Is it ok to send Letters of Interest pre-interview invite or is it too early?

[mzell12]

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I live and work at a certain med school, my boyfriend is a student here, and I would love to go here. I have all sorts of involvements with the school, medical and otherwise, and already feel a part of the community. Although they will see all these involvements on my application, and two letters of rec from people related to the school, the secondary had no place for saying why I want to go here. Unfortunately, my gpa is on the low end of their range and I fear that that might impede them from giving me an interview.

Is it a good idea to send a letter of interest at this point? It wouldn't just be "I like your school from what I've read about it," it would be "I am a part of all these activities, I am a part of the community, I have seen my boyfriend go through two years of school here, I know it and love it and want to be here."

However, I might just be freaking out way too early and could potentially get an interview later in the cycle. Would it be advisable to send a genuine letter right now, just to show them early on that I really care about this place, or is it too early and it might just come off as impatient?

Any input would be much appreciated 🙂

 

[mariamonte]

send it, you have nothing to lose! and since you're part of the school's community already it won't look like a desperate/irrational letter. 🙂 I say do it!

 

[Nandrolone]

send it, you have nothing to lose! and since you're part of the school's community already it won't look like a desperate/irrational letter. 🙂 I say do it!

this...make sure u read the directions of some applications, because some don't even accept them...making u look like u don't follow directions.

 

[unhappytnt]

I've been wondering the same thing. I got "small pooled" at a bunch of schools and I was told that I should email them to show my interst. I am afraid to come off as overbearing though.

 

[NickNaylor]

send it, you have nothing to lose! and since you're part of the school's community already it won't look like a desperate/irrational letter. 🙂 I say do it!

You do have something to lose, notably, an opportunity to send a letter in the future when it actually matters. Most schools don't care about these letters to begin with. Sending it before they have even looked at your app is just silly. These letters along with update letters tend to be most effective when a decision has been deferred, i.e., if you're waitlisted or held for further review prior to the interview. You should focus on making your interest/"fit" for the school known in your app rather than in a supplementary letter.

(sent from my phone)

 

[mariamonte]

You do have something to lose, notably, an opportunity to send a letter in the future when it actually matters. Most schools don't care about these letters to begin with. Sending it before they have even looked at your app is just silly. These letters along with update letters tend to be most effective when a decision has been deferred, i.e., if you're waitlisted or held for further review prior to the interview. You should focus on making your interest/"fit" for the school known in your app rather than in a supplementary letter.

(sent from my phone)

sorry but I just can't see how it would hurt their application. OP said the secondary didn't give her a chance to say why she wanted to go there. I don't see what's wrong with sending a letter explaining her special interest in the school considering she's already a part of the community.
... if anything goes wrong with her application she could just send a letter of intent or an update later on.

better than to later regret not sending anything. :/

 

[FSU2013]

You do have something to lose, notably, an opportunity to send a letter in the future when it actually matters. Most schools don't care about these letters to begin with. Sending it before they have even looked at your app is just silly. These letters along with update letters tend to be most effective when a decision has been deferred, i.e., if you're waitlisted or held for further review prior to the interview. You should focus on making your interest/"fit" for the school known in your app rather than in a supplementary letter.

(sent from my phone)

Naylor is right. You may or may not get an interview. If you are going to get one, sending the letter changes nothing other than your ability to send the same letter later. If you aren't going to get one it's doubtful sending the letter would change anything prior to that notification. People are rejected for a few reasons - not academically qualified, not a good fit or unlikely to attend. Sending that letter would not make you any more academically qualified and they, presumably, know whether or not you're a good fit and likely to attend based on your ECs and LoRs.

On the other hand, if you don't get an invite, then you have nothing to lose. Then you write a letter saying "look, I don't have a 4.0/38r, but I love your program and I would bust my butt to be successful". If you get an interview and wait list/rejection - same story.

Also, you neglected to mention your best shot - your letter writers. If one will go to bat for you, you're in. Talk to whichever you think will be a better cheerleader for you and ask if they'd consider making a call. This is huge, but again, only after initial invites have gone out.

Also, don't be the person who bugs the adcom with 1000 updates. A couple is fine, but you don't want to be the one calling/emailing/updating weekly. Chill out. You're in a good spot.

 

[gyngyn]

send it, you have nothing to lose! and since you're part of the school's community already it won't look like a desperate/irrational letter. 🙂 I say do it!

Even if your boyfriend's school has an enormous admissions staff dedicated to all the extraneous "letters of intent/interest/...", there is no value in bothering them before any decision has been made on your application.

If your boyfriend wants to let the dean of admissions know that you are applying, that would be perfectly acceptable (he is the one with "standing" in the community). Don't forget to employ a strategy consistent with success without regard for how it goes at this one school!