled in the same study programme and in the same year of study as the most eligible nominee. To select suitable peers, the list of each of the nominee’s peers was displayed in the university information system. Peers who were nominees themselves were excluded from the list to reduce assessment bias potentially resulting from different perspectives on the assessed behaviours. Based on the course record data of the students available in the system, suitable peers were ordered according to the number of classes they had shared with the nominee in the recent academic year. Peers sharing exactly the same course record with the nominee were listed randomly. Four peers at the top of the list were invited to participate via e-mail. If one or more peers refused to participate, a subsequent peer was invited until four peers for each of the 13 most eligible nominees agreed to participate. Totally, 79 peers were invited to participate, thereof 52 (66%) actually participated.

For the purposes of assessment of a nominee by teachers and peers, we employed the rating scale of the excellent student’s essential attributes (further referred to as the rating scale; see Table 1 ).

Further, two types of objective indicators of academic achievement were formulated for the purposes of academic achievement assessment: (a) GPA and (b) other academic achievement indicators falling into four distinct categories. Data obtained in the pilot study suggest that GPA can be considered a legitimate indicator of excellence in higher education. To further confirm that GPA was a suitable indicator in the setting of the FE USB, we examined the link between GPA and the underlying attribute of genuine study motivation (see the pilot study). The results, which were published elsewhere (see Mašková & Nohavová, 2019 ), revealed that GPA does not contradict the underlying motivational attribute. These findings allowed us to conclude that the use of cumulative GPA for excellent student identification was acceptable. Since academic achievement is a multidimensional construct (Steinmayr et al., 2015 ), besides GPA, we considered other significant indicators of academic achievement of contextual relevance for our research setting: (a) significant achievement in a subject-related contest or student competition (i.e. awards for various kinds of achievement, e.g. The Outstanding Thesis Award), (b) membership of academic organisations/societies (e.g. University Senate), (c) a leadership role in extracurricular activities (e.g. Biology Olympiad organising committee member), and (d) significant achievement in research (e.g. authorship of a peer reviewed publication; Benbow, 1992 ; Kuncel et al., 2001 ; Mould & DeLoach, 2017 ).

The procedure of excellent student identification was grounded in a multisource assessment approach, which enhances the validity of the results by requiring convergent outcomes across multiple sources for a student to be considered excellent (Mathison, 1988 ). The procedure comprised three phases: teacher nomination and assessment, academic achievement assessment, and peer assessment. Each phase involved collecting and evaluating the data (objective data on academic achievement and subjective teacher- and peer-level data) against the set criteria – eligibility thresholds. The procedure and eligibility criteria are displayed graphically in Fig. 2 . An overview of all data collected and evaluated is displayed in Table 2 .

A procedure of excellent student identification

Since we considered teachers the most qualified source for student assessment, the initial step was to ask teachers to nominate the students they considered excellent. At the same time, teachers assessed the nominees on the rating scale. All eligible teaching staff members were provided with a form that asked them to nominate up to three students they considered excellent according to their own criteria of excellence, and to assess them on the rating scale. To ensure the anonymity of the responses, no personal identification was required. Participants were asked to place the forms in sealed boxes in the office of their respective department assistants. The attached instructions asked them not to inform students about the ongoing research to avoid (a) familiarising the nominees with the research interest until the investigation was finalised, (b) promoting an undesirable competitive environment among students, and (c) hurting the feelings of non-nominated students. To ensure that the teachers’ own criteria of excellence corresponded with the perception of the prototypical excellent university student at the FE USB, we set an initial eligibility threshold: a nominee should score at least something between on each of the rating scale items. Therefore, a nominee scoring disagree or fully disagree on any of the rating scale items in the teacher assessment phase would not be further considered an eligible candidate for the study. In sum, 80 students were nominated, thereof 15 by more than one teacher. All nominees passed the initial eligibility threshold.

Subsequently, cumulative GPA and data on the other academic achievement indicators were obtained from the participating nominees. Out of the 80 nominees, 60 agreed to participate in an online survey that asked them to provide basic demographic characteristics, academic achievement indicators (cumulative GPA and data on the other four academic achievement indicators), and to complete a set of psychological questionnaires (not relevant for the present study). The obtained academic achievement data were verified to the highest possible degree by consulting external sources, such as university records. Based on the findings of the pilot study and findings by Mašková and Nohavová ( 2019 ), we set the GPA cut-off threshold that a student needs to pass to be considered excellent. This cut-off value should distinguish between above average and below average students in terms of grades. Whereas the first can be conceptually considered excellent, the latter cannot. Since we had found that the mean value of cumulative GPA in a sample of second-year students at the FE USB was 2.13 (Mašková & Nohavová, 2019 ), we set the GPA cut-off value to 2.0 Footnote 2 after taking into consideration the effect of GPA inflation. Footnote 3 Regarding the other indicators of academic achievement, an eligibility threshold was set for a student to comply with at least one of the indicators to be considered excellent.

