Official 2008 Secondary Discussion Thread part 2

Getting into Med School is Hard? Not with BeMo.
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Samus Aran

Samus Aran

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Hey guys, I'm new to SDN but it's a GREAT site! My AMCAS primary just got verified past Monday and I received 12 secondaries over the past week... :scared: How much time should I spend on each one and how soon after the schools send them out should I return?! I'm a horrible writer and it took me months to finish my PS... are secondaries as important as PS?
 
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DrSus said:
Hey guys, I'm new to SDN but it's a GREAT site! My AMCAS primary just got verified past Monday and I received 12 secondaries over the past week... :scared: How much time should I spend on each one and how soon after the schools send them out should I return?! I'm a horrible writer and it took me months to finish my PS... are secondaries as important as PS?
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Secondaries are definitely as important as PS, if not more so. If the secondary has essay questions and the like, then of course it's a pretty big deal. If it's just a "please send us another check" email... well, those are pretty important too :p In any case, "the sooner the better" is the general rule. Try not to take much longer than a few weeks. Careful, though; some of them do specifiy the time in which they want it back. As for how much time you should spend on them... spend as much time as it takes for you to say what you want to say. I know, that's not especially helpful, but that's what most of us are doing.
 
DrSus said:
Hey guys, I'm new to SDN but it's a GREAT site! My AMCAS primary just got verified past Monday and I received 12 secondaries over the past week... :scared: How much time should I spend on each one and how soon after the schools send them out should I return?! I'm a horrible writer and it took me months to finish my PS... are secondaries as important as PS?
Click to expand...

Looks like you have quite a lot of work ahead of you...

I would suggest taking one at a time and just plugging through them. Some schools say they want them back in under 2 weeks (Tulane being the one that comes to mind) so make sure you get those finished first...other than that just make sure you do your best because schools judge the whole package when selecting candidates to interview so make sure your secondaries are good! Your PS is important, but so is everything else when schools are trying to narrow down a pool of thousands of applicants!

Good luck!
 
DrSus said:
Hey guys, I'm new to SDN but it's a GREAT site! My AMCAS primary just got verified past Monday and I received 12 secondaries over the past week... :scared: How much time should I spend on each one and how soon after the schools send them out should I return?! I'm a horrible writer and it took me months to finish my PS... are secondaries as important as PS?
Click to expand...

2-3 week turnaround is a good rule of thumb.
 
DrSus said:
Hey guys, I'm new to SDN but it's a GREAT site! My AMCAS primary just got verified past Monday and I received 12 secondaries over the past week... :scared: How much time should I spend on each one and how soon after the schools send them out should I return?! I'm a horrible writer and it took me months to finish my PS... are secondaries as important as PS?
Click to expand...

The importance of the secondary depends on the school. I think that the more they ask you to write about (ie. essays), the more they are interested in getting to know you as a person. Depending on the essay length and topic, I initially spent between 3 and 10 hours outlining and writing. After editing, I solicited advice from friends and others I trust. Over all, it took me about a week/large essay at the beginning. Now that I've writen 30+ essays, I'm recycling topics and entire essays, shortening the turn around to a day or less. Do as good a job as you can. The most common turn-around time I have heard is 2 weeks, athough some say 3-5 days and others say it doesn't matter until your LORs arrive at the school. I'm shooting for <2 weeks, eventhough my LORs won't be out unitl mid August. Just my 2 cents.
 
DrSus said:
Hey guys, I'm new to SDN but it's a GREAT site! My AMCAS primary just got verified past Monday and I received 12 secondaries over the past week... :scared: How much time should I spend on each one and how soon after the schools send them out should I return?! I'm a horrible writer and it took me months to finish my PS... are secondaries as important as PS?
Click to expand...

