LOCI article and samples
Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 11:45 pm
Dear TLS members,
We are coming up on that period of the cycle when you may be considering sending out a letter of continued interest (LOCI). Below is an article I have written that answers questions about a LOCI and I also have a few sample LOCI below. If you know what a LOCI is you can likely jump to the samples. It would be greatly appreciated if members could submit any LOCI that they have already submitted.
The acronym LOCI is thrown around quite frequently on the forums at TLS, especially during admissions season. What exactly is a LOCI and what is its purpose? LOCI stands for letter of continued interest and is just that: a letter you send to a school that you’ve applied to that reminds the admissions committee that you are still very much interested in attending their school.
There are many questions about LOCI’s and the purpose of this article is to clear up some of the confusion. While there is no “right” way to write a LOCI, the following tips and advice have been gathered from TLS users who have had success with their LOCI’s.
When should I write my LOCI?
Typically, you write a LOCI to a school that has either waitlisted or deferred you (some schools put you on hold which is the same as being deferred). In both of these cases, the school has decided not to admit you after its initial review of your application. In addition to sending an updated transcript or letter of recommendation, sending a LOCI allows you to supplement your application and gives the admissions committee more material about you to help inform its decision.
Some applicants also send LOCI’s to schools that they haven’t heard anything from after being complete for 3 months. While there is no rule against doing this, you should think hard before you do it. You don’t want to run the risk of annoying an admissions committee by sending them unsolicited information before they reach an initial decision. Additionally, some admission committees will place your file at the back of the pile if you send any sort of addendum to your application after submitting it but before they reach a decision. If you’ve been waiting for 3 months, you probably don’t want to have your application delayed even more because you sent a LOCI.
What should I write about in my LOCI?
The purpose of the LOCI is to let the school know that you’re still interested in attending that school. By the time you are waitlisted or deferred, the school knows that you have been accepted to other places. They want to know that despite your other acceptances, you still are interested in their school. If you don’t show your interest, why would they give you a spot over someone who is dead set on their school?
Talk about why the school is a good match for you. Do some research and look for a specific program or student organization that is unique to the school that would help further your career goals. You have to seem sincere so pick something that is consistent with what is on your resume or in your personal statement. In addition to telling the school why you want them, tell them why they should want you. The school will have a long waitlist full of eager applicants. You need to tell the admissions committee why it should choose you over everyone else it is considering.
In addition to showing your continued interest, a LOCI is a great way to sell yourself a little more. Update the admissions committee on what you have been up to. Did you get a promotion? Did you find out that you will graduate with honors? Did you have an experience that impacted you? Tell them! The important thing to remember is to only tell the committee something they didn’t already know. It doesn’t want to read about something you wrote your personal statement on or is a large part of your resume.
When wait listing or deferring you, some schools ask for specific things you can send them to add to your file. If a school tells you what they want, do it! If the school requests another essay on a given topic and you want to send a LOCI in addition to the essay, go for it. The only time you should definitely not send a LOCI is if the school specifically asks you not to send any additional information.
How long should my LOCI be?
A standard LOCI is kept to one page. Admissions committees obviously have lots of reading to do so you don’t want to unnecessarily add to their reading load. If you do go over one page, make sure that you do not include anything the committee already knows about you and that you’re not just writing to make the letter longer. The committee can easily distinguish between a letter telling them what the applicant thinks they want to hear and a letter with sincere reasons why the applicant wants to go to their school.
Sometimes the school will give you a page limit on anything you send to them. If this is the case, treat this limit as strictly as you treated the parameters laid out for your personal statement.
When should I send my LOCI?
In most cases, you want to send your LOCI as quickly after getting waitlisted/deferred (especially if you were deferred) as possible. You don’t want to sacrifice quality for speed, so spend some time on the letter but send it off as soon as you are happy with the finished product.