The GPA cut-off threshold was passed by 34 once nominees and 10 multiple nominees. Thereof, 18 once nominees and all 10 multiple nominees complied with one other academic achievement indicator. Additionally, six once nominees and seven multiple nominees complied with more than one other academic achievement indicator. The high number of eligible nominees necessitated narrowing the sample to the most eligible ones to make the subsequent step (peer assessment) manageable. In this respect, our decisions were guided by the principles of the multisource assessment methodology, requiring convergence of outcomes across multiple sources to enhance the research validity (Mathison, 1988 ). We primarily relied on the convergence of multiple nominators, as teacher nomination and assessment were more comprehensive, covering both dimensions of excellence. However, this approach was exclusive for once nominees. Thus, for once nominees, the subjective data obtained by a single source had to be confirmed by available objective data. Consequently, we narrowed the pool of candidates to (a) multiple nominees who passed the academic achievement thresholds and (b) once nominees who passed the GPA eligibility threshold and complied with more than one other academic achievement indicator. The 16 most eligible participants were contacted by a research assistant and asked whether they agreed with the peer assessment. Out of the 16 most eligible candidates, 13 agreed and signed an additional informed consent. The participants were informed about the nature of the peer assessment procedure, and that their peers would assess their common study-related behaviour.

Finally, peer assessment was considered an integral part of the procedure of excellent student identification. Given that peers see their student colleagues from a different perspective than teachers, they can provide unique information beyond teacher assessment (Lavrijsen & Verschueren, 2020 ). Peers are likely to know the nominees for a longer time (since the beginning of their studies), and to observe them on more occasions and in less formal settings than teachers, who usually meet them on limited occasions (mainly in classes of short-term courses). Thus, peers tend to be highly accurate in their judgements of each other’s qualities (Funder, 2012 ). Research has shown that four peer assessors are able to achieve satisfactory inter-rater reliability (Conway & Huffcutt, 1997 ). Thus, we asked four suitable peers to assess a candidate using the rating scale in an online form. Only such peers were invited to participate in the study who objectively (based on the data of the course records in the university information system) shared most of the classes with the nominee, and thus were expected to know the nominee well. Nevertheless, to ensure that the peers actually knew the nominee, they were asked to proceed with the assessment only if they perceived their level of familiarity with the nominee sufficient to assess their study-related behaviour and qualities displayed in the university setting. The participants (peers) were ensured about the confidentiality of the data, and they submitted their responses anonymously with no personal identification. The administration of the peer assessment phase was ensured by a research assistant who was informed about the participants’ identities but had no access to the data. The researchers who could access the data had no information about the participants’ identities.

For each candidate, the ratings were first assessed separately to determine the extent to which they match the attributes, and to exclude candidates that clearly mismatch any of the attributes. Although several studies suggest that the rater-ratee interpersonal relationship has only a minimal effect on peer assessment accuracy in higher education (e.g. Azarnoosh, 2013 ; Magin, 2001 ), the severity bias deriving from negative interpersonal affects could still influence individual ratings (Taggar & Brown, 2006 ). Thus, when setting the baseline eligibility threshold for peer assessment, we paid attention primarily to inter-rater agreement which is associated with enhanced validity (Conway & Huffcutt, 1997 ). The eligibility threshold was set as follows: an inter-agreement occurs when a nominee scores at least something between on each of the rating scale items according to at least three peer assessors. On the contrary, should a nominee score disagree or fully disagree on a single item according to two or more assessors, this nominee would no longer be considered an eligible candidate for the study. The evaluation of the individual peer assessments revealed that seven multiple nominees and all three once nominees satisfied the eligibility threshold. In contrast, three multiple nominees were excluded as they were assigned ratings of somewhat disagree or fully disagree on the same item by more than one peer assessor. For the three excluded candidates, these items were 2, 4, and 10, respectively (see Table 1 for item wording).

The second eligibility threshold was based on composite scores for each of the three scales (expertness, proactive learning, and being a good person), derived from the combined teacher and peer ratings. To determine an individual’s scale composite scores, we first calculated the item composite scores, which involved summing all teacher and peer scores for each item and dividing by the number of assessors who provided valid ratings (an invalid rating was considered 0 = I don’t know/I’m unable to assess ). Then, we calculated the scale composite scores by averaging the item composite scores across all items within that scale. To ensure that a candidate matched each of the three facets of excellence, we established that each of their scale composite scores should equal or be higher than 4.0. All 10 remaining candidates passed this threshold.

To prevent participants from biasing the results of the investigation, the basis of participant selection and participants’ role in the present study was deliberately withheld until the investigation was finalised. All participating nominees were debriefed immediately after it ended. The debriefing provided the information that they had been nominated as excellent. Concurrently, they were asked not to share this information with their fellow students to avoid hurting their feelings.

Psychometric properties of the rating scale

We first tested whether the developed instrument had satisfactory psychometric properties before excellent students’ profiles were analysed. In this respect, item analysis and scale properties were evaluated using the full set of ratings of 10 excellent students. Although these ratings are not independent, since multiple assessors rated the same ratee, using the full set of ratings was necessary to improve the accuracy of the results by obtaining higher rater-to-item ratio (Stewart et al., 2009 ). Still, the small sample size of 63 ratings only informed of the general trends in item properties (Penfield, 2013 ). The main weakness detected was the low reliability estimate of the expertness scale (α = 0.59; ω = 0.66), which was considered marginally acceptable given the tentative nature of the results and explorative purpose of the study (Hair et al., 2018 ). In sum, the corrected item-total correlation coefficients and reliability estimates indicate an acceptable homogeneity of items and internal consistency of the three scales, which correspond to three distinct facets of the conceptual framework of the excellent university student. Thus, the instrument was left unmodified for the purposes of this study. Item and scale properties are displayed in Table 3 .