The general advice is to turn them around within two weeks of receiving them. I've been trying to turn them around a lot faster than that (within a couple of days), but I'm being a bit compulsive. The earlier the better, I figure. I also took months and months (and 12 versions) on my personal statement, but I'm not taking a fraction of that time or effort for secondary essays (unless they look important, like Prtizker's "fit" essay). I figure that most adcoms will skim over most of the secondaries. I'm certainly answering them properly, making sure that they're proofread, and trying to show them more of who I am, but I'm not agonizing over them. I've reused a bunch already now, since there are so many that are very similar, so that I'll be able to do as many as I need to without burning out. I've submitted 11 secondaries so far (and am still waiting on my MCAT score!). Good luck!
 
DrSus said:
Hey guys, I'm new to SDN but it's a GREAT site! My AMCAS primary just got verified past Monday and I received 12 secondaries over the past week... :scared: How much time should I spend on each one and how soon after the schools send them out should I return?! I'm a horrible writer and it took me months to finish my PS... are secondaries as important as PS?
Click to expand...

Although I agree with others that the secondary essays are probably just as important as the PS, I don't agree with the amount of work they require. Many of the questions are very straight forward and I don't feel they need as much time. Of course, some of them are a little more vague and require more revision/work, but in my opinion, questions like "What are you doing this year if you aren't taking classes the entire year?" or "Why our school?" are pretty simple. Then again, maybe I'm totally screwing myself over by only having my dad and brother read them all, and I won't get in anywhere. Who really knows?
 
Could a mod please add 2008 to the title of this thread so that it will be clear for future applicants in later application cycles.
 
Ok so this is my secondary question:

In your own words, explain your motivation for seeking a career in medicine.

I've already addressed this in my PS..should I repeat myself? Or should I give more general reasons without giving specifics? There's also no word limit so I'm not sure how long it should be (i.e. the length of a PS or a few paragraphs or just one paragraph?)

Any advice would be really appreciated.
 
hiya

I am not sure if this is a secondary thread question or not... but here goes...

my apps are all done and verified AMCAS and AACOMAS... I took the MCAT in April...I am not taking it again...however I never took physics II... I am taking it now... how do I get my summer score to the schools?? do I send it to all of them individually?... or do I send it to AMCAS/AACOMAS?.... or do I wait until they ask me for it?... all of the schools say...you can apply without taking all the requirements...but you can't matriculate before completing it...I have everything else completed... and I was a Bio/nursing/ dance... major...so I have more than enough upper level sciences to account for my lack of physics...

sorry for the ramble...any help would be appreciated!

Mel:)
 
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On many of the applications, the schools offer an opportunity to upload additional documents. What type of documents do they intend for this to be used for? Are there things that we could/should upload that would be beneficial to our application?
 
On the EVMS secondary, they say they want two photos, and tell you to affix them to the top left corner of the application when you print it out. But it's a very small area . . . are you supposed to affix two rectangular photos to fit the square or what?


Also, there's a "recommendation form" on the site:

http://www.evms.edu/admissions/docs/recommendation.pdf

I'm not sure I understand their verbiage . . . if you have a committee LOR, do you still need to fill this form out?
 
Beetles said:
On many of the applications, the schools offer an opportunity to upload additional documents. What type of documents do they intend for this to be used for? Are there things that we could/should upload that would be beneficial to our application?
Click to expand...

I noticed that, but didn't investigate further. I assumed they meant status updates (like if you get a transcript from summer or upcoming fall semester classes), or want to send a letter of intent, or some other information to update your application with (like you've published a research paper). *shrug*
 
thanks everyone who responded to my post! It's nice to know so many of us are in the same boat. Good luck to everyone!! :)
 
Beetles said:
On many of the applications, the schools offer an opportunity to upload additional documents. What type of documents do they intend for this to be used for? Are there things that we could/should upload that would be beneficial to our application?
Click to expand...

i've been using it to upload journal articles that my name is on. i think they may also be used to explain further any black marks on your app, like a bad grade or mcat score, but i guess that would depend on the school.
 
Misty said:
i've been using it to upload journal articles that my name is on. i think they may also be used to explain further any black marks on your app, like a bad grade or mcat score, but i guess that would depend on the school.
Click to expand...

