Reneging on a Letter of Intent?

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purplepremed

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Here is my situation: I interviewed a few months ago at two med schools, "School A" and "School B." (For the sake of my anonymity, I won't give away their names). Shortly after visiting both schools, I sent School A a letter of intent stating that they were my first choice.

I was recently admitted to School B, but only waitlisted at School A; therefore, I expect to send a deposit to School B and enroll at School B. If School A admits me from the waitlist after May 15th and I enroll at School A instead, I would lose several hundred dollars (the combined value of my enrollment deposit at School B and the housing deposit for my off-campus apartment near School B) and have to deal with the major inconvenience of changing my enrollment plans at the very last minute.

Schools A and B are both fine schools that I would be happy to attend. I initially preferred School A, which is why I sent them a letter of intent, and if they had admitted me outright, I would have gladly gone there. However, I would much rather not have to deal with the loss of money and logistical trouble of switching my enrollment plans at the last minute. Therefore, If I were admitted to School A from the waiting list, I'd rather turn down their offer and stick with School B.

So, does my letter of intent obligate me to stay on the waitlist at School A and enroll there if eventually admitted from the waitlist? Could I get in trouble if I refuse to enroll at School A under these circumstances?

EDIT/CORRECTION: I just looked back over the letter I sent to School A, and while I did say that the school was absolutely my first choice, I did not specifically say I would definitely enroll there if given the opportunity. Would my letter be still be considered a "letter of intent" rather than a "letter of interest" given this fact? How would this affect my obligations to School A?

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Did you post this under a different screen name a few months ago? I remember this post verbatim...

To answer your question, you are under no obligation to School A.
 
Nope, must be a coincidence. This is my first post on this subject.
 
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I think it would be a huge deal if they admitted you outright and you declined, or if you'd sent the letter after they'd put you on the waitlist. As it is, you told them you'd want to go and they still put you on the waitlist. I don't think they expect you to sit patiently and forsake all other opportunities on the off chance they take you off the waitlist.

Also, if you are indeed set on attending School B, you should probably just go ahead and withdraw from School A's waitlist. Give the other people on it a shot and all that.
 
i'd say the letter of intent is not binding since they waitlisted you. why not just withdraw from school A now since you're going to school B anyway?!
 
I think it would be a huge deal if they admitted you outright and you declined, or if you'd sent the letter after they'd put you on the waitlist. As it is, you told them you'd want to go and they still put you on the waitlist. I don't think they expect you to sit patiently and forsake all other opportunities on the off chance they take you off the waitlist.

Also, if you are indeed set on attending School B, you should probably just go ahead and withdraw from School A's waitlist. Give the other people on it a shot and all that.

Excellent point here. Why are you still on the waitlist at this point?
 
Letter of intents are just a statement of desire to attend a school, they are not contracts. If things have changed between now and when you sent the letter and you now prefer School B, go to school B. The only person who has a problem at this point is you...
 
Letter of intents are just a statement of desire to attend a school, they are not contracts. If things have changed between now and when you sent the letter and you now prefer School B, go to school B. The only person who has a problem at this point is you...

i think you're confusing letter of interest and letter of intent. But I guess if the med school doesn't like you then there's really no difference.
 
Please note the correction I made to my original post.
 
none of the letters of intent/interest binds you to a decision.

makes you look liek a douchebag if you end up declining, but definitely not a contract.

that's why alot of schools don't take them too seriously.

you're fine OP and if you're still wishywashy about your decision, don't just give up your waitlist spot to indulge some strangers on the net. Research about the schools, go to second looks, and make sure you pick correctly
 
If you feel strongly enough, you should withdraw. Your LOI is meaningless if you withdraw anyway and no one's feelings will be bruised. It would be bad if they took you off the waitlist on the basis of your letter only to have you withdraw.
 
none of the letters of intent/interest binds you to a decision.

makes you look liek a douchebag if you end up declining, but definitely not a contract.

that's why alot of schools don't take them too seriously.

you're fine OP and if you're still wishywashy about your decision, don't just give up your waitlist spot to indulge some strangers on the net. Research about the schools, go to second looks, and make sure you pick correctly
I LOLed when i read that. I agree with the general opinion expressed thus far as well.
 
I remember reading on other posts that letter of INTENT is basically binding... adn that they could black list you..

but at teh same time, i dont' think telling a school that it's your first choice is a letter of intent. but rather a letter of interest since you didn't say verbatim taht u would attend the school if accepted.

Please correct me if i'm wrong since i'm kinda struggling wtih similar issues.
 
I remember reading on other posts that letter of INTENT is basically binding... adn that they could black list you..

but at teh same time, i dont' think telling a school that it's your first choice is a letter of intent. but rather a letter of interest since you didn't say verbatim taht u would attend the school if accepted.

Please correct me if i'm wrong since i'm kinda struggling wtih similar issues.
If he withdraws before an acceptance the contract would not be binding. The contact is based on the conditions of actually being accepted.
 
50 lashes with a wet noodle.
 
