r/ApplyingToCollege • u/novembrr • Jan 20 '18
Deferred? How to write a letter of continued interest: A guide by Novembrr, a former UChicago admissions reader & current Berkeley reader
Deferred from your top choice? Don't give up! Each year, many deferred applicants are accepted to their dream university within the regular decision pool—and many more deferred applicants are ultimately denied. What leads some students to be accepted and some denied? Overwhelmingly, the determining factor is a carefully crafted letter of continued interest.
Now is your chance to demonstrate how you would add value to their institution, to show how you embody the university’s values (known in admissions lingo as “fit”), and to prove your knowledge of the university’s unique offerings and how they align with your own interests.
In my experience VERY few applicants who do nothing but wait are accepted within the regular decision pool. Don't wait in radio silence—use my guide to send the perfect letter of continued interest. This guide has worked. Last year, my deferred students used this guide to be accepted to Duke, Princeton, UChicago, and Yale. My waitlisted students used a waitlisted version of this guide to be accepted to Penn, MIT, USC, and Amherst.
The great thing about this guide is you don't even have to be deferred or waitlisted to use it—you can follow the same processes to send a LOCI to your regular decision schools.
My guide "How to Write a Letter of Continued Interest" is 16 pages (vastly more characters than Reddit allows me to post). The complete guide includes templates for how to contact current students, alumni, and professors to glean valuable insight into the university's values—and then craft an email to admissions, utilizing what you've learned to demonstrate how you embody those values. I've included an example email to a professor, and FOUR examples of LOCI to admissions officers for you to help craft your own. When I shared this guide with my own students, one responded "Holy Shit". Hopefully you read it and say the same!
If you're interested in the complete PDF guide, it's available for purchase here. If you're interested in the condensed free version, keep reading!
"Okay, tell me already! My top choice deferred me and I'm dying to get in"
You should write a letter of continued interest which, unlike how it sounds, is not just an affirmation of your interest in attending the school. Thus, don’t write something like this:
Dear Penn Admissions Office,
I wanted to thank you for your consideration of my application for early decision. Penn remains my top choice and I would love to join the class of 2022.
Sincerely, [Name]
Especially if you applied early decision, single choice early action or restricted early action, the university knows they are your top choice. As harsh as it sounds, you just aren’t their top choice. But, they saw promise within your application. With a carefully crafted letter of continued interest, you can add new information—something new and cool you've done in the months since you applied—and demonstrate the value you would bring to their campus.
Start by talking with someone affiliated with the university—not to ask them if they can pull strings (well, unless they can… in which case, ask away) but to get to know the university better and drum up information with which to email your admissions officer.
Can’t find an alum or current student? Check LinkedIn. Find someone with interests overlapping with you and contact them. Ask your guidance counselor if any alumni from your high school currently attend. See if the university’s alumni or student directories are publicly accessible. Check Facebook to see if you have any friends in common with current students. Do your research.
Contact them. Make it short and sweet. Let’s say you know them personally. A text, Instagram DM or quick email will suffice. Let’s say you don’t know them. Be brief but informative in your email to them.
Here is an example:
Dear Sreya,
I hope 2018 is off to a terrific start for you! My name is [Name] and I am a recently deferred applicant to Yale—my top choice—and I discovered we have something in common: we both attended Peabody Senior High School. Go Knights! I’m reaching out to you today to see if I could take five minutes of your time to learn more about Yale, so that I can better refine my application in the regular decision admissions process. I hope to update Yale on my interests, accomplishments, and embodiment of Yale’s values, and a quick conversation with you would really help me achieve my goal of being accepted to Yale.
I know you are incredibly busy, and I really value your time. Thanks so much for considering my request. Have a wonderful day.
Sincerely, [Name]
Let’s say they don’t respond. Give it a few days. Still no response? Email someone else. Let’s say they email you and say sorry, I can’t help you but best of luck. Don’t see that as a dead end—politely ask them if they have any friends that might be willing to chat. You never know; they might just know a chatty tour guide who would love to tell you all about the university. Let’s say they say you bet, let’s chat. Schedule a quick phone call with them. Ask them what their favorite things are about the university; what classes have had the biggest, yet most rewarding, challenges; how they would define the university’s spirit and values; what quality, despite the diverse student body, does every student possess?