I have used it for an essay explaining why I've been out of school for a long time and why I'm applying now. I also used Columbia's to give them citations for a few journal articles that have been published since I submitted my AMCAS.
 
well I saw online that MUSC has all my info. Does anyone know how long it takes for them to either reject you or offer an interview? Is there a certain time frame in which I should look to hear from them and if not call?
 
Hey guys,

I just wanted some advice on what I should do..as usual :)

Im writing my mcat beg of aug...and I've been getting secondaries to fill out in the last two weeks...Is there a point to me putting out the secondaries before I write the mcat? Or should I focus on the mcat first and then try and do them as fast as possible after?

Also - for the LOR's..im using interfolio and a lot of the schools say send the letters "directly". For anyone else whose using interfolio, should I just call each school or do you know if letters sent through interfolio qualify as "direct". A lot of them mention VirtualEval or something, but im not using that :S

Thanks for any help!
 
Kiara said:
Im writing my mcat beg of aug...and I've been getting secondaries to fill out in the last two weeks...Is there a point to me putting out the secondaries before I write the mcat? Or should I focus on the mcat first and then try and do them as fast as possible after?
Click to expand...
It would certainly lighten the load if you start working on them now. At the very least you'll have more time to polish your essays. Obviously don't stress out so much on them that you take away time from studying for the MCAT, but you know... do a little here, do a little there and things will be a lot easier in a few months after you finish your MCAT.

You probably won't want to have to think too much about medical school for a few days afterwards :D
 
How long are secondary essay responses generally supposed to be?
 
Kiara said:
Hey guys,

I just wanted some advice on what I should do..as usual :)

Im writing my mcat beg of aug...and I've been getting secondaries to fill out in the last two weeks...Is there a point to me putting out the secondaries before I write the mcat? Or should I focus on the mcat first and then try and do them as fast as possible after?

Also - for the LOR's..im using interfolio and a lot of the schools say send the letters "directly". For anyone else whose using interfolio, should I just call each school or do you know if letters sent through interfolio qualify as "direct". A lot of them mention VirtualEval or something, but im not using that :S

Thanks for any help!
Click to expand...

I'd focus on the MCAT, but take the time to at least outline the bigger essays. Things like why you want to go into medicine, etc. that may be applicable to lots of essays. Don't worry about the "Why X" type essays yet.
 
whiterose said:
How long are secondary essay responses generally supposed to be?
Click to expand...

It varies depending on the secondary, the word/character limit, and the question asked. Some give you one line, a page, 100 words, 250 words, 400 words, 1000 characters, 2400 characters, 3500 characters, etc.
 
phoenix1 said:
It varies depending on the secondary, the word/character limit, and the question asked. Some give you one line, a page, 100 words, 250 words, 400 words, 1000 characters, 2400 characters, 3500 characters, etc.
Click to expand...




Some don't specify length at all. That's probably what whiterose was talking about.
 
phoenix1 said:
It varies depending on the secondary, the word/character limit, and the question asked. Some give you one line, a page, 100 words, 250 words, 400 words, 1000 characters, 2400 characters, 3500 characters, etc.
Click to expand...
My question just says:
In your own words, explain your motivation for seeking a career in medicine.

There's no word limit, there's about half a page of room on the application but it says we can use additional sheets. I feel like this shouldn't be this hard to answer but I'm really having a hard time figuring out what they want here as opposed to whatever is already in my PS. Maybe it's just writer's block ahh.
 
I really think you need to focus less on how long it "should be" and just answer the question in a well-planned, well-written essay. No adcom is going to say, "Well, zipmedic wrote a rambling, diffuse response, but it's three pages. whiterose wrote a very succinct, well-written answer, but it's only a page. Let's go with zipmedic." Quality over quantity.
 
zipmedic said:
I really think you need to focus less on how long it "should be" and just answer the question in a well-planned, well-written essay. No adcom is going to say, "Well, zipmedic wrote a rambling, diffuse response, but it's three pages. whiterose wrote a very succinct, well-written answer, but it's only a page. Let's go with zipmedic." Quality over quantity.
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Agreed. These Adcoms read thousands of applications in a given application year and am sure they are just looking for someone who answers the question.
 
thanks zipmedic and DocFunk

another question..does it matter if I repeat stuff from my personal statement?
 
