* * 2011-2012 Secondary Applications Thread!! * *

BU Medical Sciences
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Hi everyone. I was verified last Thursday and I still haven't gotten any secondaries. I'm a little worried. Is this normal? Or am I supposed to get secondaries right away like I did with AMCAS.

Thanks for your help!
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Smiths11 said:
Hi everyone. I was verified last Thursday and I still haven't gotten any secondaries. I'm a little worried. Is this normal? Or am I supposed to get secondaries right away like I did with AMCAS.

Thanks for your help!
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You should get secondaries tomorrow. A lot of them.

AACOMAS only submits your application once per week to the schools on Tuesday, and they generally get around to sending you stuff on Wed.
 
I have a questions about LORs....some schools state specifically what LORs they want. However, I am an older applicant and have some LORs from my volunteering experiences. Should I send these letters in addition to what the schools are requesting? or does it look bad that I am sending more LORs than what the school requested?
 
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kiwime said:
I have a questions about LORs....some schools state specifically what LORs they want. However, I am an older applicant and have some LORs from my volunteering experiences. Should I send these letters in addition to what the schools are requesting? or does it look bad that I am sending more LORs than what the school requested?
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I think you should ask each school individually. Some might take them, others might just shred them if you give them too many.
 
DrWily said:
I think you should ask each school individually. Some might take them, others might just shred them if you give them too many.
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Thanks! Hopefully the schools will get back to me in a timely manner ^^;;;;
 
Has anyone received a secondary from Touros? Because I have received secondaries for most of the schools I was expecting them from, except for Touro-NV and NY. Thanks!
 
Did KCUMB, Pikeville/Kentucky Osteopathic, and LECOM Erie release the secondaries, because those are the only 3 I didn't receive them, so if someone post their essay questions, that would be appreciated. Best of luck to all!:)
 
LECOM-E doesn't have essays :)

FuturePharm21 said:
Did KCUMB, Pikeville/Kentucky Osteopathic, and LECOM Erie release the secondaries, because those are the only 3 I didn't receive them, so if someone post their essay questions, that would be appreciated. Best of luck to all!:)
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I didn't get anything from Touro-NV and NY either.... :(

kson223 said:
Has anyone received a secondary from Touros? Because I have received secondaries for most of the schools I was expecting them from, except for Touro-NV and NY. Thanks!
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typos (s!) in my secondary! :| minor ones, but still! its instead of it's.. rough draft had three factors, final had two, concluding sentence mentioned THREE while rest of the essay mentioned TWO! i'm talking abt AZCOM here! :(

how bad is this???? :(
 
FuturePharm21 said:
Did KCUMB, Pikeville/Kentucky Osteopathic, and LECOM Erie release the secondaries, because those are the only 3 I didn't receive them, so if someone post their essay questions, that would be appreciated. Best of luck to all!:)
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I was wondering about Pikeville too, I tried calling but they haven't been good about answering their phone :mad:... Good luck to you too!
 
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Here's the prompt: List and describe your hobbies and recreational interests

For this section do you think they are looking for more academic interest and hobbies or do they literally want to know what are my hobbies (I'm only asking bc I have a lot of interest and hobbies so I don't what to sound like a douche and list a bunch of stuff they care nothing about) .

So far I have this:
1.Basketball: 4 years varsity college women's basketball, I've played since the 3rd grade.
2. Soccer: Just picked up this sport post undergrad (Indoor and Outdoor)
3. Electric Guitar: Recently(within the last 2 years) got into rock music, currently teaching myself to play the guitar ....

I have a lot more but stopped there bc I thought those are stupid as far as a medical school app.... Am I wrong? If I'm right what stuff should I include here?

*** I posted this in NYCOM thread first but this thread is more active and the question is applicable here as well
 
Ok, so now days getting a DO is the same as getting an MD and the philosiphies and everything are the same (with the exception of OMM) So what is everyone saying in response to this quetion? I'm just kind of stumped and don't know whether I should just spout off all the marketing garbage.
 
You can still refer to the founding philosophies of osteopathic medicine. I put the importance of education and teaching others as one of my reasons for DO (since I have a lot of experience with it). Also it's emphasis on rural populations is good too (if that's your thing).
 
Just be honest. You can also tailor the secondary to how you as an applicant fit in particularly will with any unique elements of the school's mission statement.
 
