HomeSkool's Guide to Letters of Intent

[HomeSkool]

EDIT: Now updated with a Spring Supplement!

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[DubbiDoctor]

Do people send actual letters? I just assumed LOIs took the form of emails, like update letters but oozing with more desperation.

 

[HomeSkool]

Do paper sent actual letters? I just assumed LOIs took the form of emails, like update letters but oozing with more desperation.

Yeah, but that wasn't as funny.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using SDN mobile

 

[Goro]

View attachment 231636

This is the /thread of all /threads!!!!

 

[naway]

I...thought it was common advice to send a letter of intent if you have no acceptances/are waitlisted everywhere? Now you're telling me they're just for people with higher-tier acceptances who for one reason or another would rather go to a lower-tier school?

 

[Dr. Snow]

A few schools like LOI's though right? I was reading through the Mayo thread and it seemed like everyone was sending LOI's once they were done with interviews.

 

[Goro]

A few schools like LOI's though right? I was reading through the Mayo thread and it seemed like everyone was sending LOI's once they were done with interviews.

There are a few schools that like to see people grove.

Mayo
Jefferson
Gtown are the ones I know about, and one of the TX schools (for Texans, of course)

 

[HomeSkool]

I...thought it was common advice to send a letter of intent if you have no acceptances/are waitlisted everywhere? Now you're telling me they're just for people with higher-tier acceptances who for one reason or another would rather go to a lower-tier school?

A letter of intent is a letter in which you say, "If you accept me, I'll turn down all other offers to attend your school." If you have no other acceptances, it's completely meaningless.

The only time an LOI will do you any good is if you got into, say, Stanford but Nebraska is your state of residence and you really want to stay there. You'd write a letter to Nebraska saying, "The hot girl wants to go to prom with me, but I'll take you instead if you'll say yes." If you don't have any other acceptances, the letter would read more like, "I'm totally desperate to go to prom and no one loves me, but I'll turn all of them down and go with you if you say yes!" And they'd be like "Nah, that's OK." And using Nebraska to try to get off Stanford's waitlist would read, "I know you're the prom queen and everything, but the average-looking girl is going to prom with me and I'll totally ditch her if you say yes." (No offense, Nebraska. It's just cuz Stanford.)

 

[Goro]

I...thought it was common advice to send a letter of intent if you have no acceptances/are waitlisted everywhere? Now you're telling me they're just for people with higher-tier acceptances who for one reason or another would rather go to a lower-tier school?

*sigh*
As Homeskool pointed out, why should a school take you if you're desperate?? What incentive do they have?
How would you interpret a nonbinding promise from a desperate applicant?

From the wise Med Ed: [What med schools…] accept and desire are two different things. My institution, for instance, will accept practically anything a given applicant wants to forward along, but only rarely do we consider it a worthwhile addition to the package.

And yes, some of us have gotten a little jaded about LOI's. I could fill a barrel with all the post-interview correspondence I have received that has not translated into a single matriculant. This has all gotten mighty complicated and burdensome for what is essentially a zero sum game.

It's generally not burdensome for an applicant to upload something to the portal, and once in a great while it does tip us off with some useful info. I can think of one individual who had a stellar application, like Harvard/Yale/Stanford-worthy, and a superb interview, who sent us several updates and a LOI. We were somewhat perplexed by this person's tenacious interest in our program. Turns out there were family/geographical reasons behind the whole thing, the applicant just never felt comfortable directly playing that card.

When it comes down to waitlist time I will scan through what folks have uploaded post-interview. The vast majority of times it has no impact. Occasionally I have seen it hurt people's chances. Come to think of it, in my experience this is probably more likely, than such correspondence having a positive impact.

See https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/loi-and-interviews.1252832/#post-18849958

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/i-told-a-school-id-go-if-accepted-now-not-so-sure.1187022/#post-17497608

Withdrawing Acceptance from school I sent a Letter of Intent to

for classic examples of why most Admissions deans treat these as lies.

TL, DR
Drexel doesn't care if you have an accept to Albany
Harvard doesn't care if you have an accept to Albany
Albany will care if you have an accept to Harvard
Harvard will care if you have an accept to Yale

 

[TheVisionary]

A letter of intent is a letter in which you say, "If you accept me, I'll turn down all other offers to attend your school." If you have no other acceptances, it's completely meaningless.

The only time an LOI will do you any good is if you got into, say, Stanford but Nebraska is your state of residence and you really want to stay there. You'd write a letter to Nebraska saying, "The hot girl wants to go to prom with me, but I'll take you instead if you'll say yes." If you don't have any other acceptances, the letter would read more like, "I'm totally desperate to go to prom and no one loves me, but I'll turn all of them down and go with you if you say yes!" And they'd be like "Nah, that's OK." And using Nebraska to try to get off Stanford's waitlist would read, "I know you're the prom queen and everything, but the average-looking girl is going to prom with me and I'll totally ditch her if you say yes." (No offense, Nebraska. It's just cuz Stanford.)

So what's the consensus about getting into a cheaper school? Is there any bargaining power there if it's a less prestigious school?

Re: When is a good time to send in letter of intent?

