secondary application tips

Hi Medical School Applicants! I will be hosting office hours on Wednesday July 5 from 6-8pm PST / 9-11pm EST on our Cracking Med School Admissions website. Come prepared with your questions about secondary applications! Please note that I will not be reading essays during office hours, but if...

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...

For secondary apps there are various questions about identity, background, and getting along with others who are different from me. I'm a East coast Jew, and in college my closest friend was a fundamentalist black Christian from the deep South. Is it weird to mention that in an essay? I feel...

Hi all - I hope everyone is doing well! I am struggling on what topic to pick for my overcoming a challenge prompt. As many, I've faced so many challenges in my life and all are meaningful to me in different ways. One challenge that I struggled with a lot in college and impacted some of my...

NYU’s Medical School is consistently ranked very high by physicians and students. The program is focused on developing physicians who are innovative and prepared to be leaders for the next generation of healthcare providers. NYU med students tend to be creative and diverse as well as...

“At UCSF, our mission is to advance health worldwide, and we are attracting some of the nation’s best and brightest students to help us achieve that goal. One of the reasons our students come to UCSF is to work in a culture of discovery and innovation.” The feeling that applicants often get...

Penn State College of Medicine offers accelerated programs for students interested in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Orthopedics, Emergency Medicine and Neurosurgery to complete their training in three years. It provides an interdisciplinary training environment for students from their...

Now that you’ve (hopefully) finished up your primary med school application, what’s next? Ideally, not stressing yourself out by obsessively reading the forums on SDN for the next six months…you’ll go mad! Instead, how about conquering your anxiety by slicing through all the noise and...

Use the following strategies to get organized and to help you write better secondary essays. Taking the time to think about how you will approach your secondaries can give you the “big picture” perspective you need to do your best work. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, trying a new approach can...

After you have submitted your primary application, the real fun begins! Depending on how many schools you are applying to and the number of school systems, it can be challenging to keep track of all of your secondary applications and deadlines. To help you get organized, I’m sharing a...

With the multi-staged admissions process, applicants can make an impact at each step – or be weeded out. Your assessment continues by looking at other ways you communicated with the admissions committee, and whether or not they helped you past the next hurdle. Secondaries Your secondary essays...

As one of the oldest medical schools in the United States—the fourth oldest—Geiselhas a 200-year history of accomplishments. They are ranked #44 for research and #21 for primary care by U.S. News and World Report. Students love the smaller class sizes and the opportunity to gain clinical...

Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University is the only medical school in the state of Rhode Island. For this reason, it offers unparalleled access to all types of clinical settings and hospitals. It has seven teaching hospitals near its medical school campus. Its mission is “The pursuit of...

According to the U.S. News and World Report, UCDSOM is ranked #10 for primary care and #39 for research. This medical school campus is unique in that they have seven student-run clinics: Paul Hom Asian Clinic, Clinica Tepati, Imani Clinic, Shifa Clinic, Joan Viteri Memorial Clinic, Bayanihan...

University of Michigan Medical School is ranked in the top ten schools for excellence in primary care. Given the school’s focus on self-directed learning and building on a strong science foundation, it will be important in your secondary essays to convey the level of your self-awareness in...

OHSU is Oregon’s only health center, and the school focuses on training med students to serve throughout the state. The goal is to advance health care delivery and leadership throughout the state. Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) 2018-19 Secondary Application Writing Prompts: OHSU...

The thing we hear again and again from our med school experts is that the biggest error applicants make in their secondary essays is failing to answer the question. It sounds easy, right? Just answer the question. But when you’re answering so many essays for so many schools – and you’re feeling...

Given the principles for BCM, I recommend covering your clinical, research and community experience in their secondary application essays. They place special emphasis on recruiting students from diverse backgrounds and from ethnicities that are underrepresented in medicine. Highlight your...

By the time admissions people start reading the secondaries they already know a little bit about you. They have seen your transcript, GPA, and MCAT score. They have also reviewed your AMCAS essay so they should know what you think is most important for them to know. But of course pieces are...

“At UCSF, our mission is to advance health worldwide, and we are attracting some of the nation’s best and brightest students to help us achieve that goal. One of the reasons our students come to UCSF is to work in a culture of discovery and innovation.” The feeling that applicants often get...