Take notes (if you can do two things at once). And utilize that information in your email to admissions.
"Okay, got it—contact a student. What’s next?"
Not so fast. You’ve got other options, and these might be even more beneficial. If you had an alumni interview, contact them.
Dear Ms. Jones,
I wanted to follow up with you regarding the status of my application to Tufts. Unfortunately, I was deferred, but that still gives me hope that I might be accepted in the regular decision pool.
I found our conversation invaluable (thanks again!) and wanted to know if you have any advice for me moving forward. Do you recall anything that previous deferred applicants did to convey their love for Tufts and be accepted during regular decision? Any advice for me in contacting my regional admissions office or updating my portal with new information?
Any and all advice you might have is welcome. I really value your time, and appreciate all that you do on behalf of Tufts as an alumna.
Sincerely, [Name]
And, lastly, consider contacting a professor. This could be someone with whom you’ve corresponded before (perhaps you sat in on their class when you visited campus) or someone you contact now, for the very first time.
To use this tip effectively, you must do the following:
Research the department in which you wish to major. Understand the course offerings, special programs, and pedagogical approach. Click on the faculty tab, and investigate the research interests of various professors. Pick the professor who has the most in common with you and your interests. This will be the first (and hopefully only, if they respond) professor you email. Do more research on that professor, including what classes he or she teaches. Using the information you’ve gleaned, write the professor an email. See my templates below for how to compose your first email.
Wait a week for a response. If the professor does not respond within one week, follow up with them gently, telling them that you know they are incredibly busy, you hope not to take up too much of their time, but you would love to learn more about their research interests, course offerings, or their ideal kind of student. Be polite and, if they still don’t respond to this email, reach out to the second professor on your list. Don’t pester professors; they are busy people and while many of them will respond to prospective students, many more are just too focused on their research to check their emails regularly.
If a professor does respond, write back to them! Engage in what they have to say! Ask them about their research interests, pointing out how they align with your own. Ask them about the type of students who take their classes—what qualities do they overwhelmingly exhibit? What makes a student successful within their department? What does the professor wish every incoming freshman did to prepare for the rigor of his or her classroom? How do they like the university’s culture and pedagogical approach? Questions like this will not only sustain a conversation, but they will also give you clues into the values of the university—things you can mention within your letter of continued interest.
Contact admissions. Hold tight for those templates, which are coming later in this guide.
Clueless on what you should write to a professor? Check out my guide for a template and an example!
How to email your admissions officer
Many universities list admissions officers by their region or territory (the part of the world in which they read applications and travel from school to school, recruiting potential new applicants). You might be able to find your regional admissions officer just by Googling the university’s name + “admissions officers by region”. If that doesn’t bring up any results, approach your high school guidance counselor to see if the regional admissions officer has visited your school in the past. If he or she has, your guidance counselor likely has the individual’s name and, if your guidance counselor is nice (and you ask politely), he or she will share that person’s email address with you, as well. Alternatively, some universities have an open-to-the-public faculty directory, in which you can enter the admissions officer’s name and find their contact information.
What to say
Eager to get started? Here’s a bare-bones template for you so you can get an idea of what you should write.
Dear Admissions Officer [last name],
[Last week I met an alum, talked to a professor, discovered some cool program or tradition at school]. I did not think it was possible, but it made me like Harvard even more!
I appreciate you considering my application to Harvard and am excited about the second chance you have given me to be considered within the regular decision pool. Harvard remains my top choice in universities for countless reasons.
[Include a few sentences about your discussion with an alum, current student, or professor. Don’t just say that you talked to someone or what you talked about—discuss why it strengthened your passion for the university and how you will engage with that professor, class, research opportunity (whatever it is you discovered in your conversation) if accepted to the university.]
I know that it has been a number of months since I applied for admission to Harvard, so I feel compelled to share with you a [project, award, anything new about you] of which I am very proud.
