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SandyPants said:
Oh yeah, I interviewed in November. Just wondering if anyone has any inside word if it would help my candidacy since it's my top choice.
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If it's your first choice and is written well, it certainly can't hurt. I'm not sure it helps with the initial decision process, but I had quite a few friends who thought it helped when they were on the WL. (All anecdotal, though.)
 
SandyPants said:
Oh yeah, I interviewed in November. Just wondering if anyone has any inside word if it would help my candidacy since it's my top choice.
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Yeah I know of people who interviewed and got in because of LOI so in my opinion i say go for it and write it well!
 
Orthopedics101 said:
When would one write said LOI? Before March or after you get your decision?
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If I'm interpreting "LOI" correctly, then you either mean Letter of Interest or Letter of Intent.
Letter of Interest usually is sent pre or post interview and its basically like a "hey I really liked this school and I'm interested and I'm cool and you're cool so check me out pls" This one is not binding and you can send to a few of your top choices.
Letter of Intent is usually post-interview and it basically says: "If you accept me, I will come. I love you. XOXO, Applicant." This one is binding and is dishonest to write to more than one school.

The Letter of Intent is especially powerful if you are on the WL.

Source: Medical school mentor, health professions advisor, two interviewers at different schools.
 
swgadoo said:
If I'm interpreting "LOI" correctly, then you either mean Letter of Interest or Letter of Intent.
Letter of Interest usually is sent pre or post interview and its basically like a "hey I really liked this school and I'm interested and I'm cool and you're cool so check me out pls" This one is not binding and you can send to a few of your top choices.
Letter of Intent is usually post-interview and it basically says: "If you accept me, I will come. I love you. XOXO, Applicant." This one is binding and is dishonest to write to more than one school.

The Letter of Intent is especially powerful if you are on the WL.

Source: Medical school mentor, health professions advisor, two interviewers at different schools.
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It's acceptable to send a pre-interview letter expressing your interest? I haven't heard of that before
 
NewMedGuy said:
It's acceptable to send a pre-interview letter expressing your interest? I haven't heard of that before
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The general wisdom is that Letter of Interest don't mean much because you could send them to literally any school. A Letter of Intent, which I assumed we were discussing above, holds some weight. Even then, it is variable and based on the school/reader. I think it is particularly powerful if you can eloquently explain why you're a good match for the school (and vice-versa) because medical schools could fill their classes over and over again with qualified applicants.
 
NewMedGuy said:
Got it, thanks! And this has worked for Yale specifically, or did you just mean it has worked at some schools?
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the LOI i know from friends who have worked here were waitlisted, but for other schools pre II works (if i had to guess pre II LOI doesnt mean much to yale since everybodys obviously VERY interested in the school its one of the top in the nation lol)
 
swgadoo said:
If I'm interpreting "LOI" correctly, then you either mean Letter of Interest or Letter of Intent.
Letter of Interest usually is sent pre or post interview and its basically like a "hey I really liked this school and I'm interested and I'm cool and you're cool so check me out pls" This one is not binding and you can send to a few of your top choices.
Letter of Intent is usually post-interview and it basically says: "If you accept me, I will come. I love you. XOXO, Applicant." This one is binding and is dishonest to write to more than one school.

The Letter of Intent is especially powerful if you are on the WL.

Source: Medical school mentor, health professions advisor, two interviewers at different schools.
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Ditto!
From what I've heard most adcoms will be quite communicative towards the end of the cycle (April/May) and there's a good chance they figure out if you've submitted more than one letter of intent, and it won't look good at all. So be extra mindful!
 
Any time you hear of someone saying, "I sent a letter to X school and then got an interview from X school, these things definitely work," immediately stop paying attention to this person. It is conceivable that many other things this person says will also be layered with plenty of retrospective bias and unfounded assumptions. No one will ever know if it was the letter that got them an interview or because the committee was going to interview them anyway. In a high-stress situation such as the med school application process, you will hear of many similar stories that should get you a good chuckle and absolutely nothing else. I'm not saying that people are dumb, but people in general are very susceptible to generating false narratives to fit the empirical data they see, especially in the form of overly simplistic stories as they grapple with an overly complicated process.