I remember reading on other posts that letter of INTENT is basically binding... adn that they could black list you..

but at teh same time, i dont' think telling a school that it's your first choice is a letter of intent. but rather a letter of interest since you didn't say verbatim taht u would attend the school if accepted.

Please correct me if i'm wrong since i'm kinda struggling wtih similar issues.

This is SDN urban legend at its best.

There is no mention of letters of intent or interest anywhere on AMCAS or on any med school website. These letters are the hopeful inventions of desperate applicants, and the hair splitting definitions of these letters, and their impact on your chances and contractual qualities, are agreed upon by nobody, most importantly not by the med schools.

Bottom line: You cannot unilaterally bind yourself to any subsequent med school offer of admission via one of these letters no matter how strongly you word the intent - your letter is not a "contract" in the legal sense that people use it around here. Even if you send one of these letters, and you are subsequently offered admission, you are still entitled to hold on to as many offers of admission you desire until May 15, after which you must narrow it down to 1 school (and some people get exceptions to this if they are waiting on finaid decisions, but the common sense advice in this special case is to inform all schools of what you are doing, probably best done in writing, and don't assume all schools will understand or agree to this), and you are under no obligation at that point to stick with the offer from the school you sent a "letter of intent" to. Furthermore, you are entitled to remain on as many waitlists as you desire after that, too, and can drop any other acceptance up to the day of matriculation.

Once you officially matriculate at a school, you are bound to that school unless you decide to not attend, but this is ill advised and will present huge problems if you reapply in a subsequent cycle and have to respond affirmatively to ever having matriculated at a med school (and I assume AMCAS will be aware of it so it is a fact that you will not be able to hide). Even so, some medical schools may "hold this against you" and effectively "black list" you, but I assume that others won't - I am not really sure of this and can't imagine this is a very common occurrence (sure as hell not anything I plan on doing so I am not too concerned about the fine print here).
 
I remember reading on other posts that letter of INTENT is basically binding... adn that they could black list you..

but at teh same time, i dont' think telling a school that it's your first choice is a letter of intent. but rather a letter of interest since you didn't say verbatim taht u would attend the school if accepted.

Please correct me if i'm wrong since i'm kinda struggling wtih similar issues.
LOL. blacklist you from what?? attending their medical school? isn't that the point: you DON'T want to go there? some people have not realized that we are all the same to admissions committees. there are 100's of people on most school's waitlists. here is how it would go:

-your name comes up as being accepted from waitlist on May 16
-person from admissions office calls you
-you say "no thanks i have decided that i will be matriculating elsewhere"
-person from admissions office calls next person on list

the committe will NOT take out a picture of you and make it into a dartboard. they don't care that you don't want to come to their school. there are hundreds- actually thousands of pre-meds that do want to go to their school.

binding contract. :smuggrin:
 
Technically, a letter of intent is a unilateral contract (you make a promise in return for an action--as opposed to a bilateral contract, which is a promise for a promise). Remember, a contract does not have to be a formal-looking document with all kinds of notary seals. A binding contract can be oral under many circumstances, and if it needs to be written (under the statute of frauds), you can write it on the back of an envelope if you want to--so long as the major terms are spelled out. Thus, you offer to attend their medical school (a benefit accruing to them) in exchange for admitting you. The acceptance they send you constitutes their acceptance of your offer, and a binding contract is made...if they wish to enforce it. The school wouldn't care enough to go through the time and expense (to say nothing of the damage to their image) of actually suing you in equity if you breached the contract, however, so it's really not an issue. Remember, it's only bad to breach a contract if the other party gets nasty! On the other hand, you can withdraw your offer (i.e., LOI) at any time prior to acceptance with impunity. Thus, if the school to which you write an LOI does not admit you (e.g., waitlists you), they have not accepted (met the terms of) your offer, and thus no contract is formed. You can still therefore withdraw your offer at any time up to an actual acceptance--although the fact that they did waitlist you rather than accept you would probably implicitly void your offer anyhow since it is common practice to think of a waitlist to alter the bargaining footing on which the two parties are operating. So you're in the clear either way, at least legally speaking!

That was my John Houseman moment for the year :D.
 
Technically, a letter of intent is a unilateral contract (you make a promise in return for an action--as opposed to a bilateral contract, which is a promise for a promise). Remember, a contract does not have to be a formal-looking document with all kinds of notary seals. A binding contract can be oral under many circumstances, and if it needs to be written (under the statute of frauds), you can write it on the back of an envelope if you want to--so long as the major terms are spelled out. Thus, you offer to attend their medical school (a benefit accruing to them) in exchange for admitting you. The acceptance they send you constitutes their acceptance of your offer, and a binding contract is made...if they wish to enforce it. The school wouldn't care enough to go through the time and expense (to say nothing of the damage to their image) of actually suing you in equity if you breached the contract, however, so it's really not an issue. Remember, it's only bad to breach a contract if the other party gets nasty! On the other hand, you can withdraw your offer (i.e., LOI) at any time prior to acceptance with impunity. Thus, if the school to which you write an LOI does not admit you (e.g., waitlists you), they have not accepted (met the terms of) your offer, and thus no contract is formed. You can still therefore withdraw your offer at any time up to an actual acceptance--although the fact that they did waitlist you rather than accept you would probably implicitly void your offer anyhow since it is common practice to think of a waitlist to alter the bargaining footing on which the two parties are operating. So you're in the clear either way, at least legally speaking!

