Post-Interview LOI

[YayPudding]

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Hi all,

I interviewed at my top choice last week. The dean said they accept updates and will check them out during our review early January. I intend on sending updates regarding some research (author on tech report, acknowledged in an article, science mag featured an experiment I worked on - these sound good?) but I am also considering sending a letter of intent. I would attend the school if accepted.

Does anyone have any recommendations regarding this?

Thanks!

 

[YayPudding]

shameless bump

 

[PugsAndHugs]

I would save your letter of intent for if you get wait listed. Send them an update letter and include a paragraph at the end of why you really want to attend the school with something you experienced during your interview day that you appreciated.

 

[YayPudding]

I would save your letter of intent for if you get wait listed. Send them an update letter and include a paragraph at the end of why you really want to attend the school with something you experienced during your interview day that you appreciated.

The dean did state bullet points are highly recommended given their time constraints. But perhaps a brief few sentences at the end to highlight some things is the way to go?

 

[Goro]

And how would you interpret a nonbinding contract from a desperate applicant???

Hi all,

I interviewed at my top choice last week. The dean said they accept updates and will check them out during our review early January. I intend on sending updates regarding some research (author on tech report, acknowledged in an article, science mag featured an experiment I worked on - these sound good?) but I am also considering sending a letter of intent. I would attend the school if accepted.

Does anyone have any recommendations regarding this?

Thanks!

 

[aalamruad]

And how would you interpret a nonbinding contract from a desperate applicant???

You're just copy/paste spamming this sentence into every LOI thread you see, aren't you? It's starting to get really obnoxious. Not every school is like yours, and not every adcom is as cynical as you are.

 

[Goro]

You can always put me on "Ignore".

The wise @gyngyn and @Med Ed too. Not everyone can get into Gtown and the few other schools that likes to see their applicants grovel.

I suppose not every hot chick disbelieves "I'll still respect you in the morning"" either.

You're just copy/paste spamming this sentence into every LOI thread you see, aren't you? It's starting to get really obnoxious. Not every school is like yours, and not every adcom is as cynical as you are.

 

[aalamruad]

You can always put me on "Ignore".

The wise @gyngyn and @Med Ed too. Not everyone can get into Gtown and the few other schools that likes to see their applicants grovel.

I suppose not every hot chick disbelieves "I'll still respect you in the morning"" either.

Nah, most of your posts are helpful and informative. But with this particular topic, your advice is really detrimental to the thousands of applicants applying to the schools that appreciate LOI's. At the very least, you should clarify that you're not speaking for every school, because your condescending tone implies that LOI's are always ridiculous and ineffective. Over half of the schools I've interviewed at so far explicitly said they accept post-interview LOI's.

 

[Endoxifen]

And how would you interpret a nonbinding contract from a desperate applicant???

I realize that a LOI and an update are different, but what would you consider significant enough to update the school?

 

[Goro]

A semester's worth of excellent grades
A paper accepted, or a presentation given at a scientific meeting.

I realize that a LOI and an update are different, but what would you consider significant enough to update the school?

 

[Endoxifen]

A semester's worth of excellent grades
A paper accepted, or a presentation given at a scientific meeting.

Thank you for your response. I'll keep that in mind when I apply in the coming cycle!

 

[Danny L]

When I read the title I thought it said post interview LOL with a typo on the last L so it was lowercase. I expected a funny interview story or something and was dissappointed

 

[YayPudding]

A semester's worth of excellent grades
A paper accepted, or a presentation given at a scientific meeting.

How about authorship of a technical report and an acknowledgement in a published study? Authorship on the study was not granted as none of the animals I worked with provided data that was used. That and politics.

 

[Goro]

Yes
How about authorship of a technical report

No
and an acknowledgement in a published study?

 

[Med Ed]

Nah, most of your posts are helpful and informative. But with this particular topic, your advice is really detrimental to the thousands of applicants applying to the schools that appreciate LOI's. At the very least, you should clarify that you're not speaking for every school, because your condescending tone implies that LOI's are always ridiculous and ineffective. Over half of the schools I've interviewed at so far explicitly said they accept post-interview LOI's.

Accept and desire are to 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.

A lot of us on the admissions side just lament the progression of the arms race in admissions. It used to be that you sent out your AMCAS application to selected schools, followed with secondaries, followed with interviews, and then you just had to frickin' WAIT until you heard back. Now the pool has found a new angle (LOI's) to try and game, and in the meantime we have concocted new games (e.g. MMI, CASPer) of our own. The same thing is going on in residency applications, with the addition of things like SLOE letters for emergency medicine, and de facto secondary essays required by some other programs.

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.

 

[NonTrad16]

Accept and desire are to 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.

A lot of us on the admissions side just lament the progression of the arms race in admissions. It used to be that you sent out your AMCAS application to selected schools, followed with secondaries, followed with interviews, and then you just had to frickin' WAIT until you heard back. Now the pool has found a new angle (LOI's) to try and game, and in the meantime we have concocted new games (e.g. MMI, CASPer) of our own. The same thing is going on in residency applications, with the addition of things like SLOE letters for emergency medicine, and de facto secondary essays required by some other programs.

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.

I do wonder why the updates/LOI are even accepted at institutions that don't value them. At some schools they explicitly state "don't send us anything, we will call you". Others provide portals with suggested options (grades, updates, etc).

I can't believe applicants are any more excited for the increased pressure to say "remember me?" via letters and updates. I really liked a particular school that accepted updates (enthusiastically) and said so, as well as the others that say no to updates or LOIs. Both are clear.

Admittedly, in my job I've developed perspectives regarding clients that is different than my bosses (but the bosses set the standards), so I can see how a similar thing could occur in admissions...

 

[Med Ed]

I do wonder why the updates/LOI are even accepted at institutions that don't value them.

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.