Some of the secondary essays don't apply to me. What should I do?

UBCvan said:

hey guys

3 of the schools I'm applying to have essays that don't apply to me. should I just ignore them? should I say it doesn't apply to me? if I don't answer, wouldn't a look bad?

here are the essays for the 3 schools:

1)ATSU-KCOM: What specific experience/exposure have you had with osteopathic medicine? How has this influenced your decision to become an osteopathic physician?
-well I have had no exposure to osteopathic medicine since we don't have any DOs here in Canada. I have only had exposure to ER of a hospital as a volunteer (mostly interacted with nurses).

You will have to answer this question. Read more about DO (go to the AOA/ other school website (I will recommend DMU)) and find what's unique about DO over MD and how your clinical experience has encouraged you to pursue this path. You can say everything you have learned have come form internet: that should not matter.


2)UNECOM: Please explain any academic difficulties you encountered during your academic career. What insight or knowledge have you gained from these experiences that you will bring to your studies at UNE-COM?
I have had no difficulties since I have a pretty good GPA (my lowest mark is a B)...I could talk about my MCAT improvement (improved by 8 point) but that's not academic difficulty.

I am in the same boat as you. For this question you can talk about what went wrong in that B, and how you improved. I am approaching this question in a very similar way. Although I am a bit discouraged given I am very late (so are you) and UNECOM doesn't have many spots.

3)Western-Pomona: While shadowing a physician, what did the experience do to solidify your desire/ambition to become an osteopathic physician?
I did not shadow a physician since premeds CANT shadow doctors here in Vancouver (I just got a LOR from my MD doc without shadowing)
Describe your participation in community service activities in a
medically underserved or economically disadvantaged community.
My community service was not in medically underserved or economically disadvantaged community. I don't have what they're asking.

You can say you don't have this experience. At least that's what the academic counsellor (Robin?) told me.

I really appreciate any suggestions. 👍

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VPP said:

Hope this helps! 🙂 Good luck! I am sorry I don't know how to make my responses bold 🙁

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christine121 said:

There are a few DOs in Vancouver actually. One in richmond and I forget where the others are. It might take some work but you can track them down....also one on the island

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Charlie Kelly said:

Having spoken to and heard talks given by the U of Utah School of Medicine's Dean of admissions and becoming friends with an admissions committee member, whatever content is included in your answers I would focus on presenting it in a way that says what you "learned". Sure, explaining situations and giving context and personal opinions is great but nothing helps an admission committee member understand who you are and how you think better than saying, " I did bla bla bla, and I LEARNED bla bla bla from this experience." I learned, I learned, I learned.
But you have no relevant experiences to answer the specific questions then expound about what you learned from the experiences (that you didn't have). Well... you're s.o.l. Jk, do your best to find an experience that in some way relates to what you think they wanted you to be learning from these experiences. For example: What does one gain from shadowing doctors? A med schools wants to know you understand the workload, chaos, knowledge expectation, demands, etc. of being a physician by seeing it. Otherwise they run the risk of you don't quitting after 2 years of schooling when you DO find out and end up having wasted everyone's time. If I was you I'd use some creative thinking to explain semi-relevant situations but focus on what you learned and how it is the same as though you had, "shadowed a DO" or "volunteered in an underserved community" Assure them you will be a compassionate doctor and won't drop out of medical school.
That's my 2 cents, arguably 3.

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christine121 said:

You could email the Canadian Osteopathic Association for the docs in BC or you could do what I did and just click on every doctor in your city until you see the letters DO behind one of there names. I used to have the names of the ones in Van when I lived there but I don't anymore, if I find them I'll let you know.

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UBCvan said:

whaaaaa???? SOBs 😀

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dunaa said:

lmao...anyway, if you are willing to make a trip to Ontario, I could hook you up to a few D.O's who are actually familiar with the whole application process and are usually more than willing to help...just PM me if you are interested.

And for your secondaries, I'll say just be as honest as possible while being creative because those interviewers (at UNECOM) KNOW your file insude-out(at least with me). My entire interview was based on my personal statement and my secondary responses. Also, think about your personal experiences with doctors or other health professionals in the past; have they done anything resembling a "holistic" approach? How did this make a difference to you? This might help...

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UBCvan said:

thanks for the offer...I'm about to send my secondaries and so I think it's a little too late to shadow a DO since this is my last year of applying..

again thanks for the offer👍

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drctother said:

If you dont mind me asking, What do you mean your last year applying? How many cycles have you applied? Im on my second round, last year I ONLY applied to UBC med which was just plain stupid, I wouldnt even go there if somehow I got accepted lol

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