Pre-Interview update letters or letters of interest

[235009]

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i sent a combination update letter and letter of interest to the NYC schools (minus downstate) this week and have already gotten two rejection letters. I am now beginning to doubt the usefulness of update letters or letters of interest pre-interview...it doesn't seem to make any difference and it is obvious that these schools had already decided to reject me and were just waiting to make it seem like i still had a chance. I'm certain that my letter wasn't even read by an adcom member at either school nor was my file reconsidered at all. Glad I didn't really spend much time on the letters and had most of it already written out for other reasons.

my question is... has anyone had a positive outcome from sending an update letter or LOI and which school was it at? it seems to me that sending these pre-interview has been over-hyped on SDN.

for the record i think sending updates or letters of interest/intent post-interview is a great thing!

 

[nick_carraway]

I sent 50+ LOInterests pre-interview and the only interview I received was very early in the season before I sent them anything.

I agree with you and a few other posts I've seen from SDN that argue that a decision was already made early on.

 

[Demas567]

^^ You're both right. Letters of Interest pre-interview are completely worthless. I also have sent in a sh*tload of LOIs pre-interview and none of them have been successful in getting me an interview. You want to know something that does work though? An "in the area" email.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Worked for me. I was put on hold for interview in September the year I applied. Sent a LOI and received an interview in April. It really depends on the school and the applicant.

Is it possible you sent it to schools who had already made decisions on you file? Sure. And you happened to send it the week that they sent your rejection letter. But in some cases they definitely can be useful. I always figure its better to try than to do nothing.

 

[235009]

Worked for me. I was put on hold for interview in September the year I applied. Sent a LOI and received an interview in April. It really depends on the school and the applicant.

Is it possible you sent it to schools who had already made decisions on you file? Sure. And you happened to send it the week that they sent your rejection letter. But in some cases they definitely can be useful. I always figure its better to try than to do nothing.

thanks for your response. i read your story on MDapps and it is very inspiring and your perseverance really paid off but i think that in the end it took a healthy dose of luck for you to get that april interview spot so your story really seems to be the exception to the rule.

also i think it is much less likely for the schools i'm talking about to have to scramble to fill an april interview spot like that and they're also less likely to be understanding of a personal situation like that. I'm absolutely not putting UCI down in any way...the schools i got into basically have the same stats as UCI (but with a big in-state boost) and you and i basically have the same stats.

 

[nick_carraway]

Worked for me. I was put on hold for interview in September the year I applied. Sent a LOI and received an interview in April. It really depends on the school and the applicant.

Is it possible you sent it to schools who had already made decisions on you file? Sure. And you happened to send it the week that they sent your rejection letter. But in some cases they definitely can be useful. I always figure its better to try than to do nothing.

I think UCI is different simply because they screen for secondaries.

Once you get past the secondary, I think they're a bit more willing to look at your file again.

In my case, none of the UCs gave me a secondary so my LOInterests didn't mean much, I don't think.

I think I had a pretty persuasive case for UC Davis too 🙁

 

[235009]

I think UCI is different simply because they screen for secondaries.

oh, i didn't even notice this...yea, that would make a huge difference since you are already in a smaller pool and they've showed some interest in you by sending you a secondary

 

[talbo]

i added vandy on 11/14 on my primary thinking i was throwing my $30 away, i also wrote up a letter of interest to them like 2 weeks later. i inquired the office of admissions if they have gotten it, and i got a response from their admissions officer that a mail to invite me to complete to secondary is on the way and i should get started since it's due on 12/31, i dont know if my LOI made a different but i think it may have since my mcat is below their average accepted and my GPA is slightly above? I think it makes a difference? of course this process has a big chunk of luck involved with it

 

[hospitaldoctor1]

Why didnt you send it to Downstate??
When writing Update letters, who should the letter be directed to? The Dean of Admissions?
Where should the letter be mailed to? The Admissions Office?
Thanks