Letter of Intent before decision or after waitlist?

[TehTeddy]

Hey guys,

I interviewed at my top choice a month ago, and was wondering when the best time would be to send a letter of intent. The school in question is very "needy," according to Goro, and normally makes decisions in March. Not sure if I should hold off unless I get put on the WL, or send it proactively before the decision is made. I wouldn't really have any updates on the LOI, since I'm just continuing what I was doing while interviewing. Not sure if that changes the situation.

Thanks!

 

[KnightDoc]

Hey guys,

I interviewed at my top choice a month ago, and was wondering when the best time would be to send a letter of intent. The school in question is very "needy," according to Goro, and normally makes decisions in March. Not sure if I should hold off unless I get put on the WL, or send it proactively before the decision is made. I wouldn't really have any updates on the LOI, since I'm just continuing what I was doing while interviewing. Not sure if that changes the situation.

Thanks!

Conventional wisdom says that they are only effective after the school has indicated some interest in you by placing you on the WL, but, if they are needy and the letter is sincere, what do you have to lose by sending it now? Either it helps or it doesn't! It's hard to see how it would hurt at a needy school.

 

[Goro]

Patience is a virtue.

 

[gonnif]

Conventional wisdom says that they are only effective after the school has indicated some interest in you by placing you on the WL, but, if they are needy and the letter is sincere, what do you have to lose by sending it now? Either it helps or it doesn't! It's hard to see how it would hurt at a needy school.

Most letters read like a whining plea for a date, and a needy, begging letter could put off a school still to make a decision and this is why I have this opinion. If a school is still making a decision and they are passing around the file, the first thing they will see is the last thing thrown in the file which is a needing begging letter. Do you really want that to be the impression they have you when you are a borderline for one of few seats left?

 

[r2med]

Most letters read like a whining plea for a date, and a needy, begging letter could put off a school still to make a decision and this is why I have this opinion. If a school is still making a decision and they are passing around the file, the first thing they will see is the last thing thrown in the file which is a needing begging letter. Do you really want that to be the impression they have you when you are a borderline for one of few seats left?

Is being needy wrong? Why do adcoms look at it as wrong?

 

[prettychill]

Hey guys,

I interviewed at my top choice a month ago, and was wondering when the best time would be to send a letter of intent. The school in question is very "needy," according to Goro, and normally makes decisions in March. Not sure if I should hold off unless I get put on the WL, or send it proactively before the decision is made. I wouldn't really have any updates on the LOI, since I'm just continuing what I was doing while interviewing. Not sure if that changes the situation.

Thanks!

i really dont think it will be negative in any way. i just sent mine to my too choice before decisions come out in february. im sure adcoms can determine the sincerity of ur letter and view it favorably. adcoms themselves arent sure who really wants to attend vs who will matriculate elsewhere so it’s kind of reassurance for them as well. i can’t see how it would hurt you if you were already among the select few whom they invested their resources into already

 

[KnightDoc]

Is being needy wrong? Why do adcoms look at it as wrong?

Not necessarily wrong, but desperate. The desperate person, in business, personal relations, med school admissions, etc. is usually the person without a better option, which often makes the target ask what others see that it doesn't. It's a turn off in dating, job hunting, deal making, admissions, anything. Why else do you think playing hard to get works so well in dating???

And guess what? Schools are often looking for the same things as other schools, i.e., the candidates with other offers who aren't needy and desperate, rather than other schools' cast offs and rejects. Even if that doesn't describe you, that's exactly how you present when writing a needy and desperate letter.

 

[r2med]

Not necessarily wrong, but desperate. The desperate person, in business, personal relations, med school admissions, etc. is usually the person without a better option, which often makes the target ask what others see that it doesn't. It's a turn off in dating, job hunting, deal making, admissions, anything. Why else do you think playing hard to get works so well in dating???

And guess what? Schools are often looking for the same things as other schools, i.e., the candidates with other offers who aren't needy and desperate, rather than other schools' cast offs and rejects. Even if that doesn't describe you, that's exactly how you present when writing a needy and desperate letter.

Here I do disagree with you. In jobs, when candidates show interest genuinely, they are taken into positive consideration. Don't know and don't care about dating.

 

[borrawin95]

Here I do disagree with you. In jobs, when candidates show interest genuinely, they are taken into positive consideration. Don't know and don't care about dating.

I’d also like to point out that several deans of admission interviewed on ‘all access’ explicitly state that they love to hear that applicants are interested through letters of interest/intent because it helps improve their yield.

