Intent vs. Interest?

[pinecone41]

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I am very fortunate at this stage of the application cycle to have acceptances, as well as a few waitlistings. Currently, I feel very strongly that, out of all of the schools with which I interviewed, my favorite would be one of the schools where I am waitlisted (let's call it School A). I have an important update to share with them (my first research publication, finally!) so I plan to write them an update letter that also expresses my desire to attend, but am not sure whether to make it an Interest or an Intent letter.

My understanding is that you can only send one Letter of Intent, and you should only send it to a program you would take over all other programs (whereas you can send several Interest letters). Right now, I know I would pick School A over any other acceptance I currently hold, so Intent feels like an appropriate letter for me to write.

However, School A has indicated that, like most schools, waitlist motion tends to happen in May or even later, so for now I plan on going to second-look events at my acceptances and making a plan to attend one of them, in case I don't get off any waitlists. Right now, I can't imagine learning something at one of these second-look events that would change my mind about School A being my top choice, but I'm also realistic enough to know that there's a chance something at a second-look event over the next few months could catch me off-guard and change my mind about school preference (to be honest, I think it is almost impossible to be sure that nothing could ever change your mind about which school you like best).

I'm afraid of sending a Letter of Intent now, and then in the next few months, something shifts and I feel differently about which school I want to attend. I've seen lots of threads here and elsewhere online that indicate you should never ever go back on a Letter of Intent, because it is all but a binding commitment, and that you're a liar with no morals if you do go back on one. It would not be a lie in the slightest if I sent an Intent letter now based on my current feelings - School A is my clear 1st pick, but what I'm not sure I can do is promise that the future version of myself will feel exactly the same way I do today. Maybe some people out there feel they can make that choice, but I just don't think it is possible to be 100% certain which school is your top pick without having the full picture of the acceptance conditions, such as financial aid package. I don't think this is a matter of being indecisive - school selection is an incredibly big decision and I don't want to make a decision lightly with incomplete info.

So! A few questions:

1. Is it known if most schools really value Intent letters significantly more than Interest? In other words, if I have a good letter to write about why I think I'm a good fit for School A, will it really make a difference if I call it an Interest letter vs. an Intent letter?
2. Would using language such as "it is my current intention" to accept an offer be a fair way to indicate strong interest without a 100% binding commitment?
3. Am I correct that Intent letters are essentially binding? It seems this way online, but a lot of the threads I've read about this are quite old, too. Just want to make sure I have current and accurate info.

TIA for any and all input! I am really trying to be sure I communicate my strong desire to go to School A as clearly as possible, without making promises that I cannot guarantee, since I understand the ethical issue there. I really do think School A would be my top choice no matter what, but as someone who will be self-paying for medical school with loans, things like aid packages could affect my decisions.

 

[Current-big-pharma-shill]

1) Some programs do very strongly value letters of interest and intent. Some that come to mind are the bigger research institutions in the midwest that most people don't give a second thought. If you actually intend on going to a program, there is no harm in saying you intend on going to them. On the other hand, there really aren't any repercussions if you told every single program you intend on attending them - so programs will *always* take these letters with a grain of salt. But, they will be neutral at worst, moderately influential at best. I believe one of my current acceptances and being pulled to the high waitlist when regular WL was previously expressed at a different program are both due to strong letters of interest. Will it make a difference? Yeah, I think so. Say intent if you mean it, understand they may not care. Also, try to only say intent at one place.

2 and 3) That wording is fair. It isn't binding, either way. You are not producing any legal documents here. As mentioned, hypothetically you very well could send letters of intent to every single program you applied to and no one would bat an eye for you not attending there. Admissions rely a lot more on the honor system than we like to believe.

 

[KnightDoc]

Everything @2021-2022-NonTrad is saying is correct, but you should also realize that you are just playing yourself if you get cute with these.

Updates and letters of interest are great, and generally receive the little to no weight they deserve. Most people who do not drop off WLs are interested in receiving an A, whether or not they bother to pepper the adcom with updates and non-binding expressions of continued interest.

There is one adcom in particular who posts frequently on SDN who believes many adcoms treat letters of intent as lies because, as @2021-2022-NonTrad also correctly points out, they are not legally binding and many do, in fact, use them to lie. That said, they should not be taken lightly, should be unequivocal, and should only be sent to the one school that you would, in fact, drop everything to attend.

If you are not there yet, don't send the letter. It's not meant to be a snapshot of your feelings at a single point in time, and, if it turns out to be BS because you change your mind in the future after receiving an A in response to the letter, no adcom will be impressed. In fact, there is one adcom who posts under his own name who says that he has in the the past reached out to the school the applicant who burned him ended up attending to raise professionalism and code of conduct issues inherent in lying to an adcom to receive an A.

Whether this really happens, or is likely to happen in your situation is up to you to decide, but lying (which is what saying one thing and doing another after you change your mind is, no matter how you choose to rationalize or justify it!) is definitely frowned upon, calls into question your professionalism, and, at a minimum, reduces the probability of such letters receiving any weight at all in the future, to the extent they receive any today.

Now the direct answers to your questions:

1. No, it doesn't matter what you call the letter. Keep in mind, the only value the letter has to the adcom is knowing that you will drop everything and come if called in May, when they are focused on replacing people who dumped them in order to fill the class. They don't care about what's going on in your life, what you have, and who you are still waiting to hear from. They just want to know that you will come. If there is any doubt in your mind as to whether that will be true in May when they are reading it, don't write it in February! Period.

2. See #1! 🙂

3. Legally, no, they are not binding, as @2021-2022-NonTrad correctly pointed out. Ethically, morally, and from the perspective of possibly being a code of conduct or professionalism violation, and whether there would actually be a consequence for doing it and being called out for it, @REL at UCF is probably a very qualified person to comment. Certainly much more so than I am. Good luck!!!

