Sample LOCI letters and article Forum

(Applications Advice, Letters of Recommendation . . . )
Post Reply
User avatar
Ken

Bronze
Posts: 403
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2005 6:22 am

Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by Ken » Sun Mar 02, 2008 8:23 pm

Dear TLS site readers,

Just as everyone kindly shared their personal statements when they were done, I am hoping that site users will consider posting their letters of continued intersests (LOCI) so that others may benefit. Phillyphanatic kindly wrote the following article on how to write a LOCI, which should be of great use to anyone who wants to remind a law school at which they were wait listed that they are still very interested in attending.

Letter of Continued Interest (LOCI)

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

Alf14997

New
Posts: 35
Joined: Sat Feb 03, 2007 8:29 pm

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by Alf14997 » Sun Mar 02, 2008 8:27 pm

Ken, it seems to me like this would be better in the "Law School Articles" section... just in case you weren't already planning on putting it there also.

USCtrojan86

New
Posts: 62
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 8:36 pm

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by USCtrojan86 » Sun Mar 02, 2008 10:11 pm

Personally, given the seemingly countless inquiries this forum has seen about LOCIs, I think it should stay in here as well for a month or two until things die down.

Da Stain

Bronze
Posts: 498
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:50 am

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by Da Stain » Sun Mar 02, 2008 10:17 pm

After 3 months I wrote letters to 2 schools a few weeks ago. One of them just WL'd me anyway and the other I haven't heard from.

That said, if you want to see a good (IMO) albeit unsuccessful LOCI, let me know.

EDIT: To clarify, I'll post it after the cycle, but will PM to anyone interested.

User avatar
Ken

Bronze
Posts: 403
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2005 6:22 am

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by Ken » Mon Mar 03, 2008 12:25 am

SgtBilko, thank you for kindly offering to share your LOCI. Alf, the plan was to put this in the law school articles section but given the immediate interest in LOCI I thought I should put it in the forum first and then as interest dies down then make it a law school article.

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


Da Stain

Bronze
Posts: 498
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:50 am

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by Da Stain » Mon Mar 03, 2008 12:33 am

Considering Trojan sent his to a friend of mine before I could (a new member here) I felt somewhat obligated to match his generosity :wink:

JAMNjo

New
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:29 am

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by JAMNjo » Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:46 am

Hey..i just sent my LOCI last week, but i decided to send it to the "Admissions Committee" in general as opposed to the man that sent me my "hold" e-mail. I responded directly to the man who sent me the e-mail with a short paragraph on my continued interest, so i decided not to send another letter (not that he would remember me anyway) to him so not to bother him

I know this is a neurotic question, but do you think a LOCI sent to the admissions Comm. and no one in particular will still make it to the place it needs to go??

Also, anyone know the statistics on "hold" applicants. It was a status i had never heard of before a month ago.... pfff.

Da Stain

Bronze
Posts: 498
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:50 am

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by Da Stain » Mon Mar 03, 2008 12:31 pm

I addressed mine to the dean of admissions.

It was convenient so when I mailed it to the wrong school, they let them know, which in turn led to a personal response from the letterless dean. I don't know if that would have happened anyway. The direct addressing seems appropriate in this situation though, IMO.

User avatar
raskolnikov

New
Posts: 82
Joined: Wed Jan 17, 2007 4:06 am

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by raskolnikov » Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:03 pm

Who should I send my LOCI to?
I cringed, Ken. I really did.

Want to continue reading?

Register for access!

Did I mention it was FREE ?


pdennis1000

New
Posts: 66
Joined: Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:27 am

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by pdennis1000 » Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:13 pm

I would like to just take a moment to thank you, Ken, for the awesomeness that is TLS. It seems like any time I need information on anything pertaining to law school, this site has it. I just received my first WL on Friday and plan to write my first LOCI tonight after work (I expect I will receive a few more WL letters in the coming weeks). I log in to TLS to do a little LOCI research and Bam! there is a thread for it right at the top of the page. I heart TLS!

User avatar
siberiak

New
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Feb 29, 2008 5:34 pm

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by siberiak » Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:24 pm

So I know that there are probably other threads that address my question but since there are already several people in on the discussion that have such a wealth of experience with LOCI I figure I'll ask: Do you know if it is better to get an official word, be it WL or deferment, before writing a LOCI? Or would it be appropriate to let the dean know that all of your hopes and dreams lie in being admitted to their university and you just want them to know that?
Thanks

User avatar
Diana341

New
Posts: 48
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2008 4:45 pm

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by Diana341 » Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:38 pm

I'm going to be a grammar Nazi here. It should be: To Whom Do I Send my LOCI?

