What to put in an update letter??

[premed25548384]

Is it recommended to list the start date and the number of hours of a new position on an update letter? It's a new position, and I think it can really help my application.

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[Isoval]

Personally, I would not send one until you have worked the position for a little while.

By doing this, you’ll be able to write a significantly stronger letter by discussing specific things you’ve done and skills you’ve learned.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I generally advise people not to send an update on a new experience until after at least 100 hours of experience has been logged in. Besides, for a new job, you are usually on a probation period for 100-150 hours.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Agree with above--a new position you just started is pretty meaningless. You could quit tomorrow. Hold off until you can report a significant number of hours already banked.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

It is a volunteer research assistant position, and I don't have any research so I feel like it could help my application? Plus with tmdsas the cycle moves quicker so I feel like it could be useful to update maybe after like at least 50 hours?

Is this a full-time position? Remember 50 hours = 1 hour per week for a year. 4 weeks in a full-time job = 160 hours. I would still wait until your probationary period is over, and being a volunteer means you are less tied to the position and shouldn't be working 4 weeks full-time.

It just seems you want to get attention now. This is not an effective strategy, but hey... you can take or leave the advice. Either way, I don't know if it will cost you a seat or get you closer to one. Likely, it will have zero impact.

Read

If at first you don’t succeed, write an update letter! - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Added article

If at first you don’t succeed, write an update letter! - SDN

The Student Doctor Network provides free tools, resources, and advising services to help students become health professionals.

www.studentdoctor.net

 

[GoSpursGo]

It is a volunteer research assistant position, and I don't have any research so I feel like it could help my application? Plus with tmdsas the cycle moves quicker so I feel like it could be useful to update maybe after like at least 50 hours?

I wouldn't. You haven't learned anything yet, and you could quit tomorrow. If you're insistent on sending something, I wouldn't update until you have at least 100 completed hours. Frankly, if you told me that you're going to spend 16 hours/wk in lab, I would not believe you until I saw the proof in obtained hours--in my experience, most students over-estimate the number of hours they can volunteer in a lab on a week-to-week basis, and research hours tends to be the first thing that gets squeezed when something comes up.

Doing research is probably still a good idea, as it's something you can talk about in interviews and will be helpful in case you wind up needing to reapply. But on paper, your app is what it is for this year.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I was wondering how you frame an update letter is it like basically an activity section where you list out the number of hours and projected hours and end date etc and then explain what you learned?

If you're going to send this letter regardless of whether we think it's a good idea, then you can choose to ignore our advice. But this is NOT an activity section where you can write a whole essay about why this experience is important and what you learned.

I strongly advise people to keep post-application communications brief, usually a single paragraph to communicate whatever you're sending. If you choose to update for this activity, then I would include the date that you started the position, your current number of hours, and (because this is really the point of you sending this update, even if I think it's not worthy of an update) your number of projected hours. 4-5 sentences max.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I was wondering how you frame an update letter is it like basically an activity section where you list out the number of hours and projected hours and end date etc and then explain what you learned?

Did you read the article I posted?

 

[premed25548384]

Would you recommend sending a letter of intent to a school you got waitlisted at when you don't have any new updates? I can tie my job to their mission, which I have continued to work in and have more hours, but besides that, I've already sent an update letter pre-interview.