Premed Acronyms: II, WL, A, R, LOI, LOCI, PTE, CTE

Premed Acronyms: II, WL, A, R, LOI, LOCI, PTE, CTE

II is an interview invite, R a rejection, A an acceptance and WL a waitlist. LOI is a letter of intent, LOInt a letter of interest and LOCI a letter of continued interest. PTE and CTE are Plan to Enroll and Commit to Enroll, the two selections in the AMCAS Choose Your Medical School tool.

The first seven are applicant shorthand; the school pages we read spell the terms out instead. Our view: the slang hides the one thing that matters, which is that each acronym stands for an official status or document with its own rules at each school. "WL" at one school is a ranked pool and at another an unranked list; "LOI" is not considered at some schools and invited at others. Look up the official term on your school's page before you act on a forum thread. The countercase: for II, A and R the shorthand loses little, because an invitation, an offer and a rejection are the same event everywhere; it is WL, Hold and the letters where the school's own word decides what you can do.

Every school page quoted below was checked on November 7, 2026. For more on the letters, see the medical school essays hub.

The acronyms in one table

Sources for the rows: Stanford, Penn State, Tufts, George Washington, Temple, UC San Diego, Mayo, UC Riverside, USF, Columbia, Georgetown and Dartmouth.

Same acronym, different rules

The reason to use the official term is that the rules attach to it, school by school:

• WL, ranked or not. GW: "The alternate pool is ranked, but it is also fluid. The ranking is never shared." Tufts: "We do not rank our wait list." USF: "the waitlist is not ranked."
• Hold, before or after an interview. At UC San Diego, "on hold" means "for an interview, with a possibility of being invited at a later date." At Penn State, "Hold for Continued Review" comes after the interview, and applicants in that category may send a statement of intent once April 30 has passed.
• LOI, invited or not considered. Mayo encourages letters of intent after the interview. UCLA says it does not consider them. UNLV: letters of intent "are not read by our admissions committee."
• LOCI, and when. Temple "encourages applicants on the continuing candidate list to send letters of interest starting in April." Tufts asks waitlisted applicants to say they "remain interested and available," "especially after July 1."

Our guides cover each one: medical school hold status, the letter of intent with four constructed samples, and the letter of continued interest. For which letter is which, see our intent vs interest vs update comparison.

PTE and CTE in two sentences

Drexel's 2027 acceptance protocols define both: ""Plan to Enroll" in the Choose Your Medical School Tool means that you have chosen this medical school as your first choice, but you may hold other applications open according to AAMC protocols." And: "After April 30, you may select "Commit to Enroll," which means that this is an applicant's final decision."

Both options open on fixed dates this cycle, according to Ohio State's 2026-2027 timeline: Plan to Enroll on Friday, February 19, 2027, and Commit to Enroll on Friday, April 30, 2027. Each school then sets its own deadline: Columbia's page says admitted applicants "must select the Commit to Enroll option no later than June 15th," and Mayo's says May 31, 2027. Our Plan to Enroll vs Commit to Enroll guide covers the rest.

The AAMC's own tool page returned HTTP 403 to our fetch on November 7, 2026, so the definitions here come from the schools that publish them (Drexel).

The DO version: deposits and one seat

AACOMAS has no PTE or CTE. Its traffic guidelines use deposit windows that shorten as the cycle goes on, and a single-seat rule that is the DO counterpart to CTE: before May 1 you withdraw from every college you do not plan to attend and hold a position at one COM. Our AACOMAS traffic guidelines guide lists each deposit window.

Questions about premed acronyms

What does II mean for medical school?

An interview invite. Each school uses its own wording, such as Stanford's "invited to participate in our interview process."

What is the difference between LOI and LOCI?

An LOI (letter of intent) promises to enroll if admitted and goes to one school. A LOCI (letter of continued interest) says you still want the seat and are available, and can go to every school that waitlisted you and takes letters.

Is "A" final once you have it?

An acceptance is an offer you respond to on the school's clock. Penn State, for example, gives "two weeks to respond to an offer of acceptance on or before April 30" and five business days after.

Review the writing you send next

If your status calls for a letter, get a free Quick Review of your letter of intent or interest against GradPilot's medical school letter of intent and interest rubric. If the letter reports something new, use the update-letter rubric.

Sources

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

• Stanford Medicine, MD admissions FAQ: "invited to participate in our interview process."
• Penn State College of Medicine, Application process (2026-2027 cycle): decision categories; Hold statement of intent after April 30; response windows.
• Tufts University School of Medicine, Interviewed MD applicants: decision names; unranked wait list; "especially after July 1."
• George Washington SMHS, Alternate status: ranked alternate pool.
• Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple, Admissions interview: continuing candidate list; letters of interest from April.
• UC San Diego School of Medicine, Admissions FAQs (page refers to May 2025): "on hold" for an interview.
• Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, How to apply (2026-2027 cycle): letters of intent after interview; May 31, 2027 Commit to Enroll date.
• UC Riverside School of Medicine, Admissions FAQ: letter of intent term.
• USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, Waitlist: letter of intent term; unranked waitlist.
• Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Admissions FAQs: letters of interest; June 15 Commit to Enroll deadline.
• Georgetown University School of Medicine, MD FAQ: waitlist letters of interest.
• Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Applying FAQ: "letter of continued interest or intent."
• UCLA Geffen School of Medicine, After applying, and UNLV Kerkorian School of Medicine, Admissions FAQ: letters of intent not considered or read.
• Drexel University College of Medicine, Application process (2027 cycle): Plan to Enroll and Commit to Enroll definitions.
• The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Deadlines (2026-2027 cycle): Plan to Enroll and Commit to Enroll availability dates.
• AACOM, AACOMAS traffic guidelines: shortening deposit windows; one COM seat before May 1.
• Not used: AAMC, Choose Your Medical School tool, HTTP 403 on November 7, 2026.