2009-2010 Duke Application Thread

[MsTaco]

tensoranalysis, you and I are in the same boat. Hopefully we'll have better luck in this round . As for research vs. clinical, all I can tell is that Duke is very serious about producing a diverse, well-rounded class, so they are looking for different things in everyone. Meaning, they might be interested in one person because they have earth-shattering numbers and overlook their lack of volunteering, but they might be interested in another candidate who has devoted their whole lives to community service, and overlook some lower numbers. At least, that's how it was put to me in the interview last year. That said, at any school, clinical volunteering is a must...you have to have it, but it doesn't necessarily have to be your strength. Decide what your strength is, what makes you really stand out from others, and focus on it.

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[jenandhansun]

Out of all the secondaries I've submitted, this officially is taking the most time.

 

[linkin06]

knowing that we're not rolling makes me even less motivated

 

[JasonE]

if you keep your essays reasonable (200-500 or so words), its not that bad. if you are trying to write 1 page or more for each essay, you are wasting your time and theres

 

[bigman225]

i dont think that's necessarily the case. if they had intended the essays to be <500 words, they would have imposed a character limit. i would be surprised if the average applicant wrote less than 500 words per essay.

 

[JasonE]

i dont think that's necessarily the case. if they had intended the essays to be <500 words, they would have imposed a character limit. i would be surprised if the average applicant wrote less than 500 words per essay.

that's where you are wrong. look in the past posts about ppl who wrote less than 500 for many of the essays, and got an interview.

ask yourself, do i really need an entire page for an essay? chances are many sentences add fluff, and can be taken out with the main point still intact. after a while, adcoms will lose interest in what you say if you write too much, esp. since they have to read so many essays. i think they make it too limit so that if you need to expand a little, you can without worry of +/- a few characters here or there. they already have to read your PS. add that with 5 other essays that are a page long, and it would take a good chunk of time.

 

[Homoochan]

I've been writing my essays for this one and each one is about 5 pages with font 12 in Times New Roman.. Is this too much?

I'm guessing since they don't have any caracter limit, they are encouraging us to write as much as we want?

 

[bigman225]

i dont see it being a problem, but a 5 page essay on professionalism???

 

[camaras2480]

I've been writing my essays for this one and each one is about 5 pages with font 12 in Times New Roman.. Is this too much?

I'm guessing since they don't have any caracter limit, they are encouraging us to write as much as we want?

If this is true, I can bet you will not be interviewed. No one in the world wants to read 25 pages for ONE applicant.

 

[trueBelief]

I've been writing my essays for this one and each one is about 5 pages with font 12 in Times New Roman.. Is this too much?

I'm guessing since they don't have any caracter limit, they are encouraging us to write as much as we want?

WOW! Are you sure each of your essay is 5 pages. I averaged about 3/4th a page single spaced for this application and I already thought I wrote too much.

I really think you should get each essay to 1-1.5 pages max.

 

[Homoochan]

not all the questions.. just the ones I completed..

oh man.. i should have asked this before I wrote it all out..

thanks anyways guys

 

[fastnfurious]

since most other med schools had secondaries with a 1pg limit on their essays, i just used that as a reference when writing these. almost all my duke essays were 3/4 to 1.5 pages long

 

[Sentinel]

I appreciate what duke is trying to do - really get to know their applicants. But man... this secondary is slowly sinking to the bottom of my secondaries pile And like someone else said - the non-rolling admissions process really kills the motivation ><

 

[JKstarks]

Damn, I'm finding it very difficult to talk about my greatest vulnerability without feeling like i'm highlighting my weaknesses.

Did anyone else find this an issue? For example, the fact that I really don't have that much real volunteer work since coming to college is definitely my biggest weakness as an applicant (although I am doing volunteer work at a hospital this summer). Would it be stupid to put that as my greatest vulnerability? or are they asking for more 'character flaw' type answers?

this duke secondary is killing me

 

[parhumn]

i have a question about the ethical dilemma one. does it count if you were in the room when it happened, but ultimately the decisions was up to another person? i was down in ecuador and they have strict abortion laws. a patient was denied the abortion at the hospital, so she asked the doctor for a "secret" clinic that would do it. doctor went through turmoil because he knew the mother wouldn't be able to take care of the child properly...but in the end decided not to do it because the "secret" clinics tend to be unsafe. i was in the room and i experienced all the same emotions but the decision was not ultimately up to me. does this count or do i need one in which i directly participated in dealing/resolving it?

