Writing LOI to Weill

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mangoes23

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Hi everyone,

So this cycle has definitely been a roller coaster, and I first want to make it clear that I'm very grateful to have received acceptances to some great schools. However, I was really hoping to have received an A to Weill Cornell and it is currently my first choice, but I was waitlisted a few days ago and wanted to gather some thoughts on how (and if I should at all) I should go about sending a letter of intent. For some background, I'm an in-state applicant, URM, LM ~78 (both GPA and MCAT are slightly above the past class medians). I have also received an A to UCSF, and it has been my understanding that a letter of intent typically will hold more value if I hold an acceptance to a more "prestigious" school (most people I've talked with seem to agree UCSF is objectively seen to carry more weight than Cornell). That said, I know that Cornell is already a t10 school, so I wanted to ask if you guys think I should try to "name-drop" UCSF in my LOI so that I don't appear as desperate (even though I kind of am lol), or if Cornell might almost take it as an offense when both schools are already fairly at the top. I also mentioned my stats because I wonder if perhaps I can just let them speak on their own (even though there are certainly applicants with better stats on the waitlist), or if I should mention my current A to UCSF.

Finally, I know that typically applicants will also try to mention some updates in their LOIs, however my gap year has been fairly casual and I've just been continuing my previous activities with some additional stuff that includes: new part-time teaching jobs, two published abstracts, and my previous lab just submitted a manuscript. Do you guys think there is any worth to mentioning these, or should I stick to why I think I'm a good fit and my own personal reasons as to why I want to go to Cornell.

Once again, thank you guys for any help and I hope I don't come off as ungrateful for my cycle, it's just that I have family that I'm very close to and toddler siblings that I really hope to stay close to in medical school, and everything I've heard and seen about Cornell is just great.
 
Frankly, they know your family's address and they might even realize that you have toddler siblings (if you put that in your application as the ages of your siblings). They may have enough NYC students and aren't really interested in adding one more. Would you be willing to pay list price to attend Cornell?

As I've said before, telling a school that you have an offer from a great school will make them feel better that you are landing on your feet if they don't make room for you there. Don't give them that reassurance. I'd also think twice about making a school your first choice without knowing if they will offer ANY scholarships.
 
Hi everyone,

So this cycle has definitely been a roller coaster, and I first want to make it clear that I'm very grateful to have received acceptances to some great schools. However, I was really hoping to have received an A to Weill Cornell and it is currently my first choice, but I was waitlisted a few days ago and wanted to gather some thoughts on how (and if I should at all) I should go about sending a letter of intent. For some background, I'm an in-state applicant, URM, LM ~78 (both GPA and MCAT are slightly above the past class medians). I have also received an A to UCSF, and it has been my understanding that a letter of intent typically will hold more value if I hold an acceptance to a more "prestigious" school (most people I've talked with seem to agree UCSF is objectively seen to carry more weight than Cornell). That said, I know that Cornell is already a t10 school, so I wanted to ask if you guys think I should try to "name-drop" UCSF in my LOI so that I don't appear as desperate (even though I kind of am lol), or if Cornell might almost take it as an offense when both schools are already fairly at the top. I also mentioned my stats because I wonder if perhaps I can just let them speak on their own (even though there are certainly applicants with better stats on the waitlist), or if I should mention my current A to UCSF.

Finally, I know that typically applicants will also try to mention some updates in their LOIs, however my gap year has been fairly casual and I've just been continuing my previous activities with some additional stuff that includes: new part-time teaching jobs, two published abstracts, and my previous lab just submitted a manuscript. Do you guys think there is any worth to mentioning these, or should I stick to why I think I'm a good fit and my own personal reasons as to why I want to go to Cornell.

