Updating in between decisions

[inky]

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So I have an MD acceptance, which I am thrilled about!

At the particular school to which I was accepted, MD and MD/PhD admissions is somewhat separate. I applied MD/PhD, and was interviewed for MD/PhD and MD on interview day but I have to go through the acceptance/rejection process in steps.

In order to be accepted to the MD/PhD program you must first be accepted to the MD program (yay, I got passed one big hurdle!). If you are accepted into the MD program then you will be considered for the MD/PhD program when they review the people they interviewed. The MD/PhD do not review until all interviews are complete and will not send out decisions until January at the earliest.

So the question is, is it appropriate to send an update letter?
Since my applications:
- I received a grant to attend 2 big conferences where I presented posters (I did mention this to one of my interviewers during the interview).
- I also have been invited to blog for an university run invite only ethics blog (this is meaningful to me and probably to people in sci comm, but I'm not sure if it's meaningful for any admissions committee).
- I spoke with two big-shots at one of the conferences I went to and I will be working with them both as a visiting scholar (no pay or anything but it will be an official title posted on their department website) for the next few months. Both of these projects have the potential to lead to manuscripts.


I really like this MD/PhD program and it is definitely my current top choice and so I want to do everything I can to up my chances but I do not want to send a letter if it is likely not appropriate.

Tl;dr
I guess there are two main questions:
1) Is it appropriate to send an update letter in these situations (MD admissions separated from MD/PhD)?
2) Are my updates actually update-worthy?

 

[downthedrain]

Personally, I say yes and yes. My PI who I was working for at the time called on my behalf to the MD/PhD program to update them on my work and I sent them a letter of interest. When I showed up the first day, my program director said those two things really helped sway the committee.

 

[dl2dp2]

So the question is, is it appropriate to send an update letter?
Since my applications:
- I received a grant to attend 2 big conferences where I presented posters (I did mention this to one of my interviewers during the interview).
- I also have been invited to blog for an university run invite only ethics blog (this is meaningful to me and probably to people in sci comm, but I'm not sure if it's meaningful for any admissions committee).
- I spoke with two big-shots at one of the conferences I went to and I will be working with them both as a visiting scholar (no pay or anything but it will be an official title posted on their department website) for the next few months. Both of these projects have the potential to lead to manuscripts.

In general sending in an update letter never hurts anyone. I would highlight VERY briefly (a few sentences, no more than 1 paragraph) the two bolded items, perhaps in a short E-mail to the MSTP program director. This E-mail would have more weight if it's in the context of a "letter of intent" (i.e. I'm firmly committed to attend your program if you take me.)