In-the-area emails?

[tuco's revenge]

Hi guys, so I have an interview in a far off mystical land and I applied to a few other schools in nearby cities/states and havent heard anything back from them. Is it a good idea to send them an "in-the-area email", which might force them to review my app quicker and give me a possible interview around the same time period as my scheduled interview?

If so, how does an in-the-area email work? Can anyone post a generic example or tell me what I'm supposed to mention/not mention in the email?

Thank you!

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[mistafab]

Dear Mr/Ms. _____ from school X,

I hope all is well.

I am writing today to let whom it may concern at the admissions comittee that I will be in the area during X-------Y date. I am somewhat limited, financially. I would greatly appreciate that if I am going to be considered for an interview at your school that I would be offered one during that window.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I appreciate your time and consideration.

All the best,

Student

 

[tuco's revenge]

Dear Mr/Ms. _____ from school X,

I hope all is well.

I am writing today to let whom it may concern at the admissions comittee that I will be in the area during X-------Y date. I am somewhat limited, financially. I would greatly appreciate that if I am going to be considered for an interview at your school that I would be offered one during that window.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I appreciate your time and consideration.

All the best,

Student

thanks! I have a follow-up question, and I admit it might be a stupid one:
What does "in-the-area" truly mean? Lets say I'm from California, and my interview is in Philadelphia. Would NY, DC, etc be considered "in-the-area"? I mean its a longgggg way from home, and they are fairly close to each other from my perspective, but maybe not in the ADCOMs perspective

Edit: Also, do I mention in my emails the location of school/city I will be interviewing at?

 

[mistafab]

Hey there again,

These questions are a bit more subjective. I'd say stick around and hear other poster's ideas and then come up with your decisions.

thanks! I have a follow-up question, and I admit it might be a stupid one:
What does "in-the-area" truly mean? Lets say I'm from California, and my interview is in Philadelphia. Would NY, DC, etc be considered "in-the-area"? I mean its a longgggg way from home, and they are fairly close to each other from my perspective, but maybe not in the ADCOMs perspective

Edit: Also, do I mention in my emails the location of school/city I will be interviewing at?

 

[aldol16]

What does "in-the-area" truly mean? Lets say I'm from California, and my interview is in Philadelphia. Would NY, DC, etc be considered "in-the-area"? I mean its a longgggg way from home, and they are fairly close to each other from my perspective, but maybe not in the ADCOMs perspective

Think about what you're trying to accomplish with these emails. You shouldn't be sending them in the hopes that the school will expedite the screening of your application (it might do this in effect, but that's not the point). The point is to get them to expedite their process so that you can save money on travel if you're going to a far-away place. Keeping that in mind, whether you send an in-the-area email to schools in DC or NY when you're interviewing in Philly should depend on whether that will save you in terms of cost if they do extend you an invite. So if you've already booked a no-change, non-refundable flight out of Philly the day after your interview, then sending that email just to get htem to process you faster would be pointless. But if you're traveling across the country and can hit Philly and NYC at the same time with just one trip, then sending that email would help you if the invite comes through. In that case, it would be worthwhile to send the email.

Also, when you're planning travel, Philly and NYC are pretty close to each other and you can realistically travel between them easily but if you want to go to DC, that will be harder, cost more money (Amtrak costs a decent amount if you don't buy it super early, Acela Express is even worse), and take some serious travel time. Try to work out all the logistics before you send the in-the-area email.

 

[aalamruad]

Think about what you're trying to accomplish with these emails. You shouldn't be sending them in the hopes that the school will expedite the screening of your application (it might do this in effect, but that's not the point). The point is to get them to expedite their process so that you can save money on travel if you're going to a far-away place. Keeping that in mind, whether you send an in-the-area email to schools in DC or NY when you're interviewing in Philly should depend on whether that will save you in terms of cost if they do extend you an invite. So if you've already booked a no-change, non-refundable flight out of Philly the day after your interview, then sending that email just to get htem to process you faster would be pointless. But if you're traveling across the country and can hit Philly and NYC at the same time with just one trip, then sending that email would help you if the invite comes through. In that case, it would be worthwhile to send the email.

Also, when you're planning travel, Philly and NYC are pretty close to each other and you can realistically travel between them easily but if you want to go to DC, that will be harder, cost more money (Amtrak costs a decent amount if you don't buy it super early, Acela Express is even worse), and take some serious travel time. Try to work out all the logistics before you send the in-the-area email.

It's not always about saving money. That's usually the motive, but it's worth sending in the area emails if it's important for you to consolidate travel time (e.g. so you don't have to take as much time off work or school) even if it won't save you money.

 

[aldol16]

It's not always about saving money. That's usually the motive, but it's worth sending in the area emails if it's important for you to consolidate travel time (e.g. so you don't have to take as much time off work or school) even if it won't save you money.

Taking less time off work saves you money because if you take less time off, you end up with more money than otherwise. As with school, I've been out so long that I totally forgot to consider applicants who are still in school!

 

[CyrilFiggis]

I would look at each school's FAQ and see if they are receptive to "in the area" emails. Some schools, like mine, are not. AdComs aren't naive to the fact that a lot of applicants send them simply with the hopes of pushing their application forward.

 

[voteknope]

Yeah, I'm in a similar situation but the schools are only 4 hours from me so I feel like it's not as valid to say that I will be in the area (cause I guess I am always sort of in the area). I just don't want to miss more work than I really need to! I have already made 2 trips to this city before, I'm going again next month, and I really don't want to go again if the other school invites me to interview!