 

[JasonE]

i have a question about the ethical dilemma one. does it count if you were in the room when it happened, but ultimately the decisions was up to another person? i was down in ecuador and they have strict abortion laws. a patient was denied the abortion at the hospital, so she asked the doctor for a "secret" clinic that would do it. doctor went through turmoil because he knew the mother wouldn't be able to take care of the child properly...but in the end decided not to do it because the "secret" clinics tend to be unsafe. i was in the room and i experienced all the same emotions but the decision was not ultimately up to me. does this count or do i need one in which i directly participated in dealing/resolving it?

sounds okay to me. if it changed your views somehow, go for it

 

[camaras2480]

sounds okay to me. if it changed your views somehow, go for it

+1 - yup, sounds good to me too!

 

[MsTaco]

i have a question about the ethical dilemma one. does it count if you were in the room when it happened, but ultimately the decisions was up to another person? i was down in ecuador and they have strict abortion laws. a patient was denied the abortion at the hospital, so she asked the doctor for a "secret" clinic that would do it. doctor went through turmoil because he knew the mother wouldn't be able to take care of the child properly...but in the end decided not to do it because the "secret" clinics tend to be unsafe. i was in the room and i experienced all the same emotions but the decision was not ultimately up to me. does this count or do i need one in which i directly participated in dealing/resolving it?

Hi parhumn!

 

[diosa428]

Damn, I'm finding it very difficult to talk about my greatest vulnerability without feeling like i'm highlighting my weaknesses.

Did anyone else find this an issue? For example, the fact that I really don't have that much real volunteer work since coming to college is definitely my biggest weakness as an applicant (although I am doing volunteer work at a hospital this summer). Would it be stupid to put that as my greatest vulnerability? or are they asking for more 'character flaw' type answers?

this duke secondary is killing me

I don't think that not having much clinical experience is a vulnerability that will affect you in medical school or as a doctor, as no volunteering or working in another country (or whatever premeds do) is even close to what you're REALLY going to be doing as a medical student or a doctor. So unless you identify your lack of clinical experience as a vulnerability b/c you're not sure you want to go into medicine, it's not really relevant, and if that is the case, I definitely wouldn't mention it.

Think of vulnerability more in terms of - I'm afraid I'll get too close to my patients, I'm afraid that I'm too quiet and will be overlooked during training opportunities, I'm afraid that my desire to have a family will conflict with my work schedule (this one is risky), etc.

 

[parhumn]

sounds okay to me. if it changed your views somehow, go for it

+1 - yup, sounds good to me too!

thanks you guys! hopefully i can make it work. i'm having a hard time thinking of more simple ethical situations that i've encountered. i guess when i think of moral dilemma, i think of something catastrophic. i just can't seem to come up with some of the more obvious and more common ones =\

Hi parhumn!

NO FREAKING WAY!!! we need some more drunken social justice time

 

[JKstarks]

I don't think that not having much clinical experience is a vulnerability that will affect you in medical school or as a doctor, as no volunteering or working in another country (or whatever premeds do) is even close to what you're REALLY going to be doing as a medical student or a doctor. So unless you identify your lack of clinical experience as a vulnerability b/c you're not sure you want to go into medicine, it's not really relevant, and if that is the case, I definitely wouldn't mention it.

Think of vulnerability more in terms of - I'm afraid I'll get too close to my patients, I'm afraid that I'm too quiet and will be overlooked during training opportunities, I'm afraid that my desire to have a family will conflict with my work schedule (this one is risky), etc.

What I actually meant to say is that I have a lot of shadowing/clinical experiences, but not serving the community type jobs haha.

Regardless, your advice was absolutely fantastic, because I have a perfect story to go along with with "im afraid I'll get too close to my patients." And I completely agree with you that I wasn't really saying anything with my earlier idea.

You, are awesome

 

[BerlinDude]

Damn, I'm finding it very difficult to talk about my greatest vulnerability without feeling like i'm highlighting my weaknesses.