 

[Med Ed]

Hey guys,

I interviewed at my top choice a month ago, and was wondering when the best time would be to send a letter of intent. The school in question is very "needy," according to Goro, and normally makes decisions in March. Not sure if I should hold off unless I get put on the WL, or send it proactively before the decision is made. I wouldn't really have any updates on the LOI, since I'm just continuing what I was doing while interviewing. Not sure if that changes the situation.

Thanks!

I have always thought the needy schools were not giving priority or special consideration to applicants who send additional correspondence, but rather de-prioritizing applicants who do not.

With the loss of the multiple acceptance report my advice on LOIs/updates has shifted. In your case I recommend sending a brief, polite post-interview LOI now, and then submitting some type of update in February, about a month before decisions are made. That should telegraph continued interest without being annoying.

 

[tunaktunak]

In your case I recommend sending a brief, polite post-interview LOI now, and then submitting some type of update in February, about a month before decisions are made.

So you're saying it's okay to send multiple letters to the school? I always thought it was a max of 1 letter post-interview for each school.

 

[Med Ed]

So you're saying it's okay to send multiple letters to the school? I always thought it was a max of 1 letter post-interview for each school.

Depends on the circumstances.

 

[gonnif]

Here I do disagree with you. In jobs, when candidates show interest genuinely, they are taken into positive consideration. Don't know and don't care about dating.

you are confusing the idea of hiring someone who shows interests because they really "need" this job over the tone/presentation of being needy, which implies desperation, begging, whining, etc. Showing interest in a professional manner matters. As I have said often, the reason I really advise against applicants sending these is they are so poorly written. The majority come off as unprofessional, poorly written with vague points, promises and reasons. Most are full of fluff that have no substance of any kind.

 

[r2med]

you are confusing the idea of hiring someone who shows interests because they really "need" this job over the tone/presentation of being needy, which implies desperation, begging, whining, etc. Showing interest in a professional manner matters. As I have said often, the reason I really advise against applicants sending these is they are so poorly written. The majority come off as unprofessional, poorly written with vague points, promises and reasons. Most are full of fluff that have no substance of any kind.

Agree about poorly written letters. Like you pointed out in another thread, people need to keep several things in mind. I think that schools that don't need to worry about yield may not care as much about the LOIs.

 

[gonnif]

Agree about poorly written letters. Like you pointed out in another thread, people need to keep several things in mind. I think that schools that don't need to worry about yield may not care as much about the LOIs.

It really isnt yield, as in some metric they need to meet. Rather it is simply the workflow of now have perhaps several hundred to over a thousand WL candidates that they now have to get through by the end of the cycle and fill their seats along with other schools doing the same. It was hard enough doing it when they had centralized reports. It is also seems to be why a few schools require early CTE (i think a few require it on 4/30). They avoid much of the work by doing so

 

[KnightDoc]

Here I do disagree with you. In jobs, when candidates show interest genuinely, they are taken into positive consideration. Don't know and don't care about dating.

Totally agree. It's the fine line between genuinely interested on the one hand, and desperate and needy on the other, that I'm sure @gonnif was trying to distinguish between.

Of course everyone, everywhere wants very interested, highly motivated candidates. When that interest and motivation is fueled by desperation and need, however, it is a huge turnoff and almost always leads to disappointing results.

The elephant in the room, that no one so far has addressed to you, is that schools really don't give a s**t about what you want, or why you want it. They care about satisfying their own needs. Period. And one of their needs isn't making your dreams come true. When you have something they want, as evidenced by the body of your application as opposed by the intensity of your desire as expressed in a LOI, THAT'S when you achieve success.

 

[tunaktunak]

As I have said often, the reason I really advise against applicants sending these is they are so poorly written.

So you are actually in favor of Letters of Intent, given that they are well-written?

And all this time I thought the SDN AdComs hated LOI's regardless lol

 

[gonnif]

So you are actually in favor of Letters of Intent, given that they are well-written?

And all this time I thought the SDN AdComs hated LOI's regardless lol

You are drawing a conclusion in the same way defense counsel cross-examines a witness by hoping to get to statements not supported by facts. I certainly hope you don’t draw research conclusions in the same manner where the negative of some thing must imply a positive and therefore you can safely conclude that and assume it is fact. For premeds, the optimism trap or belief bias is always far too strong.

Prospective physicians should always realize any action has the potential for both positive and negative consequences. The oft-cited phrase "it couldnt hurt" could possibly be one the most dangerous things ever uttered. My statement says exactly what is says, I advise applicants from submitting LOIs as they are poorly write on multiple levels and risk making you look bad. This has nothing do with the additional fact they are mostly useless and do not help you. The vast majority of applicants write lines of fluff that say nothing more than "I want to go to your school." Unless you have some substance then why bother.