For Yale specifically, Richard has always been very transparent in that he reads LOIs post-decisions and takes them seriously. He mentions this outright in many WL acceptance phone calls (including my own). There is no evidence anywhere else that sending a letter to admissions at this stage gives you any leg up on getting an interview. However, basic human logic might suggest to us that if any student applying to a school can do the same thing in a blink of an eye (i.e., simply write a letter pledging allegiance to a school they have not seen in person or otherwise interacted with 😏), the effect of such a letter is probably not fantastic enough to be a worthwhile recommendation.

For ITA emails, always send them. The worst a school can do is ignore you, the average a school a do is decide they weren't going to interview you anyway, the best a school can do is save you hundreds of dollars. Win-neutral-win. There are certain schools known to be very inflexible with such special requests (ahem, Georgetown @Jalby) and will tell you as such once you write the email. 0% harm done in all cases.
 
avgn said:
Any time you hear of someone saying, "I sent a letter to X school and then got an interview from X school, these things definitely work," immediately stop paying attention to this person. It is conceivable that many other things this person says will also be layered with plenty of retrospective bias and unfounded assumptions. No one will ever know if it was the letter that got them an interview or because the committee was going to interview them anyway. In a high-stress situation such as the med school application process, you will hear of many similar stories that should get you a good chuckle and absolutely nothing else. I'm not saying that people are dumb, but people in general are very susceptible to generating false narratives to fit the empirical data they see, especially in the form of overly simplistic stories as they grapple with an overly complicated process.

For Yale specifically, Richard has always been very transparent in that he reads LOIs post-decisions and takes them seriously. He mentions this outright in many WL acceptance phone calls (including my own). There is no evidence anywhere else that sending a letter to admissions at this stage gives you any leg up on getting an interview. However, basic human logic might suggest to us that if any student applying to a school can do the same thing in a blink of an eye (i.e., simply write a letter pledging allegiance to a school they have not seen in person or otherwise interacted with 😏), the effect of such a letter is probably not fantastic enough to be a worthwhile recommendation.

For ITA emails, always send them. The worst a school can do is ignore you, the average a school a do is decide they weren't going to interview you anyway, the best a school can do is save you hundreds of dollars. Win-neutral-win. There are certain schools known to be very inflexible with such special requests (ahem, Georgetown @Jalby) and will tell you as such once you write the email. 0% harm done in all cases.
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What is your opinion on a letter of interest post II but pre decision?
 
Orthopedics101 said:
What is your opinion on a letter of interest post II but pre decision?
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Less useless than the pre-II letter but it's still a situation where the stakes for writing one are so low that everyone can just write one because getting into a school is better than not getting into a school. What does a letter that says, "Hi I still like the school, I have no leverage at all right now" actually do? Perhaps one that reads, "I currently hold 3 acceptances but would choose Yale over any of them immediately" could do some good, but remember that since the committee has already ranked you after your interview with a final round of consideration yet to come, logic might still suggest that the the chances of such a letter moving the needle is quite small. But that is all speculation. If you feel strongly positive post-interview, write something that is true. Just don't expect it to impact anything at all; that's where the unnecessary disappointment sets in.
 
avgn said:
Less useless than the pre-II letter but it's still a situation where the stakes for writing one are so low that everyone can just write one because getting into a school is better than not getting into a school. What does a letter that says, "Hi I still like the school, I have no leverage at all right now" actually do? Perhaps one that reads, "I currently hold 3 acceptances but would choose Yale over any of them immediately" could do some good, but remember that since the committee has already ranked you after your interview with a final round of consideration yet to come, logic might still suggest that the the chances of such a letter moving the needle is quite small. But that is all speculation. If you feel strongly positive post-interview, write something that is true. Just don't expect it to impact anything at all; that's where the unnecessary disappointment sets in.
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Thanks for your honest feedback. Interviewed back in October so I feel nervous not having any communication with the admissions office for 5 months before they release my decision. I also don’t have anything to update so can’t send anything there. Did you send any LOIs before your decision?
 
Orthopedics101 said:
Thanks for your honest feedback. Interviewed back in October so I feel nervous not having any communication with the admissions office for 5 months before they release my decision. I also don’t have anything to update so can’t send anything there. Did you send any LOIs before your decision?
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same here. interviewed the first or 2nd week of sept. Almost feel like they might "forget" about me.
 
