Add activity to AMCAs after being verified?

[Monarch Kong]

Hi I was wondering what was the best way to go about adding my summer research internship that I did (which I completed after I submitted my AMCAs) onto my AMCAs application? Is there some official way to update my application with extra activities?

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[Ookluh]

Don't think there's any way to do that.. my understanding has been that being verified is pretty much final, unless you simply want to add more schools. I believe you'll have to send a letter to update each individual school.

 

[ADeadLois]

You can't update AMCAS. Your best bet is to send an update letter to the individual schools.

 

[Inuranic]

I sent a letter to the schools I applied to with updated activities (some clinical stuff, new grades, new research project, etc.).

I kept it succinct (1 page).

It was a blast addressing and sending 20+ letters. My girlfriend was kind enough to split it with me.

 

[nick_carraway]

I sent a letter to the schools I applied to with updated activities (some clinical stuff, new grades, new research project, etc.).

I kept it succinct (1 page).

It was a blast addressing and sending 20+ letters. My girlfriend was kind enough to split it with me.

Try 40 letters. My printer is even nice enough to require manual feeding of one envelope at a time. Ohh the joy! But I still haven't mentioned the best part. I had to send out two batches of 40 letters

 

[alwaysaangel]

I personally waited until it was advantageous for me to send out updates. Like after I got put on hold (that way they would have to re-review my application).

Also, that prevented me from sending 20+ letters because I only sent them to certain schools at certain times.

Be strategic about sending updates to schools, make sure doing it makes them re-review your file (not just add a paper to a file that hasn't been looked at yet). The more they look at you the more likely you are to get an acceptance. Always having something to add to make them re-review you (after holds, interviews, waitlists, etc) is a pretty good idea because then you can keep reiterating your interest in a timely manner while also updating them on your activities.

Sending in letters with nothing to say is never a good idea, so if you always have some substantial activity to add then you can both show interest and update them.

 

[mvenus929]

I personally waited until it was advantageous for me to send out updates. Like after I got put on hold (that way they would have to re-review my application).

This is what I was planning on doing. And for the schools that have given me invites, I was just going to try to work it into my interview. Our pre-med society president is even giving me stuff to do so that I can talk about it at interviews... Course, he talked with me about it before school let out in May, but still....

 

[nick_carraway]

This is what I was planning on doing. And for the schools that have given me invites, I was just going to try to work it into my interview. Our pre-med society president is even giving me stuff to do so that I can talk about it at interviews... Course, he talked with me about it before school let out in May, but still....

Well hopefully you're still doing things as you apply so that later in the process, you have things to update them with anyway.

If it's a substantive update on an activity that they didn't ask about in your secondary, it's to your advantage to send them an update now and find something else later.

You don't want to read a letter denying you an interview and think to yourself that you should have told them about your activity when you had a chance.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Well hopefully you're still doing things as you apply so that later in the process, you have things to update them with anyway.

If it's a substantive update on an activity that they didn't ask about in your secondary, it's to your advantage to send them an update now and find something else later.

You don't want to read a letter denying you an interview and think to yourself that you should have told them about your activity when you had a chance.

eah but most people dont have substantial changes to activities over the year of application. And you can really only send so many updates before you're just annoying them with pointless stuff.

Shadowing ANOTHER doctor is not something worth updating med schools with. Neither is working at a new hospital doing the same thing you always did 2 hrs a week. You really need significant things to update them with and this is pretty rare.

I mean you're right - it sucks to have to think what if. But it also sucks to think your update didn't do everything it could have by making them relook at your file one more time. The more they look at your file the more likely they are to find something they like. So just adding activities to an unreviewed file isn't completely advantageous.

Its just a different way of looking at things - to each their own, but depending on the school (do they almost always put people on hold before rejection, etc.) I think people should really think about when to send letters and not just do it automatically.

I genuinely believe I wouldn't be in the school I'm in now if I had just sent a mass letter updating them. It wouldn't have made them relook at my file and I would have ended up rejected.

So people should just consider it, try to think like the adcomms and do whatever works the best in your favor.

 

[Inuranic]

I wanted to send my update letter in BEFORE my application was reviewed. I don't believe that Adcomms will re-review my app simply because I sent in an update letter. For all I know the nice person in the admissions office sticks it in my file and no one sees it. If I get the letter in with new activities ASAP, it gets read (at least I hope so).

Kudos on the 40+ letters, twice. I don't feel bad anymore.

 

[alwaysaangel]

I wanted to send my update letter in BEFORE my application was reviewed. I don't believe that Adcomms will re-review my app simply because I sent in an update letter. For all I know the nice person in the admissions office sticks it in my file and no one sees it. If I get the letter in with new activities ASAP, it gets read (at least I hope so).

Kudos on the 40+ letters, twice. I don't feel bad anymore.

You may believe what you wish, but they do rereview your file. Every school I sent an update letter got back to me and said something about re-reviewing my file but they were still going to wait to offer me an interview. Or they re-reviewed my file and offered me an interview. But they all did respond to my letter (I send 6 update letters) and said they did re-review me.

Do what you feel most comfortable with. But they DO re-review your file when you send an update and if you time it right it can be more advantageous than just sending them in en masse.

I'm going to look for it - but somewhere around here was a post by a student adcom talking about how getting them to review your file as many times as possible is advantageous and you do it by sending in updates. I'll have to find it - but its what gave me the idea in the first place.

Good luck.