The autumn is often a waiting game for medical school applicants. You will wait for interview
invitations and admissions decisions. It can be excruciating! But there’s more to do. You can
begin writing your update letters. If you haven’t heard anything from a school for six weeks (after
submitting your application or interviewing) or you’ve been waitlisted, you will want to send them
a letter that includes recent career or academic updates since submitting your application,
reiterates your interest in the program with specifics, and makes the yield protection statement
where applicable (if admitted, I will attend). Below, we have provided additional guidelines:
invitations and admissions decisions. It can be excruciating! But there’s more to do. You can
begin writing your update letters. If you haven’t heard anything from a school for six weeks (after
submitting your application or interviewing) or you’ve been waitlisted, you will want to send them
a letter that includes recent career or academic updates since submitting your application,
reiterates your interest in the program with specifics, and makes the yield protection statement
where applicable (if admitted, I will attend). Below, we have provided additional guidelines:
- Confirm that the school accepts update letters, as some admissions committees do not. Once confirmed, address your letter to the Dean of Admissions or the Admissions Director, rather than “To Whom It May Concern.”
- Ensure that your updates are significant enough to merit communication. Examples of sound updates include:
- Publications: You contributed to a research article accepted for publication, authored an article published in a regional or national magazine or journal, or were interviewed for a published article
- Professional Development: You presented at a national/regional conference, played a major role in organizing/executing the conference, just finished a successful project, or received a promotion with additional responsibility at work in a related field
- Awards/Recognition: You received a prestigious award (e.g., Phi Beta Kappa), fellowship (Fulbright), or other honor
- Extracurricular Achievements: You took on a leadership position in a club/organization, significantly expanded the scale or reach of a club/organization, started a club/organization (not previously noted in your application), or a club/organization you lead received an honor or award
- Significant positive changes to your GPA
- In crafting your letter, take the opportunity to tie your updates back to the school’s offerings as another way to reiterate your interest in the program. If you presented a research paper at a national conference, you may mention, by name, the school’s professors who are engaging in similar research efforts.
