Cover Letter for German Student VISA & DAAD Scholarship

The cover letter is a basic requirement to apply for any German Scholarship such as DAAD Scholarship or for a German Study VISA. One of the important documents, you have to provide while applying for a German student VISA is the cover letter. But unfortunately, students completely ignore the quality of the cover letter because most of them don’t even know what a cover letter is and why it is used. If you wish to study in Germany then German Universities require a list of documents in the admission application procedure, and among those documents, one of an important one is a cover letter.

Now, lets directly dig into the details of writing a cover letter for your next need.

What is Cover Letter?

The cover letter is a type of document in which the applicant applying for a German student visa describes the purpose of the visit with some necessary details. Moreover, a cover letter also contains a list of documents attached to the application. 

However, the cover letter is equal to the interview in which the official of the embassy asks the applicants about their purpose of visit in a foreign country. As most of the embassies nowadays are handling the process of visas through outsourcing companies, they have a few numbers of people to conduct interviews. Which makes cover letter more important in order to make a decision about student visa application. 

The understanding of writing a cover letter is very important. As it gives you the idea of how to write a letter, what details should be added and what writing style should be adopted. In this article, we have given a brief overview of how to write a cover letter and what details should be added to it.  

Cover Letter for the purpose of the German Student VISA Application

German Study VISA application requires a document known as Cover Letter from all of its applicants. Whenever you visit a foreign country, the authorities of that country ask you the reason for your visit. This is important information as the authorities have to evaluate different risks of admitting people into their country who maybe be a threat to their people. 

Apart from explaining the purpose of your visit to a foreign country you also have to state your financial resources in the cover letter. This is important because authorities will want to know that how will you cover your living and study expenses in Germany. 

Importance of a Cover Letter

Germany is among those countries which are popular study destinations. Every year thousands of international students travel to Germany and for that purpose, they apply for a student visa at the German embassy. However, there are various kinds of visa applications that put a heavy workload on German embassies. So, the cover letter saves the time of the embassy in making a decision about your visa application. 

However, you cannot say that the entire decision about your visa application is based on the cover letter. But yes, it plays a major role. 

What are the Standards to Write in a Cover Letter?

There is not a standard pattern for writing a cover letter but there are some rules which must be followed in order to write a good cover letter. As it is one of the most important documents in your student visa application, it should be a good and precise one, containing all the necessary details. 

For a good cover letter, you must focus on the following three things:

1. A brief introduction of yourself 
2. Explanation of the purpose of your visit to Germany
3. List of the documents attached to the application

Following are the parts of a well-written cover letter:

1. Introductory part
2. Purpose of writing
3. Reasoning
4. Listing attached documents with CV

#1 Writing an Introduction in a Cover Letter

The introduction is the hardest thing to write. People mostly get intimidated by the idea of writing the first word on the page. However, you just have to remember that you are not writing a dissertation thesis or a project, so just relax. Try to be understandable and fluent so that the officials have eased to scan your text and have an idea about your profile. 

#2 Purpose of a Cover Letter

Next to the introduction is the most important part which is the main purpose of writing a cover letter and that is stating the purpose of your visit. For perfect deliverance of the purpose of your visit, we recommend that you should sate your educational background and its significance according to your study determination in Germany. 

#3 State Reasoning in a Cover letter

Later, you can talk about the course you are going to study and the university in which you are interested to enroll in. Moreover, you can also state the reasons which made you take a course at a specific university. 

An example for your understanding of the reasoning part in a cover letter is given as follows:

 “My name is A and I live in B. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science issued by X university in my home country. I have been working as a computer scientist in a software house. I have a letter of admission from Z university for M course and I am looking forward to getting a German student visa for this purpose. The Z university is a highly reputed institution and I believe that it will provide me with the best education to build my career success as a Computer engineer.”

#4 Listing attached documents with CV in a Cover Letter

Lastly, you must write the list of documents attached to your application file. This is because the admission committee should know what to expect from the application. Moreover, if you do not have any document required by the embassy you can also explain the reason for the missing documents in the cover letter. 

