pre-interview letters of interest?

[jiggahova]

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What are your thoughts on this? I know there have been a few threads on this topic but none of them have been all that insightful. I have competitive stats but its been two months since I have applied to all my schools and have yet to receive an interview invite. Will sending LOI's help my cause. Do certain school favor them more than others? Is it to early to send them?

 

[Dr McSexy]

Are you talking about just a letter saying along the lines "Hey I'm interested in your school, consider me for an interview!", Or more along the lines of an update letter?

If just the former, then no I don't think it will help your cause. If it's an update letter in which you mention your interests but also include updates on how your are continuing to improve your application (still volunteering, making great grades in advanced classes, publishing, etc.), then that will certainly not hurt and it may or may not help.

 

[muggle911]

If you've been complete for a while and haven't heard from the school, its ok to send a LOI as long as it also contains some updates about you.
I did this last year and it got me an interview 2 wks later. Some schools like for you to express more interest. Just dont send it to the schools that specifically request that you don't contact them.

 

[BlueElmo]

I think that would be okay. But I would perhaps wait after an interview.

 

[justdoit31]

Last year I had been complete at my number 1 school (texas tech) for 6 weeks with no news. I wrote an email to the admissions director about reasons why I though I was a good fit for the school and also to update them on my summer grades and a couple new EC activities. I got an interview within 3 hours of hitting the send button.

I think if you can make a letter that lets you stand out and is persuassive go for it, but don't send to every school if you aren't serious about it.

I didn't try this with any other schools. I was excepted 3 weeks after my interview invite (10 days after interviewing) and withdrew from all the other schools I had applied to.

 

[deleted280727]

I did the same thing recently for my number 1 choice school a little over a week ago. I also have a phone appointment with their director of admissions set up. We'll see if either helps, because I would absolutely love to go there.

Last year I had been complete at my number 1 school (texas tech) for 6 weeks with no news. I wrote an email to the admissions director about reasons why I though I was a good fit for the school and also to update them on my summer grades and a couple new EC activities. I got an interview within 3 hours of hitting the send button.

I think if you can make a letter that lets you stand out and is persuassive go for it, but don't send to every school if you aren't serious about it.

I didn't try this with any other schools. I was excepted 3 weeks after my interview invite (10 days after interviewing) and withdrew from all the other schools I had applied to.

 

[mosely]

Does anyone know what schools recommend against sending update/interest letters?

 

[FutureScaresMe]

Does anyone know what schools recommend against sending update/interest letters?

I know Stanford does not want any updates unless you're invited to interview.

 

[Alvarez13]

Does anyone know what schools recommend against sending update/interest letters?

Yes, it would be great to get a list of schools that despise update letters/LOIs.

 

[scooter02]

I sent an email and hard copy update to Penn State (second publication and new teaching job) and I got the following response... like a polite no thanks? 😕

"Thank you for your email. Only official transcripts can be accepted as updates. Please let us know what else we can do to help and thank you for your interest in Penn State College of Medicine."

Here's how you can help, Penn State: interview me and accept me!! 😉

 

[futuredoctor10]

Yes, it would be great to get a list of schools that despise update letters/LOIs.

Yes I agree! So far, it looks like Stanford and Penn State based on above posts.

 

[Ariadne]

Any suggestions on what to write for an "update" letter if you haven't had any real changes since completing the secondary? There are a couple of schools I'd really like to maintain contact with and express my continued interest in, but I'm not sure what to say.

I started a full-time research job in June, and although I did list it in on my primary, I supposed I could go into more detail. I'm not sure if that combined with discussing my interest in the school would be enough for fill an entire letter though...