It's not a great idea to just repeat things. They have your personal statement and don't need a condensed version. If you can significantly expand on or update something from your PS, then that's certainly fair game and a good idea.
 
rogerwilco said:
On the EVMS secondary, they say they want two photos, and tell you to affix them to the top left corner of the application when you print it out. But it's a very small area . . . are you supposed to affix two rectangular photos to fit the square or what?


Also, there's a "recommendation form" on the site:

http://www.evms.edu/admissions/docs/recommendation.pdf

I'm not sure I understand their verbiage . . . if you have a committee LOR, do you still need to fill this form out?
Click to expand...

For the photos, you can probably just paperclip them to the secondary instead of trying to glue them both into the small area.

I believe the recommendation form is only necessary if you haven't already signed an agreement that states that you waive your right to read the recommendation letter. As such, you shouldn't have to submit the form for the committee letter.
 
whiterose said:
Ok so this is my secondary question:

In your own words, explain your motivation for seeking a career in medicine.

I've already addressed this in my PS..should I repeat myself? Or should I give more general reasons without giving specifics? There's also no word limit so I'm not sure how long it should be (i.e. the length of a PS or a few paragraphs or just one paragraph?)

Any advice would be really appreciated.
Click to expand...

I would only repeat yourself as a very last resort. If you absolutely can't find any other way to answer the question without repeating something you've already stated, at least rephrase your response, tackle the question from a different angle, stress different points, etc.

However, if there is anything you can say that isn't redundant, say it instead!
 
saqrfaraj said:
I would only repeat yourself as a very last resort. If you absolutely can't find any other way to answer the question without repeating something you've already stated, at least rephrase your response, tackle the question from a different angle, stress different points, etc.

However, if there is anything you can say that isn't redundant, say it instead!
Click to expand...

my reason for going to med school isn't some lifelong desire so i obviously had less to draw to explain "my motivation." i used the same ideas in the conclusion but different experiences that prove it. BUT, i didn't even look at my amcas when i was writing this so that i would avoid any repetition.

for example, experience a and experience b led me to believe x

in another essay, experience c and experience d led me to believe x
 
Sorry if I missed it in the last thread but did anyone post the questions from the USA (University of South Alabama) secondary?
 
Jolie South said:
my reason for going to med school isn't some lifelong desire so i obviously had less to draw to explain "my motivation." i used the same ideas in the conclusion but different experiences that prove it. BUT, i didn't even look at my amcas when i was writing this so that i would avoid any repetition.

for example, experience a and experience b led me to believe x

in another essay, experience c and experience d led me to believe x
Click to expand...

:thumbup: Exactly. This is perfectly reasonable.
 
UVA just sent me their secondary. A few mini essays (300 words max.):

  1. Why are you interested in attending the University of Virginia School of Medicine?
  2. Briefly describe yourself and your medical career as you see it ten years from now.
  3. What do you think will be your greatest personal challenge as a physician, and how will you address this?

Woo,
-z
 
Ok, kind of a goofy question...but should I go ahead and submit my secondaries and give them their money even though I know my LORs won't be done til probably the end of July? Any help would be great! :D
 
LilCat03 said:
Ok, kind of a goofy question...but should I go ahead and submit my secondaries and give them their money even though I know my LORs won't be done til probably the end of July? Any help would be great! :D
Click to expand...

Sure... once they are out of your hands, you don't have to worry too much about them, and a few schools (UNC comes to mind) don't want your LORs unless you've been invited for an interview.
 
mvenus929 said:
Sure... once they are out of your hands, you don't have to worry too much about them, and a few schools (UNC comes to mind) don't want your LORs unless you've been invited for an interview.
Click to expand...

UMich is another.
 
So I'm out of state for UWash but would loooove to go there. I know they screen, but I just got this email so I don't know if this is a good sign of not?

Dear Cruz:

Thank you very much for applying to the University of Washington
School of Medicine. The Office of Admissions has received your
AMCAS application which indicates that you will take (or have taken) the
Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) before the cutoff date of
September 30, but as of today's date, this office has not received
your scores.