We know the stress of the med school application process doesn’t stop when you hit “Submit” on your AMCAS/AACOMAS app — far from it. Almost as soon as you’ve patted yourself on the back for a brilliant primary application, it’s time for another round of hard work on your secondaries. And this is...

Congrats! You’ve completed your AMCAS app and are starting to hear back from med schools. It’s not time to sit back on your laurels just yet. You’ve still got a lot of work ahead of you, and a great secondary essay is one of the keys to a med school acceptance. But how do you write that...

You’ve got a lot on your plate: you either are hustling to start submitting those secondaries after a later primary application submission, or you’ve been working on your secondaries for a while and are just STUCK. Either way, you’re submitting your secondaries later than you had planned (unless...

“The mission of Yale School of Medicine is to educate and inspire scholars and future leaders who will advance the practice of medicine and the biomedical sciences.” As a top ten research institution, Yale is not simply interested in training students to practice good medicine. They are...

New York Medical College is located in Westchester, New York and has one of the largest medical education programs in the country. Their researchers and physicians are involved in diagnosing and researching large-scale public health threats. As a result, the school emphasizes community...

Penn State College of Medicine offers accelerated programs for students interested in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Orthopedics, Emergency Medicine and Neurosurgery to complete their training in three years. It provides an interdisciplinary training environment for students from their...

Ranked in the top three for research by US News, Stanford University SOM provides a strong foundation in the basic sciences and the opportunity to select a scholarly concentration—to pursue topics of individual interest. Students are provided with a mentor, coursework and research opportunities...

Temple University has several campus locations in Pennsylvania. The school emphasizes hand-on, collaborative learning, community service, and the intersection between research and clinical care. It is one of the top ranked research-oriented schools. Temple also features a “simulation center”...

Ranked at the top for research, Johns Hopkins Medical School provides a medical education with an emphasis on integrating scientific innovation in patient care. The school’s mission statement shares a comprehensive and long term perspective on medical education, touching on: The Science and...

Duke University’s Medical School is ranked 8th among its peers with a focus on interdisciplinary learning. They aim to use medical research to solve global problems. Duke emphasizes diversity, inclusion, and attention to community health problems. The secondary application questions ask you to...

In case you missed it – or if you’d like to review – How to Create Successful Secondary Applications is now available for on-demand viewing! In just one hour, you’ll learn what you need to create effective secondary applications. This article was originally posted on blog.accepted.com...

NYU’s Medical School is consistently ranked very high by physicians and students. The program is focused on developing physicians who are innovative and prepared to be leaders for the next generation of healthcare providers. NYU med students tend to be creative and diverse as well as...

Given the Jesuit influence at Georgetown and its adoption of the Cura Personalisphilosophy, I recommend covering your clinical, research and community service experience for Georgetown’s secondary application essay. The school places special emphasis on training physicians to treat medically...

Sidney Kimmel Medical College (formerly Thomas Jefferson Medical College) is located in Philadelphia and prides itself on educating physicians who will provide integrated community healthcare. For example, one of their unique programs focuses on providing physicians for rural areas. The new...

If you sent your AMCAS application off promptly in June, you’re now working your way through secondary application essays. When writing your secondaries, keep in mind that the purpose of the secondaries is to show your fit with the specific school, not to show why you want to go into the medical...

It’s July – we know you’re busy. But here’s something worth making time for this week: our free one-hour webinar, How to Create Successful Secondary Applications. Now that you’ve hit “Submit” on your primary med school app, it’s time to think about the next step in the process – the...

We know the stress of the med school application process doesn’t stop when you hit “Submit” on your AMCAS/AACOMAS app – far from it. Almost as soon as you’ve patted yourself on the back for a brilliant primary application, it’s time for another round of hard work on your secondaries. How can...

Many medical schools include an optional essay in their secondary applications. Obviously, this “optional” essay is not required, and the essay prompt sometimes emphasizes this point. Often, the question will include the stipulation that you cannot include anything that was already mentioned in...

Now that you’ve (hopefully) finished up your primary med school application, what’s next? Ideally, not stressing yourself out by reading the forums on SDN for the next six months…you’ll go mad! Instead, how about conquering your anxiety by slicing through all the noise and misinformation about...

Stony Brook SOM is located in New York. It has a three-part mission that includes research, education and service. For students interested in applying to SBU SOM, you will need to do thorough research and use secondary sources to learn more about the school. If it is one of your top choices or...