Post-interview update letters

[Donald Kimball]

Since submitting my application way back in June and after going on a few early interviews, I realized that my clinical and volunteer experience was probably lacking, so I sought to expand my experience in those fields.

I have sent two post-interview update letters to schools including some new clinical, volunteer, and work experiences. However, within a week and a half of receiving my update, one of the schools rejected me. I'm sure it was a coincidence, but I wonder if the content and format of my update letter was off-putting.

Below is a link to a scrubbed version of my letter, and I'd love any feedback on its tone or the formatting of how I presented my activities.

Update letter

Finally, I interviewed near the end of October and in early November, but didn't have a chance during either interview to really comment on my recent activities. Is it still appropriate to send an update letter in this case? And should an update letter include some reason why I would be a great fit to the school and why the school would be a great fit for me? Don't want to blow my load on an update letter if I get waitlisted later.

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[nemo123]

The update letter looks fine to me. I don't think it would have been off-putting. I think it would be fine to send that update letter to the school you recently interviewed at. You could write a sentence or two saying why you like the school so much in your update letter and if you're waitlisted, you can elaborate even further on your fit with the school in a second letter.

 

[histidine]

Only thing I would get rid of is the hrs/week. Just say how often (once a week, etc) you do the activity. I really doubt you got rejected because of the letter

 

[zacharyw]

It wasn't bad, but I don't know how I feel about listing the hours, as it seems like you are counting the hours to check off the boxes. This is only an opinion, so take it with a grain of salt, but I think you should elaborate more on how it changed the way you think or how it has reaffirmed your interest in medicine more.

EDIT: Elaborate on your shadowing experience. You only listed the shadowing instead of describing it.

 

[Donald Kimball]

A good point about the hours. On the one hand, I don't want to give the impression that I'm just doing it for the hours; on the other hand, I think a simple, concrete anchor makes life easier for the reader(s).

Thanks!