Excellent students’ profiles

The pilot implementation of the procedure of excellent student identification resulted in a final sample of 10 excellent students. The excellent student sample included two males and eight females; their age ranged from 20 to 28 years (mean age = 24.2, SD = 1.99). All excellent students were enrolled in teacher education study programmes at the FE USB. One student was pursuing a bachelor’s degree, the remaining students were studying on a master’s programme. An overview of their background- and excellence-related data is presented in Table 4 , and a detailed overview of assessment-related data can be found in Supplementary Table 2 (see Supplementary Material 2 ).

The highest number of nominations in the sample, which exceeded the modus number of two nominations, was reached by student “A”, who was nominated six times. Student “A” displayed also a very high absolute value of GPA = 1.08, which nearly corresponds to straight A’s, and complied with three out of the four other achievement indicators. Likewise, her composite scores were the highest for all three scales compared to other excellent students. The highest absolute value of GPA = 1.0, which corresponds to straight A’s, was displayed by student “B”, who, on the other side, complied with a single other academic achievement indicator. In contrast, student “I”, who was derived from the group of once nominees, was unique in that she complied with all four other academic achievement indicators.

Table 5 presents the individual rankings based on the composite scores for the scales of expertness, proactive learning, and being a good person, along with the respective number of nominations and objective academic achievement indicators a student complied with. The ranking based on expertness scores showed that the most highly ranked students were those with the highest number of teacher nominations and exceeding the modus of two nominations. Likewise, with exception of student “C” who displayed the lowest GPA in the sample, the nominees who ranked highest were also those with the highest absolute value of GPA. Proactive learning scores, on the other hand, tended to be associated with the number of other academic achievement indicators a student complied with. Additionally, compared to students who ranked lower, the most highly ranked students had gained significant achievement in a subject-related contest or student competition, and were members of academic organisations/societies. Regarding scores on the being-a-good-person scale, the highest rank was achieved by students “A” with the highest number of nominations and “I” who complied with all other academic achievement indicators. For the remaining students, there was no clear pattern of association between the scores on the being-a-good-person scale and academic achievement.

Figure 3 displays the inter- and intra-individual variabilities in the individual scale composite scores for expertness, proactive learning, and being a good person. The individual profiles based on the scores of the three scales tend to have non-flat and individually-unique shapes indicating that (a) the scales adequately represent the essential attributes of the prototypical excellent student as a multifaceted rather than unidimensional construct, and (b) individuals differ in terms of achieving the highest/lowest scores on distinct scales in a unique way.

A line graph of individual composite scores for expertness, proactive learning, and being-a-good-person scales

This study presents the results of the implementation of a specific methodological framework to identify excellent university students, which is based on a multisource assessment of multiple contextually relevant criteria of excellence. Specifically, a scale of the excellent student’s essential attributes and objective academic achievement indicators were employed. The identification of excellent students was informed by subjective teacher- and peer-level data on the rating scale (comprising of the subscales of expertness, proactive learning, and being a good person) and objective data on academic achievement. Both types of data were evaluated against the set eligibility criteria in order to select a final excellent student sample that reliably met all the conceptually derived criteria of excellence. In line with the nature of excellence as a plural rather than uniform construct (Gardner, 2015 ), we intentionally set the criteria broad and flexible to maintain diversity in the sample. As a result, the students in the final sample were excellent in their unique ways and, with the exception of student “A” who manifested excellence in every aspect, their major strengths lay in various areas. In addition, the differences in job status and involvement of vulnerable students with conditions affecting their learning (learning difficulties in student “D” and chronic medical conditions in student “E”) indicate that the developed methodological framework respects diversity in the student population.

The data generated by implementing the framework at the FE USB provides findings that support the need to (a) use multiple sources in student assessment and to (b) apply a multifaceted approach to excellence. First, the teacher and peer assessment discrepancies resulting in the exclusion of three of the most eligible candidates highlighted the importance of relying on more than one source in the subjective assessment of a student to ensure the validity of the results. Such a discrepancy implies that the teacher’s view may be biased due to limited exposure to only a narrow portion of a student’s behaviour and/or qualities. For example, high engagement in classes may be limited only to a teacher’s classes/subjects, and the qualities of a good person may apply to teacher-student interaction but not student–student interaction. Thus, to gain a holistic picture of a student’s behaviour and qualities displayed in various situational contexts, both teacher and peer assessment are required as each source can provide important and unique information.

