Post-interview update letter timing for non-rolling schools?

[drkjoy]

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When should I time my update letters to schools that I've interviewed at who release decisions in March? I interviewed late Oct-mid Nov. I was thinking January but not sure when the committee meets to make decisions, and want to make my letter as recent as possible?

Hopkins only accepts letters from those who have interviewed, which makes it seem like they don't care as much about update letters/letters of interest. So would it be a negative to send them an update letter with smaller updates (new volunteering role with only ~30 hours, more detail on the projects I've completed in my healthcare consulting gap year job that I started in July)?

Thanks all!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

1) Unless they say no, a post-interview update letter in January is fine. Many people like to send an academic since fall grades are in. Committees should be meeting every week to make decisions; they just won't make final decisions until near their announcement day.

2) If that's Hopkins' position, I wouldn't send them a pre-interview update. Granted, what have you got to lose if they don't interview you anyway, right?

 

[drkjoy]

1) Unless they say no, a post-interview update letter in January is fine. Many people like to send an academic since fall grades are in. Committees should be meeting every week to make decisions; they just won't make final decisions until near their announcement day.

2) If that's Hopkins' position, I wouldn't send them a pre-interview update. Granted, what have you got to lose if they don't interview you anyway, right?

1) Thanks for the insight! Will plan to send in Jan, then.
2) Sorry, but to clarify, I did interview at Hopkins in November! Just thought that given their letter policy being limited to interviewees, that meant they might not like seeing update letters in general unless it's something major. What do you advise in terms of sending a post-interview update letter? Thank you!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Sorry, but to clarify, I did interview at Hopkins in November! Just thought that given their letter policy being limited to interviewees, that meant they might not like seeing update letters in general unless it's something major. What do you advise in terms of sending a post-interview update letter? Thank you!

Could you tell me more about Hopkins' preferences about post-interview communication? What is their letter policy?

 

[drkjoy]

Could you tell me more about Hopkins' preferences about post-interview communication? What is their letter policy?

This is what is stated on MSAR: "The MD Program will accept letters or notifications only from applicants invited to interview."

This is stated on the portal:

• Application Updates: Should you have any updates to your application (additional letters of reference, publications, abstracts, posters, additional clinical hours, etc.) that were not reflected in your initial application, please upload them through the Upload Materials widget at the bottom of the page. Acceptable updates include letters of intent, new letters of recommendation, updates on research/publications (but please do not include the full text of the publication), updates on anticipated experiences, news about scholarships/awards, etc. Updates can be sent any time before your final decision letter is received. Please note these updates should be substantive and add to the quality of your application.
• Thank You Letters: While not required (and they will not influence our decision process in any way), we do welcome thank you letters for your faculty and student interviewers. Send them through to our general email account and we’ll happily forward them on to the correct individuals. There is no preferred format other than electronic (word, pdf, body of email, etc.).

 

[Mr.Smile12]

So would it be a negative to send them an update letter with smaller updates (new volunteering role with only ~30 hours, more detail on the projects I've completed in my healthcare consulting gap year job that I started in July)?

Updates can be sent any time before your final decision letter is received. Please note these updates should be substantive and add to the quality of your application.

You have your answer in the policy: 1) they discourage updates before interview, and 2) updates need to add to the quality of your application significantly.

 

[drkjoy]

You have your answer in the policy: 1) they discourage updates before interview, and 2) updates need to add to the quality of your application significantly.

Thank you! I guess now I'll have to decide whether the update + interest is substantive enough to add.

 

[Med Ed]

Thank you! I guess now I'll have to decide whether the update + interest is substantive enough to add.

If the update is 30 hours of volunteering and details of your consulting projects, I would advise you not to send it.

The list of pertinent acceptable updates breaks down to letters of intent (not interest), publications, scholarships, awards, and info about anticipated experiences. The last one is vague, but the subtext is that they want applicants to limit updates to major events. Anything less is wasting their time and does carry the risk of creating a negative impression.

 

[drkjoy]

If the update is 30 hours of volunteering and details of your consulting projects, I would advise you not to send it.

The list of pertinent acceptable updates breaks down to letters of intent (not interest), publications, scholarships, awards, and info about anticipated experiences. The last one is vague, but the subtext is that they want applicants to limit updates to major events. Anything less is wasting their time and does carry the risk of creating a negative impression.

Hi there, thank you so much for your advice! I was thinking that the details of my consulting projects would be considered as info about anticipated experiences, and wanted to also make it clear that I'd love to live in Baltimore. But I did mention both my consulting job and willingness to be in Baltimore briefly in my secondaries and interview, so probably not worth the risk of creating a negative impression from sending a letter.

For the schools that do not specify the updates needing to be significant, though, do you think it would be a good idea to still send my updates in as an opportunity to keep communication alive + reiterate interest? Two of them (Penn + Columbia) did mention at my interview that they welcome continued communication