How to Write a Letter of Continued Interest After Being Waitlisted or Deferred

If you have been waitlisted or deferred, the Letter of Continued Interest is the single most useful thing you can write, and most students either skip it or do it poorly. A strong LOCI can genuinely improve your odds at schools that accept them, by reaffirming your interest and giving a reader a fresh reason to advocate for you. Here is how to write one that works.

What a LOCI is and why it matters

A Letter of Continued Interest is a brief, sincere message you send to a school that has waitlisted or deferred you, telling them you remain genuinely interested and, ideally, giving them new reasons to admit you. It matters because schools using waitlists often pull students partly based on demonstrated interest and fit, and because a deferral or waitlist is not a no, it is a not yet, and a LOCI is your chance to influence the next round. At schools that accept these letters (most do, though a few do not want them, so check), a thoughtful LOCI keeps you visible and shows the continued enthusiasm that schools value when deciding whom to admit from a pool of qualified candidates. Skipping it, or sending a generic one, forfeits a real opportunity.

The insider view: be specific, update meaningfully, and commit if you can

I interview for MIT, and the LOCIs that work share three things. First, genuine, specific enthusiasm: not generic gratitude, but a concrete reaffirmation of why this school is a top choice for you, tied to specific things about it, which signals that your interest is real and informed. Second, a meaningful update: something genuinely new since you applied, a higher grade, a new award or accomplishment, a completed project, a new responsibility, that gives the reader fresh evidence of your candidacy and a concrete reason to reconsider. A LOCI with a real update is far stronger than one that simply repeats your existing application. Third, and most powerful where it is true: a clear statement that you will enroll if admitted. Schools care about yield, even off the waitlist, so a credible commitment, this is my first choice and I will attend the day I am admitted, gives them a reason to use one of their limited spots on you.

Just as important is what to leave out and how to behave. Do not restate your whole application; the reader has it. Do not pad with generic gratitude or flattery. Do not sound entitled or desperate. And critically, do not send a stream of separate messages as new thoughts occur to you, one strong, complete letter is far better than many anxious ones, which read as pestering. Keep the letter concise, a few short paragraphs, professional, and warm. Address it to the admissions office or your regional officer if you know them. The goal is a single, polished, specific letter that makes a clear, credible case and then lets you step back.

Timing and process matter too. For a waitlist, first formally accept your spot (many students forget this, and it removes you if skipped), then send the LOCI within a reasonable window. For a deferral, send the LOCI before the regular-decision review, since the point is to strengthen your candidacy for that round. Either way, after sending one strong letter and any single meaningful update that arises later, resist the urge to keep contacting the office. You have made your case; bombarding them works against you. One excellent LOCI, sent at the right time, is the move.

How to write a LOCI

1. Open by reaffirming genuine, specific interest in the school.
2. Share a meaningful update since you applied.
3. If true, state clearly that you will enroll if admitted.
4. Keep it concise, professional, and warm; cut generic gratitude.
5. Send one strong letter at the right time, and avoid over-contacting.

A student I interviewed

A student I interviewed was deferred from her top choice in the early round, and rather than panic or pester, she wrote one excellent Letter of Continued Interest. It opened by reaffirming, specifically, why the school remained her clear first choice, naming a program and an opportunity that fit her goals; it shared a genuine update, a significant new award and a strong first-semester senior grade; and it stated plainly that she would enroll the day she was admitted. Then she stopped, and let it stand. She was admitted in the regular round. The LOCI did not work because it was long or frequent; it worked because it was specific, carried a real update, and made a credible commitment, exactly what a strong LOCI should do.

Mistakes students make

• Skipping the LOCI entirely or sending a generic one.
• Restating the whole application instead of adding something new.
• Padding with generic gratitude or sounding desperate.
• Sending many messages instead of one strong letter.
• Forgetting to formally accept a waitlist spot first.

A template structure for the LOCI

A LOCI works best with a simple, consistent structure you can adapt per school. Paragraph one: a warm opening that thanks the school for the continued consideration and states clearly and specifically that you remain very interested, ideally naming one or two concrete reasons the school is a strong fit, so your interest reads as genuine and informed rather than generic. Paragraph two: a meaningful update, the new and relevant developments since you applied, such as a strong final-semester grade, a new award or honor, a completed project, or a new role, presented briefly and concretely. This gives the reader fresh evidence for your candidacy.

Paragraph three: where it is genuinely true, a clear, sincere statement that the school is your first choice and that you will enroll if admitted, which gives the school a yield-related reason to choose you from the waitlist or pull you from the deferral pool. If it is not your clear first choice, express strong enthusiasm without a false commitment. Closing: a brief, gracious thank-you. Keep the whole letter to roughly three short paragraphs, well under a page, professional and warm, and addressed to the admissions office or your regional officer if you have one. Then send it once, at the appropriate time (before regular review for a deferral; after accepting your spot for a waitlist), and resist sending follow-ups unless a single genuinely significant update arises later. This structure, specific interest, real update, sincere commitment, gracious close, hits everything a strong LOCI needs without padding.

What this means for your application

1. Write a LOCI wherever the school accepts them.
2. Reaffirm specific interest and add a meaningful update.
3. Commit to enrolling if it is genuinely true.
4. Keep it concise and send one strong version.
5. Mind the timing and avoid over-contacting.

Frequently Asked Questions