If you were waitlisted, it’s a good idea to call the admissions office and ask when they will start reviewing waitlisted applicants. If they tell you they won’t start reviewing waitlisted files until April or May, you can take your time and send the LOCI so that it reaches by April 1 or May 1. The benefit of waiting until the deadline is that not only does it give you more time to write the letter but there is also a chance that something new will happen to you that you can write about. You can also be proactive and visit the school, sit in a class, and talk to students and write about the experience in your LOCI.
Whom should I send my LOCI to?
Often times, in your waitlist or deferral notification, the school will tell you who to send additional materials to. If that is the case for you, follow the directions laid out for you. It is best to send your LOCI to the person whose name appeared on the notice of waitlist or deferral you received, particularly if there is no mention of who to send additional materials to. If the waitlist or deferral letter had a generic sender (XXX School of Law Admissions Committee), send your letter to the Dean of Admissions.
How should I send my LOCI?
Assuming the school doesn’t specifically tell you how to send in additional materials, it is preferable to physically mail your LOCI as opposed to emailing it. By physically mailing the letter, you know that someone will have to open it and when they do, they will place it in your file. If you email it, you have to rely on whoever reads it to print it out and place it in your file. Additionally, emails have a greater chance of being overlooked than a hard copy letter. The deans and admissions committees are being flooded with emails around decision time. You want to eliminate any chance of administrative error and sending a physical letter helps you do that. A physical letter also takes more time and effort to send than an e-mail and is a sign that sending the LOCI was important to you.
Other points about LOCI’s
1. In some cases, you may be waitlisted from a school that you were fairly confident you would be accepted to based on your LSAT and GPA. Often times, this is a case of yield protection. All law schools are conscious of their US News & World Report ranking and one of the factors in the rankings is a school’s yield (the percentage of accepted applicants who attend the school). If a school thinks you applied to it as your safety school and will probably get in to higher ranked schools, they may waitlist you so that you will not lower their yield. If you are truly interested in that school, write a solid LOCI and you have a good shot of being bumped off the waitlist. In a case like this, the school wants to see whether you truly are interested in attending the school or if you just applied to it as a safety school and have no real intention of going if you get into a higher ranked school. A good LOCI will show them that you are sincerely interested.
2. Carefully follow whatever directions a school sends you in regards to sending additional information. If it doesn’t want you to send anything else, don’t write a LOCI no matter how good or important you think yours is. If it has page limits, a deadline, or a preferred method of submission for any additional materials, adhere to its guidelines as closely as you possibly can.
Sample LOCI:
Eager Applicant
Street
City, State, Zip
LSAC#: L12345678
Month, Day, Year
Desirable School of Law
Street
City, State, Zip
Dear Dean of Admissions of Desirable School of Law:
I am writing to reiterate my interest in attending Desirable School of Law. Aside from being an excellent law school, the program at Desirable perfectly complements my legal interests. Specifically, the [insert certificate program, professor’s work, academic center, etc.] is something I find exciting because of my interest in the field of [your favorite field of law] law. Fleshing out this point…
In addition to my interest in [the above mentioned factor], I feel that I will bring a unique perspective to the Desirable School of Law community. Due to my [relevant past experience, unique background, etc], I will bring a [something that nobody else but me has] to the community.
I also wanted to take this opportunity to update my application. Since submitting my application in the fall, I have [earned a 4.0 last semester, was promoted, was awarded the Nobel prize]. In addition to that, I [started a volunteer job at the public defender’s office, was selected by my professor to be a research assistant, found a cure for baldness].
Desirable School of Law remains one of my top choices. The programs offered fit extremely well with my legal interests, [location of Desirable] is a place I can see myself living, and the student body at Desirable is one that I will not only learn a great deal from but also contribute a great deal to. I would be honored to be offered a place in the Desirable Class of [whatever class you would be a part of].
Thank you very much for your time.
Sincerely,
Eager Applicant
Another LOCI from a TLS member sent last year:
Some background info for context about my situation: I was deferred back on 2/14; admitted by e-mail on 3/27. I chose to speak directly to a specific curricular opportunity at CLS rather than general traits of a school (location, LRAP, whatever) because I wanted to prove I was seriously considering their school and had done my research about why it would be a good fit for me/why I was unique. However, CLS was the only school to which I applied that deferred me, so I felt okay being a bit direct in the final paragraph - I would want the same kind of transparency.
