So you’ve been deferred or waitlisted from a school you had your heart set on. Take heart! There’s still something you can do: write a Letter of Continued Interest. Of all the application skills that are taught by guidance counselors and teachers, one of the most overlooked is the Letter of Continued Interest.
We’ve put together a complete and essential guide to letters of continued interest (LOCI) to answer your questions about what to include and what not to include in your letters, including examples of letters to inspire your own.
It’s the way to let a school know that you’re still looking at them as a major first choice, even though you’ve been waitlisted or deferred. And while it is generally written at a time when you have many negative emotions swirling at the hurt of initial rejection and uncertainty going forward, if written correctly it can be a polite and professional way to keep the school updated. Luckily, most of the skills you’ve built writing supplemental essays, personal statements, and thank-you notes to interviewers will all come in handy here. Think of a Letter of Continued Interest as sort of a cross between all of these things.
What is a Letter of Continued Interest?
A Letter of Continued Interest (or, if you’re Notre Dame, a “letter of desire”) is a formal letter to a school that serves as a reassurance that you still want to attend their school, despite being waitlisted or deferred. It’s a good way to remind the school that you still exist, you take initiative, and above all, you’re someone they will want to accept in the next round of admissions or take off the waitlist. Overall, these types of letters are a long shot. That’s important to know up front. But that’s inherent to the situation you now find yourself in, being deferred or waitlisted.
The only thing that a good Letter of Continued Interest can do is help. That is, as long as you don’t write an all-caps letter telling them they were wrong to waitlist or defer you. Just hit the important points, be polite, and end it fast. And, as the Harvard Law School Admissions Office notes, make sure to only include information that will help your candidacy—if your performance has fallen since applying, maybe hold off.
Another important question that comes with Letters of Continued Interest is when exactly to send them. We’d recommend sending them soon after you receive your deferral or waitlist decision. In the case of colleges, keep in mind the peak times that they’re going to be inundated with applications and letters, so if you’re responding to deferral from Early Action it can be a good idea to wait until early January.
What do Colleges Want to Know About Students Who are Waitlisted or Deferred?
Colleges are generally looking for updates on your academic performance, any extracurricular or athletic leadership positions or awards, and other information that might significantly change your applicant profile. If you won the science fair or became captain of your rugby team in the months since you submitted your application, now’s a good time to say so.
KEY TIP
Put yourself in your admissions officer’s shoes as you determine what is and isn’t worth mentioning: If you were an admissions officer receiving a letter of continued interest, what sorts of things would you want the applicant to tell you? Following this rule throughout the college process is important, and no less here. Admissions officers, like the rest of us, are subject to biases and snap judgments—it’s up to you to use those to your advantage.
What to Include and Avoid in Your Letter of Continued Interest
Who should I address my letter of continued interest to? What should I include in my letter of continued interest? What should I not include in my letter of continued interest?
These are common questions students have regarding letters of continued interest. Here is some guidance for you to follow as you write and address your letter of continued interest!
Top 3 THINGS
to include in your letter of continued interest
An Addressee
Address it to your regional admissions officer (if you don’t know who this is, ask) instead of the admissions office or the Dean of the college.
A Note of Gratitude
Thank them for taking the time to review your application! It’s important to be gracious, even though you did not receive the acceptance letter you hoped for.
Reasons why you still want to go to this school and why they should still want to accept you
Make sure that you reiterate what it is about this school that makes you write the Letter of Continued Interest. You don’t want to send the same letter to every college that waitlisted you — you want to describe why you’d be a good fit at the particular college you’re writing to. Because it’s a semi-formal part of the admissions process but not the kind of standard thing that everyone sends, it’s crucial to make it personal and unique.
Top 3 THINGS
to avoid adding to your letter of continued interest
Anything that’s not important or necessary for them to re-evaluate
Keep in mind that there’s not that much time, and that admissions officers are going to be swamped with other applications, especially if you applied early and have been deferred. So, you shouldn’t take this as an opportunity to re-write your supplemental essays or write 500 words on another topic. The general rules for what to include in college essays still apply here: don’t include anything inappropriate or overly informal, don’t take this as an opportunity to berate them for making the biggest mistake of their lives in not accepting you. Keep it brief and polite.