Once again, thank you guys for any help and I hope I don't come off as ungrateful for my cycle, it's just that I have family that I'm very close to and toddler siblings that I really hope to stay close to in medical school, and everything I've heard and seen about Cornell is just great.
They're more likely to say "good luck and have fun at UCSF"
 
At last check, Cornell is still a private institution, so it has no obligation to admit based on state residency, even though they should have some consideration for it. We know where your parents live (if you gave them this information). Trust the process; UCSF is a fantastic school, and it's a "top 10" school to me (on the research side and for being a "public" school).
 
At last check, Cornell is still a private institution, so it has no obligation to admit based on state residency, even though they should have some consideration for it. We know where your parents live (if you gave them this information). Trust the process; UCSF is a fantastic school, and it's a "top 10" school to me (on the research side and for being a "public" school).
Absolutely correct and they may want to have "geographic diversity" rather than selecting only students from the Tri-State area which they could easily do given the population density of the area within 100 miles of East 69th St.
 
Frankly, they know your family's address and they might even realize that you have toddler siblings (if you put that in your application as the ages of your siblings). They may have enough NYC students and aren't really interested in adding one more. Would you be willing to pay list price to attend Cornell?

As I've said before, telling a school that you have an offer from a great school will make them feel better that you are landing on your feet if they don't make room for you there. Don't give them that reassurance. I'd also think twice about making a school your first choice without knowing if they will offer ANY scholarships.
Thank you everyone for the responses. Given my financial situation and Cornell going debt-free (as well as many other people's experiences with cornell and aid), I'm very confident that they would give me aid that would fully if not nearly cover all of tuition, and at the very least that's a risk that I'm very comfortale taking.
 
They're more likely to say "good luck and have fun at UCSF"
See this is what I was afraid of. I've seen conflicting information though when writing an LOI, and it seems like sometimes without a more prestigious acceptance (based on rankings and how everyone looks at UCSF), you don't have "cards to play" so to speak (although I understand that an LOI is already a long shot and might not sway tides). Do you think there's no argument to be made to mention UCSF, especially considering that Cornell is already a t10 (perhaps it would be a different case if it were a state school)? I guess I worry that I might come off as someone who just wants to be accepted into a medical school and is desperate for anything, but do you think my best bet would be to try to let my current stats + application speak for itself in the LOI?
 
At last check, Cornell is still a private institution, so it has no obligation to admit based on state residency, even though they should have some consideration for it. We know where your parents live (if you gave them this information). Trust the process; UCSF is a fantastic school, and it's a "top 10" school to me (on the research side and for being a "public" school).
Yeah, my angle was more just trying to bring up my own personal ties to the school and location. I know they try to accept a similar portion of IS and OOS applicants relative to # of applications, so I know I can't really benefit from in-state bias. It was more just me trying to explain the stakes I have in staying in NY and attending Cornell and hoping that they agree.

My ultimate goal is to make sure I did everything I could to sway the odds in my favor, even if it is minor or next to negligible. I of course also don't want to hurt my chances so if mentioning UCSF will do that I can leave that out. Ik there are conflicting opinions on LOI but I suppose the way I see it (although ofc I recognize I'm ignorant to the whole process), a school like Cornell relative other T10s will have better WL movement because of its lower yield, so perhaps a LOI will hold slightly more weight. I would hope having slightly higher median stats could also help me but I know that it's not just gonna come down to slightly above average stats. I'm open to hearing people's thoughts. If at the end of the day you guys think it will have a neutral effect then at least for my own peace of mind I would like to know I did everything I could.
 
Yeah, my angle was more just trying to bring up my own personal ties to the school and location. I know they try to accept a similar portion of IS and OOS applicants relative to # of applications, so I know I can't really benefit from in-state bias. It was more just me trying to explain the stakes I have in staying in NY and attending Cornell and hoping that they agree.