(More details here, if you care: http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com/display ... rabbit9198)
Dear Dean Iwerebon and Members of the Admissions Committee,
Good morning! I am writing to express my strong continued interest in being granted admission to Columbia University School of Law.
Columbia Law, with its opportunity to cross register at Teachers College, is uniquely attractive as an institution because it would allow me to mix two of my passions, law and education policy, in a single cross-disciplinary atmosphere. I am deeply intrigued by opportunities to take courses in the Law and Educational Institutions or the Education Policy Studies program. I would also be interested in a concurrent degree in Higher and Postsecondary Education. Dr. XYZ, my undergraduate research adviser who wrote one of my letters of recommendation, served previously as an assistant professor at Teachers College and has nothing but fantastic things to say about the opportunities there with regard to my own areas of interest.
Columbia's unique programmatic strengths are intriguing to me because for the past four years, I have worked in various capacities in a number of education-related institutions. From a privileged private university and intensive special needs birth-to-three programs to dangerous inner-city schools, I have seen students progress through many different facets of America’s education system. Educational institutions are of great interest to me because they are always changing. The influx of new students, their needs, and the ideas they carry with them often creates challenging situations for instructors and administrators. Lawyers working within or advising schools have insight into a number of society’s most contentious issues and are responsible, in part, for the fate of millions of children. Only by truly immersing oneself in the educational side of the equation can those lawyers understand the unique demands of such organizations. I cannot think of a more encouraging setting to gain such a perspective than at Columbia.
Thank you very much for your continued consideration. To be frank, although I have presently been admitted to a number of other fantastic law schools, Columbia’s School of Law/Teachers College combination is truly unique; an offer of admission (and certainly, an offer of financial aid or a scholarship) would make enrolling at Columbia extremely attractive. I look forward to hearing from you soon; I would be happy to answer any question you have about my application.
Kind regards,
XX
Would greatly appreciate a few more LOCI samples from TLS members.
We are coming up on that period of the cycle when you may be considering sending out a letter of continued interest (LOCI). Below is an article I have written that answers questions about a LOCI and I also have a few sample LOCI below. If you know what a LOCI is you can likely jump to the samples. It would be greatly appreciated if members could submit any LOCI that they have already submitted.
The acronym LOCI is thrown around quite frequently on the forums at TLS, especially during admissions season. What exactly is a LOCI and what is its purpose? LOCI stands for letter of continued interest and is just that: a letter you send to a school that you’ve applied to that reminds the admissions committee that you are still very much interested in attending their school.
There are many questions about LOCI’s and the purpose of this article is to clear up some of the confusion. While there is no “right” way to write a LOCI, the following tips and advice have been gathered from TLS users who have had success with their LOCI’s.
When should I write my LOCI?
Typically, you write a LOCI to a school that has either waitlisted or deferred you (some schools put you on hold which is the same as being deferred). In both of these cases, the school has decided not to admit you after its initial review of your application. In addition to sending an updated transcript or letter of recommendation, sending a LOCI allows you to supplement your application and gives the admissions committee more material about you to help inform its decision.
Some applicants also send LOCI’s to schools that they haven’t heard anything from after being complete for 3 months. While there is no rule against doing this, you should think hard before you do it. You don’t want to run the risk of annoying an admissions committee by sending them unsolicited information before they reach an initial decision. Additionally, some admission committees will place your file at the back of the pile if you send any sort of addendum to your application after submitting it but before they reach a decision. If you’ve been waiting for 3 months, you probably don’t want to have your application delayed even more because you sent a LOCI.
What should I write about in my LOCI?
The purpose of the LOCI is to let the school know that you’re still interested in attending that school. By the time you are waitlisted or deferred, the school knows that you have been accepted to other places. They want to know that despite your other acceptances, you still are interested in their school. If you don’t show your interest, why would they give you a spot over someone who is dead set on their school?
