Thoughts on letters of interest (vs. intent) aka why i'm going crazy

[dnagyrase]

I'm going through the process of writing these things right now and a thought occurred to me that has probably occurred to many of you:

If I worked in an admissions office of a medical school and I got a letter of interest from an applicant, wouldn't I assume that this applicant wrote a letter of intent elsewhere? Because who only writes letters of interest? Almost everyone is probably writing one letter of intent and possibly multiple letters of interest. So then wouldn't I, still playing this admissions person, be completely unimpressed by this letter of interest? I'm going to assume that this applicant verbally committed himself elsewhere if that other place accepts him.

If you find the majority of what I have written to be true, then isn't the next logical question: why even write letters of interest at all? And yes, I start this thread after spending much time writing multiple letters of interest. 😕

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[Tenk]

no. chill out.

 

[UVAbme2009]

But if you write nothing, then they will think you have no interest in their school!

Only one school gets to be the first choice. ADCOMs aren't going to hold it against you if they aren't your #1.

 

[Margaux1985]

I'm going through the process of writing these things right now and a thought occurred to me that has probably occurred to many of you:

If I worked in an admissions office of a medical school and I got a letter of interest from an applicant, wouldn't I assume that this applicant wrote a letter of intent elsewhere? Because who only writes letters of interest? Almost everyone is probably writing one letter of intent and possibly multiple letters of interest. So then wouldn't I, still playing this admissions person, be completely unimpressed by this letter of interest? I'm going to assume that this applicant verbally committed himself elsewhere if that other place accepts him.

If you find the majority of what I have written to be true, then isn't the next logical question: why even write letters of interest at all? And yes, I start this thread after spending much time writing multiple letters of interest. 😕

I've thought of the same thing, which is why letters of intent probably don't mean much anymore to most schools. It might have mattered 10 or 20 years ago when the applicant pool was smaller and most schools didn't have to resort to waitlisting their applicants so much, but today, everyone seems to be doing it. I think a letter of intent would have minimal impact nowadays because everyone else is also sending in their letter of intent (and sometimes reneging on it when something better comes along) and doing various things to try to get off the waitlist. It might bring your application to the attention of the admissions committee sooner by May 15 rather than later on in the summer, but overall, I think most schools still pick applicants based on their scores and how high the ADCOM voted on their application after the interview and how good of a "fit" they think you'll be at their school.

 

[87138]

Almost everyone is probably writing one letter of intent and possibly multiple letters of interest.

Correction: Almost everyone ON SDN is probably writing a letter of intent and possibly multiple letters of interest.

Big difference.

 

[annndyr]

A letter of intent is not a legal contract with a school. Write one and get it out to every school at which you interviewed. Trust me, we're all doing it.

 

[silverlining1]

Correction: Almost everyone ON SDN is probably writing a letter of intent and possibly multiple letters of interest.

Big difference.

I agree with you. My non-SDN premed friends haven't heard of LOIs.

 

[DoctorDreamer]

Well, I'm on 3 waitlists I would be thrilled to get off, and there are things about each school that I love. I really don't know how I'd choose between the three, and I really only "need" to get off one.

So I'm in the position of sending 3 letters of interest, and no letter of intent. Because say I sent a letter of intent to school #1, then I can't send one to schools #2 and #3! But what if none of the schools will let me in with letters of interest, but one might if I sent that school a letter of intent? But I have no way of knowing which school that would be.

So I've resigned to sending strong letters of interest to all three. Quite frankly, I would almost certainly immediately take any of the three, so it could be a letter of intent over my current acceptances, but not necessarily over each other. *sigh*

 

[dk33]

A letter of intent is not a legal contract with a school. Write one and get it out to every school at which you interviewed. Trust me, we're all doing it.

I know Im reviving an old thread, but can someone let me know if this is true? Ive always wondered about the difference between letters of interest and intent, and was bothered by the whole thing, cuz like the OP said, if you send a letter of INTEREST, dont they realize youre saying "you are a really great school etc" but the line "I would come here if I am accepted, you are my top choice," is notably missing?

Are letters of intent legally binding?

is it immoral or illegal or blacklistable to send intent letters to multiple schools after interviews? Or am I (or we) just fooling ourselves, because as this poster said "trust me, were all doing it," so those of us who arent, are just at a huge disadvantage?

Do the schools communicate with each other, so it would be like Pritzker calls up some other chicago school and is like, did you get a letter from AAMC ID:12345678 saying that this is his top choice also? lets both send him rejeection letters as a punishment....

can anyone weigh in on this for me?

Thanks!

 

[Carlin]

Letters of intent are not legally binding, but it would be very dishonest to send letters of intent to multiple schools. I guess a person has to judge how much they value their integrity before they decide to send multiple letters of intent. It also could possibly come back to haunt you later, if you're applying for a residency position at one of those schools. I don't know how likely that is to happen though.

On the topic of the OP, just because a person is sending letters of interest doesn't mean they've sent a letter of intent. Where I decide to go to school is very dependent on the financial aid I get, so I would never lock myself down to one school, when it turns out that I may not be able to pay for it. But in a letter of interest, I think it's fairly easy to communicate that a school is your first choice, without saying outright that you will go there if admitted. (Because sometimes I'm sure people have to turn down their first choices for a financially more practical school.)

