Letter of intent

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
I'm curious why people think shorter is better. All of my thank-you's were at least a page long with specific points about of what I liked about their program. I only sent four thank-you's though to programs I really liked. It seems crazy to send 15 generic thank-you letters (is this what people do?) I think my method worked because I got back two really nice replies, one standard reply and one no reply. I think if you really want to go somewhere it helps to tell a story about why you're a good fit.
 
Naijaba said:
I'm curious why people think shorter is better. All of my thank-you's were at least a page long with specific points about of what I liked about their program. I only sent four thank-you's though to programs I really liked. It seems crazy to send 15 generic thank-you letters (is this what people do?) I think my method worked because I got back two really nice replies, one standard reply and one no reply. I think if you really want to go somewhere it helps to tell a story about why you're a good fit.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I tend to lean on your side and flesh out my reasons a bit. Haha but wasn't sure if that would be too annoying for people to read.
 
Naijaba said:
I'm curious why people think shorter is better. All of my thank-you's were at least a page long with specific points about of what I liked about their program. I only sent four thank-you's though to programs I really liked. It seems crazy to send 15 generic thank-you letters (is this what people do?) I think my method worked because I got back two really nice replies, one standard reply and one no reply. I think if you really want to go somewhere it helps to tell a story about why you're a good fit.
Click to expand...

"at least a page long"?

CanyonTree said:
Yeah, I tend to lean on your side and flesh out my reasons a bit. Haha but wasn't sure if that would be too annoying for people to read.
Click to expand...

"too annoying for people to read"

I hope you two are putting an "impression" at the end of this long report. This is radiology for crying out loud
 
I dunno. I was talking to my PD the other day and she said she is getting bombarded by emails right now. I tend to think that she would not be happy reading a page + email.
 
Naijaba said:
I'm curious why people think shorter is better.
Click to expand...
These folks are pretty busy. Seeing a full page can be discouraging and the likelihood that it will be read rather than glanced at is low. A few sentences however will likely be read. If they are concise and well written, you are more likely to get your point across rather than going on and on about why you liked the program...
My opinion, in no way absolute truth.
 
One page is too long. Nobody has the time to read that, especially an attending physician. It may backfire (they might think you are out of touch and self absorbed).
 
Lots of people against long letters. If anyone's curious about what I wrote and the responses I received, PM me. The program directors definitely read my letters.
 
program coordinators may read the whole thing but guarantee PD's are skimming at best. show them love but get to the point. add in specific reasons why to show them you really walked away with a genuine impression but a page is too long to do this. i'd argue that it may be overkill and viewed as such by the wrong people. if feedback is saying otherwise, they're probably being nice.
 
Naijaba said:
I'm curious why people think shorter is better. All of my thank-you's were at least a page long with specific points about of what I liked about their program. I only sent four thank-you's though to programs I really liked. It seems crazy to send 15 generic thank-you letters (is this what people do?) I think my method worked because I got back two really nice replies, one standard reply and one no reply. I think if you really want to go somewhere it helps to tell a story about why you're a good fit.
Click to expand...

Dude do you have a life? Shorter is better because I actually want to spend my time on fun stuff not sucking up and writing a novel to a pd about why I like their program. If I was a pd I wouldn't read a page.

It's not hard. " Dr xyz, I'm ranking you 1. I think I'd be a good fit because xyz. I'm impressed by your curriculum because xyz. I enjoyed meeting your residents and felt I connected well with them xyz. I think xyz city has a lot to offer. Thanks for opportunity, signed neurotic med student "
 
One page or longer? Sounds more like a manifesto than it does an endearing love letter. You can squeeze in why you want to go to a program in 140 characters or less if you really wanted to.
 
PL198 said:
Dude do you have a life? Shorter is better because I actually want to spend my time on fun stuff not sucking up and writing a novel to a pd about why I like their program. If I was a pd I wouldn't read a page.

It's not hard. " Dr xyz, I'm ranking you 1. I think I'd be a good fit because xyz. I'm impressed by your curriculum because xyz. I enjoyed meeting your residents and felt I connected well with them xyz. I think xyz city has a lot to offer. Thanks for opportunity, signed neurotic med student "
Click to expand...

Wow dude chill out. I dont think sending a detailed letter to a program you really like has any correlation with whether you "have a life " or not. This is an extremely important process that dictates your career going forward. There is no clear cut way to go about this. No need to be so presumptous just because someone is writing longer letters than you
 
CapnJazz said:
Wow dude chill out. I dont think sending a detailed letter to a program you really like has any correlation with whether you "have a life " or not. This is an extremely important process that dictates your career going forward. There is no clear cut way to go about this. No need to be so presumptous just because someone is writing longer letters than you
Click to expand...

