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So Your Med School Application Is In. Now What?
You submitted your primary application. You worked through what felt like an endless stream of secondary essays. You proofread everything one more time...and finally clicked “submit.”
Now what?
If you’re in the middle of the medical school application cycle, you may be wondering whether there is anything else you should be doing while you wait. The answer is: possibly. But you don’t need to create activity just for the sake of creating activity.
Once your application is submitted, there are a few ways you may be able to add meaningful information to your file. The key is knowing what each type of communication is actually for and whether the medical school accepts it.
Send an application update
An update letter is exactly what it sounds like: a brief update on something meaningful that has happened since you submitted your application.
Maybe you started a new clinical position, completed a significant research project, received an award, took on a leadership role, or reached another meaningful milestone. The important word here is meaningful.
An update letter should not simply say, “Here’s what I’ve been doing lately” if nothing substantial has changed. Before sending one, ask yourself: Does this add information that strengthens or meaningfully updates my application?
And always check the individual medical school’s policy before submitting an update. Schools differ in what they accept and how they want applicants to submit it.
Send a letter of interest
A letter of interest is an opportunity to further explain your connection to a particular medical school.
Perhaps you have since learned something specific about the curriculum, connected with someone at the school, visited campus, or had another experience that deepened your understanding of why the program is a strong fit for you.
This is not another version of your secondary essay. The goal is to provide something new and specific. And again: check the school’s policy first. Some medical schools do not accept letters of interest or other unsolicited updates.
Send a letter of intent
A letter of intent is a much stronger statement: essentially, If you admit me, I will attend.
Because of that, it should be reserved for a school you genuinely intend to attend if offered admission. It is not something to send casually or to multiple schools.
A letter of intent should also contain meaningful reasoning for that commitment. If you are simply saying that a school is your “top choice” without explaining why, you may not be adding much to your application.
Add another letter of recommendation
You also have the opportunity to add a new letter of recommendation. For example, perhaps you began a new clinical job or research position after submitting your application and a supervisor has since gotten to know you well enough to write a meaningful letter.
AMCAS allows applicants to add letters after submitting their application, subject to its rules and each medical school’s requirements. Applicants can have up to 10 letter entries in AMCAS, but that does not mean every school wants (or needs) 10 letters.
The goal isn't to send something. It's to add something.
Think of your application as a file that admissions committees may return to throughout the cycle. If you have genuinely meaningful new information, an appropriate update can give the reader something fresh to consider.
But more communication is not automatically better communication.
Before sending anything, ask:
Is this actually new? Is it meaningful? Does this school accept it? And does this communication serve the purpose it is supposed to serve?
If the answer to those questions is no, you probably don't need to send anything.
Sometimes the smartest thing you can do after submitting your medical school application is let your application speak for itself, and use your time to keep building the experiences that will matter whether you are admitted this cycle or applying again in the future.
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