2010-2011 Duke Application Thread

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Can't log in here either - have we been screened or everyone gets this secondary?
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Everyone gets it.

Still waiting on mine..
 
Got the e-mail, but can't log in because of something like 'information does not match'.
 
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nburnett3 said:
Same here. Very frustrating, since I just got Case's secondary today and I got an error on it also. Alas, hopefully by tomorrow they both have it fixed.
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Haha, same here. It was very anticlimactic.
 
has someone emailed about the login issue?
 
This is posted on the application site

**ALERT**

You may be experiencing difficulties creating your account. We have contacted our technical support staff BUT the resources that enable your access may be impacted by the fact that we are downloading over 1500 applications from AMCAS and loading the data into our data base. Don’t be alarmed!! We’ll post a broadcast message in this same location once the problem is resolved – technology – can’t live with it and can’t live without it.

Richard Wallace

Associate Director of Admissions

July 20, 2010
 
Duke isn't rolling admissions, right? So we can take a little longer than the standard "2 week" timeframe for submitting secondaries?
 
Having the same problem as well...actually as a re applicant, it does not let me create a new account. They posted the problem should be resolved by this afternoon.
 
First of all, the system is fixed (for me at least) and the secondary is now accessible.

Second, I have a bit of a conundrum and I'd love to hear a few other points of view on it before I fill this thing out. The first part of the application asks
Have you ever been accepted or deferred admission to ANY medical school? If no, type "N/A" in the box below; if yes, please explain:


Now, way back as a sophomore, I applied and was accepted to Sinai's Humanities and Medicine program. At the time, I decided the program wasn't for me and I did not complete the course requirements, attend the summer programs and so forth. Had I completed the couple of classes and summer program required, I would have been guaranteed admission at Sinai upon graduating. Since I did not make any efforts to do so and withdrew from the program, I never really had a technical medical school acceptance (it was contingent on a number of conditions I intentionally did not meet). I am not trying to hide this (nor do I think I have any reason to...), but I also don't feel the need to write a little mini optional essay about it and highlight it. Do you guys think this something that I need to disclose and discuss here, or is it outside the scope of the query?

Edit: If it makes any difference, one of my rec letters very briefly mentions that I received an acceptance to the program but turned it down in lieu of research and flexibility for my summer work and for my post-grad plans--I would have been required to enroll within a year of graduating, and instead I will have taken three (valuable =) years off before starting school.
 
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Well I'm glad I didn't pre-write these essays...looks like they cut down on the 5 from last year.
 
for all the hype this secondary looks very doable
 
Can someone please post the prompts from the secondary?
 
UrsusHorribilis said:
First of all, the system is fixed (for me at least) and the secondary is now accessible.

Second, I have a bit of a conundrum and I'd love to hear a few other points of view on it before I fill this thing out. The first part of the application asks
Have you ever been accepted or deferred admission to ANY medical school? If no, type "N/A" in the box below; if yes, please explain:


Now, way back as a sophomore, I applied and was accepted to Sinai's Humanities and Medicine program. At the time, I decided the program wasn't for me and I did not complete the course requirements, attend the summer programs and so forth. Had I completed the couple of classes and summer program required, I would have been guaranteed admission at Sinai upon graduating. Since I did not make any efforts to do so and withdrew from the program, I never really had a technical medical school acceptance (it was contingent on a number of conditions I intentionally did not meet). I am not trying to hide this (nor do I think I have any reason to...), but I also don't feel the need to write a little mini optional essay about it and highlight it. Do you guys think this something that I need to disclose and discuss here, or is it outside the scope of the query?

Edit: If it makes any difference, one of my rec letters very briefly mentions that I received an acceptance to the program but turned it down in lieu of research and flexibility for my summer work and for my post-grad plans--I would have been required to enroll within a year of graduating, and instead I will have taken three (valuable =) years off before starting school.
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Yeah, I think you should write about this situation--and esp since its in the rec letter. If it wasn't, I think you could avoid it, but you really don't want to have any inconsistencies like this. I don't think you will be seen negatively, and in fact, if you can come up with a really well written explanation of WHY you turned down Sinai, you could win yourself a few points.
 
yea, really interesting essays actually...i approve. a pain to finish though but at least u get a good sense of accomplishment when ur done
 
Yeah I do kinda like these essays...they're not the generic "tell us about yourself" ones for other schools.
 
