secondary essays

[lakersbaby]

do you guys think the secondary essays should be written with as much care and scrutiny as the primary app essay? like how well should these be written, obviously they should be good but since there are going to be so many should we really focus hard on each essay?

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[geno2568]

depends on the school.
for places like U Chicago, definetly yes.
actually, for most places, yes.

 

[Schaden Freud]

How do you know?

depends on the school.
for places like U Chicago, definetly yes.
actually, for most places, yes.

 

[CTtarheel]

I wrote the first couple like that, but in all honesty, when you get to the 7th or 8th one, all that goes out the window. Now at the most its one day to write it, let it sit overnight, edit it the next day, then send it out. Some of them I even started and submitted on the same day. There isn't too much editing to be done to short essays, and most of the questions are a lot more straight forward than the personal statement.

 

[geno2568]

i wrote about my dislike for uchicago essays in my blog, and a student from there emailed me and told me how important they really are

 

[Haemulon]

do you guys think the secondary essays should be written with as much care and scrutiny as the primary app essay? like how well should these be written, obviously they should be good but since there are going to be so many should we really focus hard on each essay?

You already know the answer to this. How much effort is getting into medical school worth to you?

 

[notdeadyet]

You already know the answer to this. How much effort is getting into medical school worth to you?

Haemulon's right. Do your best. I think where people start to drop the ball is when they say "ugh, another secondary" and rush through it.

This is your last chance to pitch your case to the medical school before they decide if you're worthy to interview. Do your best.

Can you spend weeks on each like you did your primary? No.

Can you rush through your secondaries or just copy and paste any vague prompt answer from secondary to the next? Yes. You can also push a sewing needle into your eye. Doesn't make it a good idea.

 

[zach1201]

You can tell how much a school puts weight into an essay by the question. Take Loma Linda's questions for example. They are extremely important and should be handled with care. On the other hand, schools that give just an optional essay can be handled lightly. Schools with "why do you want to come here" are important and are probably middle tier essays (if there is such a thing as a tier system for essays).