Second, we found that both subjective and objective data were an integral part of the developed framework. In this respect, although expertness was likely to be associated with GPA, GPA tended to be an unreliable indicator of mastery of study-related knowledge and skills. Support for this argument can be found in student “C” who ranked high in expertness despite showing the lowest GPA in the excellent student sample. This argument is further supported by the case of one of the most eligible candidates who was rated low on one of the expertness scale items although they passed the GPA threshold. Further, the fact that several nominees did not pass the GPA threshold shows that teacher assessment alone is not a sufficient indicator of educational excellence unless corroborated by objective measures. This discrepancy may be explained by a large influence of other student characteristics, particularly perceived engagement, on teacher and peer nominations. Such influence was found to bias identification of students with high abilities (Lavrijsen & Verschueren, 2020 ). Thus, by combining the subjective assessment of educational excellence-related attributes with objective academic achievement assessment, it is possible to reliably identify educationally excellent students. From the perspective of personal excellence assessment, we may conclude that the being-a-good-person scale was an irreplaceable part of the identification method, since it was independent of educational excellence-related data. Supported by the ultimate exclusion of another eligible candidate who was rated low on the being-a-good-person item, we argue that GPA or any academic achievement measure alone cannot guarantee that high-achieving students also display a moral and virtuous character. These findings highlight the requirement to assess the two dimensions of excellence simultaneously to sample such students who meet the conceptual criteria of excellence in higher education.

In conclusion, the methodology of the multisource assessment of multiple criteria of excellence seems to be an appropriate method to reduce bias in excellent student sampling.

General discussion

This paper was underpinned by two main research questions: How is excellence defined in university students? How can students meeting all the conceptual criteria of excellence be identified? To answer these questions, two studies were conducted at a higher education institution in the Czech Republic.

With regard to the first research question, our findings corroborated the theoretical assumptions that the excellent student is an individual who embodies both educational and personal excellence (e.g. Ferrari, 2002 ). These dimensions of excellence were found to be independent of each other (as discussed later), yet conceptually, they are co-existing entities that should occur simultaneously in an individual for them to be considered truly excellent. In this complex view, individual-level excellence refers to students who are deeply knowledgeable, capable of turning their knowledge and skills into action to achieve desirable high-quality outcomes, engaged in learning, and seeking the enhancement of knowledge and experience by doing more than what is required. Concurrently, they are prosocial, moral, self-reflective, and genuinely motivated as that they adopt mastery-goal orientation and a deep learning approach to learning (Biggs, 1987 ; Elliot & Harackiewicz, 1996 ).

To provide a clear answer to the second research question, we developed and piloted a methodological framework based on the two-dimensional concept of excellence. Educational excellence was covered by subjective measures: scales of expertness and proactive learning, as well as objective measures: cumulative GPA and four other academic achievement criteria. Personal excellence, which could hardly be covered by objective indicators, was addressed by the subjective measure of the being-a-good-person scale. The multisource assessment procedure of excellent student identification was initiated by teacher nominations and assessment, and followed by academic achievement assessment and peer assessment. Before providing readers with more specific guidelines on how to identify excellent university students in more general settings, it is necessary to review and integrate the outputs generated during the process of excellent student identification.

The present research revealed that educational and personal excellence are mutually independent, since personal excellence cannot be reliably predicted from educational excellence indicators. In contrast, various indicators of educational excellence seem to be interrelated to a large extent. First, expertness, which refers to mastery of study-related knowledge and skills, tends to be closely linked to (a) the highest GPA values fully or nearly corresponding to straight A’s and (b) the highest number of nominations. Second, proactive learning, which refers to students’ engagement in learning and the enhancement of knowledge and experience by doing more than what is required, might be to some extent indicated by other academic achievement indicators (both in terms of quality and quantity).

Considering the procedural aspects of excellent student identification, the method of nomination, which has been usually employed in research on individual-level occupational excellence (e.g. Kallas, 2014 ), might be one of the most crucial steps in sampling excellent individuals. Our findings confirm that teachers nominated only such students that (at least in the nominator’s view) complied with the agreed-upon socially-construed definition of a prototypical excellent student arising from the academic community at our particular institution. However, since about one-fourth of the nominees displayed under-average GPA, the subjective assessment of educational excellence needs to be combined with the objective assessment of academic achievement to prevent nomination bias and ensure a reliable evaluation of educational excellence. Further, a bias resulting from limited exposure to only a narrow portion of a student’s behaviour and/or qualities in specific situational contexts can be reduced by combining the perspective of teachers with that of peers. The integration of various perspectives is especially important in the evaluation of personal excellence, which cannot be corroborated by objective measures.

Based on the synthesis of the above-presented findings, a more straightforward methodology for excellent student identification can be proposed. Considering that only such individuals are nominated, who (at least from the nominator’s perspective) comply with the attributes related to personal excellence, the collection and cross validation of both teacher and peer nominations could ensure that only personally excellent individuals are included in the pool of nominees. The nomination phase should be followed by the assessment of objective achievement indicators. In this respect, we assume that the criteria of excellence would most likely be met by multiple nominees who display high GPA and comply with multiple other academic achievement indicators. Nevertheless, a cautious approach towards the procedure of peer nomination is warranted. It is advisable to invite only a small group of peer nominators, since the invitation of the entire student community at an institution from which an excellent student sample should be drawn could lead to (a) promoting an undesirable competitive environment among students and (b) unintentional prior familiarisation of the selected excellent students with the research interest, which would disallow researchers to make participants blind (to deliberately withhold key information from the participants until the investigation is finalised) if required. For a step-by-step guideline for implementing the framework in general university settings, see Supplementary Material 3 .