Agreed, there is not a clear cut way about this. However if I was a PD a 1 pg letter would harm the candidate more than it would help. Similar to a personal statement IMO. Trying to dazzle someone is more likely to hurt you than it is to help you. By telling someone they are your #1, that is making a significant statement of interest in itself. Going beyond that is more of a risk IMO and additionally just spends more of your time that you could be spent enjoying 4th year. My initial post is brash but it's brutal honesty. Sugar coat it but the overall meaning is the same.
 
CapnJazz said:
Wow dude chill out. I dont think sending a detailed letter to a program you really like has any correlation to whether you "have a life " or not. This is an extremely important process that dictates your career going forward. There is no clear cut way to go about this. No need to be so presumptous just because someone is writing longer letters than you
Click to expand...
PL198 said:
Agreed, there is not a clear cut way about this. However if I was a PD a 1 pg letter would harm the candidate more than it would help. Similar to a personal statement IMO. Trying to dazzle someone is more likely to hurt you than it is to help you. By telling someone they are your #1, that is making a significant statement of interest in itself. Going beyond that is more of a risk IMO and additionally just spends more of your time that you could be spent enjoying 4th year. My initial post is brash but it's brutal honesty. Sugar coat it but the overall meaning is the same.
Click to expand...

With what authority are you speaking? Im assuming you are an applicant just like everyone else and are similarly clueless to the process. The fact is no one knows how people will respond to letters. Furthermore, if a long letter gets you placed lower on the list than you would have been otherwise, then you have to ask yourself whether you would want to be at that program to begin with.
 
CapnJazz said:
With what authority are you speaking? Im assuming you are an applicant just like everyone else and are similarly clueless to the process. The fact is no one knows how people will respond to letters. Furthermore, if a long letter gets you placed lower on the list than you would have been otherwise, then you have to ask yourself whether you would want to be at that program to begin with.
Click to expand...

read the thread. the consensus is clear
 
A 1-page love letter is a huge red flag. The most important factor an interviewer is trying to discern is, "Could I survive an 8-hour day in the reading room with this clown?" Writing a thesis detailing in point-by-point fashion why you'd be a potential fit at a program just screams neuroticism. "Hey, I loved it here and am ranking it #1 because of xyz" is more than enough.
 
I wrote a longer letter for programs that interviewed me in October. I figured the last time they interacted with me was 4 months ago and they have to sort through and rank >100 interviewees. After so many interviews, I'm sure our applications and faces look the same to the selection committee members. A very brief refresher of your strengths might help your rank placement.

I wouldn't write a page-long email though. Keep the writing tight and less than 200 words. If the letter/email is too short or curt, you risk coming off uninterested, insincere, or dry. However, you definitely DON'T want to be rambling from paragraph to paragraph. Find what's comfortable for you, then write it, proof read it, send it off, and then forget about it.
 
Chiming in to agree with the consensus.

I already have your personal statement. A few lines of real content is all that's needed and getting too cute can backfire. Anything that's too longwinded starts to smell of narcissism.
 
CapnJazz said:
The fact is no one knows how people will respond to letters.
Click to expand...

I wrote long letters, here are my responses (just the first sentences):

"Thanks so much for your kind note..."
"Thanks for your nice letter..."
"Thank you for your thoughtful reflection of your experience..."
"Thank you for your email and for your kind words regarding our DR and IR training programs..."

I don't think any program thinks less of you for writing more.
 
Wow. Congrats on the feedback. How many letters did you write? i only got a response back from one program, but then again I only wrote three letters.
 
Naijaba said:
I wrote long letters, here are my responses (just the first sentences):

"Thanks so much for your kind note..."
"Thanks for your nice letter..."
"Thank you for your thoughtful reflection of your experience..."
"Thank you for your email and for your kind words regarding our DR and IR training programs..."

I don't think any program thinks less of you for writing more.
Click to expand...
you can do whatever you want. but there's several on this post that are at multiple stages/years ahead of you that are providing contrarian opinions/advice and are just trying to help. to each their own.
 
Are you guys only sending a letter to your #1?
Or are you sending multiple love letters to programs that you will rank highly, without using the #1 terminology?
 
MrRads said:
Are you guys only sending a letter to your #1?
Or are you sending multiple love letters to programs that you will rank highly, without using the #1 terminology?
Click to expand...

I only sent to my #1 and it was exactly 4 sentences long. IMO sending a handful of e-mails out to effectively tell programs that they aren't your #1 choice could ultimately do more harm than good.

FWIW, I also sent a 3-4 sentence long e-mail to my #1 TY choice and got a RTM e-mail today. I know n=1 but I think it shows that you don't need to write a novel to tell a program that you love them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top