That was my John Houseman moment for the year :D.

Total BS.

Ask any competent lawyer, or even a smart law school buddy who has taken Contracts (and make sure he understands the med school app process and that you are not talking something like early decision which is binding).

There is NOTHING about applicants making binding contracts with "letters of intent" anywhere to be found on AMCAS or any med school website. This is nothing but urban legend.

Finally - assuming for the moment you have somehow made a "binding contract" with such a letter - what is it exactly that you have agreed to do in terms of tuition and finaid? Have you unwittingly agreed to full tuition - no finaid?

Please - there is no contract. Time to flush this one away...
 
Think what you want. It's a contract technically...but as with anything, if it's not enforced, it's not binding as a matter of course. Perhaps the only affirmative defense to this is pre-existing duty. That is, a contract already exists between the applicant and the school--the applicant makes an offer by furnishing an application fee as consideration, and the school accepts that fee in return for evaluating the applicant for admission. Thus, as no ostensible additional consideration is furnished by the offeree pursuant to an LOI, it may not be held binding (in the event that the school were to sue, which it wouldn't anyway). On the other hand, if the school were to demonstrate in court that it would not have admitted the student but for the letter of intent, that edge in the admissions process would likely constitute additional consideration on the part of the school for the formation of a second contract (perhaps analogous to an option contract?). Since the AAMC is a private organization, its bylaws are not statutes and thus schools can technically circumvent them at the risk of revocation of their membership...but as we've seen, not all medical schools use the AMCAS anyway! If the school were to advantage one student over another on the basis of LOI (which I suspect does play a persuasive role, even though probably not controlling), then they would have acted in pursuance to a valid offer. But, since the school would never want to admit in a public forum that the added advantage of LOI were true, they wouldn't sue in the first place, as I've been saying all along. So whether or not a contract is formed is really immaterial...I just wanted to bring another perspective to the table.

And, finally, if the LOI is a binding contract, then a court would assume that, as a responsible applicant (the reasonable person standard), we would have taken into account the factors of tuition/financial aid in our decision to write the LOI. Nobody held a gun to our head to tell us to enter into the agreement--and if they did this would constitute duress, in which case the contract is void. We took it upon ourselves to enter into such an agreement knowing full-well what such a commitment would entail. This is called the parole evidence rule--a completed contract is taken to be a summary of the true, good-faith intent of both parties up until the time the contract was executed. Perhaps, however, this would be even more applicable to me, as an MD/PhD applicant, where money doesn't play so much of a role...

But, for Nth time, this is basically academic since no medical school would sue for reneging on an LOI because they would have to admit that LOIs matter in the admission process to get around the pre-existing duty exception...and even more to the point: they just don't care!
 
Think what you want; it's a contract technically...but as with anything, if it's not enforced, it's not binding as a matter of course.

Ask a lawyer...the only "binding admissions" are ED...and the contract you enter into with ED is that you will not apply anywhere else, and if accepted, you are committed to attend the ED school (and can't apply elsewhere to get other acceptances).

Even then, you can change your mind and drop the ED acceptance (no "contract" can obligate you to pay tuition and attend if you choose not to), but you have agreed to all the other stuff and you run the real risk of repercussions if you apply in a subsequent cycle.
 
Ask a lawyer...the only "binding admissions" are ED...and the contract you enter into with ED is that you will not apply anywhere else, and if accepted, you are committed to attend the ED school (and can't apply elsewhere to get other acceptances).

Even then, you can change your mind and drop the ED acceptance (no "contract" can obligate you to pay tuition and attend if you choose not to), but you have agreed to all the other stuff and you run the real risk of repercussions if you apply in a subsequent cycle.

It would be too much of a pain to sue, so they wouldn't. But if they did, they may win (albeit at a definite cost to the image of the school!) (However, admittedly, I was unable to find any legal precedent for this...no school has ever sued somebody who breached ED. Thus, is it possible that a judge could render summary judgment in favor of defendant? Of course. But until there is some legal precedent to work from, and since there is no statute governing this sort of thing, how can we say? It would be a case of first impression. Schools instead prefer to remedy such a breach privately by arranging the rescission of admission offers at other schools by mutal agreement.) Any reasonable person knows that going to college costs money. And if you apply to a school with need-blind admissions that guarantees to meet 100% of your government-determined need (a policy which you would know ahead of time), then you cannot claim that a major term had been left out. Even if you get a better (e.g., merit-based) financial aid offer from another school, then tough luck if the ED school decides to sue. Then again, if one /were/ accepted ED somewhere, and he absolutely could not pay even with his need-based aid, then he would effectively be judgment-proof for the said tuition and it wouldn't profit much to sue anyway.
 
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