Medical School Letter of Intent Sample (MD and DO)

Medical School Letter of Intent Sample (MD and DO)

A letter of intent says one thing the others do not: if you admit me, I will enroll. Send it to one school, only where that school takes it, and keep it under 250 words. Below are four constructed samples: MD after an interview, MD waitlist, a hold-list statement, and a DO alternate letter.

The commitment is one sentence. The rest of the letter exists to make that sentence believable: one reason tied to this school, and one fact the school does not already have. Our view: that sentence is only honest if you would act on it, which at MD schools means selecting Commit to Enroll for that school and withdrawing everywhere else, and at DO schools means holding a seat at that one college before May 1. If you are still choosing between a letter of intent, a letter of interest and an update, our intent vs interest vs update comparison settles that first.

Every school page quoted below was checked on November 7, 2026. Most of these FAQ answers carry no cycle year; where a page names one, the text says so. For the full school-by-school picture, see our 2026-27 table of medical schools that accept update letters and the DO school letter policies; all medical letter guides sit in the medical school essays hub.

Who takes a letter of intent (check first)

Five schools in our set refuse them outright:

• UCLA: "No, we do not consider letters of intent." (after-applying page)
• Utah: "The Office of Admissions does not accept letters of intent." (FAQ)
• Arizona (Tucson): "does not accept letters of intent or updates." (FAQ)
• UNLV: "The Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine does NOT take letters of intent as these are not read by our admissions committee." (FAQ)
• Cincinnati: "Letters of intent, routine grade updates, and minor activities should not be submitted." (FAQ)

USF and Ohio State accept the letter and say in the same answer that it will not move the decision. Send one there only because it is true.

Is a letter of intent binding?

None of the MD and DO admissions pages we fetched for these letter guides calls a letter of intent binding. The word appears on them only for other things: a Georgetown deferral, a Temple campus assignment, a Columbia offer ("not binding") and a Cooper deposit ("non-binding").

What binds you is the enrollment step the letter promises:

• MD schools. Drexel's 2027 acceptance protocols say: "A "Commit to Enroll" decision means that applicants must withdraw from all other medical schools." Mayo's timeline says Commit to Enroll "can only be selected for one medical school." Ohio State's 2026-2027 timeline gives the dates: Plan to Enroll opens February 19, 2027 (a Friday) and Commit to Enroll opens April 30, 2027 (a Friday).
• DO schools. The AACOMAS traffic guidelines say: "prior to May 1, applicants need to withdraw from any college(s) which they do not plan to attend and only hold a position at one COM to avoid having positions withdrawn."

The AAMC's own Choose Your Medical School page returned HTTP 403 to our fetch, so the definitions above are quoted from the schools that publish them.

Our view: treat the letter as binding on you even though no school calls it binding. Write the commitment sentence only if, on the day an offer arrives, you would accept it, select Commit to Enroll for that school as soon as it is open to you, and withdraw your other applications and waitlist positions. USF states the same test from the school's side: a letter of intent "if they are certain they will matriculate."

The countercase: if a financial aid package will decide where you go, you cannot honestly write unconditional intent yet. Write a letter of interest that names the condition, or wait until the aid offer is in. Our comparison of intent and interest wording shows how a condition changes the sentence.

Four constructed letters

The schools, people and programs below are invented; each letter follows a real rule from the table above.

Constructed example 1: MD letter of intent after an interview

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's letter. Context (invented): Delroy Osei interviewed at Ridgeview School of Medicine, which, like Mayo, invites letters of intent after the interview through its portal as a PDF.

Dear Members of the Admissions Committee,

Thank you for my interview on January 21. I am writing to tell you that Ridgeview is my first choice. If I am admitted, I will enroll, and I will withdraw my other applications.

The reason is the Mesa Valley longitudinal clinic. On interview day, a second-year student described following the same six patients from her first month. I have spent two years as a medical interpreter at a county clinic, where I meet patients once and never learn what happened next. A curriculum built around following people over time is the training I want.

