PA School Letter of Intent and Continued Interest

PA School Letter of Intent and Continued Interest

A letter of intent tells one PA program you will accept its offer. Send it to one program, and only if you would deposit there. A letter of continued interest says you still want a seat. It can go to every program that waitlisted you or put you on hold.

Our view: in PA admissions, "you are my first choice" is a claim the program can test. The CASPA Applicant Agreement tells every program that admits you how many other acceptances you hold and whether you accepted an offer elsewhere. Write intent only where you mean it, and write interest at its true strength everywhere else.

Every CASPA, PAEA and program page quoted below was checked on November 7, 2026. The agreement quoted is the 2026-2027 version, last updated January 22, 2026.

Intent and continued interest are different promises

A letter of intent is a commitment that depends on one thing only: the offer. If you would still need to compare aid packages, see a campus or wait for another program first, you are writing a letter of continued interest. Call it that.

What CASPA tells a program that admits you

The 2026-2027 CASPA Applicant User Agreement and Release, linked from PAEA's CASPA page, contains two disclosure clauses. You agreed to both when you used CASPA:

22. PAEA will disclose my matriculation status to all PA programs to which I have applied to via CASPA.

23. For each PA program that makes an offer of acceptance to me, PAEA will disclose to that program the number of acceptances I have received from other PA programs (without identifying those programs) and whether I have accepted an offer at any other PA program that participates in CASPA (without identifying the program).

Three things follow.

1. A program that admits you sees your other acceptances as a number. It does not see which programs.
2. It also sees whether you have already accepted an offer at another CASPA program. If your letter of intent said "I will accept," and the data says you accepted elsewhere, the program can see the gap.
3. Every program learns when you matriculate. That is clause 22, and it reaches all of them.

The same agreement opens with "I will act with honesty and integrity throughout the admissions process and in all interactions with PAEA, CASPA Customer Service, Liaison, and PA programs participating in CASPA." A letter of intent to two programs breaks that promise to one of them.

The countercase: clause 23 shows counts, not letters. A program cannot see that you sent two letters of intent. If you send intent to one program and another admits you first, nothing in the CASPA agreement or the Code of Cooperation stops you from depositing at the second while you wait. The rule here is about your word, not about detection. Keep the word: one program.

When to send each letter

Send either letter after the interview and after the program has given you a status: waitlist, alternate list or hold. Before that, a thank-you email covers the interview, and an update letter covers new facts.

Check the program's rule first. OHSU's PA page says it does not accept additional materials unless it requests them (OHSU PA admissions). That rules out both letters there.

Then match the letter to the program's decision timing:

• West Chester University says candidates hear "acceptance, waitlist, or decline" within "4 weeks of interview," that "Waitlist rankings will be released to applicants by April 15th," and that "The program maintains a waitlist until 1 week prior to the start of program orientation" (WCU PA admissions). A letter after your status email, and one update before April 15, fits that calendar.
• Northwestern runs an "unranked admissions waitlist." "If and when an admitted student withdraws their acceptance, the Admissions Committee will meet to consider all candidates who have opted to join the unranked waitlist" (Northwestern PA FAQ). Our view: get your letter in before that first meeting, because an unranked list is reconsidered each time a seat opens.

PAEA's resource for programs adds that "Some programs choose to notify admitted students immediately while holding waitlist placements and rejections until the end of the admissions cycle" (PAEA PA Program Admissions Resource, 2023). Silence after an interview is not a waitlist. The PA waitlist, alternate list and hold status guide explains each status and when lists move.

Two constructed letters

Both letters use invented applicants and invented programs.

Constructed example: letter of intent to a top-choice program

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's letter. Context (invented): Robin Zamora interviewed at Kestrel State University's PA program in October and was placed on its alternate list in December. Robin holds no other offer and would deposit at Kestrel State the day an offer arrived.

Subject: Letter of intent, Robin Zamora, CAS ID 0000000000

Dear Kestrel State PA Admissions Committee,

Kestrel State is my first choice. If I am offered a seat in the class entering in 2027, I will accept it and pay the deposit.

My reason is your rural primary care track. I grew up 40 miles from the nearest clinic, and for two years as an EMT I have driven patients that distance for problems a PA could have managed in town. On interview day, your second-year students described their rotation in Millbrook County, which is the setting I want to train for.