Iliketoytles said:
You can still refer to the founding philosophies of osteopathic medicine. I put the importance of education and teaching others as one of my reasons for DO (since I have a lot of experience with it). Also it's emphasis on rural populations is good too (if that's your thing).
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I did the same as far as the education and teaching. That and treating the patient as a whole.
 
Does getting an email to fill out a secondary/supplemental means they like you and have a chance? Or is it just a way to "scam" you of $50-$70 dollars (in order words, they ask every applicant to fill out a sec/supp regardless of your chances)?
 
Depends on the school. Some will send to everyone above the min requirements, and some will only send if they think you are worthy of one.

Either way, fill them out if you want to have a chance at going to that school. Can't get an interview without them.
 
Most schools send secondaries to anyone that passes the minimum GPA and MCAT cutoff. They probably don't even look at your application ECs or anything beforehand. If someone had the most perfect application, and someone absolutely nothing on their application... but they both met the minimum GPA/MCAT... they would both get secondaries.

The latter would probably not end up with an interview though. :rolleyes:
 
This sucks then. Spending $300+ for secondaries without really know if you have a chance is too much.
 
Twink said:
This sucks then. Spending $300+ for secondaries without really know if you have a chance is too much.
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You can't win if you don't play.

Really if you want to know if you have a chance you can ask yourself a few things. If your MCAT/GPA are average or above average for accepted students there, your chances are much higher. If you have volunteering experience, have shadowed doctors, have clinical and work experience, your chances are still higher. If you have spent a lot of time on your essays and have gotten great letters of recommendation from professors who know you well, then your chances are improved. This is what it takes in my experience.
 
$300 is not even a drop in the bucket compared to the immense amount of debt you will accumulate over your career.

I'm already at $1700 spent for this cycle alone and I haven't even gone to an interview yet. I anticipate the whole process taking $2500-3000. I applied to 19 DO schools across the country and sent in about 13 secondaries. I've already gotten 4 interview invites so it's money well spent already. Even if I don't get another interview invite for the rest of the cycle, it was worth it.

I'd rather spend the money than wonder what if? or worse... reapply next year.
 
$300 is nothing. Wait till a few more secondaries roll in, and then consider how much it is going to cost you to actually attend interviews. This is an expensive process, for sure. There was a thread towards the end of last cycle where people posted how much they spent in total, IIRC it ranged from $2k-$12k or so. Average was somewhere around 4 or 5k I think.

To answer the OP's question though, I think most schools are very indiscriminate in regards to sending out secondaries. There are exceptions of course (NYCOM only sends secondaries to interviewees, for example), but for the most part don't get your hopes up just because you got these in the mail.
 
Twink said:
Does getting an email to fill out a secondary/supplemental means they like you and have a chance? Or is it just a way to "scam" you of $50-$70 dollars (in order words, they ask every applicant to fill out a sec/supp regardless of your chances)?
Click to expand...

Let's put it this way. Last application cycle I applied to ~20 schools. All of them sent me a secondary but not one invited me for an interview (all 20 were MD schools for what it's worth).
 
DrWily said:
$300 is not even a drop in the bucket compared to the immense amount of debt you will accumulate over your career.

I'm already at $1700 spent for this cycle alone and I haven't even gone to an interview yet. I anticipate the whole process taking $2500-3000. I applied to 19 DO schools across the country and sent in about 13 secondaries. I've already gotten 4 interview invites so it's money well spent already. Even if I don't get another interview invite for the rest of the cycle, it was worth it.

I'd rather spend the money than wonder what if? or worse... reapply next year.
Click to expand...

fiznat said:
$300 is nothing. Wait till a few more secondaries roll in, and then consider how much it is going to cost you to actually attend interviews. This is an expensive process, for sure. There was a thread towards the end of last cycle where people posted how much they spent in total, IIRC it ranged from $2k-$12k or so. Average was somewhere around 4 or 5k I think.

To answer the OP's question though, I think most schools are very indiscriminate in regards to sending out secondaries. There are exceptions of course (NYCOM only sends secondaries to interviewees, for example), but for the most part don't get your hopes up just because you got these in the mail.
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.... This is crazy. I was expecting to use around $4-5K total but $12K?
Is there a list of schools that don't indiscriminately send secondaries and mostly send to those who they like? I am already spending a chunk of cash for two classes and will absolutely need to get a part time job ASAP or I'll have to ask my parents for money.

aSagacious said:
Let's put it this way. Last application cycle I applied to ~20 schools. All of them sent me a secondary but not one invited me for an interview (all 20 were MD schools for what it's worth).
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I feel for you.
 
