I have heard that you can update colleges on your application info. People say to email them. Surely know one will actually read an update email for an application, however. Is there really any way you can update schools on, for example, an activity?
You should only update Admissions with significant information that might change the outcome of their decision. For example, updating Admissions that you were just named the top athlete in your local school district is NOT worthy of an update, as it’s information that will not push you over the fence if your application is straddling it. However, notifying Admissions you were just named the top athlete in your STATE and now are a qualifier for the nationals is worthy of an update. Very few updates will actually change the course of an application’s trajectory. The above is one example, so is winning the $50,000 prize in the Google Science Competition, or becoming a semifinalist at Intel or Siemens or winning the $10,000 prize in writing from the Scholastic Writing Contest.
If you decide your update is that huge a deal, you should FAX an update letter to Admissions, as paper spewing out of a FAX machine demands immediate attention, whereas an email or upload to the application portal might not get read for weeks.
@gibby Would being selected for representing your country at the Intel ISEF fall into that category? In my country they have a single qualifying fair through which National Finalists are selected (around top 1% of all the entries) and then, a 15 - 20 member team is selected after the National Fair and further rigorous selection.
I was recently named a Finalist for my math research and there is a chance that I might become a part of my country’s ISEF team by the time I apply in RD. Sorry if I’m hijacking this thread in any way.
Yes, that news is worthy of an update.