Since my interview I have started working weekends at the Millbrook Free Clinic, where I take histories and vitals for the volunteer PA.

Thank you for keeping me under consideration.

Sincerely, Robin Zamora

That is 134 words including the subject line. The commitment is in the first paragraph, with no conditions. The reason names one feature of the program and ties it to Robin's own work. The update is one fact.

Constructed example: letter of continued interest to a second program

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's letter. Context (invented): Robin is also on Selwood College's unranked waitlist and would attend Selwood if Kestrel State does not admit Robin.

Subject: Continued interest, Robin Zamora, CAS ID 0000000000

Dear Selwood College PA Admissions Committee,

Thank you for placing me on your waitlist. I remain very interested in Selwood and would welcome an offer.

Your program's first-year anatomy and community health shifts at the Selwood Health Center would let me keep the patient contact I have built as an EMT while I learn the basic sciences.

Since my interview I have started working weekends at the Millbrook Free Clinic, where I take histories and vitals for the volunteer PA.

Please let me know if there is anything else you need from me.

Sincerely, Robin Zamora

That is 104 words including the subject line. It says "very interested," not "first choice," and makes no promise to accept. That is the honest strength of Robin's interest, and it stays honest whatever clause 23 later shows Selwood.

What to put in and what to cut

Put in:

• One sentence of commitment or interest, stated plainly, in the first paragraph.
• One reason that only this program supplies: a track, a clinical site, a rotation, something you heard on interview day.
• One new fact since the interview, if you have one. Report it exactly; the agreement covers "any and all information that I provide to … any PA program to which I apply, by any means of communication."
• Your CAS ID in the subject line.

Cut:

• "You are one of my top choices." It is neither intent nor news.
• Pleading, and lines about how hard you have worked. The committee has already read your file.
• A list of program features from the website with no link to you.
• A second page. Our recommendation is under 200 words; both letters above are shorter.

If another program admits you first

PAEA's CASPA Admissions Code of Cooperation asks programs to "allow applicants at least two weeks to reply for acceptance," and asks applicants to "Accept or decline all interview invitations and offers of acceptance in a timely and considerate manner." So you will have a deadline and a deposit decision before your top choice decides. The PA school seat deposit guide works through that choice, including how much programs charge and how few refund it.

A letter of intent does not stop you from depositing elsewhere while you wait. It does bind you if your top choice then admits you: accept, and release the other seat the same day using the decline and withdraw email templates.

Questions about PA letters of intent

Can I send a letter of intent to more than one PA school?

No. A letter of intent says you will accept if admitted, and you can only accept one seat. Send letters of continued interest to the others.

Is a letter of intent binding?

No CASPA rule enforces one; the agreement does not mention letters of intent. The promise sits under the agreement's requirement of "honesty and integrity … in all interactions with … PA programs."

Should I send a letter of continued interest if the program does not ask for one?

Yes, unless the program's page says it does not accept materials. OHSU's does.

How long should a PA letter of intent be?

Under 200 words is our recommendation. The two constructed letters above are 134 and 104 words.

What is the difference from a medical school letter of intent?

The idea is the same; the rules differ by system. The medical school intent vs interest vs update letters guide covers MD and DO programs. More letter guides are on the medical school essays hub.

Get a free review of your letter of intent

Get a free Quick Review of your letter of intent against GradPilot's letter of intent and interest rubric, written for MD and DO letters. It reads the two jobs this page sets: whether your reason belongs to this one program, and whether "I will accept" or "I remain very interested" matches what you can promise. If the letter is mostly news, run it through the update letter rubric instead.

Sources

Retrieved November 7, 2026, except where noted.

• PAEA, 2026-2027 CASPA Applicant User Agreement and Release (last updated January 22, 2026; linked from PAEA's CASPA page): clauses 1, 3, 22 and 23.
• PAEA, CASPA Admissions Code of Cooperation: two-week reply minimum; timely and considerate replies.
• PAEA, PA Program Admissions Resource (2023, written for programs): some programs hold waitlist placements to the end of the cycle.
• OHSU School of Medicine, Physician Assistant Admissions (no year stated): no additional materials unless requested.
• West Chester University, Physician Assistant Admissions (no cycle label): four-week notification; waitlist rankings by April 15; waitlist kept until one week before orientation.
• Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, PA Program Admissions FAQ (2026-27 cycle): unranked waitlist process.