2008-2009 Duke Secondary Application Thread

[sux2bu09]

is anyone else having trouble not talking about the same things/experiences in a couple of these essays?

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[Retsage]

MD applicants: Please do not send paper letters of recommendation until you have received an invitation to interview.Recommendations submitted to Duke from your college or university via Virtual Evals will be downloaded to your electronic file prior to your interview (if applicable).

So there is no such thing as being complete...I think. Once you submit and pay, you are complete, for now at least, until you are invited to interview.

Uh-oh.

Hope they don't mind.

 

[serikk85]

Does anybody know what the grading system is like at Duke? I know the question has nothing to do with the secondary, but I'd like to know for one of my secondary essays. I've looked on Duke's website, but couldn't find anything on it.

 

[pagemmapants]

So the first year is constructed like this:
Molecules and Cells: P/F
Normal Body: H/P/F
Brain & Behaviour: H/P/F
Body & Disease: H/P/F
Practice Course: P/F

Second year all clerkships and the 4 week elective are H/HP/P/F. 2 week selectives, practice course, and clinical core sessions are P/F.

Third year theses are graded H/P/F

I'm not sure how fourth year is graded.

Of note, your deans letters when you apply for residency DO NOT include a class ranking. Nor is there a class ranking ever posted anywhere, nor do the deans even know where you rank. This is nice. Barring self-disclosure, nobody has to know how well (or how poorly) you are doing in anything.

Hope that helps!

 

[diosa428]

Second year all clerkships and the 4 week elective are H/P/F. 2 week selectives, practice course, and clinical core sessions are P/F.

Second year is H/HP/P/F

 

[serikk85]

Cool. Thanks for the responses!

 

[britishmafia]

I have submitted/locked the application.. but now I can't pay?

Any eta on this?


EDIT: Has anyone tried contacting the admissions office?

 

[TheVerve]

I have submitted/locked the application.. but now I can't pay?

Any eta on this?


EDIT: Has anyone tried contacting the admissions office?

i had a problem with my credit card payment... call the office.. they were very helpful!

 

[pagemmapants]

i had a problem with my credit card payment... call the office.. they were very helpful!

Yeah, Ms. Holland is pretty much awesome. And not just cuz she lets me thief sodas from the fridge sometimes.

 

[justapremed]

for the "person who prepped me the most for a career in medicine," would it be inappropriate if i talked about this professor who wrote one of my LoR's? she's been a really admirable, "woman in science," inspiring professor who did influence me a lot...

 

[shemarty]

for the "person who prepped me the most for a career in medicine," would it be inappropriate if i talked about this professor who wrote one of my LoR's? she's been a really admirable, "woman in science," inspiring professor who did influence me a lot...

I talked about the surgeon who wrote me one of my LORs. He's an advisor, mentor, and role model to me, so I thought it would be appropriate.

 

[doomknight]

I talked about the surgeon who wrote me one of my LORs. He's an advisor, mentor, and role model to me, so I thought it would be appropriate.

Just so you know, you did the same for me. Without you, I probably still wouldn't have finished my primary yet. You gave me motivation shemarty, would you grant the honor of taking you out on a date?

 

[smoke47]

Just saw this today. Has this message been up a while?


MOD
Message of the Day
Interview invitations will be offered starting September 1, 2008. Interviews begin Sept 29, 2008 and will continue through Feb. 13, 2009.

 

[linguini]

Just so you know, you did the same for me. Without you, I probably still wouldn't have finished my primary yet. You gave me motivation shemarty, would you grant the honor of taking you out on a date?

Maybe this thread should be renamed Duke Secondary Application/Love Connection.

 

[shemarty]

Just saw this today. Has this message been up a while?


MOD
Message of the Day
Interview invitations will be offered starting September 1, 2008. Interviews begin Sept 29, 2008 and will continue through Feb. 13, 2009.

Woah!! That's awesome that they actually tell us the 1st date of interview invites, so we don't have to speculate. Duke, you're great!

I called - They interview 5 days a week, except for some holidays. Unavailable dates will be greyed out so we won't be able to click it.

Come on Duuuuuke!!! I'm crossing my fingers for an interview invite here so that I can link it up with Baylor on October 3rd.

 

[joponoda]

Just saw this today. Has this message been up a while?


MOD
Message of the Day
Interview invitations will be offered starting September 1, 2008. Interviews begin Sept 29, 2008 and will continue through Feb. 13, 2009.

Who is excited for Monday!?! I know I can't wait to start seeing everyone post the good news people are bound to recieve. I submitted only a couple weeks ago so I doubt I will hear anything for a while, but I am rooting for all you SDners. Any bets on who the first one to recieve news will be?

