PA School Update Letter Examples After CASPA

PA School Update Letter Examples After CASPA

Send a PA school update letter only if the program accepts updates, and only with a fact it screens on: a finished prerequisite, a new patient-care role, a new certification or a real change in your duties. Duke's PA program says it will not accept updated hours at all.

Our view: the program's rule is step one and the draft is step two. Three PA programs we read publish three different rules, from a refusal of all updates to a list of what to send and where. The CASPA side (what you can still edit after you submit) is covered in what you can change in CASPA after submitting; this page is about the letter you send the program.

Every CASPA, PAEA and program page quoted below was checked on November 7, 2026, for the 2026-2027 CASPA cycle unless the row says otherwise.

Check the program's rule before you write

The CASPA rules sit behind all three. CASPA's help center says "If you have updates for other sections of your application, submit these updates directly to your programs" (Updating Your CASPA Application). Beyond that, the program's page is where the rule lives. If it says no materials, the answer is no. If it publishes nothing, one short email to the admissions address, with one fact the program screens on, is the most you should send.

One more rule changes how you write. The 2026-2027 CASPA Applicant Agreement defines CASPA Applicant Data as "any and all information that I provide to Liaison, PAEA or any PA program to which I apply, by any means of communication, regardless of whether the information was provided through CASPA." Your update email is covered by the same accuracy promise as your application. Report dates, hours and grades exactly.

What counts as new for a PA program

Our view: more hours in the same job is not an update. Northwestern's FAQ says "For a current patient care role, it is not necessary to provide newly accrued hour totals," because hours "are automatically projected forward" from your weekly hours. OHSU tells applicants to "report only the healthcare experience hours completed at the time they submit the application." Duke refuses updated hours outright. A letter whose only news is a bigger hour total gives the reader nothing to act on.

What does count, and how to send it:

Grades need one extra sentence. CASPA's help center says "Updated coursework will not be verified" and new grades "will not be factored into your existing CASPA GPA", though programs "may choose to update your GPA locally." Northwestern adds that "neither CASPA nor the Northwestern University PA Program will recalculate GPAs," but the updates "will be viewable by our admissions committee." So your email should say which course, what grade, and that the term is now marked complete in CASPA. Do not restate your GPA as if it changed.

The countercase: a finished prerequisite is worth sending before an interview when the program admits applicants with courses outstanding and asks for proof. Those programs set a completion date. Duke, for example, allows "no more than TWO outstanding prerequisite courses," finished "by December 31, 2026, for the class entering August 2027." Duke's page also rules out "updates to applications after application submission," so there you send only what the program asks for, in the form it asks.

Before or after the interview

The reader changes. Our view: before an interview, the person screening your file is checking requirements. An update helps there only if it closes a gap: a finished course, a certification the program lists. Northwestern says that if you are invited, "we will work with them to reconcile the academic record," so a separate grade letter before its interview adds little.

After an interview, the committee is deciding. Send one update if something happened after interview day that the committee could not have known. If you are on an alternate list or hold, put the update inside a letter of continued interest instead of sending two emails; the PA waitlist, alternate list and hold status guide covers timing. A thank-you note is not an update, and an update is not a thank-you.

Three constructed update letters

Each letter below is invented, and each uses an invented program and applicant. They follow the table above: one fact the program screens on, stated exactly.

Constructed example: a new patient-care role

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's letter. Context (invented): Mireya Acheampong submitted CASPA in July as a medical assistant. In October she started as an emergency department technician.

Subject: Application update, Mireya Acheampong, CAS ID 0000000000

Dear Brackenridge University PA Admissions Committee,

I am writing with one update to my CASPA application. On October 6, 2026, I began a new position as an emergency department technician at St. Alder Hospital, working 36 hours a week.

In my medical assistant role I roomed patients and took vitals in a scheduled clinic. In the emergency department I now perform EKGs, draw blood and splint injuries under nurse and PA supervision, often for patients whose diagnosis is still unknown. The change has shown me how a PA works through an undifferentiated complaint with the physician and nurse in the same room.

I have kept my medical assistant shifts at eight hours a week.

Thank you for considering this update.

Sincerely, Mireya Acheampong

That is 131 words including the subject line. The date, the title, the weekly hours and the three new tasks are all checkable facts. The last body paragraph stops the reader from wondering whether the old hours ended.

Constructed example: a finished prerequisite

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's letter. Context (invented): Hollis Mbeki applied with Microbiology in progress. The invented program's page allows updates by email.

Subject: Completed prerequisite, Hollis Mbeki, CAS ID 0000000000

Dear Admissions Committee,

My CASPA application listed Microbiology with lab as in progress for fall 2026. I completed it at Ardmore Community College in December with a grade of A, and I have marked the term complete in CASPA.