 

[dk33]

Letters of intent are not legally binding, but it would be very dishonest to send letters of intent to multiple schools.

I agree, just her post made it sound like ...everyone is doing it...so youre putting yourself at a huge disadvantage if you dont. I think taking the moral highground is the way to go, but I think its better to know what I am up against. Thats all.

It also could possibly come back to haunt you later, if you're applying for a residency position at one of those schools. I don't know how likely that is to happen though.

right, I hear...

But in a letter of interest, I think it's fairly easy to communicate that a school is your first choice, without saying outright that you will go there if admitted.

but isnt that just as much as a lie? if you send a letter to one school saying "ur my first choice, Id go here over anywhere if admitted," and then a letter to another school saying "youre my first choice," youre still doing something thats not exactly honest, right?
Jsut trying to understand the deal with these intent letters.

 

[Carlin]

but isnt that just as much as a lie? if you send a letter to one school saying "ur my first choice, Id go here over anywhere if admitted," and then a letter to another school saying "youre my first choice," youre still doing something thats not exactly honest, right?
Jsut trying to understand the deal with these intent letters.

Yeah, I was giving a situation where a person sends no true letter of intent anywhere, but a very clear letter of interest that indicates the school is their first choice, but without promising to go there. It's pretty much what I did.

 

[dk33]

I guess i was more interested in knowing if there is a sizable group of people out there who send out multiple "letters of inteNT." I guess no one would really be willing to admit that on here, because theyd be scared of being attacked by everyone else. Just trying to gauge just how valuable a letter of intent is to schools, being that according to the post I quoted, it seems like there are those who use them just like a "letter of interest" and send multiple intent letters.
I guess I wont find my answer because theres like no way to post "anonyously" on SDN.

 

[dk33]

bump?? anyone else wanna weigh in?

 

[scrubslover]

At one of my interviews, the director of admissions was VERY adamant not to write more than one letter of intent. Basically, he said that schools talk, and if you write a letter of intent one place, and then reneg on it and go elsewhere, that they will be very angry and other schools will probably find out. He said letters of interest are great, but only write a letter of intent if you are very very sure.

 

[flip26]

At one of my interviews, the director of admissions was VERY adamant not to write more than one letter of intent. Basically, he said that schools talk, and if you write a letter of intent one place, and then reneg on it and go elsewhere, that they will be very angry and other schools will probably find out. He said letters of interest are great, but only write a letter of intent if you are very very sure.

Sounds like a BS threat to me.

Personally, I think all of these letters are fairly useless (the exception being certain schools where if you are waitlisted they want you to send them some indication that you want to remain under consideration as openings occur), but if I were so inclined to write a letter of "intent" I would send as many as I felt necessary to get an acceptance at my desired school(s)...they are not legally binding - they do not constitute a contract - and I do not believe for one minute that schools "talk" to each other to find out if any applicant has sent more than one...

 

[Live4Life]

At one of my interviews, the director of admissions was VERY adamant not to write more than one letter of intent. Basically, he said that schools talk, and if you write a letter of intent one place, and then reneg on it and go elsewhere, that they will be very angry and other schools will probably find out. He said letters of interest are great, but only write a letter of intent if you are very very sure.

Schools cannot legally talk to other schools about specific applicants because that is a direct violation of FERPA (hence, it's illegal), which would open the schools up to lawsuits and fines. This doesn't mean they don't do it (I have no idea if they do), it just means they can be held legally liable if the applicant finds out that the confidentiality of their application has been compromised.

 

[efitzpat]

I sent letters to the UCs because I really want to stay in Cali. To my top choice, I wrote "you are my top choice" and to the others I wrote "your school is one of my top choices". I spoke with an admissions person at one of the schools and they said they take that with a grain of salt, because everyone says that in a letter, but if you really mean it to send another letter, and another... and another....

 

[alibai3ah]

People who send out multiple letter of intents are not just cheating the system, but just come of desperate. B/c you are not saying you would go to that school over others, you are saying that you need just that one acceptance.... While many say that are doing it...I would advise some of the sdn'ers that these people could be lying and hoping you get caught (plenty of gunners around here)

I would assume it is much safer to write multiple letter of interests. The letter should consist of just an update on your life since the interview and why you want to go to that specific school. If you write a compelling enough letter, it can practically be a "letter of intent" without saying it (which is much better, b/c you will not be held accountable for anything you may have "implied")

 

[singularity2012]

What about writing a letter of intent to a particular school and not following through on it?

I wrote a letter of intent to a school in early December, in addition to multiple letters of interest to the other schools where I recently interviewed. However, the intent letter was sort of premature, as I ended up receiving an invite to one of my dream schools, which I thought would never be possible.

If I got in to the dream school, I would DEFINITELY feel inclined to go there instead.

This hasn't happened yet, but I feel like it would be an utterly disastrous scenario! Thoughts?

 

[flip26]

What about writing a letter of intent to a particular school and not following through on it?

I wrote a letter of intent to a school in early December, in addition to multiple letters of interest to the other schools where I recently interviewed. However, the intent letter was sort of premature, as I ended up receiving an invite to one of my dream schools, which I thought would never be possible.

If I got in to the dream school, I would DEFINITELY feel inclined to go there instead.

This hasn't happened yet, but I feel like it would be an utterly disastrous scenario! Thoughts?

No worries. Nobody will care. You are free to choose from among all of your acceptances.