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making a new thread since the other one will be closed soon due to 1000+ posts...
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 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.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... 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?
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... 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?
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... 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?
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... 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?
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... 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?
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... 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?
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.
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 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?
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.
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.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?
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!
How long are secondary essay responses generally supposed to be?
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.
My question just says: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.
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.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.
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?
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.
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!
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
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!
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.
Not quite. They don't want LORs until they ask for them. Its not neccesarily with an interview invite.UMich is another.
Not quite. They don't want LORs until they ask for them. Its not neccesarily with an interview invite.
I'm guessing they haven't gotten far enough to view your residency status.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?
Temple just sent me their secondary. A few essays [sigh].
- What is the nature of your special interest in Temple University School of Medicine?
- What are your plans for the current year- June 2007 until June 2008?
...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.
Temple just sent me their secondary. A few essays [sigh].
- What is the nature of your special interest in Temple University School of Medicine?
- What are your plans for the current year- June 2007 until June 2008?
are you planning on selecting any of those hospitals?? i'm not sure what i'm going to do for that section...