Try both the full block and indented semi-block styles of business letters. Compare examples of those styles by looking at illustrations of them in books on letter writing formats or by looking at websites such as the Homepage website. Decide which style you prefer at the outset so you know where you will position the first elements of the heading.
Date your letter. Drop down a few lines from the date and place your name on one line of the letter. Drop down a single line from your name, and put the first line of your street address. Drop down another line, and include any second line address information you may need to include such as apartment or suite number. Drop down another line, if you had a second address line, and include your city or town, state and zip code. Spell out your state fully, or at a minimum use the formal abbreviation for the state: do not use the two-letter postal abbreviation for the state which in formal letter writing compares to slang usage. If you had no second address line, position the town or city and zip code line on the line directly below the first address line. A format with the date following, rather than preceding, your own information as illustrated in the examples at the Homepage website, can be used as an alternative. Date first is the normal practice in the business world however.
Drop down two lines after your city and state information and, if you are using the indented format, begin typing the recipient information at the left margin. Type the addressee's name on a line. Drop down one line and type the addressee's title, such as Registrar or Head of the English Department. Drop down another line and include any departmental information necessary, such as Admissions Office or History Department. Drop down another line and type the name of the college. Drop down to the next line and type the first line of the physical address of the college. Drop down to the next line and, as with your address, if there is a second line of the physical address include that on this line: if there is no second line of the physical address, include the city or town, state and zip code on this line.
Drop down two lines below the college's city and state information for the Greeting line. Type "Dear" followed by the addressee's formal title, such as Dean Graham, Professor Lindsay or Ms. Richmond. Conclude the Greeting line with a full colon. Drop down two lines from the Greeting to begin the body of the letter.
Adjust spacing for a short letter to have the letter appear centered from top-to-bottom. While the standard is single line spacing within elements of the heading and double spacing in between, you can use greater than double spacing between elements to give a more top-to-bottom centered appearance to a short letter.