My ultimate goal is to make sure I did everything I could to sway the odds in my favor, even if it is minor or next to negligible. I of course also don't want to hurt my chances so if mentioning UCSF will do that I can leave that out. Ik there are conflicting opinions on LOI but I suppose the way I see it (although ofc I recognize I'm ignorant to the whole process), a school like Cornell relative other T10s will have better WL movement because of its lower yield, so perhaps a LOI will hold slightly more weight. I would hope having slightly higher median stats could also help me but I know that it's not just gonna come down to slightly above average stats. I'm open to hearing people's thoughts. If at the end of the day you guys think it will have a neutral effect then at least for my own peace of mind I would like to know I did everything I could.
You know your situation better when it comes to caregiving for family members. You can disclose that, and we'll see if something happens. I don't know what other evidence you have to persuade them. I'm sure there are dozens of others trying to figure out a persuasive argument off the waiting list too.
 
See this is what I was afraid of. I've seen conflicting information though when writing an LOI, and it seems like sometimes without a more prestigious acceptance (based on rankings and how everyone looks at UCSF), you don't have "cards to play" so to speak (although I understand that an LOI is already a long shot and might not sway tides). Do you think there's no argument to be made to mention UCSF, especially considering that Cornell is already a t10 (perhaps it would be a different case if it were a state school)? I guess I worry that I might come off as someone who just wants to be accepted into a medical school and is desperate for anything, but do you think my best bet would be to try to let my current stats + application speak for itself in the LOI?
Does Cornell even accept updates and LOIs?????
 
Does Cornell even accept updates and LOIs?????
Yeah that much I know for sure, they told us so in the waitlist email as well. That's not to say the won't look at my letter and toss it but at least according to them they do.
 
Hi everyone,

So this cycle has definitely been a roller coaster, and I first want to make it clear that I'm very grateful to have received acceptances to some great schools. However, I was really hoping to have received an A to Weill Cornell and it is currently my first choice, but I was waitlisted a few days ago and wanted to gather some thoughts on how (and if I should at all) I should go about sending a letter of intent. For some background, I'm an in-state applicant, URM, LM ~78 (both GPA and MCAT are slightly above the past class medians). I have also received an A to UCSF, and it has been my understanding that a letter of intent typically will hold more value if I hold an acceptance to a more "prestigious" school (most people I've talked with seem to agree UCSF is objectively seen to carry more weight than Cornell). That said, I know that Cornell is already a t10 school, so I wanted to ask if you guys think I should try to "name-drop" UCSF in my LOI so that I don't appear as desperate (even though I kind of am lol), or if Cornell might almost take it as an offense when both schools are already fairly at the top. I also mentioned my stats because I wonder if perhaps I can just let them speak on their own (even though there are certainly applicants with better stats on the waitlist), or if I should mention my current A to UCSF.

Finally, I know that typically applicants will also try to mention some updates in their LOIs, however my gap year has been fairly casual and I've just been continuing my previous activities with some additional stuff that includes: new part-time teaching jobs, two published abstracts, and my previous lab just submitted a manuscript. Do you guys think there is any worth to mentioning these, or should I stick to why I think I'm a good fit and my own personal reasons as to why I want to go to Cornell.

Once again, thank you guys for any help and I hope I don't come off as ungrateful for my cycle, it's just that I have family that I'm very close to and toddler siblings that I really hope to stay close to in medical school, and everything I've heard and seen about Cornell is just great.
The best thing you can do is send a letter that really describes why you are interested SPECIFICALLY in their program and that you WILL matriculate if you are moved off the waitlist. The thing with T10 schools is that they KNOW other T10 institutions have accepted/interviewed you and are considering your candidacy. This is why it is often so difficult to get into a SPECIFIC T10 school, they are all competing for the same cohort of students and it is very difficult to know precisely why they chose one student over another at the final stages of the decision making process. For this reason, the advice within the thread is to not disclose which institutions you have been accepted to, but rather to describe your commitment to Cornell and why you will matriculate.
 
Do keep in mind, too, that these schools that are all vying for the same small pool of very talented candidates are by necessity making 2-3 times as many offers as they have seats. If you are waitlisted, there is a huge number of people (100-200, maybe even more) who need to say "no" before they take even one applicant from the waitlist. Shoot your shot if you must but don't be surprised if it doesn't yield the result you wish.
 
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