 

[Goro]

So what's the consensus about getting into a cheaper school? Is there any bargaining power there if it's a less prestigious school?

Re: When is a good time to send in letter of intent?

I don't think there is any bargaining power to an applicant unless they are a Harvard or Stanford class student.

 

[skk_]

A letter of intent is a letter in which you say, "If you accept me, I'll turn down all other offers to attend your school." If you have no other acceptances, it's completely meaningless.

The only time an LOI will do you any good is if you got into, say, Stanford but Nebraska is your state of residence and you really want to stay there. You'd write a letter to Nebraska saying, "The hot girl wants to go to prom with me, but I'll take you instead if you'll say yes." If you don't have any other acceptances, the letter would read more like, "I'm totally desperate to go to prom and no one loves me, but I'll turn all of them down and go with you if you say yes!" And they'd be like "Nah, that's OK." And using Nebraska to try to get off Stanford's waitlist would read, "I know you're the prom queen and everything, but the average-looking girl is going to prom with me and I'll totally ditch her if you say yes." (No offense, Nebraska. It's just cuz Stanford.)

I received personal e-mails from both my interviewers at Mayo, alongside multiple e-mails from different members of their admission's committee following my interview asking about my "level of interest" in coming prior to decisions had even been given out, and either strongly hinting at, or directly asking for a letter of intent. We were told directly during interview day that having a letter of intent (or letter of interest) on file was the very first thing they check for when they decide who to accept too.

I agree with what you posted for the majority of schools, but some schools (thankfully a small minority it looks like, since the entire process above made me really uncomfortable) really do seem to put a lot of value into these, for better or worse.

 

[HomeSkool]

I received personal e-mails from both my interviewers at Mayo, alongside multiple e-mails from different members of their admission's committee following my interview asking about my "level of interest" in coming prior to decisions had even been given out, and either strongly hinting at, or directly asking for a letter of intent. We were told directly during interview day that having a letter of intent (or letter of interest) on file was the very first thing they check for when they decide who to accept too.

I agree with what you posted for the majority of schools, but some schools (thankfully a small minority it looks like, since the entire process above made me really uncomfortable) really do seem to put a lot of value into these, for better or worse.

@Goro mentioned that in post #7 above. The reason, in Mayo's case, is that Rochester is a winter wasteland 11.5 months of the year and they're competing with other outstanding schools in more desirable locations, so they like to get commitments from high-caliber applicants.

 

[DubbiDoctor]

I received personal e-mails from both my interviewers at Mayo, alongside multiple e-mails from different members of their admission's committee following my interview asking about my "level of interest" in coming prior to decisions had even been given out, and either strongly hinting at, or directly asking for a letter of intent. We were told directly during interview day that having a letter of intent (or letter of interest) on file was the very first thing they check for when they decide who to accept too.

I agree with what you posted for the majority of schools, but some schools (thankfully a small minority it looks like, since the entire process above made me really uncomfortable) really do seem to put a lot of value into these, for better or worse.

They're just selecting for applicants willing to play the game, not ones with any genuine passion for the school. Wonder what percentage of their applicants who send heartfelt letters of intent end up matriculating to higher ranked schools.

 

[Goro]

@Goro mentioned that in post #7 above. The reason, in Mayo's case, is that Rochester is a winter wasteland 11.5 months of the year and they're competing with other outstanding schools in more desirable locations, so they like to get commitments from high-caliber applicants.

Just to clarify, MN has only two seasons: winter, and winter will be back in five minutes.

In Jan/Feb in Rochester, MN, Nature makes a very serious attempt to kill you.

 

[jconnell82760]

Just to clarify, MN has only two seasons: winter, and winter will be back in five minutes.

In Jan/Feb in Rochester, MN, Nature makes a very serious attempt to kill you.

Goro said it best. But just to be clear, that attempt doesn't stop after February. It's April and we still have people driving trucks ON the ice on our lakes. I left this morning and it was 0 degrees.

 

[calivianya]

How about schools that both have zero ranking because they're new, but one looks like it's clearly going to be a better school than the other based on the affiliated hospitals, location, and other opportunities?

 

[EUNJI967335]

@HomeSkool any thoughts on schools of the same caliber? For example I am holding acceptances to a few top ten and top twenty schools but am waitlisted at a different t10 school I would prefer to attend. Thanks!

 

[HomeSkool]

How about schools that both have zero ranking because they're new, but one looks like it's clearly going to be a better school than the other based on the affiliated hospitals, location, and other opportunities?

@HomeSkool any thoughts on schools of the same caliber? For example I am holding acceptances to a few top ten and top twenty schools but am waitlisted at a different t10 school I would prefer to attend. Thanks!

My opinion is that both scenarios would be pretty low-yield, but I've been wrong once before (1994 was a rough year for me).

 

[mydogmolly]

Goro said it best. But just to be clear, that attempt doesn't stop after February. It's April and we still have people driving trucks ON the ice on our lakes. I left this morning and it was 0 degrees.

And I thought Boston was bad when we still had snow on the ground for the marathon.

 

[21Rush12]

@HomeSkool This is great! I’m going to link to it in a FAQ post I made.

 

[fourandtwo]

I think tulane likes LOIs too