NYU LOI

[wanderingorion]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Waitlisted last week at NYU. It's my dream school, and I really had my hopes up for this one.
I've heard conflicting reports regarding LOI usefulness (often very passionately), and I just wanted to general consensus for this school, in particular.

 

[moggat]

FWIW, I sent an update letter two days ago and got accepted today. (MDPhD though, so MD may be different). I have no idea if it contributed to their decision or if they even read it.

 

[CerseiLannister]

MD/PhD might be a little different since much smaller class and little more of a personal admissions process. Even for MD/PhD, I assume a letter is only beneficial if they already really want you for their class.

Do you have any other acceptances from similarly ranked schools? If so, I would put that in LOI if you end up going that route.

 

[Lollygag]

I actually overheard some people in my lab today talking about NYU, I think one of the guys got wait listed and I heard the other guy say that NYU wait listed a lot more applicants this year because their US news rank skyrocketed over the past two years. NYU, at my school at least, is viewed as sort of a second class top medical school, as in its in the top 30 and is prestigious but is still inferior to the research powerhouses in the top 10. So they attract top medical school candidates but many of those candidates will get into other higher ranked schools as well and attend elsewhere. But if their rank went up significantly, then they might get more people choosing to attend which is why they wait listed so many people so that they don't accept more people than they have seats.

This is just what I heard though, but you might already know this since you've been so invested. But IMO, a well written LOI can't hurt, the worse that could happen is they not take it into consideration, so I would just send one.

 

[aldol16]

If NYU is really the school you would go to regardless of anything that happens later on in this cycle, then it can't hurt to write the LOI. You're simply being truthful. Whether it helps or not will be debatable but that shouldn't dissociate you if you really want to go there anyway.

 

[wanderingorion]

I'll just have to write one. I know it's hit or miss regarding effect, but I was just wondering what other people heard.
There's been a little discussion on the thread about WL size with regards to the ranking change.
This really is my dream school, so I have to try everything I can.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Psai]

I actually overheard some people in my lab today talking about NYU, I think one of the guys got wait listed and I heard the other guy say that NYU wait listed a lot more applicants this year because their US news rank skyrocketed over the past two years. NYU, at my school at least, is viewed as sort of a second class top medical school, as in its in the top 30 and is prestigious but is still inferior to the research powerhouses in the top 10. So they attract top medical school candidates but many of those candidates will get into other higher ranked schools as well and attend elsewhere. But if their rank went up significantly, then they might get more people choosing to attend which is why they wait listed so many people so that they don't accept more people than they have seats.

This is just what I heard though, but you might already know this since you've been so invested. But IMO, a well written LOI can't hurt, the worse that could happen is they not take it into consideration, so I would just send one.

What is ranking but perception? You can only attend one school and really the only way to judge is between the quality of their graduates that you happen to come across. If a school is ranked high and people think it's a top notch school then it will attract better candidates. The rank becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy even if nothing significant has changed in the education or clinical experience.

OP I think you should send the LOI because it probably won't hurt but I wouldn't expect it to help much.