Is this worthy of an update letter?

[DrDriven07]

I have recently joined a new lab as part of my gap year in a field I am extremely interested in. During my time in the lab thus far, I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work on an exciting project. As a result of my productivity on the project, I have been named as a middle author on the manuscript which we hope to submit to high tier journal within the coming weeks.

I was wondering if sending an update letter on this new submission is worthwhile since the paper could get rejected and/or be sent back with extensive reviewer concerns? Should I only update programs that I am applying to once it’s accepted? Lastly, a more general question, what is the proper method of updating programs and when should you update them (only after an interview?)?

Thank you for any feedback.

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[VaultArmitage]

I’m just an applicant but I think the general consensus is you want to submit the update when it has the most impact. In this case probably when the paper gets accepted? A submitted paper doesn’t carry a ton of weight.

Each school has its own policies and procedures. Utah for instance explicitly says “Do not send us updates” while most programs have a document portal where you can submit updates. Look in the portal and you can usually find instructions.

One last quick note… From what I can tell you’re already having a really successful cycle!! I wouldn’t rush the update

 

[salmon98]

Unfortunately, this is a really tricky thing to navigate (from my experience at least) because every program has different preferences. Some schools tell you their preference in an email confirming your secondary submission but others don't tell you until during the interview. For example, Vanderbilt told us to upload the citations for any newly submitted or published manuscripts to the applicant portal; UNC told us to absolutely not send updates; and Hopkins told us to email them the Pubmed ID for accepted papers but not to bother them with submitted/under review manuscripts.

I found that sharing these kinds of updates during interviews was a great strategy (and a super-easy answer to the common annoying question: is there anything missing in your application that you would like to share with the admissions committee?)