@Emjiang116 Agree with above. Make it short and sweet – every word should count. I would also add one or two small updates since you applied. I would do them as succinctly as possible, and make sure they link to your previous application (remember they LOVED you – they just don’t have space for you!), and make a quick link to something about how that will make you a better member of their community.
Bonus points: If you can do it naturally in a way that is not forced – find the unexpected benefit, as it relates to your current application (remind them of why they love you! and Remind them that you have depth and nuance!. (BTW – Unexpected, but not totally random or weird.)
For instance, let’s say you are a basketball player and singer and it’s all over your application. (This will be a random, not-great example fyi).
Say you recently took Christina Aguilera’s online class on Masterclass. Your bullet point could be:
– In January, I started an 8 week singing class given by xyz where I learned LMNOP. Surprisingly the thing I learned most was about teamwork (or whatever), which I hope to take to the basketball court and to the harkness table next fall at New England Academy.
OK, not a really elegant example.
But do you see how you say a LOT with one bullet point? And you remind them that you are a singer and a basketball player (old info) but you also tell them that you continue to learn, even after the applications are done, and you would be a great asset around the harkness table. BTW – replace “harkness table” with some thing REALLY specific to the school – maybe their brown bag lunch program offered by their Smith Institute of Social Responsibility (pretend example) – and you have triple gold.
I hope this helps and opens your eyes to the possibilities of how much you can communicate in a very short letter.
Final caveat to repeat: do NOT do something that feels forced.
READ YOUR LETTER ALOUD to yourself before you send it. Does it sound like you? do NOT try to impress them. Try to share you – the best of you of course – with them. And make it easy for them to picture you there. (It’s like in real estate – when they say that if a buyer starts talking about where their couch will go in the house they are touring, they are close to an offer.) Create the image for them. Make it easy for them to say yes.
I’ve sent a PM to everyone that asked…,. to reiterate what has been written by those with more experience than I… If you have a first choice… let the school know!
When I send Email to AO, what format is better? Should I write a letter and attach it in Email or include the contents in Email body directly. Thank you.
Thanks everyone we really could not have had such a positive outcome if not for all the help from this board and the PMs (you know who you are ).
Sending good luck vibes to everyone on the waitlist. I heard from a friend of mine who knows a friend of a friend of a friend who knows a DA (basically equates to the rumour mill) that waitlists are going to be all over the place this year with Covid-19 so follow the previous advice sit tight and see how the chips fall.
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