When should I send my update letter to Drexel? (Waitlisted)

[TheCruelOne]

Hey guys! I'd really appreciate any and all possibly input, especially from those who may have previously been waitlisted at Drexel (or at other schools) and eventually were accepted.

First of all, I knew from the get-go that I was probably not the strongest applicant for MD schools (you can find my stats in an older thread I made back in June), and would likely be a more competitive applicant for DO schools. I ended up applying to both DO and MD schools and fortunately received a fair amount of DO interviews and a few DO acceptances. I received 2 MD interviews, one of which ended up in a rejection. The other interview, however, was at Drexel and resulted in a waitlist.

Honestly, out of all the schools I applied to, Drexel is absolutely one of the top schools I was looking forward to possibly attending. I'm from right around Philly and I have a huge support system here. Not to mention, I'd like to someday practice medicine in Philly or at least in the Northeast. Out of the schools where I interviewed, Drexel was by far my favorite for so so many reasons. I interviewed in early October and was placed on the waitlist in November.

At first, I started to lose all hope in Drexel, but after reading on SDN and hearing from so many of my peers that the waitlist at Drexel does have a fair amount of movement, I'm starting to have a little more hope that maybe there is a possibility of an acceptance in the future. Anyway, I'm planning on writing a sort of update letter/letter of interest and sending it to Drexel in hopes of improving my prospects of an acceptance. I have a few random questions regarding these types of update letters, as I've never written one before and I'm not quite sure if there is a specific, understood way to write them. Here are my questions:

• When is the best time to submit an update letter if you're on the waitlist?
• Is it best to just send 1 update letter detailing many different updates to your application or to send a few smaller letters? (I can't imagine that sending multiple smaller letters would be a great idea, but I just thought I'd ask.)
• Would it be acceptable to send an additional LOR as well? I have a letter from an MD that I didn't end up including in my MD school committee letter packets. I figured this could possibly be included in my update.
• Is it acceptable to include in my letter why I am so interested in Drexel and what exactly I liked about it after I interviewed?
• Should I mention to Drexel that it is my top preference? I've read that letters of intent are rather meaningless to schools, but do you think it would be wise (or not) to mention that if accepted, I would 100% choose to attend Drexel?

Thank you guys for taking the time to read this lengthy post. I'd REALLY appreciate any advice you can give!

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[Goro]

When you have something significant to impress the Admissions dean at waitlist pulling time. And yet lone more LOR isn't going to help.

• 
  
• When is the best time to submit an update letter if you're on the waitlist?

Every med school applicant in the history of the world has already said this. They know you're lying.

• Should I mention to Drexel that it is my top preference? I've read that letters of intent are rather meaningless to schools, but do you think it would be wise (or not) to mention that if accepted, I would 100% choose to attend Drexel?

 

[TheCruelOne]

When you have something significant to impress the Admissions dean at waitlist pulling time. And yet lone more LOR isn't going to help.

• 
  
• When is the best time to submit an update letter if you're on the waitlist?

Every med school applicant in the history of the world has already said this. They know you're lying.

• Should I mention to Drexel that it is my top preference? I've read that letters of intent are rather meaningless to schools, but do you think it would be wise (or not) to mention that if accepted, I would 100% choose to attend Drexel?

Thank you for the advice! So I guess I'll wait to send an update around when they start looking towards the waitlist, then? And haha, I'll be sure to avoid telling them they're my top preference, though they really are. A few of my cousins have gone to Drexel and have had great things to say. Not to mention, the fact that I'd be staying close to where I've grown up is also a huge huge factor. I'll keep my fingers crossed for Drexel. Thank you!

 

[TheCruelOne]

Sorry for bumping up my thread again, but if anyone who's been waitlisted at Drexel in previous cycles could offer some input, that'd be great. After checking Drexel's website, they say they accept updated transcripts, new letters of recommendation, updates on activities and/or letters of interest. I certainly want to send a letter of interest, but I also have a new letter of recommendation I can send and an update to my activities. Should I send the LOR and activity update intermittently as updates of their own? Or should I just wait closer to waitlist movement and send my letter of interest, LOR, and activity update kind of all together? I don't want to harass them by sending too many updates, but I'm wondering whether that may be a better method than just sending one huge update. Or maybe it doesn't really matter at all and I'm reading way too much into this.

 

[KungFuPanda123]

Eh, I used to believe that updating a school too frequently may appear as "desperation," but I think it shows dedication more than anything (and a strong interest in that particular school). Just send things as they come up.