What's the etiquette regarding (organically) giving updates to interviewers?

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

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I have an interview next week and it's been 7 months since I turned in my secondary to this particular school. There's a lot of interesting things I've done since then that will help my application but they don't necessarily mandate a formal update letter. For example, I started designing and hosting workshops for resume writing and nutrition at my local homeless shelter (I have an internship with them).

So my question is, if my interviewer asks me "What have you been up to during this year?" or "Is there any information not provided in the application that you would like to tell the admissions committee?", would it be appropriate for me to mention these things? And would this information reach and be seriously considered by the admissions committee? On the other hand, can it potentially be harmful?

 

[STLouisVuittonDon]

Definitely won't be harmful in any way. You're talking just about a verbal update right? I think regardless of how it goes, it will come across naturally. They will definitely ask about what you're doing this year and then you just tell them =). You could even throw it at the end of the "Tell me about yourself" question by wrapping up the short answer with "...and now this year I'm working at X doing Y." and then they'll probably ask you more about it right then or later on.

 

[21Rush12]

That sounds like exactly the kind of thing to say if they ask what you’ve been up to. I don’t think it could be harmful, unless you’re secretly teaching the people to eat exclusively trans fats and not use spell check.

Also, I think these things should be summed up in a post-interview update as well just in case. There’s nothing inappropriate in updating about these activities and it’s a perfect way to show interest and dedication if the school accepts post-interview updates.