Does getting waitlisted nullify a LOI?

[ShaylaFinn]

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Hey ya'll - I made a rookie mistake and could use some advice. I sent a letter of intent to School X back in late Jan. Then I got an unexpected invite in March to School Y, which I now prefer.

Since I've been placed on the waitlist at School X, is it kosher to send an letter of intent to School Y?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[UCLAMAN]

As far as I know, letters of intent aren't binding...correct? When you sent the first letter it was definitely your first choice at the time the letter was dated...but a newopportunity has arisen and caused you to change your mind. That is fair IMO.

 

[edfig99]

LOIs (interest or intent) are nonbinding and actually don't mean anything to adcoms. If you wanted to give a school notice that you are interested, you can write ONE letter per school (don't send more than that, and don't send to multiple people at the same school) and that's fine, it will probably get filed with the rest of the stuff in your application...but that's about it. You can send out as many letters as you want -- just make sure you proofread it so it has the name of the correct school 😉

 

[abs39]

I posted a similar question earlier. Basically, the feedback that I received was that the letter of intent indicated that you would go if accepted, but you were not accepted, only put on the waitlist. It seems logical to me that you should be able to write another letter of intent. My biggest problem with the whole thing os whether or not the schools have the same interpretation of the situation as we do.

 

[filmdoc26]

I can't agree that LOIs don't mean anything. If they don't, then why send one to the school? At schools like Columbia, where one person has almost all the power of admissions, it's very helpful to "dance" for that one person. Whether that comes in the form of letters or phone calls, it's very significant.

Now, when you get waitlisted AFTER you send one or several LOIs, then that action essentially nullifies the import of those letters. That means that your intention to matriculate school X (which was soley dependent on that school's acceptance of you) was largely ignored. Thus, I'm pretty sure that your LOI meant nothing to them (at least before they waitlisted you). So go right ahead and write another one to school Y. Best of luck!

 

[UCLAMAN]

I know someone who sent letters of intent/interest to 10 different schools last year.

 

[ShaylaFinn]

Thank you.

 

[Adcadet]

I would think a letter of interest can not be interpreted as anything close to a binding agreement. A letter of intent, on the other hand, could. I hope you sent a letter of interest and not intent....why would you send a letter of intent before you've interviewed and visited all the places to which you are applying and haven't been rejected?

 

[Neuronix]

I sent a LOI to Penn, and they waitlisted me. But now I'm thinking hard about whether I'll go there if they end up accepting me pretty late. I want to get started on a pre-program rotation (MD/PhD). This means finding housing, moving in to where I'm gonna be, etc. If I don't get off the waitlist until the middle/end of May, what are the prospects like for finding housing for the end of June/beginning of July? It will be a tough scramble. Then again, what if I don't get in to Penn after all? I need to try to find housing at my second choice, Northwestern. I've heard I need to apply early for that, but I still haven't got the student housing brochure.

Ugh. I don't think it should be binding if they waitlist you. You need to get your life in order, and if a program is allowed to string you along, you should be allowed to string them along.

 

[VienneseWaltz]

Originally posted by Adcadet
why would you send a letter of intent before you've interviewed and visited all the places to which you are applying and haven't been rejected?

ShaylaFinn said the interview was unexpected. I was in a similiar situation--I wrote something close to a letter of intent (I stopped short of saying I would withdraw everywhere else if accepted) in early January, because after getting 12 interview invitations in Aug-Oct and none in Nov/Dec, I figured I was done. Mid-Jan, I get an interview from School Y, found I preferred it to School X. I got off the hook, though, b/c School Y let me in and School X waitlisted/rejected me.

A letter of interest might not help (didn't for me), but it can't hurt. SF, why not send a very strong letter of interest to School Y, saying how impressed you were at your interview and that it's your first choice. That's not quite the same as saying you will attend if accepted, but it might accomplish the same thing--getting you in. Good luck!