 

[lala2626]

does that mean the admissions office will be open on monday? (even though it's labor day?) i had a question i need to ask them about the secondary... but maybe someone here can help. if ur sending a committee packet letter.. do u still have to fill out the info for each recommender? (i don't really have each individual's p hone numbers or anything...) but everytime i list the primary contact of my school for the letters, it keeps telling me i need to list at least 4 references... thanks!

 

[shemarty]

Aw, the message changed to September 2nd. I guess getting notified on labor day was too good to be true, haha.

 

[amp3r5and]

i've been dragging my feet on this secondary, but as of today, it's the only one in the pile...so i guess i best get on it

 

[Kaydubz]

i've been dragging my feet on this secondary, but as of today, it's the only one in the pile...so i guess i best get on it

Me too, my friend.

Though with interview invites rolling around...I might just...not..

ARGH go do it.

 

[shemarty]

Aw, the webpage lied. There were no interview invites today

Unless there were and NOBODY on SDN got one, which is rare

 

[Heathrow6]

Does anyone else's school send LOR's via a packet? If so, how did you enter the names of the authors into Duke's system? Did you list each author as a separate entry, or did you list the packet as one letter with the name of your adviser/whoever is responsible for collecting the letters as a single entry?

 

[copperfrog09]

Does anyone else's school send LOR's via a packet? If so, how did you enter the names of the authors into Duke's system? Did you list each author as a separate entry, or did you list the packet as one letter with the name of your adviser/whoever is responsible for collecting the letters as a single entry?

Mine does... when I tried to enter a single entry, it wouldn't let me submit until I had entered 4 names.. so I had to separate them out.

 

[Heathrow6]

Mine does... when I tried to enter a single entry, it wouldn't let me submit until I had entered 4 names.. so I had to separate them out.

Thanks!

 

[shemarty]

Update:

They've already written the interview invite email. They're gathering up the list of email addys and are going to send it out soon. However, they can't tell you your status on the phone.

 

[WillyWonka]

First round of interview invites were sent this morning!

 

[drmcsteamy2008]

I got the interview invite email this morning! Duke is my number one choice so I am SO excited. Good luck to everyone else!

 

[shemarty]

No Duke love for Shemarty.

 

[DrChristianTroy]

No Duke love for Shemarty.

me neither. At least they are non-rolling, and there is no real advantage to receiving an early interview. At least that is what I keep telling myself.

 

[shemarty]

me neither. At least they are non-rolling, and there is no real advantage to receiving an early interview. At least that is what I keep telling myself.

Yea, true. I was hoping to make it one trip w/ Baylor and Yale, though. I dunno how long I should hold out before I book my plane tickets.... hrm. maybe another week..?

 

[DrChristianTroy]

Yea, true. I was hoping to make it one trip w/ Baylor and Yale, though. I dunno how long I should hold out before I book my plane tickets.... hrm. maybe another week..?

Not sure.

I wonder how often they will be sending out waves of interviews. I expected a lot more people on SDN to receive interviews in the first batch. Maybe it was a small initial batch, and they will continue to send out a few invites each week?

As long as ticket prices are not going up, you should be fine waiting another week.

Good luck!!!

 

[js1704]

Huzzah! Interview for me! Good luck to everyone else!

Does anyone know if Duke offers housing with students? Also, I saw on their website that they offer regional interviews. This would definitely save me some time and money, but is it really a good idea?

 

[js1704]

delete

 

[diosa428]

Huzzah! Interview for me! Good luck to everyone else!

Does anyone know if Duke offers housing with students? Also, I saw on their website that they offer regional interviews. This would definitely save me some time and money, but is it really a good idea?

Yes, there is a student hosting option. As for regional interviews, historically the acceptance rate has actually been higher for regional interviews, but it will definitely not give you the same idea of what the campus/students are like. Of course, you could always worry about that if you get accepted - there's always second look.

 

[shemarty]

What time does the interview day begin and end?

 

[knuck000]

What time does the interview day begin and end?

The admissions office said to arrive between 7:45 and 8:15 AM, with afternoon interviews ending at 3:30 PM.

(BTW, Shemarty, congrats on a very impressive-and likely growing-list of interviews.)

 

[shemarty]

The admissions office said to arrive between 7:45 and 8:15 AM, with afternoon interviews ending at 3:30 PM.

(BTW, Shemarty, congrats on a very impressive-and likely growing-list of interviews.)

When would morning interviews end?

Thanks - I don't even have Duke yet, I'm just trying to hypothetically figure out whether I could put it back to back with Yale if I did get it

 

[ChemGrad08]

When would morning interviews end?