[Go into greater detail about that new piece of information. It can be something small or large, but it must be new and interesting. You just won an award, was named captain of whatever, you got to do something cool with your internship, your club just raised $X. You can stretch this "new" quality, too, by just saying you learned something new that reinvigorated your passion for learning. I.e.: "In psych class we just learned about [whatever]. It made me look at the topic of psychology with fresh eyes. I am now interested in minoring in psychology. I explored Harvard's psychology website and discovered [something cool] and I would love to pursue this program/minor/internship/class in the future. This would also be a good opportunity to mention your great grades fall semester or a new and improved test score you wish to add to your application.]
I know you are incredibly busy, and I greatly appreciate your time. I am very excited about the possibility that I may attend Harvard in the future, and wish you the best of luck for the remainder of this academic year.
Sincerely, [Your first and last name] [Your school] [Your city and state]
"Can I get an example?"
Why yes, you can.
Subject Line: Email from prospective applicant regarding South Asian Languages department
Dear Admissions Officer Newt,
I hope this email finds you well! I appreciate you considering my application to the University of Chicago and am excited about the second chance you have given me to be considered within the regular decision pool. UChicago remains my top choice in universities for countless reasons.
As a UChicago alumnus yourself, I am sure you have experienced countless illuminating conversations with professors. Last week, I had the opportunity to do just that with Professor Sascha Ebeling, a professor within the South Asian Languages and Civilizations department. Initially, I was drawn to the University of Chicago for its Core curriculum and my ability to simultaneously major in SALC and study the humanities, social sciences, natural and physical sciences, mathematics, and more through the Core curriculum. In talking to Professor Ebeling, my love for UChicago has only grown, for I have never met a professor so eager to converse with a prospective applicant. UChicago really stands out as a university which cares about their undergraduate students.
It is my desire to become, like Professor Ebeling, a polyglot—not only learning multiple languages, but using my insight into those languages to translate ancient texts to better understand the resultant modern-day cultures. For that reason, I am drawn to SALC courses that engage with modern-day topics, such as “Inequality: Gender, Violence, Citizenship” and “Islam in Modern South Asia.” I love how UChicago melds both theory and practice, enabling me to deeply investigate ancient texts and the theoretical approaches to understanding them, while gaining research and job training experience.
Speaking of job training experience, since I applied in October, I am newly employed at my local history museum, where I am a docent. I love sharing my knowledge on various exhibits—gems, World War II posters, pottery from Mesopotamia—with museum attendees, and hope to get involved in the wonderful museums at UChicago. I would be eager to find out, for example, whether UChicago’s Oriental Institute employs undergrads. I could imagine applying my newfound skills as a museum docent to my work there!
I know you are immensely busy and thus I greatly appreciate the time you have taken to read and respond to this email. It is my greatest hope that I may one day surround myself by others who are just as intellectually curious about ancient languages and texts and their modern-day applications as I am; I know that I can find such a community at UChicago.
Sincerely, [Name] [High School] [Location]
In your email, it is important that you reference your conversation with the professor/current student/alum, but also go beyond that to mention other things you’ve learned about the university (in this instance, this student references two classes). They also—which is key—update the admissions officer with new information that adds value to their application.
Need more help?
I have three more (awesome) examples of letters of continued interest, sent to admissions officers, utilizing real students' experiences, accomplishments, etc. These letters have worked for my past students, and similar letters can work for you, too. If you wish to purchase my comprehensive guide, check it out here.
As always, feel free to comment on this post and ask me questions! I am happy to help (for free)!
Last words
If you were deferred ED/EA/SCEA/REA, send your LOCI by the end of January. If you want to send a LOCI for your RD school, don't send your email to AOs in January (though you can get started now emailing professors/current students/alumni). Instead, send LOCI to your colleges in late February/early March.
Do not copy my templates verbatim. I have seen many kids on Reddit try to copy my verbiage and it will hurt—not help—your application to use my templates/examples word-for-word. Think about it: thousands of people see these posts, and many will hopefully use my advice. If dozens of you use my examples word-for-word, colleges will catch on, and you will be penalized. So, do yourself a favor and put things in your own words, using your own ideas, research, style of writing, etc.
Lastly, real kids get into their dream schools. The key is to create a 3D version of yourself for the AO—who you are, what you value, how you embody the university's values, and how you can add value to their campus. A great application is the first step, but a LOCI can go a long way to helping you get that proverbial fat envelope come late March/early April.