Orthopedics101 said:
Thanks for your honest feedback. Interviewed back in October so I feel nervous not having any communication with the admissions office for 5 months before they release my decision. I also don’t have anything to update so can’t send anything there. Did you send any LOIs before your decision?
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They sort applicants after the week of your interview. The final list is generated by a separate committee that takes multiple considerations into account closer to the date of acceptances being released. I wouldn't worry. Your interviewers already gave their report on you a while ago.
 
WesternBlot said:
They sort applicants after the week of your interview. The final list is generated by a separate committee that takes multiple considerations into account closer to the date of acceptances being released. I wouldn't worry. Your interviewers already gave their report on you a while ago.
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Do you know how this process is different for the MD/PhD program?
 
There is no expectation that any contact should happen between you and admissions between your interview and decision time. Given how the process works here (which I can serve as double confirmation that it was described accurately above), I seriously highly doubt that anything you send with or without significant update would do much, if anything, to increase your chances. Yale has had non-rolling admissions for a long time; rest assured that you won't be the first, or the last, to be potentially accepted without any communication in the interim.
 
avgn said:
I seriously highly doubt that anything you send with or without significant update would do much, if anything, to increase your chances. Yale has had non-rolling admissions for a long time; rest assured that you won't be the first, or the last, to be potentially accepted without any communication in the interim.
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I've had a II and Yale is my top choice, but it seems like I should wait until decisions to send a LOI. Do you think it's worthless to send an update with grades from grad courses taken this past semester? From the above, I would take it that you don't think it will matter much.
 
SIL94 said:
I've had a II and Yale is my top choice, but it seems like I should wait until decisions to send a LOI. Do you think it's worthless to send an update with grades from grad courses taken this past semester? From the above, I would take it that you don't think it will matter much.
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YMMV but in my opinion likely not. At the point where they're deciding between individuals you have to remember all that goes into account. Oftentimes, grades and MCAT are more of a bar minimum than anything else. After you've demonstrated that you can make it academically, I feel that the admissions committee oftentimes move onto bigger picture questions (e.g. "leadership" in medicine, fit for school, etc.). I doubt that grades in graduate school classes would likely impact this (unless you have a history of academic difficulty, in which case it might help more than someone who had a strong academic track record).

TL;DR: IMO, Think to yourself--will it really change me from a WL to Accept? Or a reject to WL? Is it that big of an impact (or close to)?

Post-WL letters are a different story since you are potentially committing and trying to sell yourself to the school.
 
Someone a while back mentioned that CT Limo is horribly unreliable, and I'd like to get a few more opinions. For those of you that have interviewed, have any of you taken CT Limo? I'm tentatively thinking of flying into Hartford (Bradley) and taking CT Limo, or flying into NYC and taking a train.
 
prerevenue said:
Someone a while back mentioned that CT Limo is horribly unreliable, and I'd like to get a few more opinions. For those of you that have interviewed, have any of you taken CT Limo? I'm tentatively thinking of flying into Hartford (Bradley) and taking CT Limo, or flying into NYC and taking a train.
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CT limo was great for me.
 
prerevenue said:
Someone a while back mentioned that CT Limo is horribly unreliable, and I'd like to get a few more opinions. For those of you that have interviewed, have any of you taken CT Limo? I'm tentatively thinking of flying into Hartford (Bradley) and taking CT Limo, or flying into NYC and taking a train.
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I've found that the most effective method is flying into Bradley International Airport and taking CT Limo - they pick you up in front of where there are a bunch of nice cars on display next to baggage claim. CT Limo costs you around 48 dollars for an uber ride that costs around 85 dollars, so its a really good deal. Also, if multiple people are using CT Limo the same time you are, the pick you up in an actual limo...
 
another method that people are slightly less aware of is just flying into New York (I assume Bradley International Airport would be very expensive) and then taking MTA north (which is like very very cheap and drops you at the New Haven train station).
 
