Waitlist Update - Spouse Job & Award?

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DBC03

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I'm waitlisted at a school that I would love to have the opportunity to attend, and my husband is meeting with the head of his company's local office (close to the school) to discuss the possibility of transferring to that location. They sound very interested in him and I would like to update the school if he is offered a position. Much to my surprise I have also been nominated for an award at school and I wasn't sure if I should include both updates in one letter, send them in separately, or not bother with the award update at all (it's not overly prestigious). I should know about the job this weekend, but it will be a few weeks before the award ceremony. Should I:

1) Send an update about the job as soon as possible and not mention the award at all?

2) Wait until after the ceremony to possibly update with both if I get the award?

3) Send an update about the job, briefly mention being nominated for the award, then send a later update if I receive the award?

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I'm waitlisted at a school that I would love to have the opportunity to attend, and my husband is meeting with the head of his company's local office (close to the school) to discuss the possibility of transferring to that location. They sound very interested in him and I would like to update the school if he is offered a position. Much to my surprise I have also been nominated for an award at school and I wasn't sure if I should include both updates in one letter, send them in separately, or not bother with the award update at all (it's not overly prestigious). I should know about the job this weekend, but it will be a few weeks before the award ceremony. Should I:

1) Send an update about the job as soon as possible and not mention the award at all?

2) Wait until after the ceremony to possibly update with both if I get the award?

3) Send an update about the job, briefly mention being nominated for the award, then send a later update if I receive the award?

Don't mention the nomination. Anyone can pretty much nominate you so you don't wanna mention it then not got it. First time I got nominated I was so excited until I realized it didn't mean I actually won the award :p

I don't know about the job thing though. It seems like it would be a good way to show them you'd have even more interest but I have no idea about these things since I have yet to apply even so just my inexperienced opinion.
 
Don't mention the nomination. Anyone can pretty much nominate you so you don't wanna mention it then not got it. First time I got nominated I was so excited until I realized it didn't mean I actually won the award :p

I don't know about the job thing though. It seems like it would be a good way to show them you'd have even more interest but I have no idea about these things since I have yet to apply even so just my inexperienced opinion.

I’m in agreement on the award. The prevailing wisdom on a spouse’s job seems to be that it’s one of the more important waitlist updates and should be sent in as soon as possible. So I’m torn on whether to postpone that update by two weeks to add news of the award, which seems like a trivial update on its own, or to mention the nomination in the more important update, but risk having it look like an unimportant addition. An advisor told me to mention it in the update letter, but I fear making that update less impactful. On the other hand, an entire update surrounding an award that is not prestigious seems a bit overkill.


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I mean since your husband wasn't actually offered a position yet maybe you should wait until then at least? Once he's offered one you can send a letter of intent/interest and include the fact that he was offered a position there. Do you have more info on the award? I feel like it won't really matter much at all if it's just a random award but you should mention what it's related to.
 
Can't speak for waitlist movement, but I said that exact thing about my husband in a post-II pre-decision letter of interest for a DO program. I updated them about some new volunteer hours that didn't come up in the interview and stated that his job had a location less than an hour away from the medical school, so he'd be able to continue working for his current employer if I attended that school.

They accepted me. It probably wasn't a major decision factor, but I figured it was worth a shot because I really liked the school.
 
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I mean since your husband wasn't actually offered a position yet maybe you should wait until then at least? Once he's offered one you can send a letter of intent/interest and include the fact that he was offered a position there. Do you have more info on the award? I feel like it won't really matter much at all if it's just a random award but you should mention what it's related to.

He’s talking with them this week, so I plan to update once there is an offer - we’ve known about the possibility of him transferring for quite some time, but I wanted something more solid before sending in the update. I’ll make it an update/letter of interest. The award is academic in nature and is a result of academic achievement in one of my classes. I doubt it has much merit on its own.


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I guess I look at it the opposite way than some here. If you can also give an updated number of volunteer hours and maybe an anecdotal story along with your award nomination then 'maybe' thats worth an update. I don't think a spouse's job warrants any kind of notification to the school. I've heard from several people (who know a lot about this process) that if you don't truly have an update, don't send anything. Seems like you fall into his category.
 
@Med Ed - thoughts on whether to wait (an extra two weeks) to update a school about my husband’s job to include additional updates (award/research/volunteering)? Or should I send the update on the job ASAP and ignore other updates?


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I guess I look at it the opposite way than some here. If you can also give an updated number of volunteer hours and maybe an anecdotal story along with your award nomination then 'maybe' thats worth an update. I don't think a spouse's job warrants any kind of notification to the school. I've heard from several people (who know a lot about this process) that if you don't truly have an update, don't send anything. Seems like you fall into his category.
I've heard both - that especially with wait lists, schools like to pick people to pull off the wait list that they think will actually attend the school. When you're talking about an applicant with multiple acceptances, what would prompt them to pick a particular school over another might be family related factors, so I think those could matter.
 
@Med Ed - thoughts on whether to wait (an extra two weeks) to update a school about my husband’s job to include additional updates (award/research/volunteering)? Or should I send the update on the job ASAP and ignore other updates?

You should update the school about your husband's job as soon as he has something firm at this new location.

Updates for other things, even publications, carry essentially no weight at this point (or any point, IMHO). The admissions committee has already passed judgement on your application. The spousal-job connection can play in your favor because it removes the usual uncertainty of whether you will attend if offered a seat. This can be a very appealing feature come April 30. It won't move you from the bottom of the waitlist to the top, and the school will need to have some flexibility in how it uses its waitlist in order for it to work.
 
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You should update the school about your husband's job as soon as he has something firm at this new location.

Updates for other things, even publications, carry essentially no weight at this point (or any point, IMHO). The admissions committee has already passed judgement on your application. The spousal-job connection can play in your favor because it removes the usual uncertainty of whether you will attend if offered a seat. This can be a very appealing feature come April 30. It won't move you from the bottom of the waitlist to the top, and the school will need to have some flexibility in how it uses its waitlist in order for it to work.

Thanks - this is what I was thinking! This school has an unranked waitlist, so it might work in my favor in that case. I have a few good options even if I'm not offered a position, so I feel like I have nothing to lose.
 
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