Application cover letter?

[StatsNerd]

Is it common/expected to include a cover letter of sorts with each application? I've heard it mentioned here a few times but none of the schools I'm applying to mention it. Is it just assumed you will include one? There are a few technical things about my application that I would like to be able to point out, things that wouldn't really belong in say, my statement of purpose. For example, after freaking out about finding a 3rd LOR I now might actually have an extra LOR (a professor who wasn't replying to my emails for weeks finally came through and said he'd write the letter this morning, after I had already found a last minute replacement...). How exactly do you word it? "Dear admissions committee, This is my application, just wanted to note that blah blah blah.... Thank you, your name." ?

Edited January 14, 2011 by StatsNerd

[MoJingly]

Just to clarify, are you talking about a hard copy of your application? Online applications don't give much of a chance for a cover letter, at least from my experience.

[StatsNerd]

Just to clarify, are you talking about a hard copy of your application? Online applications don't give much of a chance for a cover letter, at least from my experience.

oh yes, sorry. The schools I'm applying to all require hard copies, strangely enough. Online apps would have made my life a little easier and saved me some trips to the post office/freak outs about things possibly getting lost in the mail. That said, you are right about not really having the option for a cover letter with online apps.

[Strangefox]

Is it common/expected to include a cover letter of sorts with each application? I've heard it mentioned here a few times but none of the schools I'm applying to mention it. Is it just assumed you will include one? There are a few technical things about my application that I would like to be able to point out, things that wouldn't really belong in say, my statement of purpose. For example, after freaking out about finding a 3rd LOR I now might actually have an extra LOR (a professor who wasn't replying to my emails for weeks finally came through and said he'd write the letter this morning, after I had already found a last minute replacement...). How exactly do you word it? "Dear admissions committee, This is my application, just wanted to note that blah blah blah.... Thank you, your name." ?

I've never heard about such a letter. If there are things that you want to say but feel that they don't belong in the statement of purpose, well, then you won't be able to say them, sorry. May be only during the interview. As for the thing about an extra LOR, I don't think you need to explain that to adcoms. I don't know, it just does not feel right to me, as if you were trying to make an excuse here or go into some unnecessary details... Why would they want to hear about that anyway? You had a problem, you solved it, you will probably have an extra LOR - great. But adcoms are primarily interested in your research, not in such stuff

Good luck!

[rising_star]

I included cover letters. Basically the letter just listed all the materials that were included in that package and had the names of the LOR writers so they would know to be expecting them. I also asked in the letters for them to email me and let me know if anything is missing.