Notifying a waitlisting school of new achievements

[JElliott]

Not sure this belongs here, but I wasn't sure where else exactly:

Okay, so I was waitlisted to one of my two top choice schools, and told I was "very near the top of the list." They've corresponded very little with me since. Recently I was accepted to a conference that would be very relevant to my application there, though of course, they've already evaluated my application. I know some people let schools know of new achievements/external scholarships/etc. they've picked up while their application is still under evaluation, so I was wondering if any of you knew if it's relevant/useful to send the same kind of information to a school that has waitlisted you.

Thoughts?

[es05902]

I haven't been in this position at the graduate level, but my best friend faced the same dilemma when applying for colleges (undergrad). She was waitlisted and strongly discouraged from lobbying, ignored the advice, and was accepted with a very generous financial aid package. I think if you can do it tactfully, reminding them that you're very interested by updating them on your achievements can't hurt. Good luck!

[CarlieE]

I haven't been in this position at the graduate level, but my best friend faced the same dilemma when applying for colleges (undergrad). She was waitlisted and strongly discouraged from lobbying, ignored the advice, and was accepted with a very generous financial aid package. I think if you can do it tactfully, reminding them that you're very interested by updating them on your achievements can't hurt. Good luck!

Agreed. Perhaps you could email the graduate office and CC the department graduate coordinator a revised copy of your CV with a brief note to say you felt this was pertinent to your application and you hope to hear from them soon. Just three of four sentences, keeping it brief.

[ZoSo 4]

I would say you should absolutely let them know. If you do it politely in the way that anthroDork noted, there's really no harm at all that can be done (the worst they will do is ignore the email). It shows you're still interested, and could potentially help your case. I notified the grad coordinator at a program I applied to about something similar to this, and I believe it helped with the admission offer that I received.