Did anyone else find this an issue? For example, the fact that I really don't have that much real volunteer work since coming to college is definitely my biggest weakness as an applicant (although I am doing volunteer work at a hospital this summer). Would it be stupid to put that as my greatest vulnerability? or are they asking for more 'character flaw' type answers?

this duke secondary is killing me

You can always go for the classic "Sometimes I'm too focused, and I need to tell myself to step back, calm down, and look at the big picture".

 

[camaras2480]

thanks you guys! hopefully i can make it work. i'm having a hard time thinking of more simple ethical situations that i've encountered. i guess when i think of moral dilemma, i think of something catastrophic. i just can't seem to come up with some of the more obvious and more common ones =\

lol no problem, you'll be fine!

NO FREAKING WAY!!! we need some more drunken social justice time

lolll... future physicians

 

[Hemichordate]

So what are the essay topics? I'm going to be applying next year- maybe they'll stay the same again.

 

[not respect]

I heard Duke MSTP was rolling, is that true!?! Maybe I should start on these then

 

[trueBelief]

Does anyone else's status page on the application say "Committee Screening". I wonder if that's just a status assigned to completed apps or if someone is actually reading my application.

 

[fastnfurious]

Does anyone else's status page on the application say "Committee Screening". I wonder if that's just a status assigned to completed apps or if someone is actually reading my application.

it's for completed apps. I know b/c I finished mine over the weekend and that notice came up

 

[osumc2014]

If I've been holding this for a while is it ok?? I'm thinking of finishing all my other secondaries before I start this.

 

[LINK1290]

Just to clarify, does the fact that Duke is non-rolling mean that absolutely no advantage is given to early applicants? If so, I guess the obvious corollary is that it's recommended to first complete the secondaries of schools that are rolling, yes? The answer seems all too obvious to me, but just want to make absolutely sure before I plan out my next few weeks.

 

[snitchseeker88]

I'm a bit confused about the fact that Duke is non-rolling too. What does that really mean for us applying?

Also, two or three of my essays have some relation to the fact that my parents have been small business owners for my entire life...I saw them build 2 businesses up from nothing and work really hard for year for years, and helped them after school/weekends...so it is and has been a really big part of my life. What I'm trying to say it, while each of those essays has a different overall point to it, it takes a little about these past experiences and what I have learned from my parents. Is it wrong to have a couple of my essays relate to this one experience, even if I explain it from a different view each time, and if the essay isn't solely about that. I didn't intentionally intend for this to happen, but what I wrote about fits quite well with the prompt, and this whole thing has been a really large part of my life....so it just ended up showing up here and there on my essays. Thoughts?

 

[ButImLETired]

Just to clarify, does the fact that Duke is non-rolling mean that absolutely no advantage is given to early applicants? If so, I guess the obvious corollary is that it's recommended to first complete the secondaries of schools that are rolling, yes? The answer seems all too obvious to me, but just want to make absolutely sure before I plan out my next few weeks.

In general, your assumption is correct. You should definitely work on your rolling schools first. However, I found it helpful to apply early to the schools I really wanted to go to, because that way I'd get them out of the way (otherwise I would have stressed too much) and get interviews as soon as I could. On the other hand, if you want to interview later after you've had tons of practice, that's something else to keep in mind. As far as Duke is concerned, the interview scheduler is actually kinda great because you can pick basically any day you want, so it might be worth it to apply early and get an early interview invite, so you can schedule it for whenever you want.

Anyway, just some stuff to think about.

 

[diosa428]

In general, your assumption is correct. You should definitely work on your rolling schools first. However, I found it helpful to apply early to the schools I really wanted to go to, because that way I'd get them out of the way (otherwise I would have stressed too much) and get interviews as soon as I could. On the other hand, if you want to interview later after you've had tons of practice, that's something else to keep in mind. As far as Duke is concerned, the interview scheduler is actually kinda great because you can pick basically any day you want, so it might be worth it to apply early and get an early interview invite, so you can schedule it for whenever you want.

Anyway, just some stuff to think about.

Also, those that get the latest interview invites are often told that all the on-campus spots are filled and they have to do a regional interview.

