Letter of Interest, pre interview?

[orthogenes]

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I hear from threads on here that are a few years old that pre interview letters of interest are worthless.
However, I made the mistake of not picking my top choice for early decision.

Should I write to the school to let them know they are my top choice and if accepted I will attend? Or would that be a waste of time?

Thanks!

 

[Ismet]

the advice from a few years ago still stands.

 

[CyberMaxx]

Hey OP, I agree with Ismet that a pre-interview Letter of Intent is worthless, but a letter of interest may be useful. I've put a link to a thread discussing pre-interview letters of interest below.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=688283

There are three basic types of letters you can send schools

1. Update Letters
2. Letters of Interest (pre- or post-interview)
3. Letters of Intent

Update letters seem to be useful throughout the entire process, as long as you really have something substantive to update the school with. Letters of interest may be of more interest to you because, although they are probably considered more post-interview, I think that a well done letter could possibly help pre-interview. Perhaps you could write a letter to your #1 updating them on your recent accomplishments and also briefly telling them that you are specifically interested in their program because of x and you would be a good fit because of y.

 

[Lya]

There was a girl in MD apps where she sent the pre-interview letter of interest to one of UC med schools, she got the interview, got placed on a waiting list, she sent two additional letter of intent, and got into her top choice. The admissions told her it was due to her persistence in showing interests.

At the end of the day, I agree they are practically meaningless, but I would still give it a try. You are not going to lose anything by sending a letter.

 

[CyberMaxx]

There was a girl in MD apps where she sent the pre-interview letter of interest to one of UC med schools, she got the interview, got placed on a waiting list, she sent two additional letter of intent, and got into her top choice. The admissions told her it was due to her persistence in showing interests.

At the end of the day, I agree they are practically meaningless, but I would still give it a try. You are not going to lose anything by sending a letter.

Yep, this was AlwaysAngel. She posted in the thread I linked to above, so you can go there and find her MD apps page. In it she discusses writing letters of interest and also gives hers as an example.

 

[darkjedi]

From personal experience, I have found pre-interview letters of interest/update to be pretty effective. I attribute 3 of my 5 interviews to sending in a letter very shortly before an interview offer, 2 of which an adcom member called me directly the same day to offer me an interview. Of course, I imagine it is pretty rare, but it is certainly worth a shot, especially if you really love the school. I also agree that letter of intent is not necessary at this stage.

 

[BillrothI]

Would a letter of interest be appropriate for those of us who have been complete for 6-8 weeks but are still under review? Or is it preferable to send in an LOI after a decision has been made (eg - rejection, hold, II)?

Thanks!

-Bill R.

 

[Lya]

Would a letter of interest be appropriate for those of us who have been complete for 6-8 weeks but are still under review? Or is it preferable to send in an LOI after a decision has been made (eg - rejection, hold, II)?

Thanks!

-Bill R.

It depends on schools, in my opinion.

If it's been 2 months, I think LOI will be a good way to show the interests in general. But at the same time, I know that there are also schools who are very slow in reviewing people, so they might not like the LOI even before they got a chance to see your file.

 

[BillrothI]

It depends on schools, in my opinion.

If it's been 2 months, I think LOI will be a good way to show the interests in general. But at the same time, I know that there are also schools who are very slow in reviewing people, so they might not like the LOI even before they got a chance to see your file.

Thanks, Lya. The last thing I want to do is come across as antsy or presumptuous. However, if there's even a small chance an LOI might give me a leg up at one of the top choices I haven't heard back from, I wont' hesitate to write them a short letter.

-Bill R.

 

[orthogenes]

Wonderful! Thank you so much!

 

[xstudent2013]

Hey OP, I agree with Ismet that a pre-interview Letter of Intent is worthless, but a letter of interest may be useful. I've put a link to a thread discussing pre-interview letters of interest below.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=688283

There are three basic types of letters you can send schools

1. Update Letters
2. Letters of Interest (pre- or post-interview)
3. Letters of Intent

Update letters seem to be useful throughout the entire process, as long as you really have something substantive to update the school with. Letters of interest may be of more interest to you because, although they are probably considered more post-interview, I think that a well done letter could possibly help pre-interview. Perhaps you could write a letter to your #1 updating them on your recent accomplishments and also briefly telling them that you are specifically interested in their program because of x and you would be a good fit because of y.

Thanks everyone for the insight! One minor question, would you be sending this letter directly to the school or via email? Thanks guys!

 

[CyberMaxx]

I called all of my schools before I sent my letter. All of them preferred email and most wanted it as an attachment. A few asked me to put it in the body of the email. If you send it as an attachment, be sure to use formal business letter format and include your signature.