 

[pinecone41]

but lying (which is what saying one thing and doing another after you change your mind is, no matter how you choose to rationalize or justify it!) is definitely frowned upon, calls into question your professionalism, and, at a minimum, reduces the probability of such letters receiving any weight at all in the future, to the extent they receive any today.

Thank you for the input! I have to say, I really do disagree with this definition of lying, but I completely understand and agree w/the ramifications of the "trustworthiness" of a Letter of Intent if lots of students send them and then don't follow through. I will take additional time to think about my options before I make a choice on what kind of letter I send (since at the very least, I want to notify this research-focused school about my new publication). I like how you phrased the letter as "not meant to be a snapshot of your feelings at a single point in time" - right now it feels like a current snapshot is all I really have figured out for certain, so I see I need to spend more time evaluating things. It's a shame things like aid packages don't all come around the same time to help with decisions! Seeing as none of my As/WLs are even in the same state where I live, I definitely need some time to really think about a decision that is going to completely remove me from my current social network and support systems.

IMO, from a standpoint of pure ethics and not application cycles specifically, making a commitment based on your true and genuine feelings at the time of committing and then later making a different decision based on new information not available to you earlier, is not lying. It's changing your mind with time; lying requires telling something you internally know to be false. For an analogy, I don't think someone who gets a divorce was necessarily "lying" when they said "I do" to the vows at their wedding - they might have really meant it at the time, but something changed later, and ending the marriage became the right thing to do. It might even be more of a "lie" to stay in a marriage if you no longer feel the same way you once did. (I might even argue it can be more professional to be vocal if your feelings do change, rather than staying silent just to adhere to a prior agreement - but that's very situationally-dependent).

Anyway, that's neither here nor there for this specific question - as much as I might personally think it is borderline impossible for any person to, at any stage of life, really know with 100% certainty what decisions they'll make in the future, I understand why admissions committees would only want letters of intent from applicants who think they really mean them, and I do want to respect those expectations and avoid sending a letter that I couldn't 100% guarantee.

It might just be that my views on smart/safe decision-making are incompatible with the expectations of a letter of intent at this time, in which case I might just go with a letter of interest and let fate fall where it may.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

I don’t think either necessarily move the needle in most cases. They’re mainly tools to help applicants achieve a sense that they did all that they could.

 

[Current-big-pharma-shill]

I don’t think either necessarily move the needle in most cases. They’re mainly tools to help applicants achieve a sense that they did all that they could.

This is the one

 

[KnightDoc]

Thank you for the input! I have to say, I really do disagree with this definition of lying, but I completely understand and agree w/the ramifications of the "trustworthiness" of a Letter of Intent if lots of students send them and then don't follow through. I will take additional time to think about my options before I make a choice on what kind of letter I send (since at the very least, I want to notify this research-focused school about my new publication). I like how you phrased the letter as "not meant to be a snapshot of your feelings at a single point in time" - right now it feels like a current snapshot is all I really have figured out for certain, so I see I need to spend more time evaluating things. It's a shame things like aid packages don't all come around the same time to help with decisions! Seeing as none of my As/WLs are even in the same state where I live, I definitely need some time to really think about a decision that is going to completely remove me from my current social network and support systems.

IMO, from a standpoint of pure ethics and not application cycles specifically, making a commitment based on your true and genuine feelings at the time of committing and then later making a different decision based on new information not available to you earlier, is not lying. It's changing your mind with time; lying requires telling something you internally know to be false. For an analogy, I don't think someone who gets a divorce was necessarily "lying" when they said "I do" to the vows at their wedding - they might have really meant it at the time, but something changed later, and ending the marriage became the right thing to do. It might even be more of a "lie" to stay in a marriage if you no longer feel the same way you once did. (I might even argue it can be more professional to be vocal if your feelings do change, rather than staying silent just to adhere to a prior agreement - but that's very situationally-dependent).

Anyway, that's neither here nor there for this specific question - as much as I might personally think it is borderline impossible for any person to, at any stage of life, really know with 100% certainty what decisions they'll make in the future, I understand why admissions committees would only want letters of intent from applicants who think they really mean them, and I do want to respect those expectations and avoid sending a letter that I couldn't 100% guarantee.

It might just be that my views on smart/safe decision-making are incompatible with the expectations of a letter of intent at this time, in which case I might just go with a letter of interest and let fate fall where it may.

Please don't get me wrong. I am a current applicant, just like you, and I hate just about everything about the process, since pretty much everything is stacked against us and in favor of the schools.

I was just sharing the schools' perspective with respect to these letters. I am in exactly your position right now. I have been sending updates throughout the cycle, but have not sent a letter of intent yet, mostly because I think it's premature, as well as because I haven't yet figured out whether or where to send one, since money will also factor into my decision and no one has offered me any yet! 🙂

I think you should definitely send the update, since it's fresh and significant. Once you decide to send a letter of intent, if you do, it will give you an excuse to have another point of contact, closer to when it might actually mean something. Win-win!!

For what it's worth, you make excellent points about things being true at the time you write them, but only if you undertake to provide an update when things change (e.g. some folks withdraw from WLs, but I've never heard of anyone ever telling a school to disregard a previously sent LOI because, while they'd still like an A, new information has become available, and they will no longer be dropping everything to attend the school if accepted 🙂).

To my knowledge, no one actually does that, mostly because the change of heart only comes after they receive the A. And, to be honest, if the letter of intent wasn't a lie, things wouldn't have an opportunity to change, because they would withdraw from the second school as soon as they received their A in response to the LOI at the first school! 😎

 

[Goro]

Most admissions deans treat them as lies