No Interviews yet- Update Letter + Additional LORs?

[omalleyalley]

Hi SDN! [please don't quote, I intend to delete some identifiers in heeyah]

I would appreciate any advice/feedback you knowledgeable people can give! I submitted secondaries pretty late (Sept 8-25). I got lots of excuses but that's what they are- excuses, and I definitely will be submitting much earlier next year if I end up a reapplicant! Because I submitted so late, I haven't begun to freak out so much about not hearing back. I know it's coming though lol.

Stats: 512/3.6 c/sGPA. ORM, TX resident applying in and out of state; OOS undergrad.
Lots of volunteering/working, lite on research and LORs(bc I hate asking- I know that's dumb) during undergrad. Graduated last year, fulltime research position this year.

Updates that I am considering putting in/with a letter within the next few weeks (once I have concrete info):

First author publication
- my question: it's an invited review requested of my PI- s/he was bascially like, hey I'm too busy for this but you should definitely write it! Would adcoms care about this?

1-2 other pubs (not first author, no definite pub date yet)

Additional Shadowing hours- ER/Ortho.
(this is ongoing so could have ~200 hrs by time I send in letter)

Clinical trial presentation at large hospital

LORs from DO, PhD, possibly MD (all either mentors and/or employers).
- I applied all MD, does it make a difference if a letter writer is DO? (I'm assuming no, but I am pretty ignorant about adcom processes)
To give background- I sent in my apps with only 3 letters. which I quickly realized thru this site is super below avg......


SO, which (if any) of these do you think warrant addressing in an update letter?/ Any tips/good formats for writing one? Again, I really appreciate anybody taking the time to read through this and give me some pointers!
Good luck to everybody else in this process with me! What a time to be alive.

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[gyngyn]

MD schools are limited to LoE's submitted through AMCAS.

 

[omalleyalley]

MD schools are limited to LoE's submitted through AMCAS.

Right, should have mentioned I intend to upload them through AMCAS, thank you.

 

[Bubblepop]

Also preparing an update letter and there's very little information on how to actually format them... Which likely means it's lots of options. I'm personally doing it sorta like an AMCAS entry. Activity name as header, hours with dates specified, few sentence description of update for each activity that I'm including.

 

[gyngyn]

Right, should have mentioned I intend to upload them through AMCAS, thank you.

Please let me know if you are able to upload more letters after your submission is complete. I was under the impression that this was not permitted.

 

[omalleyalley]

An applicant can upload letters via AMCAS after any school marks the application is complete as long as the deadline for that school hasnt passed, as many have on Nov 1st. Now whether it will be taken into account in a full evaluative process is another question.

If an application is marked complete and a new LOR shows up via AMCAS it could mean
1) If the evaluation phase is not complete, it might make it into a readers hands for an eval.
2) If the file is marked complete, the letter may not be seen by any evaluator and might be seen at the review phase
3) If the file is marked complete, by sending a new letter, it implies that the applicant wants the file removed from complete, reopened, have the letter added, then sent back for evaluation, and then marked complete where now it may have lost its place in the queue and is at the bottom of the review pile.

Readers should also not that by agreement between schools and AMCAS, all LORs must be sent via AMCAS letter service except for just a few schools that opted out. If you try to have a third party letter/LOR sent directly to the school, it would be violation of this and schools should not accept it. If you try to send a third party letter directly as part of an update, that is considered suspect and could trigger an application investigation. An update is something that you write by yourself

Thank you for the info! I wasn't planning on sending them myself- was thinking I could do it through AMCAS, but if that would mean losing my place in queue I guess that's not wise.
From your (anyone here) point of view, is 3 letters too few? (I get it'd be too little too late now, just wanting to keep realistic expectations)

Also, are all of the updates that I listed considered relevant to include in an update letter?

I appreciate the feedback!

Also preparing an update letter and there's very little information on how to actually format them... Which likely means it's lots of options. I'm personally doing it sorta like an AMCAS entry. Activity name as header, hours with dates specified, few sentence description of update for each activity that I'm including.

 

[Goro]

Hi SDN! [please don't quote, I intend to delete some identifiers in heeyah]

I would appreciate any advice/feedback you knowledgeable people can give! I submitted secondaries pretty late (Sept 8-25). I got lots of excuses but that's what they are- excuses, and I definitely will be submitting much earlier next year if I end up a reapplicant! Because I submitted so late, I haven't begun to freak out so much about not hearing back. I know it's coming though lol.

Stats: 512/3.6 c/sGPA. ORM, TX resident applying in and out of state; OOS undergrad.
Lots of volunteering/working, lite on research and LORs(bc I hate asking- I know that's dumb) during undergrad. Graduated last year, fulltime research position this year.

Updates that I am considering putting in/with a letter within the next few weeks (once I have concrete info):

First author publication
- my question: it's an invited review requested of my PI- s/he was bascially like, hey I'm too busy for this but you should definitely write it! Would adcoms care about this?

1-2 other pubs (not first author, no definite pub date yet)

Additional Shadowing hours- ER/Ortho.
(this is ongoing so could have ~200 hrs by time I send in letter)

Clinical trial presentation at large hospital

LORs from DO, PhD, possibly MD (all either mentors and/or employers).
- I applied all MD, does it make a difference if a letter writer is DO? (I'm assuming no, but I am pretty ignorant about adcom processes)
To give background- I sent in my apps with only 3 letters. which I quickly realized thru this site is super below avg......


SO, which (if any) of these do you think warrant addressing in an update letter?/ Any tips/good formats for writing one? Again, I really appreciate anybody taking the time to read through this and give me some pointers!
Good luck to everybody else in this process with me! What a time to be alive.

Additional LORs aren't going to change the equation.

OOS MD schools know from historic norms that very few Texans leave the Lone Star State. Those that do are usually superstars.

Bence, I suggest that it's a better use of your time to improve your app and work on Plan B.

 

[omalleyalley]

Additional LORs aren't going to change the equation.

OOS MD schools know from historic norms that very few Texans leave the Lone Star State. Those that do are usually superstars.

Bence, I suggest that it's a better use of your time to improve your app and work on Plan B.

Okay, thank you. What about the updates?

 

[Bubblepop]

Okay, thank you. What about the updates?

I think everything is appropriate except the hours of shadowing. UNLESS you didn't have any shadowing reported in your primary. Honestly, I'm not really sure how you're going to express super meaningful growth to report with a passive activity. I personally think if you're including an update topic just to say "I have 200 more hours", you would be wasting space on your update letter.

 

[Goro]

Okay, thank you. What about the updates?

The actual publication is fine, as long as the schools accept updates. The other "pubs" you mention are submissions; they don't count, unless they have been accepted.

Your chances will always be best with the TX schools.

 

[omalleyalley]

I think everything is appropriate except the hours of shadowing. UNLESS you didn't have any shadowing reported in your primary. Honestly, I'm not really sure how you're going to express super meaningful growth to report with a passive activity. I personally think if you're including an update topic just to say "I have 200 more hours", you would be wasting space on your update letter.

The actual publication is fine, as long as the schools accept updates. The other "pubs" you mention are submissions; they don't count, unless they have been accepted.

Your chances will always be best with the TX schools.

Thanks so much!