Thanks - I don't even have Duke yet, I'm just trying to hypothetically figure out whether I could put it back to back with Yale if I did get it

From the email after it said that the interviews were scheduled between 12 and 3:30.

Each interview will last approximately 30 minutes and you will also have a tour of the medical center which lasts about 45-50 minutes (feel free to wear or bring comfortable shoes). For your travel planning, you should expect to be finished by 3:30 p.m. Please keep in mind that the interstate leading to the Raleigh-Durham Airport (RDU) can be congested during the late afternoon and early evening. Given! the unpredictability of the security checkpoints at RDU, you may find it helpful to work with your airline to schedule flights after 6:00 PM. This should give you sufficient time to travel to RDU, move through airport check-in and through airport security. Beginning in November 2008, RDU will be opening a new terminal:

 

[ButImLETired]

Do we know how many interviews there are, whether they're with students or faculty, whether they're open or closed...they seem to be rather vague about the details.

 

[MrBurns10]

Do we know how many interviews there are, whether they're with students or faculty, whether they're open or closed...they seem to be rather vague about the details.

You'll have two 30 min interviews, usually one with a student and one with a faculty member (although some interviewees, like me a few years ago, will have two faculty interviews). I believe the student one is closed, not sure about the faculty one.

 

[ButImLETired]

You'll have two 30 min interviews, usually one with a student and one with a faculty member (although some interviewees, like me a few years ago, will have two faculty interviews). I believe the student one is closed, not sure about the faculty one.

Thanks so much!

 

[amp3r5and]

From the email after it said that the interviews were scheduled between 12 and 3:30.

Each interview will last approximately 30 minutes and you will also have a tour of the medical center which lasts about 45-50 minutes (feel free to wear or bring comfortable shoes). For your travel planning, you should expect to be finished by 3:30 p.m. Please keep in mind that the interstate leading to the Raleigh-Durham Airport (RDU) can be congested during the late afternoon and early evening. Given! the unpredictability of the security checkpoints at RDU, you may find it helpful to work with your airline to schedule flights after 6:00 PM. This should give you sufficient time to travel to RDU, move through airport check-in and through airport security. Beginning in November 2008, RDU will be opening a new terminal:

I spent 5 years of undergrad in Raleigh and I can say the I-40 gets extremely congested during rush hours. anywhere from 3-7...Somebody who knows the are can navigate around the main interstate,but yeah..

 

[diosa428]

You'll have two 30 min interviews, usually one with a student and one with a faculty member (although some interviewees, like me a few years ago, will have two faculty interviews). I believe the student one is closed, not sure about the faculty one.

Idk if the student interviewer has access to your GPA/MCAT, but mine def had access to all of my essays.

Also, if you're worrying about flights, you can call admissions and ask to have early interviews, but they usually can't promise that you'll get them.

 

[MrBurns10]

Idk if the student interviewer has access to your GPA/MCAT, but mine def had access to all of my essays.

So the student liked you enough despite your personal statement talking about how you want to be a doctor for the money and women? Impressive.

I'll be doing some interviewing this year, and I'll let you all know for sure what we get access to when I find out (and if I'm allowed to divulge, of course).

 

[juxhoo]

I just checked my Duke status and I was rejected . No email, just happened to check

 

[shemarty]

I just checked my Duke status and I was rejected . No email, just happened to check

I'm sorry to hear that What did it say?

 

[juxhoo]

I'm sorry to hear that What did it say?

My DukeMed Status:

Application Process Complete

Thank you for your interest in attending the School of Medicine. We deeply appreciate the work you've put into your application but we are sorry to inform you that the Committee on Admissions has not selected you for an interview.

We recognize that this decision may be disappointing but wish great success in your academic and professional pursuits.

It was on the status page, not an email

 

[juxhoo]

My DukeMed Status:

Application Process Complete

Thank you for your interest in attending the School of Medicine. We deeply appreciate the work you've put into your application but we are sorry to inform you that the Committee on Admissions has not selected you for an interview.

We recognize that this decision may be disappointing but wish great success in your academic and professional pursuits.

It was on the status page, not an email

and I was complete 8/13, that will probably be your next question

 

[DrChristianTroy]

Legend
SS: Secondary Submitted
C: Complete
II: Interview Invite
I: Interview

sss304: SS: 8/1, C:8/1, II:?, I:?
Waterlilly: SS: 8/5, C:8/7, II:?, I:?
Shemarty: SS: 8/11, C:?, II:?, I:?
rplyler1: SS: 8/11, C:8/12, II:9/10, I:10/24

 

[amp3r5and]

if engineering professors are accounted for in the requirement that two letters are to be from science faculty?

any other engineering students out there know the answer?
thanks!