Before we can continue to process your file we will need to wait to receive
the results from this exam. We should receive your results from AMCAS
the last week of October. Once we receive your MCAT scores your application
will be reviewed by our admissions committee.

The admissions staff wishes you success with your application.

Patricia T. Fero
Admissions Officer

...the interesting thing is my MCAT scores will be available in 2 days, not in October, so I don't really know what they mean by that--maybe just that they have to be submitted my October? Because I certainly hope they don't wait to look at my app till then if they have everything.

On the one hand, though, at least it's good I'm not rejected outright immediately based on residency, right?
 
cruz21 said:
So I'm out of state for UWash but would loooove to go there. I know they screen, but I just got this email so I don't know if this is a good sign of not?

Dear Cruz:

Thank you very much for applying to the University of Washington
School of Medicine. The Office of Admissions has received your
AMCAS application which indicates that you will take (or have taken) the
Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) before the cutoff date of
September 30, but as of today's date, this office has not received
your scores.

Before we can continue to process your file we will need to wait to receive
the results from this exam. We should receive your results from AMCAS
the last week of October. Once we receive your MCAT scores your application
will be reviewed by our admissions committee.

The admissions staff wishes you success with your application.

Patricia T. Fero
Admissions Officer

...the interesting thing is my MCAT scores will be available in 2 days, not in October, so I don't really know what they mean by that--maybe just that they have to be submitted my October? Because I certainly hope they don't wait to look at my app till then if they have everything.

On the one hand, though, at least it's good I'm not rejected outright immediately based on residency, right?
Click to expand...
I'm guessing they haven't gotten far enough to view your residency status.
 
Do you guys constantly check websites to see if you are complete at schools or not? And how do you check at the schools where there is not online status check?
 
Temple just sent me their secondary. A few essays [sigh].

  1. What is the nature of your special interest in Temple University School of Medicine?
  2. What are your plans for the current year- June 2007 until June 2008?
 
zipmedic said:
Temple just sent me their secondary. A few essays [sigh].

  1. What is the nature of your special interest in Temple University School of Medicine?
  2. What are your plans for the current year- June 2007 until June 2008?
Click to expand...

Personally, I would prefer those essays to Univ of Virginia's, which I saw you posted above. Those "Briefly describe yourself and your medical career as you see it ten years from now" questions bother me. Ok, so 5 years from now I'll be graduating medical school (knock on wood), and 5 years from then I could either still be doing a residency, or recently finished. What are they looking for? Me to pick a specialty for this question? To tell them where I envision practicing as a doctor? How could I possibly know if I'll be working in a hospital, private practice, etc.? I'll come up with something, but this question is a lot less straight-forward than I'd like. Their follow-up question is at least a little more directed and answerable: "What do you think will be your greatest personal challenge as a physician, and how will you address this?"

Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions regarding my thoughts on that "10 years from now" question, I'd love to hear them. Thanks.
 
cruz21 said:
...the interesting thing is my MCAT scores will be available in 2 days, not in October, so I don't really know what they mean by that--maybe just that they have to be submitted my October? Because I certainly hope they don't wait to look at my app till then if they have everything.
Click to expand...

They probably haven't switched over to the new testing schedule, since August MCATers last year (and in years past) had to wait til October to get their scores.

They will probably wait to look at your application until they have at least the whole of your primary. Once they do that, since they screen, they'll look into sending you a secondary.
 
zipmedic said:
Temple just sent me their secondary. A few essays [sigh].

  1. What is the nature of your special interest in Temple University School of Medicine?
  2. What are your plans for the current year- June 2007 until June 2008?
Click to expand...

are you planning on selecting any of those hospitals?? i'm not sure what i'm going to do for that section...
 
Jsmooth said:
are you planning on selecting any of those hospitals?? i'm not sure what i'm going to do for that section...
Click to expand...

How strict do you they are about the 2 science faculty letters. They say not to include research, and that is a big one for me, and I also use it as my second Science Letter.

Is it worth calling them to see if they will be lenient and let it slide?
 
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