Since I applied, I have been promoted to lead interpreter for the clinic's Saturday diabetes group, where I now schedule the other three interpreters and brief them before each session.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely, Delroy Osei AAMC ID 10000001

That letter is 142 words, salutation to ID. The commitment sentence is "If I am admitted, I will enroll, and I will withdraw my other applications." It names the action, not a feeling. The school-specific reason is one program, tied to one thing the applicant has done. The promotion is the one new fact.

Constructed example 2: MD letter of intent from the waitlist

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's letter. Context (invented): Liesel Park is on the waitlist at Carver Bay College of Medicine, which, like USF, takes letters of intent by email from waitlisted applicants who are certain they will matriculate.

Subject: Letter of intent - Liesel Park - AAMC ID 10000002

Dear Members of the Admissions Committee,

I remain on the Carver Bay waitlist, and I am writing to say that Carver Bay is the school I will attend if offered a place. If I receive an offer, I will accept it and withdraw from every other school and waitlist.

My reason has not changed since my interview: the Gulf Coast public health pathway. My research year has been spent mapping flood-related clinic closures for a regional health department, and Carver Bay is the one school I applied to where that work continues inside the curriculum.

One update since my last contact: the health department adopted our clinic-closure map for its 2027 hurricane-season plan, and I presented it to the county board in March.

Thank you for keeping my application under consideration.

Sincerely, Liesel Park

That letter is 134 words, salutation to signature. The commitment sentence covers waitlists as well as applications, because a waitlisted applicant may hold other waitlist spots too. The school-specific reason repeats a reason from the interview, which is fine: a letter of intent does not need a new reason, it needs a true one.

Constructed example 3: a statement of intent from a hold list after April 30

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's letter. Context (invented): Tomás Herrera is in the Hold category at Hollins State College of Medicine, which, like Penn State, allows a statement of intent only after April 30. It is May 3, so Commit to Enroll is open.

Dear Members of the Admissions Committee,

I am in the Hold category, and I am submitting this statement of intent. If Hollins State offers me a place, I will accept within the response window, select Commit to Enroll for Hollins State, and withdraw from all other schools.

Hollins State's family medicine residency is in my home county, and I plan to practice there.

Sincerely, Tomás Herrera AAMC ID 10000003

That letter is 69 words, salutation to ID. A school that allows a "statement of intent" gets a statement: status, commitment, one reason. The commitment sentence names Commit to Enroll because, after April 30, that step exists and the reader knows it.

Constructed example 4: DO letter of intent from the alternate list

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's letter. Context (invented): Aisha Rahman is an alternate at Cascade College of Osteopathic Medicine, which, like WesternU Oregon, takes letters of intent from alternates through the applicant's admissions counselor.

Dear Ms. Hosseini,

Please add this letter of intent to my file. Cascade is my first choice. If I am offered a seat, I will pay the deposit and withdraw from every other medical school, MD and DO, so that Cascade is the only seat I hold.

I want Cascade's rural rotation sites. I grew up in a town of 2,000 people where the nearest clinic is 40 miles away, and I have spent this year as a medical assistant at that clinic.

Since my interview, I have finished my second semester of anatomy and physiology with an A, and I completed my phlebotomy certification in April.

Thank you for passing this to the committee.

Sincerely, Aisha Rahman

That letter is 118 words, salutation to signature. The salutation names a person because the school's own route is a named counselor; that is the exception to "address the committee." The commitment sentence uses the DO mechanics: deposit, withdraw, hold one seat. It does not say "Commit to Enroll," which is an AMCAS tool, not an AACOMAS one.

Say "top choice" only if it is your first choice

"One of my top choices" is a letter of interest wearing a letter of intent's label. A letter of intent names one school as first, and at an MD school that statement has a counterpart in the enrollment tool. Ohio State's timeline says that "if your first choice is The Ohio State University College of Medicine, you are required to indicate so via "Plan to Enroll" by April 30." A letter that calls a school your first choice and a Plan to Enroll selected somewhere else say two different things to two schools.

The full ladder from interest to unconditional intent is in our comparison page. If you change your mind after sending, tell the school directly. George Washington asks alternates who leave its pool to email the office: "Please do not simply click "commit to enroll" at another school."