Talk about why the school is a good match for you. Do some research and look for a specific program or student organization that is unique to the school that would help further your career goals. You have to seem sincere so pick something that is consistent with what is on your resume or in your personal statement. In addition to telling the school why you want them, tell them why they should want you. The school will have a long waitlist full of eager applicants. You need to tell the admissions committee why it should choose you over everyone else it is considering.
In addition to showing your continued interest, a LOCI is a great way to sell yourself a little more. Update the admissions committee on what you have been up to. Did you get a promotion? Did you find out that you will graduate with honors? Did you have an experience that impacted you? Tell them! The important thing to remember is to only tell the committee something they didn’t already know. It doesn’t want to read about something you wrote your personal statement on or is a large part of your resume.
When wait listing or deferring you, some schools ask for specific things you can send them to add to your file. If a school tells you what they want, do it! If the school requests another essay on a given topic and you want to send a LOCI in addition to the essay, go for it. The only time you should definitely not send a LOCI is if the school specifically asks you not to send any additional information.
How long should my LOCI be?
A standard LOCI is kept to one page. Admissions committees obviously have lots of reading to do so you don’t want to unnecessarily add to their reading load. If you do go over one page, make sure that you do not include anything the committee already knows about you and that you’re not just writing to make the letter longer. The committee can easily distinguish between a letter telling them what the applicant thinks they want to hear and a letter with sincere reasons why the applicant wants to go to their school.
Sometimes the school will give you a page limit on anything you send to them. If this is the case, treat this limit as strictly as you treated the parameters laid out for your personal statement.
When should I send my LOCI?
In most cases, you want to send your LOCI as quickly after getting waitlisted/deferred (especially if you were deferred) as possible. You don’t want to sacrifice quality for speed, so spend some time on the letter but send it off as soon as you are happy with the finished product.
If you were waitlisted, it’s a good idea to call the admissions office and ask when they will start reviewing waitlisted applicants. If they tell you they won’t start reviewing waitlisted files until April or May, you can take your time and send the LOCI so that it reaches by April 1 or May 1. The benefit of waiting until the deadline is that not only does it give you more time to write the letter but there is also a chance that something new will happen to you that you can write about. You can also be proactive and visit the school, sit in a class, and talk to students and write about the experience in your LOCI.
Whom should I send my LOCI to?
Often times, in your waitlist or deferral notification, the school will tell you who to send additional materials to. If that is the case for you, follow the directions laid out for you. It is best to send your LOCI to the person whose name appeared on the notice of waitlist or deferral you received, particularly if there is no mention of who to send additional materials to. If the waitlist or deferral letter had a generic sender (XXX School of Law Admissions Committee), send your letter to the Dean of Admissions.
How should I send my LOCI?
Assuming the school doesn’t specifically tell you how to send in additional materials, it is preferable to physically mail your LOCI as opposed to emailing it. By physically mailing the letter, you know that someone will have to open it and when they do, they will place it in your file. If you email it, you have to rely on whoever reads it to print it out and place it in your file. Additionally, emails have a greater chance of being overlooked than a hard copy letter. The deans and admissions committees are being flooded with emails around decision time. You want to eliminate any chance of administrative error and sending a physical letter helps you do that. A physical letter also takes more time and effort to send than an e-mail and is a sign that sending the LOCI was important to you.
Other points about LOCI’s
1. In some cases, you may be waitlisted from a school that you were fairly confident you would be accepted to based on your LSAT and GPA. Often times, this is a case of yield protection. All law schools are conscious of their US News & World Report ranking and one of the factors in the rankings is a school’s yield (the percentage of accepted applicants who attend the school). If a school thinks you applied to it as your safety school and will probably get in to higher ranked schools, they may waitlist you so that you will not lower their yield. If you are truly interested in that school, write a solid LOCI and you have a good shot of being bumped off the waitlist. In a case like this, the school wants to see whether you truly are interested in attending the school or if you just applied to it as a safety school and have no real intention of going if you get into a higher ranked school. A good LOCI will show them that you are sincerely interested.