 

[LINK1290]

In general, your assumption is correct. You should definitely work on your rolling schools first. However, I found it helpful to apply early to the schools I really wanted to go to, because that way I'd get them out of the way (otherwise I would have stressed too much) and get interviews as soon as I could. On the other hand, if you want to interview later after you've had tons of practice, that's something else to keep in mind. As far as Duke is concerned, the interview scheduler is actually kinda great because you can pick basically any day you want, so it might be worth it to apply early and get an early interview invite, so you can schedule it for whenever you want.

Anyway, just some stuff to think about.

Great post! Thanks for the help.

 

[DNAbaby]

Just to clarify, does the fact that Duke is non-rolling mean that absolutely no advantage is given to early applicants? If so, I guess the obvious corollary is that it's recommended to first complete the secondaries of schools that are rolling, yes? The answer seems all too obvious to me, but just want to make absolutely sure before I plan out my next few weeks.

Non-rolling schools wait until they interview all of their applicants in order to make admission decisions. The admissions committee at Duke convenes at the end of February or first week of March to make their decisions. Strictly speaking you are not at any disadvantage if applying later to non-rolling schools.

The earlier you finish with your secondary, the earlier you will get your interview invitation. I interviewed at Duke in October, whereas I waited to interview at my top choice school until end of January. I wanted to have as much interviewing experience as possible. In my case I feel it paid off.

Shemarty, whose advice I respect (and who was admitted to a great school), suggests that if you are a strong applicant to go ahead and interview later. She points out that weaker applicants might have a small advantage interviewing early. I agree with her advice.

Do not wait until the November deadline to submit your secondary to any school, rolling or not. The last secondary I submitted to a non-rolling school was at the end of September. I received my interview invitation in late December.

Duke secondary is challenging. It is read by two committees. One is composed on doctors and scientists, whereas the other is composed of people in social sciences and humanities. Both committees care about the quality of your writing. Circulate your drafts to as many people as possible to gather their feedback. Ask them if they find your writing interesting and compelling. Do not exceed a page per essay.

Hope this helps!

 

[dzar34]

ugh, i hate these stupid "biggest moral dilemma of your life" questions. I have no idea what to write about, i haven't done anything that bad or crazy in my life. I feel like this is a prompt I would have had in high school-"I was offered drugs and said no because drugs are bad". Any suggestions on what to write about??? this app is a beast

 

[HereGoesNothing]

I wish I could help. I'm still trying to figure out how a humbling experience is supposed to affect my relationships with other people. Other than not being an ass in general, I can't think of anything.

 

[BerlinDude]

Non-rolling schools wait until they interview all of their applicants in order to make admission decisions. The admissions committee at Duke convenes at the end of February or first week of March to make their decisions. Strictly speaking you are not at any disadvantage if applying later to non-rolling schools.

The earlier you finish with your secondary, the earlier you will get your interview invitation. I interviewed at Duke in October, whereas I waited to interview at my top choice school until end of January. I wanted to have as much interviewing experience as possible. In my case I feel it paid off.

Shemarty, whose advice I respect (and who was admitted to a great school), suggests that if you are a strong applicant to go ahead and interview later. She points out that weaker applicants might have a small advantage interviewing early. I agree with her advice.

Do not wait until the November deadline to submit your secondary to any school, rolling or not. The last secondary I submitted to a non-rolling school was at the end of September. I received my interview invitation in late December.

Duke secondary is challenging. It is read by two committees. One is composed on doctors and scientists, whereas the other is composed of people in social sciences and humanities. Both committees care about the quality of your writing. Circulate your drafts to as many people as possible to gather their feedback. Ask them if they find your writing interesting and compelling. Do not exceed a page per essay.

Hope this helps!

How do you know it is read by two committees? I thought Duke assigned two people to read your essays only.

 

[BerlinDude]

Anyone willing to give a quick lookover to some of my essays?

 

[tjquinn]

Non-rolling schools wait until they interview all of their applicants in order to make admission decisions. The admissions committee at Duke convenes at the end of February or first week of March to make their decisions. Strictly speaking you are not at any disadvantage if applying later to non-rolling schools.

The earlier you finish with your secondary, the earlier you will get your interview invitation. I interviewed at Duke in October, whereas I waited to interview at my top choice school until end of January. I wanted to have as much interviewing experience as possible. In my case I feel it paid off.

