Letter of Intent BEFORE or AFTER you're waitlisted?

[WannaBeAddison]

Hi All,

I know this business of letters of intent have probably been discussed ad-nauseum here and though I read through numerous threads on the topic, I just didn't find the answer to my particular question. So I hope I don't get flamed for asking it.

I interviewed at my top choice school a week ago and it is THE place for me. They waitlist quite a few of OOS students if not most and being an OOS student you can see my concern.

The committee is supposed to be meeting towards the end of the month with decisions being sent out in the first couple weeks of January.

So do you think I should send in a letter of interest now or if and when I'm waitlisted.

Thanks in advance for your advice... and again sorry if it's repetitive.

Addi

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[funkydrmonkey]

Hi All,

I know this business of letters of intent have probably been discussed ad-nauseum here and though I read through numerous threads on the topic, I just didn't find the answer to my particular question. So I hope I don't get flamed for asking it.

I interviewed at my top choice school a week ago and it is THE place for me. They waitlist quite a few of OOS students if not most and being an OOS student you can see my concern.

The committee is supposed to be meeting towards the end of the month with decisions being sent out in the first couple weeks of January.

So do you think I should send in a letter of interest now or if and when I'm waitlisted.

Thanks in advance for your advice... and again sorry if it's repetitive.

Addi

After... If they accept you, then it does not matter... and you will not have to write it...Good luck and I hope you get into your top choice!

 

[TexasPhysician]

These letters hold little weight period.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Your choice. Some write it before, some write it after.

The nice thing about waiting until after you're waitlisted is that most schools will rereview your application when you send the letter. The more times they look at your application the more likely it is someone will see something they like.

The value of LOIs varies by school. Some schools take them very seriously (more than one school I interviewed at said so) others trash them. But it certainly can't hurt you. I wrote my way into my school, but it won't necessarily work for everyone at every school.

 

[thewendster]

Good advice. post waitlist LOIntent may lead to a re-review... also, if you send out your LOI pre acceptance news, you may have played your hand out as much as you can and won't have anything else to use to get some extra attention/re-evaluation/show greater interest should you find yourself waitlisted.

Your choice. Some write it before, some write it after.

The nice thing about waiting until after you're waitlisted is that most schools will rereview your application when you send the letter. The more times they look at your application the more likely it is someone will see something they like.

The value of LOIs varies by school. Some schools take them very seriously (more than one school I interviewed at said so) others trash them. But it certainly can't hurt you. I wrote my way into my school, but it won't necessarily work for everyone at every school.

 

[BeardedRunner]

I would suggest sending it before, that way they know that you are especially interested in attending when they review your file meticulously.

 

[WannaBeAddison]

Thanks everyone for your input and advice! Keep your fingers crossed for me! It really is my dream school!!

 

[AdmiralChz]

Yeah I would definitely not send before you hear their decision - the interview was your chance to tell them how much you want to go there, so you'll probably end up just repeating yourself. I agree with pretty much everyone here - an LOI after getting waitlisted is definitely more appropriate.

 

[linguini]

I think the general consensus on this question is to write it after you're waitlisted. However, I would also encourage you to do some research on how many people, if any, get off of the waitlist (maybe look at last years pre-allo threads or ask people on the allopathic forum who go to that school). Some schools notoriously have little to no waitlist movement. If your school is one of those, it may be more beneficial to write your LOI pre-waitlist.

Of course, I hope you get accepted and don't even have to worry about it! Good luck.