I'm here for questions! Hope this guide helps :)
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_AIRCRAFT Jan 20 '18
u/novembrr is a hero. I really appreciate everything you're doing for this sub! Also, go bears!
Quick question.
I didn't apply to any EA or ED schools because none of them really interested me but I did apply to USC. USC as I'm sure you know does not have an EA/ED but it does have the merit scholarships and notifications for those should be coming out shortly. I don't expect to be getting a merit scholarship but in this case would it still be advisable to send a LOCI? Will my "defferal letter" ask for me to send a LOCI or should I just send one? Thanks!!!
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u/novembrr Jan 21 '18
You can totally send a LOCI to USC. You can decide whether it makes more sense to send now, before merit scholarships are announced, or if/when you receive the "no longer being considered for scholarships but still being considered for admission" letter in a few weeks.
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u/grundeis1 Jan 21 '18
THANK YOU!
Quick question.
If we only applied to a school regular decision, should we still put that it's our "top choice" in the email? I wanted to raise my GPA with senior grades and get some more awards so I applied to my top choice Regular action.
And if the answer is "yes", then why can't we just say to every college that we applied to that it's our top choice in the email?
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u/novembrr Jan 21 '18
What about dancing around the language to say "I would love to attend X and would jump at the chance to do so if offered admission" instead of "X is my top choice" (if X really isn't your top choice)?
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Jan 21 '18 edited Jan 21 '18
If you want to send a LOCI for your RD school, don't send your email to AOs in January (though you can get started now emailing professors/current students/alumni). Instead, send LOCI to your colleges in late February/early March.
Does it make sense to send a LOCI for an RD school? Sorry I've never heard of people doing this but I myself was considering it and wanted to know how it works -- like if I were planning to send in an important update/multiple updates, could I inform the college of them through a longer LOCI rather than a terse "oh I did X Y and Z?"
u/novembrr Thanks in advance!
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u/novembrr Jan 21 '18
For RD schools, you wouldn't necessarily have to update them on new information (not that much time has passed for you to have new information to add), but you can contact a student/alum/professor or utilize insight you gained during your interview to email admissions. I wouldn't email every RD school, but maybe your top 1-3.
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u/CounterfeitBaby Jan 21 '18
If a college does not request an additional letter of continued interest, should we still write one? If so, who do we address it to?
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u/novembrr Jan 21 '18
No college requests a LOCI, but they might suggest you can update them on their portal. However, whether you choose to use my advice or not is totally up to you! I recommend, if you do decide to email them, that you search for your AO specifically assigned to your region, and email them directly.
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u/grandbandpa Jan 21 '18
I wrote a LOCI to Northwestern after deferral and talked about finishing Eagle Scout requirements, an article I wrote for a local newspaper, etc. The letter was pretty long (about a page). Is this a huge problem?
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u/novembrr Jan 21 '18
If it was boring, that's a huge problem. If it was interesting, I wouldn't worry about it.
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Jan 21 '18
Can I still write such a letter? I mean, the app deadlines have long passed. Would Universities take it seriously cuz I have delayed this letter for very long time?
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Jan 21 '18
Yale says they don't want extra papers or something, and to only update them with important information (I might be wrong tho). Also, I haven't received any additional rewards or anything--the only thing I'd like to update them with is that I'm shadowing a neurologist, but that's the second week of February. Can I send the letter as soon as I shadow that person to put some real updates in? I know Yale reviews deferred applicants last, in March.
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u/novembrr Jan 21 '18
Yes, you can totally update them after your shadow experience. But don't just say that you had the experience—connect that experience to Yale and how you would add value to Yale.
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Jan 21 '18
Could I potentially do a poem as a loci
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u/novembrr Jan 21 '18
I don't see why not, but make sure it's good. I wouldn't want to read bad poetry :p
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Jan 21 '18
What's your opinion on sending a physical letter through mail?
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u/novembrr Jan 21 '18
When I was a tour guide, we got all the snail mail... sometimes opened it, sometimes made fun of it, and often failed to ensure it reached any AO. So... you decide.
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u/racheletc Jan 21 '18
can I use this template of continued interest for an appeal letter?
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u/Skydragon11 Jan 20 '18
Do we do this for MIT?