Letter of Intent for Selection Committee - Essay Example

I come from a dysfunctional past myself, and from my own experience, I have found that it is difficult to form an acceptance of what cannot be changed.

It is even more difficult to find the right guidance required to move toward that acceptance. In this light, admission into McGill’s Counseling Psychology program will not only fulfill my career ambitions, it will also fulfill my purpose in life. I would like to devote my energies to showcasing the effects of parenting on a child’s overall development. It is a subject that I naturally hold close to my heart. McGill University has been my preferred university since I was 16 years old (I am 25 now), living in Malaysia.

At the time, I was looking at education options while planning to run away to Canada as a naive teen. McGill University with its prestigious accolades, facilities, and student life, was an easy winner. Since then, I have always wanted to study at McGill, and now armed with a Psychology degree from New Zealand, the next step is clear. I picked Counseling Psychology because I want to be out on the field working with people. Besides being able to work with some of the most respected psychologists in this program, I am drawn to the non-thesis aspect of it.

I am happiest when assessment is continuous and hands-on performance is evaluated – I perform at my peak that way as I like taking challenges head-on. In addition, I am attracted to the certification as a counselor one receives at the end of the program, with the option of doing a Ph.D. later on. Currently, I am volunteering as a childcare facilitator at the Young Parents Program at NDG and as a research aide at Talwar’s Research Center at McGill. Along with that, I am also working as a freelance writer to save up for my post-grad fund.

Before this, I was an international student mentor in my alma maters where I provided mentoring, guidance, and English language aid to students from China and Japan. I love working with people and I enjoy being a positive part of their life. I confess that my time as an international student mentor was the happiest moment of my life. It was a start to the discovery of my career path to be a counselor. Although I may not have stellar results like some of my peers, I have a lot to offer in terms of my interest, plans in this field, and the will to accomplish whatever it takes to make this ambition work.

I am prepared to work extremely hard to get to where and what I want. I am even proud of my meager accomplishments because at one point in time, graduating itself had seemed a tall order for me. To cut a long story short, I had not been making the right choices in life but I have since bounced back. I have learned through the counsel of one very remarkable lecturer that the choices in life are mine to make, and mine to live with, regardless of the circumstances or my upbringing. I am taking that advice again as I am writing this letter to you.

I am choosing to seek entrance into one of the toughest programs at McGill University because I know I am worth it if you give me a shot. I am aware that there are only two results from this choice I am making: acceptance or rejection, and I fear neither. Thank you for your time.