How to format LOI sent by email??

[MrAppleseed]

I'm emailing a LOI to a school, which they give as their preferred method, and told me that they just copy/paste it into my file.

I'm curious what others' suggestions are for the actual format (not content) of the letter. Do you format it as a traditional business letter?...

My address
Date

Their name
Title
Address

Greeting

Body

Salutation


...or do you not have to do the name/address stuff at the top? Also, I'm addressing it to the admissions committee since it's going straight to my app for their review, so if you DO have to keep the address at the top, do you just put "admissions committee" instead of name and title?

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[obgyny]

Greeting

Body

Salutation

Maybe it's just me, but all the address info just seems unnecessary to include in an email.

 

[Astarael]

I'm too lazy to look this up (you could check an online version of something like the MLA style guide) but I believe that professional letters sent as email typically do not include your contact information at the top. My advice is to format it like a cover letter for a resume (guides for those are easy-just google it).

 

[MrAppleseed]

Thanks for the replies. It seems that cover letter format is the fOrmal method I named above, but I'm not finding much in the way of proper email formatting. Addresses seem pointless by email, but they're essentially pointless on the letter itself by snail mail, too, so maybe I should just stick with the formality.

When you say that you don't think that emailed professional letters need to have MY address, do you also mean any address (including their's)?

 

[Astarael]

Alright now that it isn't the middle of the night, I looked it up. I'd say, go with something like this: http://jobsearch.about.com/od/jobse...Message-Examples/Networking-Email-Message.htm

But make sure that you include your AAMC ID number at the bottom with the rest of your contact information. The letter would be addressed to "The XYZ School of Medicine Admissions Committee" or something along those lines.

 

[aSagacious]

I would simply paste an eye-catching GIF above the body of your email (GIFs seem to be running rampant on this forum). This will ensure that your letter stands out.

... Oh yeah, make sure to write your subject IN ALL CAPS so it gets noticed 😉