*** 2008-2009 Secondary Application Thread ***

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Does anyone know how medical schools feel about you writing about something in your secondary that already appeared in your primary application?

For example, I volunteered at a children's clinic in South America. I put that on my application with a description of what it was and what I did there. Now, should I be hesitant to put that on a secondary application that asks something like, "Describe a particular volunteer experience that was very meaningful to you and why." -- ?

Thanks for any input,

AB
 
Alex0128 said:
Does anyone know how medical schools feel about you writing about something in your secondary that already appeared in your primary application?

For example, I volunteered at a children's clinic in South America. I put that on my application with a description of what it was and what I did there. Now, should I be hesitant to put that on a secondary application that asks something like, "Describe a particular volunteer experience that was very meaningful to you and why." -- ?

Thanks for any input,

AB
Click to expand...
i feel like i repeated my entire amcas application in the columbia secondary. i think its ok.. at least i hope it is ...
 
Alex0128 said:
Does anyone know how medical schools feel about you writing about something in your secondary that already appeared in your primary application?

For example, I volunteered at a children's clinic in South America. I put that on my application with a description of what it was and what I did there. Now, should I be hesitant to put that on a secondary application that asks something like, "Describe a particular volunteer experience that was very meaningful to you and why." -- ?

Thanks for any input,

AB
Click to expand...

If you only described your activity in the AMCAS, the essay could focus on the personal aspect of what you learned... So there wouldn't be overlap per se. Most people will be explaining something that will be on AMCAS.
 
1) Describe any advantages and/or complications you encountered during your progression in education. Please include any noteworthy achievements and/or obstacles. (Examples: Acute or chronic illnesses, employment, financial difficulty, managerial role in household, etc.) (Don’t exceed 150 words)

2) Describe a situation in which you were really stressed. Tell us how you dealt with it, your reactions(s), and how it affected you. What did you learn from this situation/experience? (Don’t exceed 250 words)

3) Describe a hobby or activity other than something in health care, in which you have a keen interest. How does this hobby/activity help you fulfill your personal goals? (Don’t exceed 250 words)
 
  • If you are a regular MD Program applicant, in order for your application to be complete, you must submit one (1) letter from your pre-professional advisor or committee or three (3) letters from individuals who can properly evaluate you. If you choose to submit three (3) letters, we suggest you request two (2) letters from individuals who can evaluate your performance in science coursework.
If you are currently NOT enrolled in a degree granting program, please briefly describe your major activities since you received your college degree. (750 characters)

No other essays!


 
ronicajay said:
  • If you are a regular MD Program applicant, in order for your application to be complete, you must submit one (1) letter from your pre-professional advisor or committee or three (3) letters from individuals who can properly evaluate you. If you choose to submit three (3) letters, we suggest you request two (2) letters from individuals who can evaluate your performance in science coursework.
If you are currently NOT enrolled in a degree granting program, please briefly describe your major activities since you received your college degree. (750 characters)

No other essays!



Click to expand...

Wow, sweet. I wonder if they prefer one letter from a committee over 3 from different people. It would seem to me that 3 different ones would give you a better picture of who someone was. Have I heard that there aren't any essays on the Mayo secondary as well? 🙂 That really makes things less stressful when you apply to 15+ schools.

Thanks for the input on my earlier question, guys.
 
On the cincy secondary, does anyone know if we have to list our evaluators if our premed committee sends LORs by mail? They make it sound like you only don't have to list them if they are sent by interfolio/virtual evals.
 
ronicajay said:
  • If you are a regular MD Program applicant, in order for your application to be complete, you must submit one (1) letter from your pre-professional advisor or committee or three (3) letters from individuals who can properly evaluate you. If you choose to submit three (3) letters, we suggest you request two (2) letters from individuals who can evaluate your performance in science coursework.
If you are currently NOT enrolled in a degree granting program, please briefly describe your major activities since you received your college degree. (750 characters)

No other essays!