This was my last outstanding prerequisite. If you need an official transcript sent to CASPA or directly to the program, I can arrange it this week.

Thank you, Hollis Mbeki

That is 77 words including the subject line. It gives the course, the grade, where the record now sits and the one action the program might need. It does not claim a new GPA, because CASPA does not recalculate one.

Constructed example: a certification and a new job

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant's letter. Context (invented): Odile Yeo interviewed at the invented Ravenna State University in November and is on its alternate list. In January she earned a phlebotomy certification and moved from a volunteer role to a paid one.

Subject: Update since my November interview, Odile Yeo, CAS ID 0000000000

Dear Ravenna State PA Admissions Committee,

Since my interview on November 12, two things have changed. In January I earned my phlebotomy technician certification, and I moved from volunteering at the Ravenna Free Clinic to a paid position there, 20 hours a week.

In the paid role I draw blood and run point-of-care tests for patients who are often uninsured. I also now train the new volunteers on intake, the same task I was learning when I started.

Ravenna State is still my first choice, and I would accept an offer.

Sincerely, Odile Yeo

That is 105 words including the subject line. The interview date sets the baseline for "new." The one sentence of intent is there because Odile is on an alternate list and would deposit at Ravenna State; it would not belong in a letter to a second program.

Channel, length and subject line

• Channel. Use the address or portal the program names. CASPA's "Update My Application" button sends only the sections CASPA still lets you change. Everything else goes "directly to your programs."
• Length. Our recommendation: under 200 words, one screen, one topic. All three examples above fit.
• Subject line. Put "update", your name and your CAS ID in it, so staff can file it without opening a second email.
• Attachments. Send a transcript or certificate only when the program asks. CASPA notes that "some programs may ask you to send them to CASPA or directly to the program."
• How many. One per real change. Our recommendation: no more than two per program in a cycle.

Asking about your status in the same email

Don't. Once your application is Verified, CASPA tells you to "direct any questions about its status to the program(s) you applied to" (CASPA notifications and status). Northwestern says that "In almost all cases, applicants contacting us via email to check on the status of their complete application will be informed that their application remains under review." A status question turns your update into a request. Send the status question separately, and only after the program's own timeline has passed.

Questions about PA school update letters

Do PA schools read update letters?

Some do and some refuse them. Northwestern says updates "will be viewable by our admissions committee." OHSU takes CASPA updates and no other materials unless it asks. Duke will not accept updates after submission. Read the program's page first.

How long should a PA school update letter be?

Under 200 words is our recommendation. The three constructed letters above run 77 to 131 words.

Should I send an update to programs that have not interviewed me?

Only if the update meets a requirement the program screens on, such as a finished prerequisite, and the program accepts updates.

What if a PA program says no additional materials?

Then send nothing outside CASPA. OHSU tells applicants to follow CASPA's update rules and says it "does not accept additional materials unless we request them."

Can I add new patient-care hours in CASPA after submitting?

CASPA lists what you can still change after you submit, and says you are "unable to edit or delete existing entries." The field-by-field answer is in CASPA update after submitting. For how roles are categorized in the first place, see CASPA PCE vs HCE.

Applying to MD or DO programs too? Medical school rules differ; see medical school update letters before an interview and intent vs interest vs update letters. More letter guides are on the medical school essays hub.

Get a free review of your update letter

Get a free Quick Review of your update letter against GradPilot's medical school update letter rubric, written for MD and DO letters. It checks whether the letter names what changed since your application and explains the new information in concrete terms. If your update sits inside a waitlist letter, use the letter of intent and interest rubric.

Sources

Retrieved November 7, 2026, except where noted.

• Duke University School of Medicine, Physician Assistant Program Admissions (2026-2027 cycle): 1,000 hours by May 1; no updated hours or updates after submission; two outstanding prerequisites by December 31, 2026.
• OHSU School of Medicine, Physician Assistant Admissions (no year stated): no additional materials unless requested; report only completed hours.
• Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, PA Program Admissions FAQ (2026-27 cycle): eligible updates; hours projected forward; no GPA recalculation; status emails.
• CASPA Applicant Help Center (Liaison), Updating Your CASPA Application: unverified coursework updates; updates to other sections go to programs.
• CASPA Applicant Help Center, Checking Your CASPA Notifications and Status: status questions go to programs after Verified.
• PAEA, 2026-2027 CASPA Applicant User Agreement and Release (last updated January 22, 2026; linked from PAEA's CASPA page): definition of CASPA Applicant Data.