SIL94 said:
I've had a II and Yale is my top choice, but it seems like I should wait until decisions to send a LOI. Do you think it's worthless to send an update with grades from grad courses taken this past semester? From the above, I would take it that you don't think it will matter much.
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Correct. At this stage in the game they are probably not looking at your grades anymore. There is so much more to the package to consider. Unless these grades make a monumental statement on your improved academic ability, it's not gonna be that useful.
SpineResearcher said:
I've found that the most effective method is flying into Bradley International Airport and taking CT Limo - they pick you up in front of where there are a bunch of nice cars on display next to baggage claim. CT Limo costs you around 48 dollars for an uber ride that costs around 85 dollars, so its a really good deal. Also, if multiple people are using CT Limo the same time you are, the pick you up in an actual limo...
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BDL is almost never worth it unless you're flying WN or some other route where it's cheaper than JFK/LGA, but then you have to fly WN so ask yourself is it really worth it? lol. Also CT Limo doesn't send a limo b/c there's more than one person. Big groups get a van, most 2-4 ppl get a Lincoln town car. Their fleet has ONE limo that makes its rounds so you just have to get lucky to ride it. Fly into New York if you can, take public transportation all the way here. Takes a lot of time but that is the Northeastern way to live. Next year this won't be a problem anymore once the Hartford Line commuter rail opens up this May. Can't ****ing wait
 
For people going to interviews soon, I would recommend requesting for student host. I had an amazing time with the host during my interview - he made me love Yale even more than I did before my interview!
 
I will echo that BDL is usually not worth it unless you like burning money. Their flights are often a few hundred dollars more than comparable flights from nearby airports like LGA. Sometimes I've flown home through PVD because it is literally cheaper to rent a car to and from the airport than fly out of BDL.

As someone said above, it is a great idea to stay with a student host while you are here. We have hosts both in the Harkness dorm (so you can see where many of us live) and off campus. Remember that none of the hosts, tour guides, or diversity dinner students have any impact on your interview evaluation.

A few updates from the middle of M1. Most of us have stopped going to class because it's more efficient to design your own study plan, although I would say most of us still at least watch the lecture recordings (some don't lol). Winter up here isn't as bad as I expected, and New Haven is acceptable despite its small size. You'll spend 90% of your preclinical time studying, so most of the stuff you may think is compelling on the interview trail at any school stops mattering real quick. You'll be grinding no matter which school you choose, but at Yale you don't have the stress of grades or class rank. The only pressure I feel is to learn more every day.

I'm on the Wednesday and Friday tours this week, so say hello if you're coming in to interview.
 
Does Yale give you a chance to look at your interview schedule before the date? I will need to be out of the admissions office by 4:15pm and am wondering if this was a reasonable request or not :O
 
RobertSacamano said:
Does Yale give you a chance to look at your interview schedule before the date? I will need to be out of the admissions office by 4:15pm and am wondering if this was a reasonable request or not :O
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I also had to be out around that time, just contact the admissions office and explain your situation so they can schedule your interviews earlier in the day 🙂
 
neuroticdreamer said:
Any recent IIs to report?
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Hate to be that guy but I think it is highly likely that all interview spots have been booked already by this point, with only 3 weeks left of interviews. I do not have any inside information about how the allocation actually works, but it is basically common sense here that schools tend to give more than 3 weeks' notice for scheduling interviews and we have gone past that critical point by now.
 
last year, I had a a friend who got an interview in Feb, but that would probably be the last round if that holds true this year as well. Yale tends to be later than other schools.
 
sbspftw said:
last year, I had a a friend who got an interview in Feb, but that would probably be the last round if that holds true this year as well. Yale tends to be later than other schools.
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uh don't know where you're getting "later than other schools" from but I can tell you that is not true. Don't spread false hope when you're not in the know... Extremely unlikely there are any more IIs this year. After tomorrow, there are only 6 interview dates, 2 of which are MSTP, which are booked way in advance. So that's 4 interview days left and the current slate I see is already filled with 12 people each day.
 
Not sure if this is the right place... I have an MD/PhD interview coming up for a non-traditional PhD field (i.e. not a basic science or epidemiology). Does anyone have any insight into the MSTP interview days and how they might relate to someone in my situation?
 
friendly.ghost said:
Not sure if this is the right place... I have an MD/PhD interview coming up for a non-traditional PhD field (i.e. not a basic science or epidemiology). Does anyone have any insight into the MSTP interview days and how they might relate to someone in my situation?
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The MD/PhD interview at Yale is really chill! You'll have 2 MD interviews then 2 MD/PhD interviews on the second day. They're all open file and my impression was that the interviewer was just reallying trying to get a better picture of who I was and why I wanted to go into the field.

I'm also sort of a non-traditional PhD applicant, so I would say just be able to justify how your PhD training in whatever field will complement your career as a physician scientist and how it ties into the larger scheme of your career goals.
 
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