Would someone mind posting the essay prompts please? I didn't get an email yet. Thanks so much!
 
umichgal said:
Would someone mind posting the essay prompts please? I didn't get an email yet. Thanks so much!
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What is the most significant moral or ethical dilemma that you have faced in your life (excluding instances of academic dishonesty involving another person)? Describe how you dealt with and potentially resolved it, including beliefs, resources, individuals, etc. How did this dilemma and its resolution change your life and what, if any, impact will this have on your future as a health care provider?


What has been your most humbling experience and how will that experience affect your interactions with your peers and patients?

What is the toughest feedback that you ever received? How did you handle it and what did you learn from it? (There are no character limits)


One of these:

What is the single most compelling aspect of your application to medical school and why? (There are no character limits)

What is the value of giving back to your community? Is it a more important attribute of a physician than of others performing other roles within a community? (There are no character limits)

What are people most likely to misunderstand about you and why? (There are no character limits)
 
I see they fixed the site already. Essays are along the same lines as before, with all the moral and ethical stuff..I thought someone had said they were different this year..
 
BrainBuff said:
I see they fixed the site already. Essays are along the same lines as before, with all the moral and ethical stuff..I thought someone had said they were different this year..
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Well they are a little different this year. Last year there were 5, but it looks like they got rid of 2 of those and added the "toughest feedback" one.
 
Just finished and submitted my supplemental app for Duke! Excited about hearing back as it is one of my top choices after I just completed a summer program there this summer! Now just time to sit, wait, and be anxious! Good luck everyone!:D
 
stephdadancer said:
Just finished and submitted my supplemental app for Duke! Excited about hearing back as it is one of my top choices after I just completed a summer program there this summer! Now just time to sit, wait, and be anxious! Good luck everyone!:D
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Good luck to you too!... :xf:
 
stephdadancer said:
Just finished and submitted my supplemental app for Duke! Excited about hearing back as it is one of my top choices after I just completed a summer program there this summer! Now just time to sit, wait, and be anxious! Good luck everyone!:D
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How long were your essays?
 
KUNRD07 said:
How long were your essays?
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Most of my essays were about a page single spaced TNR 12 pt font and normal margins, but I had two extremes. One was about 1.5-2 pages, and the other one was about half a page. I just wrote about as much as I thought I should without repeating, and that's how they turned out, but my humblest experience essay turned out to be quite longer than I expected. So I think it all depends on the experience and how much you have to say about it. Hope that helps!
 
I know they say there are no character limits, and I try to go for quality rather than quantity, but will it hurt if all your supplementals aren't that long (like 250 words or less)?
 
Mark Knopfler said:
I know they say there are no character limits, and I try to go for quality rather than quantity, but will it hurt if all your supplementals aren't that long (like 250 words or less)?
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Personal opinion: no. After all, I guess part of the reason they cut down from 5 to 3 essays is they feel they don't really get more information from more essays, or longer essays for that sake.
 
you know how you have to enter your recommenders on the secondary website? I have a composite letter coming from my college. So I was just going to enter that. But, it says that you need to enter a minimum of 4 recommendation letters. Should I enter the names of my individual recommenders even though my advisor is submitting it as a composite? Has anyone else encountered this issue? :(
 
If you have a composite letter or a Committee Letter, that is all you have to enter. DO NOT enter the individual names, because they will be expecting those as well and it will get confusing. Then your file will never be "complete" because they will be expecting the extra individual letters. The composite letter or packet letter, includes all the individual letters already.
 
i know that the composite includes all of the individual letters, but it says:

"In order to complete the "Application Audit," you will need to be sure that four names are submitted in the recommendation fields. The system is programmed to look for four names even if you have a committee letter."

and when you enter names, there is a place to check "will this person's recommendation be part of a composite recommendation?"

i think that this means that you HAVE to enter at least 4 names of people who will be contributing to the composite. any other thoughts? :idea:
 
Acp2010 said:
i think that this means that you HAVE to enter at least 4 names of people who will be contributing to the composite. any other thoughts?
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That's how I read it, too... Plus having at least two of them marked as science professors and the cover letter marked as the pre-med advisor. I'm sure the guys in the admissions office will be able to figure it out.
 