I had to get that out there. It was seriously irking me. :wink:

User avatar
Ken

Bronze
Posts: 403
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2005 6:22 am

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by Ken » Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:08 am

PDennis, glad that TLS was able to provide you with timely advice. Look for a large amount of articles on succeeding in law school to come out before you enter law school.

Thanks for the correction to whom, which has been made. The article was kindly written by a site member and not myself.

Register now!

Resources to assist law school applicants, students & graduates.

It's still FREE!


hockeyfan

New
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2008 6:58 pm

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by hockeyfan » Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:16 am

Ken - Not sure if there is a rule on this, but when you mention the 1-page (soft) limit, is that meant to be single or double spaced? Thanks.

User avatar
Ken

Bronze
Posts: 403
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2005 6:22 am

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by Ken » Tue Mar 04, 2008 1:44 am

The 1 page limit is soft and is generally viewed as single spaced.

User avatar
Pyke

Bronze
Posts: 147
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 1:28 pm

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by Pyke » Tue Mar 04, 2008 1:46 am

I use that limit to the fullest.

User avatar
waiting

New
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:03 pm

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by waiting » Thu Mar 06, 2008 7:34 pm

THANKS KEN!

Get unlimited access to all forums and topics

Register now!

I'm pretty sure I told you it's FREE...


User avatar
EricC/O'11

New
Posts: 29
Joined: Sat Feb 16, 2008 3:10 am

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by EricC/O'11 » Tue Mar 18, 2008 1:07 pm

bump....


for all TLSers that didn't get waitlisted when this came out.

DanielF

New
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:40 pm

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by DanielF » Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:47 pm

Is it customary to send in an updated transcript AND one more LOR to supplement the LOCI, or just an updated transcript? The reason I ask this is because I asked my legal clinic supervisor to write me a LOR but for some reason I am not feeling very confident on sending it to the school.

Chelsea

New
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Jun 27, 2007 11:06 am

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by Chelsea » Thu Mar 20, 2008 10:40 am

Would someone kindly post their LOCI? If not post, please PM me -- I would be interested in swapping... Thanks

User avatar
Faye Valentine

New
Posts: 32
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:03 pm

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by Faye Valentine » Thu Mar 20, 2008 5:09 pm

Ken, thank you for the great info about LOCIs.

I'm currently debating whether or not to send an LOCI to Berkeley. I was informed that I have been placed on the waitlist yesterday, and in the body of the email, it stated: "The waiting list will be ranked in mid-May and we will provide your quartile placement on the list if you contact us after that date.", and in an attachment, a line read: "The waiting list will be ranked by May 1. There is nothing you can do to affect your ranking on the list."

Should I take this as, "Do not send us any more information", or does this mean once the rankings are confirmed, there is no way to influence your position? They are my absolute very top choice, and I'm willing to do just about anything to try to improve my chances of being admitted off the WL.

Communicate now with those who not only know what a legal education is, but can offer you worthy advice and commentary as you complete the three most educational, yet challenging years of your law related post graduate life.

Register now, it's still FREE!


User avatar
azoraraine

New
Posts: 84
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2007 10:38 pm

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by azoraraine » Thu Mar 20, 2008 5:22 pm

Faye Valentine wrote:Ken, thank you for the great info about LOCIs.

I'm currently debating whether or not to send an LOCI to Berkeley. I was informed that I have been placed on the waitlist yesterday, and in the body of the email, it stated: "The waiting list will be ranked in mid-May and we will provide your quartile placement on the list if you contact us after that date.", and in an attachment, a line read: "The waiting list will be ranked by May 1. There is nothing you can do to affect your ranking on the list."

Should I take this as, "Do not send us any more information", or does this mean once the rankings are confirmed, there is no way to influence your position? They are my absolute very top choice, and I'm willing to do just about anything to try to improve my chances of being admitted off the WL.
Faye,

You know me from the other thread, and are aware that I'm clueless - so take this with a grain of salt, but - just because you can do nothing to affect your ranking does not mean that you cannot send a LOCI. Especially if you have been doing amazing things in the last couple months - like getting good grades, curing bad breath, or developing a ray gun that will remove Carrot Top from the face of the planet. I think it would show you still care. And I know from the CA thread that you care a LOT about this school.

User avatar
basetommyball

New
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:42 am

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by basetommyball » Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:49 pm

Bump for all of us in waitlist hell.

User avatar
RoughRider

New
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:10 pm

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by RoughRider » Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:21 pm

tag

tsmith001

New
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 4:04 pm

Re: Sample LOCI letters and article

Post by tsmith001 » Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:47 pm

I wanted to send in a LOCI but I also wanted to send in another letter of recommendation, would it be ok for me to send my letter and my recommender to send his in separately?

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

Now there's a charge.
Just kidding ... it's still FREE!


Post Reply

Return to “Law School Admissions Forum”