Opinions on sending a Letter of Interest

[aspiringPAstudent94]

Hello everyone, 

I have not heard of LOI's  until recently and would like to ask for your opinion of sending one to PA schools. A Letter of Interest is expressing your genuine interest in a program perhaps before getting an interview (this is my understanding please correct me if I am wrong), and a Letter of Intent is a letter expressing that if you are offered a spot the program is your top choice and you would definitely accept. A Letter of Intent is usually sent after you interview, or while you are put on the waitlist. 

Is it bad practice to send a Letter of Interest to a school who has already started interviewing candidates but has not contacted you? Please let me know your thoughts. I do not want to ruin my chances by being "annoying", but would love to reach out. Thank you for your time

[DomRRTtoPA]

It wont help. Sorry to be blunt, but the chances of anything but a cursory glance are very low due to the volume of applications programs receive. Distinguish yourself in your application and the schools you apply to will take notice. Schools are trying to get to know candidates during the process, if you send the letter you risk coming across as overreaching and it could actually hurt your chances. Good luck!

[aspiringPAstudent94]

15 hours ago, DomRRTtoPA said:

It wont help. Sorry to be blunt, but the chances of anything but a cursory glance are very low due to the volume of applications programs receive. Distinguish yourself in your application and the schools you apply to will take notice. Schools are trying to get to know candidates during the process, if you send the letter you risk coming across as overreaching and it could actually hurt your chances. Good luck!

Thank you Dom I private messaged you with more info! Does anyone else have any insight on this?

[TheFatMan]

I don't see it helping, unfortunately. Like what was said above, you have the same opportunities as everyone else to show you're the right candidate... I'm not sure what you could say in a letter that would make your application look better unless it included updates, in which case a letter wouldn't be necessary. Best of luck.

[Christine616]

As annoying as it is, my advice is just to wait. I don't know if it would be called a letter of interest but this was only because earlier this month I was in a bind as I had gotten accepted to a school that started in January 4th but had a host of interviews. 

One school stated that I was being considered for the next round of interviews and so I emailed them to let them know of my situation (and to clarify my volunteer hours because I knew volunteering was very important to this school). They said they understood but they couldn't really do anything. They then provided me a status update 2 weeks ago saying I was waitlisted after the second round of interview invites so I don't know if that email hurt my chances or not. 

Second school I interviewed with them in early December but they told us they wouldn't get back to us until the new year so I emailed them the courtesy thank you email and then mentioned my situation. Again they stated something similar saying they understood but that all I had to do was wait. 

Basically you can try but most likely (if they respond at all) would be that they understand the frustration but they can't update your on your status and you will never know if it hurts your chances. Luckily in my case one of the other schools I interviewed with in early December accepted me and I now start that school in June.