letter of intent

[tp1127]

Does anyone have some advice on how to write a letter of intent?

Also, is it recommended to write one this early in the application cycle? For most of the schools that I applied to, I just recently completed the secondaries about 3-4 weeks back and am waiting to hear back from them about interview invites. I noticed some people who applied around the same time as me heard a response back but I haven't gotten a rejection or interview yet so I'm a bit concerned. I might just be overthinking it.

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[wysdoc]

Does anyone have some advice on how to write a letter of intent?

Also, is it recommended to write one this early in the application cycle? For most of the schools that I applied to, I just recently completed the secondaries about 3-4 weeks back and am waiting to hear back from them about interview invites. I noticed some people who applied around the same time as me heard a response back but I haven't gotten a rejection or interview yet so I'm a bit concerned. I might just be overthinking it.

Pre-interview invitation is too early to do this 😳

You can not be eligible to attend a school until after interviewed, so a letter of intent is meaningless now. As hard as it is to wait for things to happen, that is all you can do right now. Interviews carry on through Dec-Jan at most schools, it is super early. Enjoy your fall term and continue your volunteer activities

 

[tp1127]

Pre-interview invitation is too early to do this 😳

You can not be eligible to attend a school until after interviewed, so a letter of intent is meaningless now. As hard as it is to wait for things to happen, that is all you can do right now. Interviews carry on through Dec-Jan at most schools, it is super early. Enjoy your fall term and continue your volunteer activities

Okay, thank you for your advice!! yeah, that's what I thought. I think I'm just making myself paranoid hahaha

 

[Med Ed]

Also, is it recommended to write one this early in the application cycle?

It is, and it's called your AMCAS application.

Chill.

 

[Dox4lyfe]

Does anyone have some advice on how to write a letter of intent?

Also, is it recommended to write one this early in the application cycle? For most of the schools that I applied to, I just recently completed the secondaries about 3-4 weeks back and am waiting to hear back from them about interview invites. I noticed some people who applied around the same time as me heard a response back but I haven't gotten a rejection or interview yet so I'm a bit concerned. I might just be overthinking it.

Paranoia level 9000

 

[Goro]

Does anyone have some advice on how to write a letter of intent?

Also, is it recommended to write one this early in the application cycle? For most of the schools that I applied to, I just recently completed the secondaries about 3-4 weeks back and am waiting to hear back from them about interview invites. I noticed some people who applied around the same time as me heard a response back but I haven't gotten a rejection or interview yet so I'm a bit concerned. I might just be overthinking it.

Patience is a virtue, the need for instant gratification is not.

Schools stratify the apps as they come in and don't send out IIs merely in chronological order.

Secondaries are also a tax on the hopelessly naïve, if not pathologically optimistic.

From the wise Med Ed: [What med schools…] accept and desire are two different things. My institution, for instance, will accept practically anything a given applicant wants to forward along, but only rarely do we consider it a worthwhile addition to the package.

And yes, some of us have gotten a little jaded about LOI's. I could fill a barrel with all the post-interview correspondence I have received that has not translated into a single matriculant. This has all gotten mighty complicated and burdensome for what is essentially a zero sum game.

It's generally not burdensome for an applicant to upload something to the portal, and once in a great while it does tip us off with some useful info. I can think of one individual who had a stellar application, like Harvard/Yale/Stanford-worthy, and a superb interview, who sent us several updates and a LOI. We were somewhat perplexed by this person's tenacious interest in our program. Turns out there were family/geographical reasons behind the whole thing, the applicant just never felt comfortable directly playing that card.

When it comes down to waitlist time I will scan through what folks have uploaded post-interview. The vast majority of times it has no impact. Occasionally I have seen it hurt people's chances. Come to think of it, in my experience this is probably more likely, than such correspondence having a positive impact.

See LOI and Interviews? for a classic example of why most Admissions deans treat these as lies.

 

[Doctorordietrying]

You have 5 types of overlapping letters to that can be sent to a medical admission committee

Updates: new info you want to make the committee aware of. The information should be worthwhile and significant. Some schools encourage these buy many schools discourage or list policies not accepting updates.
Thank you: after interview
Letter of Interest: Typically, a post-interview but pre-decision letter that can reiterate and reinforce the school would be a good fit, usually with information you learned from your interview. This usually does not include a promise to attend if selected.
Letter of Intent: Typically written by applicants who have been accepted by one school but are on WL at another preferred school, outlining the reasons why you prefer it. There is little to scant evidence that these are particularly effective. It should be noted these are thought to have even less impact for those who are just on WL.

I will add one other type that is rarely used any more, the Reconsideration Letter: This is an applicant rejected pre-interview who has a large anomaly in their academic background that can be viewed through mitigating circumstances and asks to be reconsidered. With the non-screened/minimally pre-screened secondaries, there are plenty of opportunities for an applicant to express these circumstances.

To answer your specific question, unless, you have something substantial to say to the committee that was not originally mentioned in your application or a worthy update, an Letter of Interest, particularly before an interview is mostly useless. Indeed, many applicants write them sound more desperate than interested and that will work against you.

What do you think about a pre-interview hold letter of interest?? Do you think it's useless at this point or can it help?

 

[Doctorordietrying]

I rarely think letters of interest or letters of intent make much of any difference, and can make you look more like a desperate student as opposed to a mature applicant. Most students can not write a letter in concise, coherent, and professional manner, nor do they have much of any content to add.

okay, thank you!