2015-2016 Albany Medical College Application Thread

Started by Ismet
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Get help with your application

Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.

Browse articles Compare schools My application plan Read Interview Feedback
Practice for interviews Ask an Advisor
rukia013 said:
For the 'Describe yourself' I talked about my personality (I got some ideas from my Meyers-Briggs personality description lol) and qualities that I feel would make me a good fit for med school without outright saying how those qualities would make me suitable. For example, I mentioned having a natural tendency to put others' needs before my own (which is true btw; I'm not just pulling what I think would sound good) but I didn't explicitly say that it would help me when treating patients. My take on this is to just be yourself and be genuine about it. Describe yourself as how your friend would describe you. That was my take on it 🙂

As for the AdCom question, I'm approaching it as a diversity question and will mention one thing that I think would make me well suited for med school.
Click to expand...

:O Oooo this is a huge help. Thank you! and yay meyers-briggs! Those things are creepily accurate....i'm isfj!
 
pineapplecake said:
:O Oooo this is a huge help. Thank you! and yay meyers-briggs! Those things are creepily accurate....i'm isfj!
Click to expand...
OMG NO WAY I'm ISFJ too! :O I wish the adcoms would know meyers briggs because I feel like that would greatly help them understand the applicant's personality, especially since ISFJ's are likely to make good nurses/physicians lol
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Still can't figure out what to say for the describe yourself essay. Might end up going crazy over it.
 
How long after submitting the secondary did it take for you all to get a "yes" next to "Application complete and ready for review by our Admissions Committee" ?
 
I know most school's secondaries include spaces in the character count, but I just wanted to double check that this is the case for Albany as well. Have you guys been including spaces in the 1000 character count?
 
Fascie said:
Hey guys, need some quick advice. For this question:
  • Please explain any inconsistencies in your university, graduate, or professional school academic performance and/or MCAT scores. (1,000 character limit)
If I had to drop a class and then retake it later, would this be where I explain that? I usually interpret these questions to mean if there were gaps or delays in my education, but I see that Albany has a separate question regarding if my education has been interrupted for any reason.
Click to expand...

If you had to 'drop' a class and retake it later that's not an issue at all. If you had to 'withdraw' however then you should explain why in this essay.

The education interrupted essay is more for if you take a gap year before applying or if you had to leave school for a while (e.g. To take care of a sick family member or something).
 
So how is "work and activity" question different from the most meaningful essay we put on AAMC?
 
For this essay question:

Tell us one thing about yourself that would help the Admissions Committee determine if you should be admitted to our program.

I am planning on using a diversity essay. Would it be OK to use a blatant diversity essay here? My essay almost literally ends with "and this is how I would add diversity to AMC."
 
winterwind_23 said:
For this essay question:

Tell us one thing about yourself that would help the Admissions Committee determine if you should be admitted to our program.

I am planning on using a diversity essay. Would it be OK to use a blatant diversity essay here? My essay almost literally ends with "and this is how I would add diversity to AMC."
Click to expand...

I wrote a modified diversity essay where I just focused on one characteristic that I could bring to the school. That way it fits the prompt better.
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
How close were yall to the 1000 character limit? Normally I don't worry to much about that but for some reason today I am
 
Also, I'm slightly confused by the letters of recommendation section. If my letters are being sent through AMCAS do I still need to put down who they are coming from and what not? Or is that only if they are being sent directly
 
I understand where you are coming from, but most meaningful experiences don't have to be clinically related. My situation leading me to pursue medicine was not as transformative as my three most meaningful experiences.
 
Doc City said:
wouldn't that make them wonder why you didn't pick it as most meaningful?

i interpreted it as a further detailed extension of one of your most meaningful experiences...but i could be wrong!
Click to expand...
The questions were slightly different. Primary asked which were most meaningful to you overall; this asks "which was most meaningful in influencing your desire to pursue medicine."

So, on the primary, I discussed the leadership role that helped me grow most as a person, the scribe job that made me realize I could pull it off and enjoy it, and the research position where I grew as a communicator.

In this secondary, I discussed the first clinical experience I ever had - a volunteer position - and how it helped me to commit to entirely changing career paths and going for med school. Thinking back, is it now one of the most meaningful experiences I've ever had? No. There are many things which were meaningful for me as a person, but not my career path. And, since that volunteer position, I've had better clinical opportunities. However, it was crucial for sending me down the path I am on now, and I felt that was more what they were asking (plus that way I wasn't redundant!)
 
Doc City said:
wouldn't that make them wonder why you didn't pick it as most meaningful?

i interpreted it as a further detailed extension of one of your most meaningful experiences...but i could be wrong!
Click to expand...
I think they had an extra little bit in the question. Something along the lines of "most meaningful in shaping your desire to practice medicine" or something. For me that was a chance to highlight one outside my top AMCAS activities.
 
mehc012 said:
The questions were slightly different. Primary asked which were most meaningful to you overall; this asks "which was most meaningful in influencing your desire to pursue medicine."

So, on the primary, I discussed the leadership role that helped me grow most as a person, the scribe job that made me realize I could pull it off and enjoy it, and the research position where I grew as a communicator.

In this secondary, I discussed the first clinical experience I ever had - a volunteer position - and how it helped me to commit to entirely changing career paths and going for med school. Thinking back, is it now one of the most meaningful experiences I've ever had? No. There are many things which were meaningful for me as a person, but not my career path. And, since that volunteer position, I've had better clinical opportunities. However, it was crucial for sending me down the path I am on now, and I felt that was more what they were asking (plus that way I wasn't redundant!)
Click to expand...
lol beat me to it
 
How long after you were verified did you guys receive the secondary? I was recently verified and I was just wondering if Albany usually takes a while to send out their secondaries/sends them out in batches? Thanks!
 
catie_jane said:
How long after you were verified did you guys receive the secondary? I was recently verified and I was just wondering if Albany usually takes a while to send out their secondaries/sends them out in batches? Thanks!
Click to expand...


I was verified on 7/24 and received the secondary yesterday (8/3)
 
winterwind_23 said:
For this essay question:

Tell us one thing about yourself that would help the Admissions Committee determine if you should be admitted to our program.

I am planning on using a diversity essay. Would it be OK to use a blatant diversity essay here? My essay almost literally ends with "and this is how I would add diversity to AMC."
Click to expand...
I used a modified diversity essay for the "describe yourself" question
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Guys, how the hell do you schedule your II? When I log in, the system still looks exactly the same as it did before...
 
FutureBenCarson said:
I applied to AMC as a safety when I hadn't gotten my MCAT scores back yet, just the percentiles. I just don't think I'd realistically go here anymore.
Click to expand...
That's your call, but I don't think I'd have that attitude until I had an acceptance in my hand for sure. Also, it seems a little insensitive to talk about being too good for a
"safety school" when people here are anxiously waiting for II's. But yes, it just might be better for all of us if you just gave that spot to someone who actually does want it.
 
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

chilly_md
2025-2026 New York Medical College
4 5 6 7 8
Replies
371
Views
135K
Zorazk
Z
chilly_md
2025-2026 Medical College of Georgia
6 7 8 9 10
Replies
492
Views
147K
Boosterman
Boosterman
chilly_md
2025-2026 Albany
3 4 5 6 7
Replies
322
Views
100K
mmssjj
M
chilly_md
2025-2026 Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW)
4 5 6 7 8
Replies
386
Views
133K
pker113
P
S
2025-2026 Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Application
Replies
35
Views
11K
Namingishard
N