Limitations

The main limitation of the new conceptual and methodological framework of excellence is that it was developed within the culturally and contextually specific setting of a single higher education institution. Regarding the conceptual framework of the excellent university student, it may clearly serve as a solid base for further research to build upon; nevertheless, it reflects the views of a specific academic community which can differ cross-institutionally as well as cross-culturally. The limitation of reduced generalisability applies also for the methodological framework, which is based on preliminary findings from a limited number of participants. In particular, the other-rating scale should be considered a tentative instrument that needs to be subjected to further psychometric analyses.

A related limitation is the specific context of a small higher education institution. First, the settings of a small institution enable a more convenient assessment of students due to the smaller number of nominees. In this respect, we expect that implementing the framework in the settings of larger institutions will prove to be more challenging. Second, teacher nomination and assessment, and especially peer assessment, depend on the extent of familiarity with nominees, which is facilitated by the setting of an institution with smaller classes, and groups of fellow students that tend to know each other well. In this study, we relied on the results of peer assessment with reasonable confidence since the addressed peer assessors regularly interacted with and observed the target student in class, a factor which could help them provide fitting ratings. Thus, the level of familiarity between peers and nominees was not pre-assessed. Such pre-assessment is, however, advisable when implementing the framework in the settings of larger institutions. Likewise, in this study, we did not assess the closeness of friendship between the peer and the nominee. This procedure, however, may be useful when a large pool of suitable peers is available, and it is necessary to standardise the peer assessors (e.g. only ratings by peers in a neutral relationship with a ratee may be considered). Further, the requirement of a reasonable extent of mutual familiarity among students and teachers makes the framework less suitable for part-time students. In addition, the proposed framework is better suited for small-scale studies with a qualitative research design that requires only a relatively small sample of subjects.

Finally, the comprehensive framework of excellence was primarily developed for research purposes to provide a conceptually and methodologically sound method of sampling excellent students. Consequently, the identification procedure required narrowing the final sample to students meeting all set criteria of excellence, with convergence of outcomes across multiple assessment sources. However, a weakness of this procedure is that students whose qualities are overlooked by teachers and/or peers may be excluded, as teacher/peer nomination, along with their convergence, are integral to the proposed identification process. Theoretically, this disadvantage could be addressed by initially assessing academic achievement before moving on to teacher and peer assessment (without nomination). However, implementing this approach could pose significant challenges, especially with a large student population, making the identification process exceedingly complex. Nevertheless, when the framework is intended for talent development rather than research, adjustments to the identification procedure are essential to guarantee a wider pool of candidates, providing opportunities for talent development. This may involve eliminating the need for convergence of assessment sources.

This research presents a comprehensive framework of excellence in higher education that (a) recognises both academic achievement and the personal qualities of a student, (b) acknowledges the variability of student potential that leads to different ways in which excellence manifests itself, and (c) reflects the nature of excellence as a contextually dependent social construct. As a result, this research represents an initial step towards searching for, identifying, and examining truly excellent university students, while also opening up a fruitful research area. With the aid of the framework, educational and psychological research could learn more about excellent individuals, recognise their strengths, and the paths that lead them to becoming excellent. Additionally, their post-university careers can be followed and the assumed transfer of higher education excellence to occupational excellence could be investigated more closely.

Within the article, the following terminology is used for clarity: a core attribute is one that a student must demonstrate to be considered excellent, while an essential attribute meets all three criteria set by the authors. Participants determine whether an attribute is core based on their judgment, while authors determine whether an attribute is essential based on all the data collected during focus group discussions.

According to the Czech university grading system, the best grade is 1 (= A), the worst is 4 (= F). Hence, the higher absolute value of GPA indicates poorer performance.

GPA inflation refers to an upward shift in university students’ GPA over an extended period of time without a corresponding increase in their academic ability. Consequently, GPA could exhibit an inconsistent pattern of development over time, typically a sharp decrease in the second semester followed by a steady increase during the later periods of study before a repeated drop in the final term (Grove & Wasserman, 2004 ). Thus, we expect that second-year students who participated in the study by Mašková and Nohavová ( 2019 ) may exhibit a worse GPA compared to students of other years of study. Consequently, the observed mean GPA was rounded to a higher GPA threshold value.

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Mašková, I., Kučera, D. & Nohavová, A. Who is really an excellent university student and how to identify them? A development of a comprehensive framework of excellence in higher education. Eur J Psychol Educ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-024-00865-y

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5 Important Takeaways From The 2024–2025 U.S. News And World Report Best Global University Rankings

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Harvard University

This morning, U.S. News and World Report released their much-anticipated 2024-2025 Best Global University Rankings. These annual rankings are a cornerstone in the field, influencing decisions that range from student applications to institutional funding and providing a glimpse into the current state of affairs in the world of higher education. This list can provide helpful insights into the relative merits of the schools students may be considering adding to their college lists. In order to use this list effectively, however, it is important to understand the nuances of the ranking system and the factors considered therein.