Checklist before you send

1. Permission. The school takes letters of intent at your stage. UCLA, Utah, Arizona, UNLV and Cincinnati do not.
2. One school. This is the only letter of intent you have sent this cycle, or will send.
3. The withdrawal test. If an offer came tomorrow, you would accept and withdraw everywhere else.
4. Conditions. If aid or a partner's job decides, the letter names the condition and is not called a letter of intent.
5. Route and format. Portal, email or counselor, as the school says; PDF or text as the slot takes; within any page limit.
6. One reason, one fact. One reason tied to this school, and at most one new fact.
7. No asks. No question about your rank, your odds or when you will hear.

Questions about letters of intent

Can you send a letter of intent to more than one medical school?

No. A letter of intent promises to enroll at one school, and you can only enroll at one. Send letters of interest to the others where they take them.

Is a letter of intent binding for medical school?

No school page we read calls it binding. The binding steps are Commit to Enroll at MD schools and holding a single DO seat before May 1, and the letter is a promise to take those steps.

How long should a letter of intent be?

Under 250 words, or the school's limit if it sets one; UC Riverside caps any letter at one page. The four samples on this page run 69 to 142 words. Our guide to update letter length, format and subject lines covers slots and file types.

Do DO schools accept letters of intent?

Some do. WesternU Oregon takes them from alternates through the admissions counselor. Check each college's page; our DO school policy table lists them.

What if I am waitlisted and the school asks for continued interest instead?

Send what was asked. A school that asks you to confirm interest wants a short reply, not a letter of intent; our letter of continued interest guide has constructed examples. Applying through TMDSAS? Schools never see your rank list, so read letters of intent under the TMDSAS match first.

Before you draft with a tool, read using AI on a letter of intent.

Get a free review of your letter of intent

Get a free Quick Review of your letter of intent against GradPilot's medical school letter of intent and interest rubric. It reads whether your letter gives a specific reason for this school and states your commitment at its true strength. If the letter also reports something new, the update-letter rubric reads that part.

More medical school letter guides:

• Letter of continued interest for medical school: the schools that ask waitlisted applicants to confirm interest, and when.
• Plan to Enroll vs Commit to Enroll: the AMCAS steps a letter of intent promises.

Sources

Retrieved November 7, 2026, except where noted. Most pages state no cycle year for these answers.

• Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, How to apply: letters of intent encouraged after interview; Commit to Enroll for one school; May 31, 2027 Commit to Enroll date.
• UC Riverside School of Medicine, Admissions FAQ: one letter of intent or update after interview; one page; PDF; not by email.
• Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Applying FAQ: "letter of continued interest or intent" via Documents Upload.
• University of Hawaii JABSOM, FAQs: waitlisted applicants may email a letter of intent.
• Penn State College of Medicine, Application process (2026-2027 cycle): Hold category statement of intent after April 30.
• Western University of Health Sciences, COMP-Northwest alternate status: alternates may send a letter of intent through the admissions counselor.
• USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, Waitlist: letter of intent if certain; no effect on likelihood; email route.
• The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Deadlines (2026-2027 cycle): alternates may upload a letter of intent; Plan to Enroll and Commit to Enroll dates; first-choice Plan to Enroll rule.
• UC San Diego School of Medicine, Admissions FAQs (page refers to May 2025): letters of intent requested from the waitlist in spring.
• UCLA Geffen School of Medicine, After applying: letters of intent not considered.
• University of Utah School of Medicine, MD admissions FAQs: letters of intent not accepted.
• University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, Admissions FAQ: letters of intent and updates not accepted.
• UNLV Kerkorian School of Medicine, Admissions FAQ: letters of intent not read.
• University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Applicant FAQs: letters of intent should not be submitted.
• Drexel University College of Medicine, Application process (2027 cycle): Plan to Enroll and Commit to Enroll definitions.
• AACOM, AACOMAS traffic guidelines: one COM seat before May 1.
• George Washington SMHS, Alternate status: leaving the alternate pool by email, not by Commit to Enroll elsewhere.
• Georgetown MD FAQ, Temple Katz interview page, Columbia VP&S FAQs and Cooper Medical School of Rowan University application process: the only uses of "binding" on the school pages fetched, none about a letter of intent.
• AAMC, Choose Your Medical School tool: HTTP 403 on November 7, 2026; not quoted.