Click to expand...
when did you get this?
 
vbdoc77 said:
On the cincy secondary, does anyone know if we have to list our evaluators if our premed committee sends LORs by mail? They make it sound like you only don't have to list them if they are sent by interfolio/virtual evals.
Click to expand...

It says something about "the first one they download meets the requirement" (im assuming for status purposes, their wording is tricky on this)....I didnt see anywhere to list the LORS.
 
DrJD said:
1) Describe any advantages and/or complications you encountered during your progression in education. Please include any noteworthy achievements and/or obstacles. (Examples: Acute or chronic illnesses, employment, financial difficulty, managerial role in household, etc.) (Don’t exceed 150 words)

2) Describe a situation in which you were really stressed. Tell us how you dealt with it, your reactions(s), and how it affected you. What did you learn from this situation/experience? (Don’t exceed 250 words)

3) Describe a hobby or activity other than something in health care, in which you have a keen interest. How does this hobby/activity help you fulfill your personal goals? (Don’t exceed 250 words)
Click to expand...

How did you get this? The site seems to be down when I tried to access the page.
 
How important do you guys think the secondary essays are, in comparison with the primary application and the personal statement?

I'm asking this because I finally have a chance to work on some of the essay prompts I've received, and I feel as if my writing is much more "to the point." In other words, it's not as narrative or exciting as my PS.
 
Anybody having any formatting issues with the UIC secondary? It's not working well for me in Word like when I click the gray area, the text goes outside the gray box and requires me to edit/format manually. And the PDF file won't let me add relevant text to it. I'm using two different computers too and both have the problem.
 
UChicago Essays

The open-ended essays are designed to help the Admissions Committee gain insight into you as a person. Please understand that we are interested in your personal experiences and reflections; we do not have preconceived responses in mind. Many applicants have commented that they learned a great deal about themselves in answering these questions. You must complete the questions within the character limits provided: 3500 characters for essay 3A, 2400 characters for essay 3B, including spaces. Special characters, such as quotation marks, will use more than a single space and should be used sparingly. You may paste in any reasonable font but your choice will not be reflected in the version reviewed by the Committee. We advise you to compose your essays using a word processing program, saving them as you work in the usual manner. And then, when you are ready to complete your supplemental application for submission, copy and paste them into the appropriate text boxes.


3A. At the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, we strive to identify students who will be a great "fit" with our medical school. Our Mission Statement is an expression of our core purpose and educational philosophy. Please reflect on its content and write an essay describing why you see yourself as a great "fit" for Pritzker. Please include examples of past service, community, clinical, educational, and research experiences. Please also discuss your future goals.

"At the University of Chicago, in an atmosphere of interdisciplinary scholarship and discovery, the Pritzker School of Medicine is dedicated to inspiring diverse students of exceptional promise to become leaders and innovators in science and medicine for the betterment of humanity."




3B. Tell us about a difficult or challenging situation that you have encountered and how you dealt with it. In your response, identify both the coping skills that you called upon to resolve the dilemma, and the support person(s) from whom you sought advice.



5. Premedical Advisor If your school has a premedical committee or premedical advisor who composes a letter for each applicant from your school and you choose not to avail yourself of this service, please provide an explanation in the textbox below for your decision not to do so.



9. Additional Information Please feel free to use this space to convey any additional information that you might wish the Committee to know. There is a limit of 1000 characters including spaces.
 
chad5871 said:
How important do you guys think the secondary essays are, in comparison with the primary application and the personal statement?

I'm asking this because I finally have a chance to work on some of the essay prompts I've received, and I feel as if my writing is much more "to the point." In other words, it's not as narrative or exciting as my PS.
Click to expand...

I feel the same way,
good question.....someone talk
 
No email yet... They may be updating the system and as you get entered in you get an email. That would make complete sense.
 
I just have to vent for a second, the University of Virginia application is so freaking horrible; especially if you're out of state. I think I'm just gonna pass on it and pretend I never applied there.
 
I updated the 1st page, but I'm missing links to UIC, Pritzker, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Illinois.

If you have these and want to PM them to me, I can update them on the front page.