Here is a breakdown of the rankings’ methodology, as well as key takeaways from this year’s list:

Methodology

The U.S. News and World Report Best Global University Rankings are based on a comprehensive methodology that evaluates colleges and universities across thirteen key metrics. These include:

Global research reputation (12.5%)
Regional research reputation (12.5%)
Publications (10%)
Books (2.5%)
Conferences (2.5%)
Normalized citation impact (10%)
Total citations (7.5%)
Number of publications that are among the 10% most cited (12.5%)
Percentage of total publications that are among the 10% most cited (10%)
International collaboration – relative to country (5%)
International collaboration (5%)
Number of highly cited papers that are among the top 1% most cited in their respective field 5%
Percentage of total publications that are among the top 1% most highly cited papers 5%

In addition to the overall global rankings and country-specific rankings, U.S. News and World Report published a subject-specific ranking list , evaluating schools’ global positions in over 50 individual disciplines.

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These rankings offer quantitative data students can consider when building their college lists, providing a fairly comprehensive picture of universities’ academic prowess and institutional reach. That being said, students using the rankings to build their college lists should note that many of these factors do not capture the qualitative aspects of students’ experiences.

Key Takeaways from the 2024–25 Rankings

1. The number of universities considered rose by more than 10%.

This year, 2,250 universities across over 100 countries were considered—up more than ten percent from the 2,000 schools considered in the previous ranking.

2. Harvard University lands on top.

As in the last cycle, Harvard University claimed the #1 spot in the global rankings list. This prestigious accolade reflects Harvard's unparalleled academic excellence, groundbreaking research, and global influence. Known for its distinguished faculty, cutting-edge facilities, and a tradition of innovation, Harvard continues to set the standard in higher education, making it the leading choice for students and scholars worldwide.

3. The U.S. dominates the rankings for another year.

Nearly half of the top 50 schools in the ranking are located in the U.S., totaling 24 of the top 50 on the rankings list. Additionally, four out of the top five are U.S. schools: Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and University of California, Berkeley. This remarkable achievement underscores the global prestige of U.S. universities, known for their world-class research, innovative academic programs, and extensive resources.

4. UT Austin and Brown University dropped in the rankings.

Both Brown University and The University of Texas at Austin surprisingly dropped in the rankings, falling out of the top 50. Given both schools’ excellence, this shift demonstrates the fierce competition for top spots in the rankings this year.

5. U.S. News and World Report adds new subjects to the rankings.

This year, four new disciplines were added to the subject-specific rankings, including: ecology; green and sustainable science and technology; environmental engineering; and marine and freshwater biology. These additions not only demonstrate the ranking system’s commitment to reflecting the most relevant information in higher education today, but also provide a glimpse into recent trends and changes in the disciplinary offerings at the most prestigious universities in the world.

The 2024–2025 U.S. News and World Report Rankings offer students valuable information regarding the trends in the global higher education landscape. While students should take their personal preferences and the intangible elements of a school’s culture that draw them to a specific school into account, these rankings can be a helpful first step for students as they set their collegiate goals and assemble their college lists.

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Something’s Rotten About the Justices Taking So Long on Trump’s Immunity Case

A view of the Supreme Court building under dark skies with the portico lighted.

By Leah Litman

Ms. Litman is a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, a host of the “Strict Scrutiny” podcast and a former clerk to the Supreme Court justice Anthony Kennedy.

For those looking for the hidden hand of politics in what the Supreme Court does, there’s plenty of reason for suspicion on Donald Trump’s as-yet-undecided immunity case given its urgency. There are, of course, explanations that have nothing to do with politics for why a ruling still hasn’t been issued. But the reasons to think something is rotten at the court are impossible to ignore.

On Feb. 28, the justices agreed to hear Mr. Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution on charges that he plotted to subvert the 2020 election. The court scheduled oral arguments in the case for the end of April. That eight-week interval is much quicker than the ordinary Supreme Court briefing process, which usually extends for at least 10 weeks . But it’s considerably more drawn out than the schedule the court established earlier this year on a challenge from Colorado after that state took Mr. Trump off its presidential primary ballot. The court agreed to hear arguments on the case a mere month after accepting it and issued its decision less than a month after the argument. Mr. Trump prevailed, 9-0.

Nearly two months have passed since the justices heard lawyers for the former president and for the special counsel’s office argue the immunity case. The court is dominated by conservatives nominated by Republican presidents. Every passing day further delays a potential trial on charges related to Mr. Trump’s efforts to remain in office after losing the 2020 election and his role in the events that led to the storming of the Capitol; indeed, at this point, even if the court rules that Mr. Trump has limited or no immunity, it is unlikely a verdict will be delivered before the election.

The immunity case is not the only big case hanging fire. Some two dozen remain undecided that were argued even before the April 25 oral argument over Mr. Trump’s immunity. A case on gun rights for domestic abusers under a restraining order was argued in November; cases involving the power of federal agencies and a multibillion-dollar settlement for opioid victims were heard in December and January; the court also has yet to decide whether upwind states must cut emissions that affect the air quality in downwind states. That case was argued in February.

The court is a busy place, though the justices are completing decisions at the second slowest rate since the 1946 term, according to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal. The court tries to wrap up its business for the term that began in October by the end of June. It’s not shocking that cases argued later in the term end up being decided later, especially because by the end of April, when the immunity case was heard, the court was still working to finish cases argued months earlier. April was also among the court’s busiest months: The justices heard 10 cases.

