A medical school letter of intent (medical school LOI) is a letter that medical school applicants write to an admissions committee that explains that the medical school is their top choice AND they have the intention to matriculate if accepted. A letter of intent to a medical school can help students get off a waitlist.
The main difference between a med school letter of intent and a med school letter of interest is that a letter of interest states that you are “interested” in the medical school, BUT, that medical school is not currently you top choice. You may still get off waitlists if you send a medical Read more details about medical school update letters and medical school letters of interest in our other popular blog post!
Given that you will have one chance of sending a letter of intent to a medical school, it is important that your LOI is extremely strong and convincing. We’re going to help you write a strong medical school letter of intent, and if you need us to edit your letter, contact us.
The purpose of the medical school letter of intent is to persuade the medical school admissions committee that you are a great fit for the medical school. And, if they accept you, you will accept the admissions offer and contribute to the medical school. Timing is extremely important with sending a medical school letter of intent.
If you are waitlisted to your top choice school, you can send a letter of intent when you are waitlisted to a medical school and you are absolutely certain you will matriculate if you get accepted off the waitlist.
If you have interviewed but have not heard back from your top choice medical school, you can send a letter of intent within 1-2 weeks after your interview.
But, let’s say that it is the beginning or middle of the interview season and you are not yet sure that a medical school is your top choice… If you would still like to wait on other medical schools’ interview invites and admissions offers, then you should wait to send your med school letter of intent. Remember, your letter of intent has to convince the admissions committee that you will definitely matriculate and be happy at the medical school. So, if you have even a tiny bit of doubt that you may choose another school, then you should write a medical school update letter or medical school letter of interest instead. Those letters can still help you get accepted!
Q: What happens after I send the admissions office my letter of intent to the medical school?
The Admissions Office will include your letter of intent medical school your application file. Then, admissions officers can look at it and use the LOI when re-evaluating your application.
Q: I just finished interview day at my top choice medical school. Should I send a letter of intent right away?
Yes, you can definitely send a letter of intent to your top choice school as soon as you interview there. But, make sure that your letter of intent is strong and specific! Read how to make your LOI specific above. Additionally, IF you are waitlist, you need to be able to send another strong letter of intent in the future. Our Cracking Med School Admissions team advises students to wait until a decision comes, and then to write a Letter of Intent. The one exception to this is if during your interview day, the admissions officers specifically say they encourage students to write “continued interest” and “update letters.”
Q: Can I send a letter of intent before the waitlist decision?
Yes, you can send a letter of intent to a medical school post-interview and before you find out the decision. Similar to the question above, we typically tell students to wait until a decision comes. You do not want to annoy admissions officers.
Q: I already sent an update letter a couple of months ago. Can I send a letter of intent?
Yes you can. If you have additional updates since your previous medical school letter of interest or medical school update letter, then you can add additional updates to this medical school letter of intent. Read below – How to write a letter of intent for medical school.
Q: How long post-interview can I send letter of intents to medical schools?
There is no “late date” for sending a post-interview LOI. As we suggest above, you should send an LOI once a school if your top choice and you will matriculate there if you are accepted.
First, medical schools want to accept students who are excited to come to medical school. Sharing your interest about the medical school will make admissions committees excited that they are accepting eager students who will take advantage of the medical school’s resources.
Second, medical schools want to admit the strongest students possible based on the medical school applications they receive in an application cycle. You can provide the medical school with meaningful updates to your application that are not included in your primary application or secondary application. Examples of strong updates include recent publications and national / international awards. You can read more about medical school update letters here. Therefore, if you provide strong updates to your application along with reasons why you want to go to the medical school, that may make the admission committee accept you off the waitlist.
Additionally, some medical schools play the “ranking” game (much to our dismay), and they want to make sure that students they accept will matriculate to improve its yield rate (# of students matriculated / # of students accepted). Therefore, writing a medical school letter of intent will confirm to the admissions committee that you will attend if accepted. Some medical school admissions committees have a high priority wait list, and a letter of intent can be all that the school needs before giving you an acceptance!
A good way to think about a medical school letter of intent is that a medical school letter of intent is similar to a persuasive essay. Therefore, a medical school letter of intent should provide specific reasons as to a) why you will be a GREAT fit and b) how you will benefit from a medical education there.
This section of the letter of intent is similar to a medical school letter of interest. As we stated in how to write a convincing letter of interest post, you have to give SPECIFIC reasons of why you want to go to the medical school. Furthermore, it’s important to convey HOW these opportunities will help you in your career.
A medical school letter of intent should include:
A medical school letter of intent may also include:
Your letter of intent medical school format should be a formal letter.
We often get requests from applicants about how to write an update letter for medical school. You can download a template of a medical school letter of interest and medical school letter of intent here. Our Cracking Med School Admissions team can help you with edits!
KEY TIP: Before you send letter of intent medical school, do your homework.
Some medical schools explicitly note that they do not want medical school update letters, medical school letters of interest, or medical school letters of intent. If that is the case, DO NOT send them letters of intent or any additional materials. These policies are pretty strict, and rather than viewing your letter as the exception, the committee might perceive it in a negative light.
Are you on the medical school admissions wait list of waiting for an interview?