Additional letters of recommendation or additional essays
These are unnecessary and will hurt more than help, unless specifically requested by the admissions office. When in doubt, follow the advice of the Yale Admissions Blog, “We do not recommend that you send the admissions office piles of updates after a deferral. You should not try to re-do any parts of your application. You should not inundate your admissions officer with weekly emails and cards.” Goes without saying, you’d think, but often needs to be said.
Reproaches
There might also be a bit of a desire to talk about the aspects of your application that were good, which you can’t believe would earn a deferral or waitlist. This can’t be, you want to say, I got a 1600 on my SAT. Well, as Command Education’s founder Christopher Rim often says, the most elite schools could fill their freshman classes ten times over with people with perfect test scores. It’s about the other things, the less tangible things that might have slipped through the cracks the first time. They deferred or waitlisted you for a reason, your job isn’t to relitigate that, it’s to convince them that there’s more to you.
Outline of a Letter of Continued Interest
Think about your letter of continued interest as broken into four segments: your introduction, the college-specific portion, a personal update and a conclusion.
1
Introduction
Introduce yourself, thank the school for reviewing your application, and reiterate your interest in the college. If there are any specific interactions you’ve had with the regional admissions officer that you can mention to establish some sort of personal rapport, now’s the time to do it.
2
College-Specific Portion
Write about the reasons you have for wanting to attend the college, and why you’d be a good fit. Make sure, as with everything else, to be specific. Every school has a beautiful campus and a fun sports mascot (okay, maybe some schools don’t have the second one—looking at you, schools that have colors as mascots). Not every school has a cutting-edge cancer research department, or a world-class drama program. Find the thing that makes this school so important to you and emphasize it in the letter. After all, that’s why you’re sending it in the first place.
3
Personal Update
Briefly update them on what they need to know about any changes to your status or viability (if these exist—if not, forget it), or offer to provide them with additional information if they would like. This second part is important. They may want to clarify some piece of your essay or application in the future, and it can be good to keep that door open here. You should also mention those best-fit qualities between you and the school—not only what makes it a good school for you, but you a good student for them.
4
Conclusion
Thank them again and end the letter by wishing them well. You’ve made your point, so no need to belabor it. Sign your name, and tell them where they can reach you.
Example Letters of Continued Interest
To help you get started, here are some examples / samples of a composite letter of many letters we’ve seen: (Disclaimer: do not copy and paste this letter into an email. You’ve made it this far doing your own work—we hope—so you can use this as a guide but not a template.)
Dear Mr. Julou
My name is Sabrine Cross and I recently applied for admission to Emory University through the Regular Decision application cycle.
First, please accept my sincere thanks for considering my candidacy at your university. As a student with multiple interests and a passion for public health education, I know that Emory is the ideal school for me to lay an interdisciplinary foundation before I go on to pursue a graduate degree. I would be thrilled to have the opportunity to attend this coming fall.
Since I submitted my application, I have been recognized as a regional finalist by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation for my work leading Food for Thought, my non-profit which has brought a nutrition education program to over one hundred elementary schools in southern Indiana. I would look forward to continuing my work as a member of Emory’s Healthy Eating Partners organization on campus.
Outside of this work, I have recently completed my IB extended essay about the intersection of public health education and socioeconomic status. Writing the essay has allowed me to further refine my interests in public health and nutrition, and I would love to take advantage of the opportunities offered by Emory’s Human Health major, Predictive Health minor, and then by the joint Health Innovation concentration as a junior and senior. I would be particularly interested in joining Professor Rachel Hall-Clifford on her research concerning oral rehydration therapies in Guatemala for children younger than five years old.
I am confident that Emory’s opportunities and resources would afford me the unique opportunity to grow as both an individual and an intellectual. Thank you again for taking the time to review my application.
All the best,
Sabrine Cross
Dear Ms. Rose,
My name is Julia Ilin and I recently applied for early action admission to Yale University. Thank you so much for taking the time to consider my candidacy for Yale. As a prospective political science major fascinated by international relations, I am confident that Yale would be the perfect school for me to pursue my undergraduate studies.