How much time should I spend writing my secondary applications? Should I spend days writing a perfect essay and have multiple people edit it or just get a decent one out in a day? Are the secondary essays judged harshly?
 
Typically, submit them ASAP. That being said, only submit them when you are happy with what you have written. It's just another thing for them to skim over when looking at your whole application.

I've spent a long time on some of my top school choices, and only a day or two on lesser choices.
 
write it, read it, reread it and sumbit. it is important enough to proofread and make sure everything sounds perfectly, but not on the same level as a PS. You don't need to submit it to people for input. That would be ridiculous after 10-20 schools. Just pretend it is graded.
 
For Western U at Pomona, are the essays to be one page each, or all 4 essays need to fit within one page? The only instructions I see are "Enter your answer to each Essay question. Please limit your comments to one page.
" Thanks in advance!
 
MCBDoc said:
For Western U at Pomona, are the essays to be one page each, or all 4 essays need to fit within one page? The only instructions I see are "Enter your answer to each Essay question. Please limit your comments to one page.
" Thanks in advance!
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I did each one as 1 page. I didn't write that much though.. mostly 1/2 - 3/4 a page for each.
 
I did 3/4 page, maybe a little longer, for each one and got an interview. I think a lot of people were sticking to 2/3, 3/4 page and that seemed fine as well.
 
Can someone explain the process of the secondary application fees if you have received the fee waiver for the primary application?

Do you just not include a payment? Do you email and ask if they waive their secondary fee for those who got the fee waiver? What is the process?

Thanks!
 
I made sure I had someone close to me read every essay I wrote. Between my boyfriend, parents, and closest friends I had enough wise and willing people to take that time. This was especially helpful because they know me well and can give me some content advice. Also, having another eye can help you pinpoint areas of the essay that aren't clear.
I took time to write everything. I set my own deadlines; some secondaries I had done and ready to go in a week and others took me a month. But I promised myself I wouldn't submit anything that wasn't absolutely perfect- even if it took me a little bit longer to do. I've been pretty relaxed about the pressures to submit everything right away- although you definitely don't want to wait insanely long.
 
are most secondaries done online? If not, are you suppose to print them and snail mail them in a big envelope?
 
MEDCandy said:
I was wondering about Pikeville too, I tried calling but they haven't been good about answering their phone :mad:... Good luck to you too!
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Did you guys hear anything more on this yet? I also had not received a secondary from Pikeville and KCUMB. Thanks!
 
I am trying to work on secondaries of the DO schools that I applied to prior to receiving them.AACOMAS said it will take another 2 weeks before they could get my primary out.I want to be ready with my secondary to avoid any more delays but how similar are secondary questions from year to year?Please help.I would also appreciate any suggestion on where I can view previous years secondaries.
 
ry215 said:
I am trying to work on secondaries of the DO schools that I applied to prior to receiving them.AACOMAS said it will take another 2 weeks before they could get my primary out.I want to be ready with my secondary to avoid any more delays but how similar are secondary questions from year to year?Please help.I would also appreciate any suggestion on where I can view previous years secondaries.
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If you're working on secondaries right now, I'm willing to bet 99% of the CURRENT year secondaries are listed in their respective threads on this very board. Look through them, probably the first couple of pages and you'll find everything you need.

Good luck. :luck::luck:
 
Why is this in the school specific section? Lulz

Willy is right. You can also use the search function and search for DO secondary essays.
 
How long would you wait before calling/emailing to check up on your secondary application materials? (assuming you haven't got an email saying your app is complete) 2 weeks?!
 
Hey guys,
So I submitted my application yesterday, a Wednesday, for MSUCOM. I know I qualify to fill out secondaries, but I'm confused as to how long it will take them to get those out to me. Anyone know?

My official MCAT score is still not on my application by the way. The service is submitted it, but it hasn't shown up yet, which I hear is typical. Thanks!
 
DrWily said:
I did each one as 1 page. I didn't write that much though.. mostly 1/2 - 3/4 a page for each.
Click to expand...

Sorry if this is a noob question, but I was wondering if the Western Secondary length is double spaced or single spaced? Thanks!
 
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