School asking for LOI before being interviewed?

[SuperLion]

Context: I applied to UNLV in July and have not heard back with Kira/interview invite or anything. Note that I received confirmation email of “application being reviewed” once I submitted. On AADSAS, it has said “Received/Application complete” for over a month now. I’ve heard of people who that applied a few weeks ago and were invited to interview, so I reached out to the school.



They got back to me and said my application is still listed as under review and that if “UNLV is my top choice, I should send a letter of intent.” Why would they ask for this, rather than just say “wait and we’ll get to your application”? Also, i think my application got messed up in their system because I paid the supplemental fee before submitting on AADSAS and my app was on hold at one point for not having the right type of LOR, which I fixed. Regardless, has a school ever asked an applicant for a letter of intent before being interviewed? We emailed back and forth and they used the words “letter of intent” twice, so I don’t think they’re mistaken for “letter of interest.”

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[macsak]

Context: I applied to UNLV in July and have not heard back with Kira/interview invite or anything. Note that I received confirmation email of “application being reviewed” once I submitted. On AADSAS, it has said “Received/Application complete” for over a month now. I’ve heard of people who that applied a few weeks ago and were invited to interview, so I reached out to the school.



They got back to me and said my application is still listed as under review and that if “UNLV is my top choice, I should send a letter of intent.” Why would they ask for this, rather than just say “wait and we’ll get to your application”? Also, i think my application got messed up in their system because I paid the supplemental fee before submitting on AADSAS and my app was on hold at one point for not having the right type of LOR, which I fixed. Regardless, has a school ever asked an applicant for a letter of intent before being interviewed? We emailed back and forth and they used the words “letter of intent” twice, so I don’t think they’re mistaken for “letter of interest.”

i've never heard of a school doing this...

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Context: I applied to UNLV in July and have not heard back with Kira/interview invite or anything. Note that I received confirmation email of “application being reviewed” once I submitted. On AADSAS, it has said “Received/Application complete” for over a month now. I’ve heard of people who that applied a few weeks ago and were invited to interview, so I reached out to the school.

They got back to me and said my application is still listed as under review and that if “UNLV is my top choice, I should send a letter of intent.” Why would they ask for this, rather than just say “wait and we’ll get to your application”? Also, i think my application got messed up in their system because I paid the supplemental fee before submitting on AADSAS and my app was on hold at one point for not having the right type of LOR, which I fixed. Regardless, has a school ever asked an applicant for a letter of intent before being interviewed? We emailed back and forth and they used the words “letter of intent” twice, so I don’t think they’re mistaken for “letter of interest.”

Welcome to the forums. We know nothing about your application profile, so I don't know if you demonstrate a mission fit or not.

Looking at

UNLV Class of 2029 Interview/Acceptance Thread

Link to last year's thread: UNLV Class of 2028 Interview/Acceptance Thread Link to interview prep: University of Nevada-Las Vegas School of Dental Medicine Interview Feedback ----> Be sure to give feedback on your interview to help future applicants! :) Link to school website: University of...

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While You Are Waiting: Processing Health Professions Applications - SDN

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What's happened with your application is speculation, but chances are if it is happening to you, it's happening to more people. Assuming their admissions team means Letter of Interest... that still wouldn't make sense if they acknowledge receipt of your secondary fee. No one wants to open the floodgates to a hurricane. Or no one should.

The school-speecific thread suggests that they are only sending Kira Talent links to function as "interviews." I don't know how a LOI matters if you haven't taken their Kira Talent Assessment.

 

[SuperLion]

Welcome to the forums. We know nothing about your application profile, so I don't know if you demonstrate a mission fit or not.

Looking at

UNLV Class of 2029 Interview/Acceptance Thread

Link to last year's thread: UNLV Class of 2028 Interview/Acceptance Thread Link to interview prep: University of Nevada-Las Vegas School of Dental Medicine Interview Feedback ----> Be sure to give feedback on your interview to help future applicants! :) Link to school website: University of...

forums.studentdoctor.net

Read

While You Are Waiting: Processing Health Professions Applications - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

What's happened with your application is speculation, but chances are if it is happening to you, it's happening to more people. Assuming their admissions team means Letter of Interest... that still wouldn't make sense if they acknowledge receipt of your secondary fee. No one wants to open the floodgates to a hurricane. Or no one should.

The school-speecific thread suggests that they are only sending Kira Talent links to function as "interviews." I don't know how a LOI matters if you haven't taken their Kira Talent Assessment.

Thank you for the warm welcome, this is my first post. I emailed them again asking for a clarification because I've never heard of some thing like this. They replied and gave a very vague, robotic answer: "Sending an LOI is entirely optional. LOI's do not guarantee interviews or acceptances, but it is something that we can add to your file. Interviews are not offered to every applicant-admissions decides who gets an interview." I paraphrased a bit here. Should I still send them an LOI?

 

[deleted923283]

Thank you for the warm welcome, this is my first post. I emailed them again asking for a clarification because I've never heard of some thing like this. They replied and gave a very vague, robotic answer: "Sending an LOI is entirely optional. LOI's do not guarantee interviews or acceptances, but it is something that we can add to your file. Interviews are not offered to every applicant-admissions decides who gets an interview." I paraphrased a bit here. Should I still send them an LOI?

There's no downside, and the letter is non-binding

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I agree. We don't know your application to know how desirable it is. The Office seems to say, "do it if you feel like it."

Those of us who are experienced on the admissions side know those letters should not disrupt normal screening procedure. That is to say, they won't affect how your file is reviewed unless the procedure says they could. 🙂