2. Carefully follow whatever directions a school sends you in regards to sending additional information. If it doesn’t want you to send anything else, don’t write a LOCI no matter how good or important you think yours is. If it has page limits, a deadline, or a preferred method of submission for any additional materials, adhere to its guidelines as closely as you possibly can.
Sample LOCI:
Eager Applicant
Street
City, State, Zip
LSAC#: L12345678
Month, Day, Year
Desirable School of Law
Street
City, State, Zip
Dear Dean of Admissions of Desirable School of Law:
I am writing to reiterate my interest in attending Desirable School of Law. Aside from being an excellent law school, the program at Desirable perfectly complements my legal interests. Specifically, the [insert certificate program, professor’s work, academic center, etc.] is something I find exciting because of my interest in the field of [your favorite field of law] law. Fleshing out this point…
In addition to my interest in [the above mentioned factor], I feel that I will bring a unique perspective to the Desirable School of Law community. Due to my [relevant past experience, unique background, etc], I will bring a [something that nobody else but me has] to the community.
I also wanted to take this opportunity to update my application. Since submitting my application in the fall, I have [earned a 4.0 last semester, was promoted, was awarded the Nobel prize]. In addition to that, I [started a volunteer job at the public defender’s office, was selected by my professor to be a research assistant, found a cure for baldness].
Desirable School of Law remains one of my top choices. The programs offered fit extremely well with my legal interests, [location of Desirable] is a place I can see myself living, and the student body at Desirable is one that I will not only learn a great deal from but also contribute a great deal to. I would be honored to be offered a place in the Desirable Class of [whatever class you would be a part of].
Thank you very much for your time.
Sincerely,
Eager Applicant
Another LOCI from a TLS member sent last year:
Some background info for context about my situation: I was deferred back on 2/14; admitted by e-mail on 3/27. I chose to speak directly to a specific curricular opportunity at CLS rather than general traits of a school (location, LRAP, whatever) because I wanted to prove I was seriously considering their school and had done my research about why it would be a good fit for me/why I was unique. However, CLS was the only school to which I applied that deferred me, so I felt okay being a bit direct in the final paragraph - I would want the same kind of transparency.
(More details here, if you care: http://www.lawschoolnumbers.com/display ... rabbit9198)
Dear Dean Iwerebon and Members of the Admissions Committee,
Good morning! I am writing to express my strong continued interest in being granted admission to Columbia University School of Law.
Columbia Law, with its opportunity to cross register at Teachers College, is uniquely attractive as an institution because it would allow me to mix two of my passions, law and education policy, in a single cross-disciplinary atmosphere. I am deeply intrigued by opportunities to take courses in the Law and Educational Institutions or the Education Policy Studies program. I would also be interested in a concurrent degree in Higher and Postsecondary Education. Dr. XYZ, my undergraduate research adviser who wrote one of my letters of recommendation, served previously as an assistant professor at Teachers College and has nothing but fantastic things to say about the opportunities there with regard to my own areas of interest.
Columbia's unique programmatic strengths are intriguing to me because for the past four years, I have worked in various capacities in a number of education-related institutions. From a privileged private university and intensive special needs birth-to-three programs to dangerous inner-city schools, I have seen students progress through many different facets of America’s education system. Educational institutions are of great interest to me because they are always changing. The influx of new students, their needs, and the ideas they carry with them often creates challenging situations for instructors and administrators. Lawyers working within or advising schools have insight into a number of society’s most contentious issues and are responsible, in part, for the fate of millions of children. Only by truly immersing oneself in the educational side of the equation can those lawyers understand the unique demands of such organizations. I cannot think of a more encouraging setting to gain such a perspective than at Columbia.
Thank you very much for your continued consideration. To be frank, although I have presently been admitted to a number of other fantastic law schools, Columbia’s School of Law/Teachers College combination is truly unique; an offer of admission (and certainly, an offer of financial aid or a scholarship) would make enrolling at Columbia extremely attractive. I look forward to hearing from you soon; I would be happy to answer any question you have about my application.
Kind regards,
XX
Would greatly appreciate a few more LOCI samples from TLS members.
