Update Letter, yes or no?

[YoungDaggy]

My undergrad takes up to 8 weeks from the time of primary verification to write their committee letter and send all LORs. And guess what, they took the full 8 weeks minus two days to send mine, so my apps were not complete until 9/7 (it’s messed up I know).

Regardless, I just started a new job as an MA last week. I never had any clinical job before but I mentioned in my secondaries (that asked about my gap year) that I was applying to many jobs. Should I send an update letter to the schools with this new info? If yes, how should I write it? Because some schools allow for update letters in their portals while others require emails.
Some people on Reddit told me it's not significant enough to mention now because it's still new and I have not gotten any II yet, which makes sense, but I just wanted to check with you guys here on SDN.

— I have a 4.0, a 512, zero research, and ~600 hours of volunteering (~300 are at a hospital). I'm worried that schools will see my ECs as weak but COVID limited my opportunities so hopefully, they can be lenient.

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[Mr.Smile12]

Read While You Are Waiting: Processing Health Professions Applications - SDN .

I'd wait until you have 100 hours done at the new job. I say this because something could happen and you could have to drop out next week (quiet quitting and stuff notwithstanding). If you have a portal and can add a new activity, you can put it in there, but I would say this would have no impact on your application (until you get to 100 hours IMO).

 

[candbgirl]

The seventh was two days ago. WAIT to send an update. Hopefully you’ll have more to update at the same time.,

 

[LindaAccepted]

My undergrad takes up to 8 weeks from the time of primary verification to write their committee letter and send all LORs. And guess what, they took the full 8 weeks minus two days to send mine, so my apps were not complete until 9/7 (it’s messed up I know).

Regardless, I just started a new job as an MA last week. I never had any clinical job before but I mentioned in my secondaries (that asked about my gap year) that I was applying to many jobs. Should I send an update letter to the schools with this new info? If yes, how should I write it? Because some schools allow for update letters in their portals while others require emails.
Some people on Reddit told me it's not significant enough to mention now because it's still new and I have not gotten any II yet, which makes sense, but I just wanted to check with you guys here on SDN.

— I have a 4.0, a 512, zero research, and ~600 hours of volunteering (~300 are at a hospital). I'm worried that schools will see my ECs as weak but COVID limited my opportunities so hopefully, they can be lenient.

I'd wait until you have more to say about your new job.

 

[YoungDaggy]

Thank you all, I appreciate your quick replies! @Mr.Smile12 @candbgirl @LindaAccepted

 

[YoungDaggy]

@Mr.Smile12 @candbgirl @LindaAccepted
I've worked over 160 hours thus far, do you think it's time to send an update letter or not? If yes, how do you think I should format it?

I have not heard anything back from any of my schools, besides being put on the waitlist for interviews at WVU. Keep in mind that I only applied to MD schools and my apps were completed on September 7th due to my pre-med committee being slow as previously mentioned.

 

[LizzyM]

Upload a pdf or send an email (depending on the school's option for updates) with a subject line: application up-date - employment

Thank you for the opportunity to up-date my file. I am happy to report that I have been hired as a [job title] at [employer] in [city, state]; my first day was [date] and thus far I have worked more than160 hours. The pandemic limited my exposure to clinical settings so I am grateful for this opportunity to learn from patients and co-workers and to become more familiar with this specific clinical setting. [or name the specific unit you work on or the specific type of patient you care for].
Sincerely,
YoungDaggy

 

[YoungDaggy]

Upload a pdf or send an email (depending on the school's option for updates) with a subject line: application up-date - employment

Thank you for the opportunity to up-date my file. I am happy to report that I have been hired as a [job title] at [employer] in [city, state]; my first day was [date] and thus far I have worked more than160 hours. The pandemic limited my exposure to clinical settings so I am grateful for this opportunity to learn from patients and co-workers and to become more familiar with this specific clinical setting. [or name the specific unit you work on or the specific type of patient you care for].
Sincerely,
YoungDaggy

Thank you very much!

 

[LindaAccepted]

@YoungDaggy start with what LizzyM suggested and then add a paragraph about what you have learned from these 160 hours, if anything. (I hope you've learned something.)