Since submitting my application, I have ranked 3rd in the NYC District Qualifier for the 2022 National Debate Tournament, and will be attending Nationals this June. As founder of my organization, Debaters, I have devoted much of my time to teaching middle school students speech and debate practices. I trained nine of my high school’s Speech and Debate members in how to use the debate curriculum I developed to teach middle school students, and we welcomed sixty seventh graders to our 2nd Annual Christmas Debate this past December.
As a service-oriented, intellectually curious student, I have felt that Yale is unique among its peers, particularly for a student with the intention to study political science. I would be particularly keen to work with Professor Sarah Bush on her research concerning policing boundaries in human rights and democracy promotion. The research opportunities available for a student like me, who hopes to gain hands-on experience in the field, would allow me not only to learn from eminent professors within the field, but also to see the real-world applications of what I’m studying for myself.
Thank you again for your thoughtful and comprehensive consideration.
Best,
Julia Ilin
Looking for Help with Your Letter of Continued Interest?
Letter of Continued Interest Frequently Asked Questions
When are letters of continued interest due?
Letters of continued interest have no due date, but you should plan to compose and send them promptly after receiving the notice of your waitlisted status. The earlier, the better!
How long are letters of continued interest?
Letters of continued interest should be brief—roughly one page, single spaced. While you want to include the information that is relevant and meaningful, it is also important to remember that admissions officers have limited time. As you craft your letter, make sure that it is concise and the updates you want to highlight are clear.
How much do letters of continued interest help?
There is no definitive metric for how much letters of continued interest may boost your chances of admission. However, if an applicant takes the time and effort to write something memorable and unique, they can certainly increase your chances of standing out to admissions officers.
How many letters of continued interest should you send?
Applicants should send one letter of continued interest to each school to which they have been deferred or waitlisted. As Yale’s blog notes, it is usually the materials that students have already submitted that will get them into a school. Because of this, it is important for applicants to make an impact with the one letter they send. If you are waitlisted after you are deferred, you should only send a second letter if you have a meaningful update to share with the school.
Do all schools accept a letter of continued interest?
While most schools accept letters of continued interest, if a school does not wish to receive them, they will typically state this on their website. Before sending a letter, students should check the admissions website for this information and call the admissions office if they are still unsure of the school’s policy.
How should a letter of continued interest be formatted?
A letter of continued interest should follow the format of a standard, official letter, with an introduction, the date, and a cordial sign off. You should include your address at the top right and the recipient’s address at the left, above the letter’s date, greeting, and body content.
Should I send a second letter of continued interest if I am waitlisted after I was deferred?
Generally speaking, no. You should only send a second letter of continued interest if it includes a pressing, meaningful update that could help you to get off of the waitlist. Sending a second letter won’t necessarily hurt, but it will have a negligible effect if you are just restating your interest.
Is there a difference between a letter of continued interest sent after a deferral and one sent after a waitlist?
Both letters should include the same information—just make sure to use the correct term, “deferral” or “waitlist” depending on your status.
Can I send a letter of continued interest after being rejected from a college or university?
No, you can not send a letter of continued interest after being rejected from a college or university.
How is a letter of continued interest different from a letter of intent?
A letter of intent is a letter signed by a high school athlete who is committing to attending a university and playing on the sports team to which they have been recruited for at least one year, if not longer. It is typically signed in the fall of senior year. A letter of intent is a binding document signed in exchange for a specific scholarship amount, while a letter of continued interest is not.
Is a letter of continued interest binding?
No, a letter of continued interest is not binding, but you should only use language stating that you would definitely attend a school should you get off of the waitlist if that is the truth.
What makes for a good letter of continued interest?
The best letters are those that are hyper specific and make a strong case for why a candidate should be admitted, both based on new updates about a candidate’s progress and the candidate’s authentic interest in a school.
What should I use as the subject for my letter of continued interest email?
You can keep it straightforward and write your First and Last Name followed by “Letter of Continued Interest.” If you have an applicant ID number, you can also add it after your name. For example: “Jane Doe, #12842, Letter of Continued Interest
How should I write a waitlist letter?
Writing a letter of continued interest can feel daunting, especially after receiving the disappointing news that you have been deferred or waitlisted. Take a moment to process the news. Then, write from a place of genuine interest and follow the steps in our guide, outlined above!
Updated March 27th, 2024. Originally published March 27, 2020.