Thanks, and good luck writing these essays!
 
SBK said:
I just have to vent for a second, the University of Virginia application is so freaking horrible; especially if you're out of state. I think I'm just gonna pass on it and pretend I never applied there.
Click to expand...

I was thinking about adding them on to my school list. Can you tell me what's horrible about the secondary please?
 
im fianlly verified, but they changed my cumulative gpa from 3.89 to 3.88 but i wrote 3.89 on some secondaries i sent in... will that hurt me?!?
 
chad5871 said:
How important do you guys think the secondary essays are, in comparison with the primary application and the personal statement?

I'm asking this because I finally have a chance to work on some of the essay prompts I've received, and I feel as if my writing is much more "to the point." In other words, it's not as narrative or exciting as my PS.
Click to expand...

Bumping this question - any input?

And re: the UVA secondary - I don't think it's that difficult. Do you have problems with the online application system or the secondary itself?
 
chad5871 said:
Bumping this question - any input?
Click to expand...

I doubt they mind "to the point." There are (restrictive) character limits, and they understand that you have less time to work on the secondary essays and more essays to write for other schools.

That's my guess.
 
chad5871 said:
How important do you guys think the secondary essays are, in comparison with the primary application and the personal statement?

I'm asking this because I finally have a chance to work on some of the essay prompts I've received, and I feel as if my writing is much more "to the point." In other words, it's not as narrative or exciting as my PS.
Click to expand...

From my friends' past experiences, they seems to be very important. Duke's monstrous secondary 😡 application, for example, was the center piece of many interviews this past year. I guess it depends on the school.
 
I think that Shemarty has been doing such a great job that she should be in charge of organizing this years "Official Interview Invite" thread... 🙂 👍
 
DrJD said:
I think that Shemarty has been doing such a great job that she should be in charge of organizing this years "Official Interview Invite" thread... 🙂 👍
Click to expand...

:laugh: The thing about the interview invite thread is that there's no reason to keep it all on the 1st post. People can just add themselves to the end of the list the same way the AMCAS Verification Thread works.

If that's how it were for secondary prompts, people would have to dig through pages and pages of this thread to find the one they're looking for. I figure it made sense to keep it all on the 1st page, which is only feasible if one person [me, as it turns out] makes edits to 1 post.

Anyway, I really do have a pathological obsession with organizing stuff. So this is really fun for me, in a twisted way :laugh:

In fact my premed advisor just told me today that I should write about my organizational skills for one of my secondary essays 😀
 
Yesterday, I received an email stating that UCF's secondary is almost ready for "battle" and that they'd like me to be part of an initial, trial run group of applicants who use their online interface. It doesn't confer any advantage by participating in this method of receiving their secondary, according to the email. So, we'll see what happens soon....🙂
 
Guys.. let's make a list of schools that screen:

Indiana University (secs = interview)
Vanderbilt (secs = interview)
Wake Forest (screening)
 
Just got Boston University's secondary email invite... same questions as last year exactly. I'm so glad I drafted secondaries!!
 
From: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=6767700&postcount=19

Raryn said:
According to the MSAR:

Schools that screen all applicants:

U of Alabama
U of S. Alabama
U of Arizona
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UCLA
UCSD
UCSF
U of Central Florida
Florida International
U of Florida
Florida State
U of S. Florida
Mercer
Morehouse
U of Hawai'i
Loyola
S. Illinois
Indiana U
U of Iowa
U of Kentucky
U of Louisville
Wayne State
U of Nebraska
U of Nevada
U of New Mexico
U of N. Carolina
Wake Forest
U of Toledo
Northeastern Ohio
OHSU
U of S. Dakota
E. Tennessee State
U of Tennessee
Vanderbilt
U of Utah
EVMS
Virginia Commonwealth
U of Washington
W. Virginia
U of Wisconsin


Schools that only Screen out of state applicants:

MC Georgia
U of Kansas
LSU Shreveport
U of Missouri Columbia
East Carolina
Marshall
Click to expand...
 
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