I applied back in November to my top choice school. I haven’t heard anything back yet. The school has admitted quite a few students already. I’m starting to get very anxious.
My question is this- Is it worth (or even appropriate) to send a letter of continued interest stating how it is my first choice and why I want to go there? (Note- they did not ask for a “Why our school essay”)
I’d think it is, generally it can’t hurt.
What school is it??
Does your school have rolling admissions? Then, no, you should wait until they release your decision. If not, yes, you should send a mail.
What school is it?
“generally it can’t hurt.”
I’m not at all sure I agree. For just a moment, let’s consider this from the viewpoint of the admissions readers and officers (as well as others in the organization). February and March are the busiest time in the entire, annual application/acceptance cycle . . . and these individuals almost assuredly have been – and will for the next near-two-months – working backbreaking hours (evenings, weekends) with ALL that implies. Then they read an e-mail or a letter that in essence indicates, “I love X university, my most ardent dream is to attend X, and I have worked hard to earn admission.”
Again, putting yourself in the place of the admissions employees, might you not react by thinking, “Yeah, you and 25,000 others. What makes this kid stand out, other than the fact that reading his evaluation-irrelevant e-mail will make me leave the office even later than I would have otherwise?”
Of course, we ALL want to believe that admissions personnel would be tolerant of and sensitive to teenagers, for whom this entire college selection-application-decision process is a BIG deal, probably the FIRST near-independent life-shaping one in their brief lives. However, admissions officers and workers – after all – are human, they are currently under considerable pressure, and they can ill afford to squander their time with trivialities.