secondaries

Hi - I am reapplying to med school this cycle and am wondering how much I should change my primaries and secondaries. For TMDSAS, I completely rewrote my PS and diversity essay, but kept the optional essay with some revisions/edits since it mainly pertains to one of my hobbies: writing. For my...

Hello SDN! Thanks in advance for your help. I'm debating between a few topics for my diversity essay. For context, I am a non-Hispanic white woman. edit: removed identifying information, thank you!

Hello, I am currently trudging through secondaries and am curious whether or not I should talk about my faith for certain schools with jesuit/christian/catholic values such as Loyola and Georgetown. Loma Linda is quite obvious, as it blatantly wants me to talk about my involvement in church, but...

Hello all, I am excited to be entering my fifth year of advising medical school and residency applicants! I have helped numerous folks successfully enter medicine or their desired specialty. I offer comprehensive services - primary and secondary application editing, interview preparation and...

Hi everyone, Today I finally received a letter that I have been waiting on for a while. I was unsure if this letter would actually ever come, so I didn't add it to my letter packet and instead opted to have them submit it through AMCAS. I submitted my letter packet a while ago and was marked...

Hey everyone, I studied abroad in junior spring at DIS Study Abroad in Copenhagen and took 5 classes, 4 science ones. In hindsight that might have been a bit too much, and I ended up getting B-'s and even a C- in one that I didn't receive credit for. The grades don't appear on my transcript...

Hi everyone, I am a NY state resident applying to several NY schools. Some of these schools ask in their secondary if you graduated from a NY high school within 5 years of applying for medical school. I graduated in June 2017 and submitted my app in mid-June 2022, with my app being verified in...

I'm taking my Casper on August 11th (tomorrow) and since Casper takes 2-3 weeks to process and be sent to schools, I was contemplating just submitting the secondary essays for both AMCAS and TMDSAS after Casper gets sent out. I don't see the point of submitting the secondary essays before...

I am really struggling to try to find a good challenge essay topic. here are some of the ideas I thought of: - my transition to college: I attended the same small private school from k-12th grade so going to college was a big change. i had trouble making friends during my first year and being a...

I am currently pre-writing secondary essays for WVU, and their prompts have such low word counts! I am writing about my experience in the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) and wanted to know if I could use the abbreviation to save space? In a previous question, I already wrote...

Hello, I have a question about writing my secondaries. I grew up in a low income family and community, from which I saw various perspectives that I wanted to talk about in my secondary essays. However, I didn't check the "disadvantaged" box on my primary application, mainly because I felt that...

Is it okay to write about dealing with the loss of a loved one as a part of the 'describe a time you face a challenging situation' essay? I am unsure if it is too emotional/personal a topic to be addressed. (If anyone is willing to look over a rough draft to see if it is appropriate, then I...

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Hello everyone. I've been prewriting my secondaries, and came up with my own mix of ideas on this one. But, would appreciate if anyone has recommendations or examples! (I'm actually in-state, but (a) apart from a few issues specific to the state, just saying "I feel at home here" feels weak...

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Hi everyone, Wanted to ask about secondaries, MCAT, etc. I know there is a ton of info available but I just wanted to see if anyone had specific advice for my situation. I am taking the MCAT end of June. I was scheduled for next week but had a minor incident and have spent a few days on pain...

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how did you guys tackle the diversity essay? I'm currently applying and have been targeted and hit with the "we value diversity in strengthening our community. Share your experiences or perspective on this topic." I know I can just talk about my diversity regarding being a minority but I feel...

Case is asking for "1 page, about 3500 characters" for its secondary and I have 4100 (a page and 3 lines). It's about my research, so it's hard to cut down without neglecting some part of the question. Is it fine to submit a little over the limit here?

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Hey everyone, I volunteered in a research lab during the summer of 2015, which was the summer before my senior year of high school. I initially came into the lab wanting to produce a project that I can use in the Intel Science Fair. On the first day, the PI introduced me to everyone in the lab...

I forgot to explain withdrawing from a TA position. I forgot because it was actually really minor. I didn't get accepted for the TA position back in Novemeber and only noticed I was receiving credit for it the Monday right after drop/add week some time in January. The professor had accidentally...

Some of the schools I am applying to have the secondary prompt asking about what I am planning to do during my gap year. What if I do not have solid plans but I am interested in some opportunities. Would listing the opportunities I am interested in acceptable?

I've been really struggling to write my diversity essay, but I think I've come up with a decent angle for it. I'm a straight white male that hasn't faced any particularly unique challenges, so I'm really looking for anything interesting to write about. The best idea that I have so far is...

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I'm speculating on the best practices to write an essay for a for-profit school. Generally, very prestigious schools care little about their students having ties to the school's state. My theory is that as a school becomes stronger and more desirable (academic excellence, selective admissions...

When you apply to TMDSAS, you can select from thirteen medical schools in Texas to submit your application to. Twelve of these schools require secondaries. The secondary essays are due when you submit your primary application. You submit these essays directly to the schools, at the same time...

I wasn't planning on applying to DO schools this cycle, but was able to obtain a physician's LoR last minute so I figured it was in my best interest given my stats. I wanted to know if mid-October is simply too late to submit my primaries for DO schools- Sub-par stats (worst of it was an MCAT...

Hi friends! Disclaimer: I've changed up what lies below because it used to be (mildly) personally identifying information. In conjunction with the rest of my posts it could've been used to figure out who I am, so I've censored it. I'm going through secondaries from a set of schools that ask...

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I'm applying to U Wisconsin-Madison and the secondary asks: "Do you identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community?" Yes/No (it doesn't give like options to say what exactly you are) I'm a bi girl who's actually never had a gf before, so I kinda feel like a fraud/asking for diversity points if I...

I got most of my secondaries around 7/31. I have been prioritizing my in-state/target schools, polishing my essays until I am satisfied. I am telling myself, quality >>> speed, I don't have to be in the first batch of IIs... At my current pace, I will be complete at all my schools around...

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So while I was conflicted about whether or not to apply this cycle, one of my mentors has convinced me to apply. The problem is, I don't know how much this will hurt my cycle chances. I submitted my primary app on July 12th, and my transcript, LOR, MCAT are all good to go. However, I'm worried...

I submitted the primary AMCAS application on 6/14, was verified and received a batch of secondaries on 7/13. Within the last two weeks, I was thankfully hired at a job after months of unsuccessful job hunting, had to move to a cheaper apartment because I couldn't afford my current one (at the...

Hi, This is my first post on SDN. I couldn't pre-write secondaries cuz of the MCAT and making school list. I will have something close to 30 secondaries coming my way soon. I would assume that most of the essays can be recycled for other prompts, so I think I can finish all by August 8th. Is...

My approach to secondaries has been, write a sensible draft, have one or two people I trust read over, make some adjustments, and if I still feel good enough a few days later I would submit. I think there’s diminishing returns to over editing and writing too many drafts for every secondary...

Hey everyone, I’m applying for the 2021 cycle and when I did my AMCAS app, I selected “no” when asked if i believed I was a disadvantaged student. To my surprise, AAMC designated me as disadvantaged when my app was verified. Although I am a first-generation American born to immigrant...

Hi there, I am working through secondaries right now and am curious about other perspectives on whether to acknowledge or not acknowledge C grades? I have already submitted one essay from a school that specifically asked to comment on any STEM grades below a "B" so I feel like I have a good...