Letters of interest (LOI) – or what some applicants jokingly call “love letters” – can be used in several types of situations:

1) Residency and medical school applicants who want to make an impression post-interview before decisions are made about their candidacies.
2) Medical school and residency applicants who have not yet been invited to interview.
3) Medical school applicants who have been waitlisted.

When writing your letters of interest, you should have the following goals:

1) Restating your strong enthusiasm for the institution
2) Positioning yourself as a distinctive candidate who can contribute fully to the institution

Errors to avoid in LOIs are:

1) Don’t include generic content about a specific institution’s advantages. There is no reason to spend a paragraph or more telling a PD or medical school admissions member what makes his/her institution special. (“Your faculty is strong and your trainees are collegial” or “You are a world-renowned institution.”) Using your precious space this way is an opportunity cost, keeping you from fully showcasing what makes you a compelling applicant. Having said that, it is very reasonable to link a particular interest of yours with a specific opportunity at an institution. For example if you have done cancer research, make sure to mention how you will contribute to the renowned oncology program the institution is associated with.

2) Don’t write about how the program or school will help you. (“I know your residency will make me into a great doctor.”) The focus should, instead, be on how you will be a contributor to their institution. For example, you can detail how a specific leadership experience of yours has given you the skills to make you a future leader at this institution. (It’s the “What have you done for me lately?” Janet Jackson principle.)

Finally, let me say that I find the term “letter of interest” to be better than “letter of intent” because, generally, I don’t recommend you let institutions know what your intent is (since it might change). Note that with a letter of interest you can create one general letter that you modify and send to different institutions with different goals (i.e. requesting an interview or demonstrating your interest post-interview). You can also modify the letter and send it to your top choices because, if you are not making commitments, then you can honestly use it for multiple institutions. 

For those of you interested in LOI assistance for medical school or residency applicants, please contact me.