Hi, my application got put on hold for an invite at Tulane and WMed. Should I email the schools and express interest or leave it alone and wait?
What to do when applications are on hold
- Thread starter route99
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Substantial updates are okay. Letters of interest (not to be confused with letters of intent), not so much.
As @Goro says, “Your application is a LOI”
I think that in the past, holds tend to be soft Rs. However, it is possible that schools are using them more this cycle. Virtual interviews make it easier for top candidates with 10+ to accept interviews at anywhere and everywhere. When interviews were in person, most of these candidates would have stopped booking by now (definitely more so after October 15th). Now this simply isn’t true since the cost of attending a virtual interview ranges from 0 to having to use a vacation day at work.
As somebody who is on hold at 4 places, I am going to wait until after Thanksgiving and perhaps send in an activity update but not a letter of interest.
Out of curiosity, was the WMed hold pre or post phone interview. Experience Review complete since early august and nothing.
As @Goro says, “Your application is a LOI”
I think that in the past, holds tend to be soft Rs. However, it is possible that schools are using them more this cycle. Virtual interviews make it easier for top candidates with 10+ to accept interviews at anywhere and everywhere. When interviews were in person, most of these candidates would have stopped booking by now (definitely more so after October 15th). Now this simply isn’t true since the cost of attending a virtual interview ranges from 0 to having to use a vacation day at work.
As somebody who is on hold at 4 places, I am going to wait until after Thanksgiving and perhaps send in an activity update but not a letter of interest.
Out of curiosity, was the WMed hold pre or post phone interview. Experience Review complete since early august and nothing.
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Your applications were a letter of interest. Further love letters will accomplish nothing.
In the meantime, you should be improving your application because until you get your except letter in your inbox, you are rejected.
Yes, I know that this is going to trigger some sensitive Souls here, but this is the harsh reality of applying to medical school.
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This^^^^, but, at least one other knowledgeable adcom has suggested that an update containing a LOI just might be the trigger for an II. It was suggested that not be done before October.
Bottom line, @Goro is correct, and the app is the LOI. Actual LOIs, as opposed to substantive updates, especially this early in the cycle, do have an air of desperation to them, since candidates who are doing well are distracted preparing for their interviews and are not sitting around obsessing on what they do not have.
The fact is that your app has already been reviewed. The good news is that the adcom did not toss it into the R pile. The less good news is that they want to see other apps before deciding what to do with you, and depending on the school and the cycle, the H might in fact already be a soft R.
There really is nothing to be done until they review those other apps, unless it's a soft R, in which case you need to move on. As you get closer to the time they are ready to circle back to you (maybe mid-October), there's probably no harm in expressing interest by throwing in whatever update you have. It probably won't move the needle, but you won't know if you don't try. Good luck!!
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