But these seemingly mundane, process explanations overlook some of the particulars in the immunity case. Mr. Trump’s lawyers put together a set of arguments that are so outlandish they shouldn’t take much time to dispatch. Among them is the upside-down claim that, because the Constitution specifies that an officer who is convicted in an impeachment proceeding may subsequently face a criminal trial, the Constitution actually requires an impeachment conviction before there is any criminal punishment.

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Tie these experiences back to your motivation for seeking a higher education, highlighting how college is a necessary and meaningful next step for you. By doing so, you'll be able to craft an essay that is both compelling and personal, clearly demonstrating your passion to the admissions committee. CollegeVine's Q&A seeks to offer informed ...
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College essay example #1. This is a college essay that worked for Harvard University. (Suggested reading: How to Get Into Harvard Undergrad) This past summer, I had the privilege of participating in the University of Notre Dame's Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program .
How to Write Motivation Letter for University with Examples
Final Tips for Writing an Impressive Motivation Letter: When it comes to crafting an impressive motivation letter for university, the final tips can make all the difference in showcasing your unique qualities and aspirations. Firstly, ensure that your letter is personalized and tailored to the specific university and program you are applying to.
How to write a Motivation Letter for University (Sample)
The motivation letter is an excellent medium for speaking directly to the university committee and making a solid case for getting their thumbs up. That's why you have to put in the extra work and be sure to: Write simply, concisely, and from your heart. Exhibit all your strengths and skills related to your desired studies.
Motivation Essay
Motivation in different cultural and societal contexts; 📜 Thesis Statement Examples 📜. Here are a few thesis statement examples to inspire your motivation essay: 1. "Motivation, whether intrinsic or extrinsic, plays a pivotal role in driving individuals towards achieving their goals and aspirations." 2.
Motivational letter for university: 12 Examples & Sample Included
Sample 8. Dear Prof. Wood, I would like to apply for the exchange program that your motivational letter for university offers. So I am a third-year student at the Department of History and I believe that it would be a great opportunity to improve my German skills and to get to know a new culture.
Tips for Writing Your Motivational Statement and Essays
When answering Why Harris?, be specific to the University of Chicago and Harris. Analyze why certain programs, centers, classes, or professors made you want to apply here. Optional Essay Questions. Although the Motivation Statement is required, the essay questions are optional.
6 Unique Tips for Writing a Brilliant Motivational Essay
3. Drafts are important. First impressions matters. In the case of college applications, your first impression is in your motivational essay. Of course, you want to give a good first impression. Proper grammar, sentence structure, and punctuation are the key. This is why editing and revising your text is crucial.
Personal Statement Tips for College and University ...
The Free Guide to Writing the Personal Statement. Kick things off with the two greatest brainstorming exercises ever, learn about options for structuring a personal statement + example outlines, check out some amazing example personal statements, and get on your way to writing your own killer personal statement for university applications.
10 ways to generate study motivation
Visualise yourself starting. Make yourself sit down and work even if this is for just 20 minutes. See starting as a parallel process like a plane on a runway. You may start slow but you will still take off! Focus on the task at hand and prioritise the most important tasks. Avoid multitasking.
9 Tips for Writing a Brilliant Motivational Essay
3. Get Personal in your Motivational Essay. Make your motivation letter specific to the employer or university to which you are applying. Your letter should reflect your distinct style and personality. Your employers or university are interested in getting to know you better and no one knows you better than yourself.
Write a Successful Motivation Letter for Your Master's
An important part of the application process for a Master's degree at an international university is the motivation letter (or cover letter) you are required to write. But how to write the best motivation letter? And why is it so important, anyway? A well-written letter can be a decisive factor in ensuring you a place in your desired Master's programme. It is probably the most personalized ...
Motivation Essay Elm 200
Motivation Essay Grand Canyon University ELM- Instructor Sell 09/26/ "Motivation is the inner state that energizes, directs and sustains behavior" (Ormrod & Jones, 2018, p). It is necessary to have someone or something to motivate individuals. In school settings motivation influences the activities that learners choose, as well as the way ...
Motivation Letter / Statement of Purpose
Around two thirds of your personal statement should consist of the information that you use to answer these questions, and to do that you have to be aware of the character limit that has been established for your statement. In the case of UCAS' personal statement, this is set at 4,000 characters (between 570 and 1000 words).
Motivation Essays: Samples & Topics
Introduction Motivation Motivation means the procedure by which an individual's endeavours are empowered, coordinated, and supported toward accomplishing a goal. The given definition has three key components: vitality, course, and persistence. Vitality The vitality component is a proportion of power of the drive.
Motivation Essay for Students and Children
Q.1 Define what is motivation fit. A.1 This refers to a psychological phenomenon in which a person assumes or expects something from the job or life but gets different results other than his expectations. In a profession, it is a primary criterion for determining if the person will stay or leave the job. Q.2 List some best motivators.
How to Stay Motivated at University
look for you to achieve your goals. For example, get out of bed at the same time every day. Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at similar times every day. Make sure you make time for exercise; this doesn't mean you have to get in the gym every day or train for a marathon! It is making time for yourself, so a simple walk in the morning before ...
Write a motivation letter
The average size of a motivation letter is 300 words, but for some applicants three dozen are enough to declare themselves. One such example is an essay by a student named Nigel, who said that he had written a three-sentence statement of purpose to get into Stanford: " I want to teach English at the university level.
Writing a letter of motivation
Writing a letter of motivation: Writing a letter of motivation: • Choose a focus for your essay that will illustrate why this opportunity will benefit you and what you can bring to the organization. It is often helpful to frame your essay around a particular experience that helped you to realize important truths about your direction in life.
How to Motivate Yourself to Write a College Essay
Why are you Losing Motivation to Write an Essay. ... Considering the number of assignments a high school, college, or university student deals with on a daily basis, it is extremely common to feel overwhelmed and intimidated. When this overwhelming feeling is not tackled early, it takes over one's thought process and becomes a deterrent. ...
Motivation Essay
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY Motivation, Values, and Purpose Essay Submitted to Dr. Patricia Vann, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of PSYC 101 General Psychology by Carter Burgess April 21, 2023
Free Essays on Motivation, Examples, Topics, Outlines
Motivation essays define Motivation as: an encouragement to action; a person's ability to satisfy their needs through certain activities; a dynamic psychophysiological process that controls a person's behavior and determines his level of organization, the orientation of actions, and activity. Authors of essays on motivation note such types of ...
College Essays That Worked And How Yours Can Too
Essay: "Facing The Hot Griddle" (Johns Hopkins University) In this essay, the student uses the process of making tortillas to explore her multicultural identity and the challenges she has faced ...
Motivation essay.
Motivation essay. Klaryssa Smith Mccown Grand Canyon University ELM- John Biba 9/19/ Student motivation occurs when a student has the desire to learn, work, and persevere (Willis, 2019). A student must have good underlying reasons to complete their goals. A student's motivation can affect their performance in the classroom.
Who is really an excellent university student and how to ...
The pilot study aimed to offer a conceptual definition of the excellent university student according to the perceptions of the academic community. The study, which involved 26 teachers and 159 students, was informed by teacher interviews, student essays, and focus group discussions. ... Academic and work-related motivation in university ...
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5 Important Takeaways From The 2024-2025 U.S. News And World ...
Harvard University. Getty Images. This morning, U.S. News and World Report released their much-anticipated 2024-2025 Best Global University Rankings. These annual rankings are a cornerstone in the ...
Opinion
Guest Essay. What Happened to Stanford Spells Trouble for the Election. June 25, 2024. ... a unit of Stanford University that studies abuse of online platforms.
Opinion
Guest Essay. Something's Rotten About the Justices Taking So Long on Trump's Immunity Case. ... By Leah Litman. Ms. Litman is a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, a host of ...