Shemarty, whose advice I respect (and who was admitted to a great school), suggests that if you are a strong applicant to go ahead and interview later. She points out that weaker applicants might have a small advantage interviewing early. I agree with her advice.

Do not wait until the November deadline to submit your secondary to any school, rolling or not. The last secondary I submitted to a non-rolling school was at the end of September. I received my interview invitation in late December.

Duke secondary is challenging. It is read by two committees. One is composed on doctors and scientists, whereas the other is composed of people in social sciences and humanities. Both committees care about the quality of your writing. Circulate your drafts to as many people as possible to gather their feedback. Ask them if they find your writing interesting and compelling. Do not exceed a page per essay.

Hope this helps!

Page per essay single or double spaced?

 

[DNAbaby]

Page per essay single or double spaced?

Single-spaced, Verdana, pt.12

 

[DNAbaby]

How do you know it is read by two committees? I thought Duke assigned two people to read your essays only.

When I arrived for my interview, the day started out with an overview with the dean. She told us, good job on your essays since they had to be read and approved by two committees, science and humanities.

 

[DNAbaby]

Anyone willing to give a quick lookover to some of my essays?

I'll be happy to review any one of your essays. Please email me your .doc file

 

[BrainBox]

After my interview at Duke last year, I had the chance to walk through the Medical Center and fell in love with it. I have been in the medical field since 2002 and this is the place to be. Between the school and the MC, Duke is on the top of my list. I hope to be part of Duke this time around. Good luck to you all too

 

[kstephan]

I have a question about the ethical/moral situation and I was hoping I could get some feedback about what I was thinking of writing. I worked as a pharmacy technician for several years and so I have several situations that can easily be applied to being a doctor. My problem is in how I addressed them. Basically I questioned something going on about another pharmacist, consulted with other employees, and eventually asked another pharmacist but beyond that I'm not sure how the situation was handled in the end. I think it will be a good situation but I know the goal of this is to really see how you handled the situation. Thoughts?

 

[Mashizhao]

I have a question about the ethical/moral situation and I was hoping I could get some feedback about what I was thinking of writing. I worked as a pharmacy technician for several years and so I have several situations that can easily be applied to being a doctor. My problem is in how I addressed them. Basically I questioned something going on about another pharmacist, consulted with other employees, and eventually asked another pharmacist but beyond that I'm not sure how the situation was handled in the end. I think it will be a good situation but I know the goal of this is to really see how you handled the situation. Thoughts?

Well depends what the other pharmacist did and how it affected your future as a doctor. As long as you can make that connection you are okay - no one is expecting us to be super heroes.

On another note, I am really enjoying the essays. Anybody else feel that this is a great opportunity to express your strongest passions - passions that nobody you currently know can understand?

 

[rockthecasbah]

For the relationship question, is it okay if I talk about both my mother and my father since they've had equal influence on my life? Or should I limit it to one of them?

 

[camaras2480]

For the relationship question, is it okay if I talk about both my mother and my father since they've had equal influence on my life? Or should I limit it to one of them?

I would imagine 'parents' would count.

 

[rockthecasbah]

I would imagine 'parents' would count.

That's what I figured, but I just wanted to make sure.

 

[BerlinDude]

Well depends what the other pharmacist did and how it affected your future as a doctor. As long as you can make that connection you are okay - no one is expecting us to be super heroes.

On another note, I am really enjoying the essays. Anybody else feel that this is a great opportunity to express your strongest passions - passions that nobody you currently know can understand?

This is probably not a popular position, but actually I agree. I don't like writing, but these are great essay prompts. Each gives an opportunity to show a different side of yourself as a person.

Hey anybody else want to give a second opinion on some of mine? PM me and I will send one or more over.

 

[Nafis64]

that's where you are wrong. look in the past posts about ppl who wrote less than 500 for many of the essays, and got an interview.

ask yourself, do i really need an entire page for an essay? chances are many sentences add fluff, and can be taken out with the main point still intact. after a while, adcoms will lose interest in what you say if you write too much, esp. since they have to read so many essays. i think they make it too limit so that if you need to expand a little, you can without worry of +/- a few characters here or there. they already have to read your PS. add that with 5 other essays that are a page long, and it would take a good chunk of time.

I'm hearing what you're saying, but people on this thread are scaring me. My essays are around 300 words. What past posts are your referring to?