LOIs

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[ChymeofPassion]

I doubt a post-II letter would supercede an MMI rating.

 

[adventum]

well, at NYU specifically, they tell you not to send one at all.

 

[KnightDoc]

so do they play any role at all, or is just a nicety? i'm also surprised the process doesn't seem discussion-based on overall impressions, more so based on score cut-offs.

The issue is they are selecting basically 100-200 from a pool of thousands, so they need a way to standardize the process to make it fair. It's not so much score cut-offs, but rather assigning scores to various elements in an application so they can make (hopefully) consistent decisions across thousands of applicants over several months. Letters of interest don't supersede anything else in an application, but they obviously play some role at schools that actively encourage them (i.e., a really great LOI is not going to matter for an applicant that wasn't going to get an A anyway, but the absence of one could hurt someone who might have otherwise received an A at a school that likes to see them).

tl; dr -- LOIs are irrelevant at most schools, but more than a nicety at others. Presumable, schools will let you know whether they welcome them, encourage them, or don't want them, and you should be guided accordingly.

 

[KnightDoc]

Thanks for the insight! Do you think there's still discussion about applicants regardless of score, or they only discuss the interviewees with a high enough result?

I'm not an adcom, so one of them can definitely give you a more authoritative response.

You're talking post-II, right? If so, I'm pretty sure everyone goes to the adcom for a discussion, where a decision is made, but that decision is more or less automatic for clear As and Rs based on how the file is scored, while those in the middle are the subject of the more involved discussions I think you are asking about.

 

[xkcd6330]

did you also get the sense that NYU pretty much only goes by MMI score?

I also got that feeling, but I'm not sure I can articulate why.

 

[Goro]

Seems like many schools decide based on applicant rating, (with some schools saying MMI is an important part of it). If so, how do soft aspects such as an applicant's expressed interest in post-II letters (LOInterest) play a role if at all?

“How are LOIs worthless? Do they just hold no weight whatsoever/not get read usually?”

How would you interpret a nonbinding promise from a desperate applicant?

Here’s one Adcom member’s thoughts on the matter:

“We only invite amazing students to interview. It is quite unlikely that further good deeds or achievements will have an effect since only the students who have already wowed us are interviewed.”

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 the following for classic examples of why most Admissions deans treat these as lies.

https://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/loi-and-interviews.1252832/#post-18849958

I told a school I'd go if accepted, now not so sure

Hi All, So earlier this year I was waitlisted at a school that was my undoubted first choice. My boyfriend (we are applying together) was accepted there a month or so ago, and so we decided that we'd send the admissions staff a letter, basically saying "If you accept Not A Troll, we will both...

forums.studentdoctor.net

And if you still don’t believe me, read these:

HomeSkool's Guide to Letters of Intent

Second letter of intent? Help!

So I got an interview to a school back in January and was waitlisted in February. I loved the school and sent a letter of intent because of all the schools I had interviewed at, it was definitely my first choice. BUT, then I received an II from my absolute favorite school that was a reach and I...

forums.studentdoctor.net