Which schools welcome additional documents?

[derArzt]

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I noticed Cornell said they welcome additional documents. I would like to forward some things along. Any other schools do this? I can't find much on the school websites, as most don't address it either way.

 

[GoSpursGo]

What kinds of documents do you mean? I'm pretty sure what they're talking about is update letters (letters to inform them of new accomplishments that you've completed since you submitted the AMCAS), letters of interest (a letter that lists all of the reasons why you want to go to their school and why you specifically would be a good fit there), and letters of intent (a letter of interest that ends with, "if I'm accepted at School X, I will decline all other acceptances, withdraw my application from all other schools, and matriculate at School X"). I think most schools accept those types of things unless they expressly tell you NOT to send them, though they have varying degrees of impact on the adcoms' decisions.

 

[245399]

I noticed Cornell said they welcome additional documents. I would like to forward some things along. Any other schools do this? I can't find much on the school websites, as most don't address it either way.

Columbia allows you to upload an additional file in support of your application on its secondary.

 

[CCLCMer]

I noticed Cornell said they welcome additional documents. I would like to forward some things along. Any other schools do this? I can't find much on the school websites, as most don't address it either way.

You should call each school and ask them before sending anything extra. That way you won't send your documents to a school that doesn't want them. The other thing you could do would be to bring them along on your interviews. Then you could show them to your interviewers or the admissions dean while you're there.

 

[UVAbme2009]

Yes: UVa, VCU, Jefferson, EVMS
No: Vermont

 

[JJMrK]

Yes: Cornell, EVMS, Jefferson, UVa, VCU
No: Vermont

 

[245399]

Yes: Cornell, EVMS, Jefferson, UVa, VCU, Temple
No: Vermont

 

[schrizto]

This is a nice list... I'll keep this in mind.

 

[Homoochan]

Yes: Cornell, EVMS, Jefferson, UVa, VCU, Temple, Mayo, UPitt
No: Vermont

 

[Mattabet]

All the schools I applied to welcomed the updates (I actually sent things to Michigan, Madison, Medical College of Wisconsin, and Case Western). It's odd that Vermont would explicitly state they don't want anything extra, as all the trouble they have to go through to ignore an update would be to drop it into the recycle bin.

I'd err on the side of sending your updates, especially starting around January to keep your file 'hot' - unless the school states (explicitly or implicitly) that they don't want anything further. Or, evidentially, if they're Vermont 🙂

 

[xcrunner01]

My friend just got in to vermont off the waitlist and had sent many update letters and a LOI throughout the year. I think they accept extra documents...

 

[Mattabet]

My friend just got in to vermont off the waitlist and had sent many update letters and a LOI throughout the year. I think they accept extra documents...

That's what I would have expected... In my experience, once you get past the initial hurdles, the admissions offices tend to be pretty accommodating - surprisingly human, after AMCAS.

 

[qmcat]

Once you get past the interview stage, virtually every school (at least that I know of) accepts additional letters. However, if you're in the pre-interview stage, there are some that don't accept update letters.

From my experience when I applied, the schools that didn't accept additional letters were Stanford, UC Davis, and USC Keck... and the schools that did accept letters were those already mentioned plus Dartmouth and GWU.

Yes: Cornell, EVMS, Jefferson, UVa, VCU, Temple, Mayo, UPitt, Dartmouth, GWU
No: Vermont, Stanford, UC Davis, USC Keck