okay, some kind people already got OHSU for us, so i'll hit the rest of the schools i applied to:
BU
definitely the easiest--send them a check and they are happy. if you spent time doing something between undergrad and application you need to submit a letter explaining why/what you did with your time. if you do not have a committee letter (and instead have individual LORs) you have to write something explaining why.
Columbia
who knows what they will do this year now that they've switched to AMCAS, but here are the questions they used last year:
1.) What satisfactions do you expect to receive from your activities as a physician? (Enter your response in essay format. LIMIT WRITING TO 2484 CHARACTERS.)
2.) In what collegiate extracurricular activities did you engage? (Enter your response in list format using commas. LIMIT WRITING TO 759 CHARACTERS.)
3.) Please list collegiate honors, awards, and memberships in honorary societies (Enter your response in list format using commas. LIMIT WRITING TO 345 CHARACTERS. )
4.) About how many hours per week, if any, did you spend in work for which you were recompensed during the college year?
(LIMIT WRITING TO 207 CHARACTERS.)
5.) What sort of work did you do (include summer employment)?*
(Enter your response in list format using commas. LIMIT WRITING TO 1104 CHARACTERS.)
6.) If your education has been interrupted for any reason, please indicate briefly the reasons, the duration of the interruption and how your time was spent. ( Enter your response in essay format. LIMIT WRITING TO 1311 CHARACTERS.)
7.) If you have additional information that you would like to include with your application, compose a document offline in a word processor and upload it here. Use this uploaded document to record any information that does not fit into the application form, including additional majors or colleges. The only exception is courses that do not fit into the course history pages. For courses that do not fit into the course history pages, upload a document at the bottom of the Additional Course History section.
GW
also an easy one, though the table of courses is annoying to fill out after you've already done AMCAS. i wanted to attach the doc here, but it is too large. PM me if you want a copy and i'll email it to you. otherwise the two main questions are as follows:
1.) If you are not attending school full-time during the entire 2003-2004 school year, please indicate activities, coursework, employment, or other occupations for that period to account for full-time involvement. Please restrict your answer to three lines.
2.)
Briefly describe the specific factors that motivated you to apply to The George Washington University School of Medicine. Please include highlights of your experiences that demonstrate your commitment to medicine as well as role models, mentors or family members who influenced your decision to apply to GW.
Please restrict your answer to five lines.
HMS
oops. i seem to have deleted this and trashed all record that i applied to this school. must have been the sting of rejection.
oh well, hope the link someone else included is helpful. i'll update this if i find the docs, but i vaguely remember their secondary being pretty short.
Johns Hopkins
1.) Describe briefly how you selected your undergraduate school and major area of study. (This space is limited to 900 characters)
2.) If you have already received your bachelor's degree, please describe what you have been doing since graduation, and your plans for the upcoming year.
3.) If you interrupted your college education for a semester or longer, please describe what you did during that time.
4.) List any academic honors or awards you have received since entering college
5.) List paid employment since entering college, dates, and average number of hours worked per week:
6.) List below your major unpaid extracurricular activities, hobbies, interests, and travel following entrance to college, and
indicate your degree of involvement:
7.) Briefly describe your most rewarding experience or some achievement of which you are particularly proud:
(This space is limited to 900 characters)
8.) Are there any areas of medicine that are of particular interest to you? If so, please comment:
(This space is limited to 1100 characters)
i also have the pdf of this app if anyone wants it.
Tufts
very easy secondary. they want a photo and 95 bucks.
if you've got some special reason for wanting to go to tufts they ask you to explain it in a paragraph or less. they also ask you to list any family members who have gone to tufts. i have this pdf if you want it.
U Maryland
if i recall, there wasn't much room to answer these (they do mean brief when they say it) and i had to chop down my "most important experience" quite a lot. like many schools, i had to include a letter explaining my lack of composite LOR.
1.) HAS YOUR EDUCATION TO DATE BEEN CONTINUOUS OTHER THAN FOR VACATIONS?
IF NO, INDICATE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE WHILE OUT OF SCHOOL AND WHAT YOU PLAN TO DO DURING THE NEXT 12 MONTHS.
2.) PLEASE DESCRIBE AND EXPLAIN BELOW ANY ACADEMIC PROBLEMS WHICH YOU MIGHT HAVE INCURRED WHILE IN COLLEGE AND/OR
GRADUATE OR PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL, INCLUDING WITHDRAWALS FROM COURSES OR SCHOOL, INCOMPLETE GRADES, POOR GRADES, ETC.
3.) BRIEFLY DESCRIBE YOUR MOST IMPORTANT EXPOSURE TO CLINICAL MEDICINE.
4.) BRIEFLY DESCRIBE YOUR MOST SATISYING EXPERIENCE RELATED TO COMMUNITY SERVICE.
5.) HAVE YOU DONE INDEPENDENT RESEARCH OR STUDY? _ YES XNO
IF YES, DESCRIBE BRIEFLY:
6.) IF YOU HAVE WORKED WHILE ATTENDING SCHOOL PLEASE COMPLETE THIS SECTION.
DATES EMPLOYER POSITION HELD HOURS PER WEEK
7.) WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO BE ENTERING A ?PROFESSION??
8.) PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR LONG TERM CAREER GOALS. WHAT HAS BEEN THE MAJOR INFLUENCE IN YOUR LIFE THAT HAS LED YOU IN THAT
DIRECTION?
good luck out there.
n
even though they're most probably not exactly the same they'll give us some idea what to expect and prepare for. You guys are going above and beyond and I just want to say again, thanks a tonne!
