Is it a good or bad idea to call the dean to express your interest in the school if you are waitlisted?
Calling the Dean
- Thread starter wire
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2003
- Messages
- 407
- Reaction score
- 0
Where's the line between being seen as really interested versus a pest? I think calling and emailing frequently fall in the latter camp. These admission deans are busy people. The last thing thing they would want is a bunch of paranoid premeds calling them every hour. If you're going to show interest, I think that you have to do it professionally and courteously. Also, I think giving them something tangible and done well is also a good idea. That's why I think LOI are more effective than calling or emailing. To show interest to my top pick, I wrote two lengthy LOI's. If the school didn't get the message after these efforts, then I doubt anything will.
My 0.02 cents.
My 0.02 cents.
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2004
- Messages
- 711
- Reaction score
- 2
I think it depends a lot on the school. Columbia, for example, encourages you to be a pest. Other schools (I spoke with a recruiter from MCW) are more sensitive to psycho pesky pre-meds who write letters every day.
- Joined
- May 13, 2004
- Messages
- 77
- Reaction score
- 0
some correspondence i received from ucsd today (i'm in the acceptable pool)
""""
Concerning the issue of "letters of interest" or "letters of intent" I
tend to share your feeling*. Admissions committees are very busy, get a
lot of information and assume that students that applied to their
institution are interested in attending there. Letters bombarding them with
statements of how great they match with the school and how much they
want to go there get read, but don't hold much weight. Weekly letters to
that effect are inappropriate and a burden and likely will do more harm
then good. The times it is appropriate to write to the admissions
office is to update them on significant changes to their file and one, such
as yours, at a late stage in the process, reaffirming interest in the
school is not looked at askance.
""""
*'my feeling' being that applicants probably shouldn't send so many letters... mine was mainly of the update sort/interest reaffirmation
""""
Concerning the issue of "letters of interest" or "letters of intent" I
tend to share your feeling*. Admissions committees are very busy, get a
lot of information and assume that students that applied to their
institution are interested in attending there. Letters bombarding them with
statements of how great they match with the school and how much they
want to go there get read, but don't hold much weight. Weekly letters to
that effect are inappropriate and a burden and likely will do more harm
then good. The times it is appropriate to write to the admissions
office is to update them on significant changes to their file and one, such
as yours, at a late stage in the process, reaffirming interest in the
school is not looked at askance.
""""
*'my feeling' being that applicants probably shouldn't send so many letters... mine was mainly of the update sort/interest reaffirmation
Similar threads
