letters of update/interest

[LAman10]

I was just wondering what the point of such letters are... I see people on the school-specific threads saying that they are sending letters of update or interest. Is it customary at this point in the cycle to start sending letters to the schools that haven't interviewed you yet? or is it really only acceptable if you ACTUALLY have a worthwhile update?

Additionally, what about letters post-interview? How about post-interview for non-rolling schools? and what about post-hold/waitlist?

Sorry for all the questions... I've just never heard of this letter of interest thing before... seems like a REALLY "pre-med-ish" thing to do haha

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[guyski79]

I was just wondering what the point of such letters are... I see people on the school-specific threads saying that they are sending letters of update or interest. Is it customary at this point in the cycle to start sending letters to the schools that haven't interviewed you yet? or is it really only acceptable if you ACTUALLY have a worthwhile update?

Additionally, what about letters post-interview? How about post-interview for non-rolling schools? and what about post-hold/waitlist?

Sorry for all the questions... I've just never heard of this letter of interest thing before... seems like a REALLY "pre-med-ish" thing to do haha

A dean at one of my interviews said that if it's a really substantive update (new job, publication), then by all means they'd like to hear.

But she emphasized SUBSTANTIVE and said that all too often they get updates like, "Today I took my dog for a walk and was reminded how much I loved your school."

 

[OneMCATAway]

A dean at one of my interviews said that if it's a really substantive update (new job, publication), then by all means they'd like to hear.

But she emphasized SUBSTANTIVE and said that all too often they get updates like, "Today I took my dog for a walk and was reminded how much I loved your school."

omgosh

i also hear a lot of people with letter of intent/interest/update.. i probably wont have anything to update schools with since i have already graduated and im too lazy to do interest letters after writing all those secondaries plus it really looks kinda desperate!! has it been working for everyone else? as for letter of intend i would say if i applied i intend to go there so there is really no point.. oh and some schools dont accept them anyway!

 

[BlueElmo]

I don't know how sucessful they are. So far for me, I haven't found too much success with LOIs.

 

[mmmcdowe]

There is no single answer, it depends on the school in question. Some schools encourage all updates, others only want big things. Some schools seem to put a lot of weight on LOIntent, others probably don't.

 

[rockaction]

Publications, jobs, new leadership things you've done...those are worth updating schools on if you're on the waitlist.

At least that's what I'm telling myself.

 

[LAman10]

ok sorry if I'm beating a dead horse, but just wanted to know how common it is to write a letter of interest. I've been waitlisted at 2 schools that happen to be pretty high up on my list, and I want to do everything I can (within reason) to get an acceptance to one of them. Is a letter of interest really the best thing to do at this point (neither will start accepting off the waitlist until april/may)? is it better to call the school and ask if they accept letters of interest and then let them tell you, or would it be more prudent to simply send it and hope that it's received well? also, what would one put in a letter of interest?? something like "oh by the way, I still love you for A, B, and C reasons and I would choose you over any other school I've interviewed at. please consider me when accepting off the waitlist!" thx all

 

[marele86]

ok sorry if I'm beating a dead horse, but just wanted to know how common it is to write a letter of interest. I've been waitlisted at 2 schools that happen to be pretty high up on my list, and I want to do everything I can (within reason) to get an acceptance to one of them. Is a letter of interest really the best thing to do at this point (neither will start accepting off the waitlist until april/may)? is it better to call the school and ask if they accept letters of interest and then let them tell you, or would it be more prudent to simply send it and hope that it's received well? also, what would one put in a letter of interest?? something like "oh by the way, I still love you for A, B, and C reasons and I would choose you over any other school I've interviewed at. please consider me when accepting off the waitlist!" thx all

I'd watch out for that last sentence - that's letter of intent material. It's fine if you truly would accept them over any other school you've interviewed at, but even if you are completely sure - remember that you can always wait and write a letter of intent a few months after your letter of interest. (i.e. you could send the letter of interest this week, then after financial aid info comes out in March for other schools, you could send a letter of intent.) It shows that you've truly thought out your options while having staked a continued interest in that school.

Be sure to focus on specifics. I wrote a letter of interest to SUNY Buffalo after being waitlisted, and I was pretty aware that it was likely to be of no help whatsoever (I mean, I interviewed there, right? Of course I'm interested!), but I laid out my reasons for why SUNY Buffalo particularly interested me (not generic stuff you'd put on a secondary, like "the PBL curriculum" or "the emphasis on diversity", but things like "my conversation with an M2 about the early research opportunities" or "discussing the Clinical Skills Lab with Dr. X and learning that Y and Z are ongoing opportunities for students") and why the interview day added more reasons and solidified my respect for the school.

In short, be sure that you mention why the interview has solidified your reasons for being strongly interested in that school, because if you were asked "Why School X?" at the interview (or on the secondary), then you've already told them your pre-interview reasons.

On how common it is - I would bet that any school you've applied to gets letters of interest. Even if it's common knowledge on SDN that they don't care, there are always applicants who aren't on SDN and may send a letter anyway on the advice of their pre-med advisor. Who knows how common it is, but at least you're pretty guaranteed to not be the only person sending one.

As for length, my LOI was only about 2 paragraphs long, but I decided it was important to not waste their time with too much filler, since they didn't ever mention LOIs being helpful or needed. I had two paragraphs worth of reasons I was strongly interested in Buffalo, so I kept it to that.