DoC352 said:
That's how I read it, too... Plus having at least two of them marked as science professors and the cover letter marked as the pre-med advisor. I'm sure the guys in the admissions office will be able to figure it out.
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You guys are right. I have been told so many times by premed committee and all the other secondaries not to enter the names that i take now as the gospel. This is the first one I encounter with that request.

Duke really wants to be different, jeez...
 
To those interested in applying to Duke MSTP,

As many of you are aware, Duke historically has had a very long secondary application. For those of you that have received secondaries, you will notice that the number of essays has been cut from 5 to 3. Additionally, this year, if you are applying to MSTP, there will be no additional MSTP-specific essay questions, unlike in previous years.

As a follow-up to a question posed earlier, you are still considered for the MD program if you are not accepted by the MSTP.

If you have any general questions or concerns about applying to Duke MSTP, please feel free to email me at [email protected]. Please note that I cannot give out information regarding the status of any individual applicant - please refer those questions to the program leadership (contacts available on the Duke MSTP website) or Duke Med admissions directly.

Best of luck,
Matthew Kan, MS2
Chair, Duke MSTP Student Council
 
Idk if anybody would be willing to share but what kind of things are people writing about for the ethical dilemma essay? Because I can't think of anything that's really that significant and I'm wondering if I should just go with something seemingly insignificant or keep trying to think of something bigger...

like right now I'm thinking about when I found a coworker/friend doing something inappropriate at work and I had to decide whether or not to write them up for it since I was technically their supervisor... is that significant enough?
 
does duke screen prior to sending out secondaries?
 
What do ya'll think about the optional essay? It feels like filler to me, but skipping sounds a little dangerous too.
 
athenalux said:
What do ya'll think about the optional essay? It feels like filler to me, but skipping sounds a little dangerous too.
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i'm afraid to skip it too...i think i'm just going to pick the easiest one and write a relatively short response - i'm not going to put as much effort into it as the required ones
 
just submitted mine and thankful to be done!

now the wait...
 
Acp2010 said:
i'm afraid to skip it too...i think i'm just going to pick the easiest one and write a relatively short response - i'm not going to put as much effort into it as the required ones
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Thanks, you confirmed exactly what I was thinking. I don't want the committee to look at my app and think I'm a slacker for not writing another essay :p
 
athenalux said:
Thanks, you confirmed exactly what I was thinking. I don't want the committee to look at my app and think I'm a slacker for not writing another essay :p
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Unless you have something meaningful to say, or something that the adcoms did not get from the rest of your application, optional spaces may very well remain blank.

There is greater risk of showing the opposite. Being repetitive and meaningless.
 
yeah on second thought, i don't really have anything amazing to say for the optional essays, and i don't just want to write something random for the sake of filling space. ugh this secondary sucks - i can't think of anything for my toughest feedback essay..
 
is there any update on the secondary? I haven't even gotten the email yet.
 
DoC352 said:
Idk if anybody would be willing to share but what kind of things are people writing about for the ethical dilemma essay? Because I can't think of anything that's really that significant and I'm wondering if I should just go with something seemingly insignificant or keep trying to think of something bigger...

like right now I'm thinking about when I found a coworker/friend doing something inappropriate at work and I had to decide whether or not to write them up for it since I was technically their supervisor... is that significant enough?
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It is much more significant than mine. My friend and I went to Qdoba and ordered the same burrito. When I was taking the burritos to our table, I found that one is much bigger than the other. Should I give him the smaller one, or the bigger one?
 
OMG ttttc, you made my day!! If you seriously wrote that and I was the reader, you'd get an automatic admit to Duke from me!! Thanks for the laugh :laugh:
 
@tttc LMAO. that is too funny, but if you changed it to Chipotle instead of Qdoba, that would've been automatic acceptance for sure :p


- has anyone not received a secondary yet? I submitted my primary 6/4 still nothing from duke....
 
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