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About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

How to Write Motivation Letter for University with Examples

Purpose of a Motivation Letter:

Structuring Your Motivation Letter Effectively:

Highlighting Your Achievements and Qualifications:

Personalizing Your Motivation Letter for Each University:

Concluding With a Strong and Memorable Ending:

Final Tips for Writing an Impressive Motivation Letter:

Below Are the Some Examples:

Conclusion:

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How to write a Motivation Letter for University (Sample)

Essays on Motivation

🔍 Choosing the Perfect Motivation Essay Topic 🤔

💡 Motivation Argumentative Essay 💪📝

🌪️ Motivation Cause and Effect Essay 📝

💬 Motivation Opinion Essay 💭📝

📚 Motivation Informative Essay 🧠📝

📜 Thesis Statement Examples 📜

📝 Introduction Paragraph Examples 📝

🔚 Conclusion Paragraph Examples 📝

John Proctor’s Motivation in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible

Motivation Letter (bachelor of Business Administration)

My Motivation to Study Medical/health Administration

My Letter of Motivation: Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Relevant topics

Tips for Writing Your Motivational Statement and Essays

Motivational Statement

Optional Essay Questions

Option 1: Challenge—Describe briefly the biggest challenge you have ever faced. How did you tackle it and what did you learn? (max 300 words)

Option 2: Community—Where do you see yourself getting involved in the community during your time at Harris—either at the University of Chicago or in the city of Chicago? (max 300 words)

Option 3: Pearson—If you would like to be considered for The Pearson Fellowship , please answer the following: In reflecting on the complexities of past and present protracted global conflicts, please analyze what singular global conflict most puzzles you personally, and discuss why.

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6 Unique Tips for Writing a Brilliant Motivational Essay

1. Do your research

2. Be personal

3. Drafts are important

4. Survey your essay

5. Get to the point

6.Professional goals matter

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CB Community

9 Tips to Write a Motivational Letter

1. Research the Institution to which you are applying

2. Be Creative

3. Get Personal in your Motivational Essay

4. Adopt a Straightforward and Succinct Tone

5. Clearly Explain your Motivation

6. Share your Professional Goals

7. Find The Right Balance

8. Back up what you’re saying

9. Ensure that your Essay is Grammatically Sound

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Frequently Asked Questions About Motivation Letters

What is the difference between a cover letter and a motivation letter?

What should I write in a motivation letter?

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