For example, your home university may need more time to issue an official graduation certificate. In this case, you can explain it in detail in your cover letter, that why this has happened so that your application doesn’t get rejected. 

However, for more detailed overview your cover letter should contain the following things:

• Basic personal information
• The purpose of your visit to Germany
• Your financial standing and resources
• Your educational profile
• Reasons why you chose a particular course and the University
• Reasons of why do you think a German degree is good for you
• The list of included documents in your application

How to format a Cover Letter?

Formatting a cover letter is very important as officials are already familiarized with the standard formats which help them to scan the documents with ease. However, if your document does not have proper formatting then it looks unprofessional and may confuse the officials dealing with visa applications. 

Following is the acceptable format for a cover letter for a German Student Visa:

• Write the date at the top left corner of the page.
• Write the name of the German Embassy to which the document is going to be delivered. 
• After that, write your personal information such as your name, surname, and passport number.
• Then write Dear Madam/Sir or the designation of the relevant person 
• Now, below it clearly states the reason for writing a letter, the possible travel date and stays duration. 
• Start by showing your purpose for the visit. 
• Give details about education and work experience and how it is related to your desired course in Germany. 
• Explain very shortly that why have you chosen a particular university and what are your future goals. 
• Lastly, list the documents which are included with your file. 
• Wrap it by writing your sincerely, name and surname.
• Lastly, write your contact information such as an address, telephone number, and email. 

Tips for Writing a Cover Letter for Scholarship and Student VISA

By now you must have got an idea about the importance of cover letter in the student visa application. However, you are just one step away in paying attention to the following advice. 

#1 The cover letter should be optimized 

Abandon the idea of writing a perfect cover letter in your first attempt. The good cover letter comes up by editing it on a frequent basis. Take as much time as you need to edit and arrange the information in the cover letter. Moreover, just remove the idea of writing a perfect cover letter from your mind, as the perfect cover letter does not exist. So, just be fluent in your writing. 

#2 The cover letter should be concise 

Try to be concise as you can, when writing a cover letter. This is because the officials monitoring your application will not have so much time to read your cover letter in detail. So, just make it short and of good quality so it gives you an advantage. 

#3 Have some advice from international students

There are many international students currently studying in Germany and many will be from your country. Always try to seek help from those students as they have gone through the process efficiently. Moreover, you can always ask them to proofread your writings, so you get a better idea of what to add or remove in your cover letter for the student visa application. 

#4 Pay attention to formatting 

Always pay special attention to the formatting of the document. It must be according to some principles. Sometimes students just write whatever they want to write which brings a negative impact on their application. So, always make sure that your cover letter is well-formatted.

#5 Write on your own

It is highly recommended to write your cover letter on your own instead of copying someone’s format or example and modifying it for your needs. The plagiarised content in your cover letter may be questionable by the authorities especially when applying for a scholarship award.

Common mistakes to avoid while Writing a Cover Letter

If your cover letter is in accordance with the major principles then you are good to go. But sometimes there are mistakes that can put a negative impact on your application and you should avoid them. 

The following are some common mistakes international students do while writing a cover letter for a student visa to German embassies in their country. 

• Too personal Cover Letter 

A cover letter should be not too personal. For some people, it is some times difficult to find the right balance between a personal and formal language when writing a document. Always be aware that the German embassy is interested to know about your education and ambitions but never your emotional opinion about them. However, if this is the case, we recommend that you should take advice about writing a formal letter from someone. 

• Job Application Cover Letter 

This should be kept in mind that formal language for writing a job cover letter and visa cover letter is different. You don’t have to be too formal while writing a cover letter for a visa application. Your tone of speaking and other necessary details are the one which makes the two documents different.

• Spelling mistakes 

Lastly, there should be no spelling mistakes in your document. If there are many spelling mistakes then, of course, it will put a negative impact on your application and you will not be considered as a promising student. Moreover, it is recommended that you should always get your article proofread from someone for spellings and grammatical mistakes.