Letters of Intent

Different websites I looked at discussed three basic kinds of letters of intent: business, work, and college.  Here is a web page that gives you samples of all three and explains each step in the process.

http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Letter-of-Intent

A letter of intent can also be called a letter of interest, a personal statement, a statement of purpose, or a cover letter.

Other websites:
http://jobsearch.about.com/cs/coverletters/ht/coverletter.htm
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/coverletters/a/cuttingedge.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_7572960_write-letter-intent-undergraduate-college.html
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-to-write-a-letter-of-intent-for-college.html

If you really want to read something unusual, read about admission essays for the University of Chicago.  That school has always asked students to write really strange essays.

The current year's essay topics and past essay topics are available.