2017-2018 George Washington University

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Lucca

Lucca

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Please provide the Admissions Committee with a brief summary of your activities, academics, employment or other occupations to account for full-time activity (approx. 30-40 hours/week) for the 2017-2018 application cycle, or from the point of application through matriculation in 2018. (750 characters)

What is your most meaningful community service experience to date? (350 characters)

What is your most meaningful clinical experience to date, involving direct patient contact? (350 characters)

What makes you a unique individual? What challenges have you faced? How will these factors help you contribute to the diversity of the student body at GW? (1000 characters)

What is your specific interest in the MD Program at GW? What opportunities would you take advantage of as a student here? Why? (2000 characters)

Good luck to everyone applying!
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Any current Med Student or Alum could give some ideas into what qualities GW looks for in an applicant for him/her to stand out? Thank you! 🙂
 
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CoffeeFirst said:
Any current Med Student or Alum could give some ideas into what qualities GW looks for in an applicant for him/her to stand out? Thank you! 🙂
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Service, service, service, service.... interest in future service.... service, service. I'm not joking, demonstrating altruism and a desire to use medicine to continue doing so is the #1 most important thing to GW imho. When you're applying, look up the different service opportunities at GW SMHS and let them know which ones you're interested in and why.

(Current 4th year)
 
cathemeral said:
Service, service, service, service.... interest in future service.... service, service. I'm not joking, demonstrating altruism and a desire to use medicine to continue doing so is the #1 most important thing to GW imho. When you're applying, look up the different service opportunities at GW SMHS and let them know which ones you're interested in and why.

(Current 4th year)
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Wait that's awesome!! A lot of my application is service oriented, and this was definitely a reach school for me as far as numbers go but maybe with my service I'll get the chance for a secondary/II. Did you have the time to continue a variety of service opportunities while you were there in school?

Thank you for this post 😀
 
morejedi said:
Wait that's awesome!! A lot of my application is service oriented, and this was definitely a reach school for me as far as numbers go but maybe with my service I'll get the chance for a secondary/II. Did you have the time to continue a variety of service opportunities while you were there in school?

Thank you for this post 😀
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Absolutely focus on service and not numbers. Your numbers are there, they are what they are. The way you'll be memorable is to highlight stuff that's going to be different than what other applicants put forward. Unless there's a massive aberration in your numbers that needs to be explained, focus on qualitative and not quantitative for secondaries.

During first and second years, yes, there is plenty of time to do extracurriculars, including service. Expect to have the majority of the summer between first and second year off, so plan ahead to use that time to arrange a major project, be it in service, research, etc. The track programs are a solid way to start getting a project arranged from day one.

Expect all free time to disappear like you hit a wall at the start of third year. Eek.
 
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cathemeral said:
Absolutely focus on service and not numbers. Your numbers are there, they are what they are. The way you'll be memorable is to highlight stuff that's going to be different than what other applicants put forward. Unless there's a massive aberration in your numbers that needs to be explained, focus on qualitative and not quantitative for secondaries.

During first and second years, yes, there is plenty of time to do extracurriculars, including service. Expect to have the majority of the summer between first and second year off, so plan ahead to use that time to arrange a major project, be it in service, research, etc. The track programs are a sold way to start getting a project arranged from day one.

Expect all free time to disappear like you hit a wall at the start of third year. Eek.
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Fair enough, I'm not sure about their screening process but if I get a secondary I'll be extremely happy, I've definitely got a lot to say. I really had no idea G-Dub was service oriented, this school just took a few leaps up on my top choices list. It seems like you've really enjoyed your time there and opportunities are seemingly abundant. Thanks for the insight and good luck/have fun with your 4th year Doc 😉. If I have any questions as secondaries come through would you mind if I pester you?
 
morejedi said:
Fair enough, I'm not sure about their screening process but if I get a secondary I'll be extremely happy, I've definitely got a lot to say. I really had no idea G-Dub was service oriented, this school just took a few leaps up on my top choices list. It seems like you've really enjoyed your time there and opportunities are seemingly abundant. Thanks for the insight and good luck/have fun with your 4th year Doc 😉. If I have any questions as secondaries come through would you mind if I pester you?
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Pester away, good luck to ya.
 
cathemeral said:
Absolutely focus on service and not numbers. Your numbers are there, they are what they are. The way you'll be memorable is to highlight stuff that's going to be different than what other applicants put forward. Unless there's a massive aberration in your numbers that needs to be explained, focus on qualitative and not quantitative for secondaries.

During first and second years, yes, there is plenty of time to do extracurriculars, including service. Expect to have the majority of the summer between first and second year off, so plan ahead to use that time to arrange a major project, be it in service, research, etc. The track programs are a sold way to start getting a project arranged from day one.

Expect all free time to disappear like you hit a wall at the start of third year. Eek.
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I LOVE this about this school. From last years secondaries they only allow 350 characters to talk about our most memorable volunteer experience. As I was pre-writing this one I couldn't believe how difficult that was. If the questions remain the same would you say to try and bring it up in the other essays that allow for more room?
 
Positivevibes5 said:
I LOVE this about this school. From last years secondaries they only allow 350 characters to talk about our most memorable volunteer experience. As I was pre-writing this one I couldn't believe how difficult that was. If the questions remain the same would you say to try and bring it up in the other essays that allow for more room?
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You have a lot of artistic license with the secondary prompts! I think that the "What is your specific interest in the MD Program at GW?" prompt will be a good place for you to incorporate your past service into a package that also shows why you want to go here. "I did XYZ service activity (go into as much detail as you like), and therefore I want to to to GW to continue my service through ABC program." That simple stuff goes a long way into showing where you came from and where you want to go.

As an aside - for all y'all, I always thought it was helpful to approach each prompt as helping to illustrate where you want to be in 5, 10, 25 years. "I participated in service because I want to be a community doctor," or "I advocated for sunscreen awareness because I'm passionate about dermatology, and GW can help me become a great dermatologist because LMNOP reasons (faculty you want to work with, research that the school has done in the past, programs in DC that you want to partner with - so many options)." It gives just a lil bit more of a punch than only illustrating the good things you've already done. Just a thought :thinking:
 
I thought GW sends secondary out to everyone? Is this not true?
 
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cathemeral said:
You have a lot of artistic license with the secondary prompts! I think that the "What is your specific interest in the MD Program at GW?" prompt will be a good place for you to incorporate your past service into a package that also shows why you want to go here. "I did XYZ service activity (go into as much detail as you like), and therefore I want to to to GW to continue my service through ABC program." That simple stuff goes a long way into showing where you came from and where you want to go.

As an aside - for all y'all, I always thought it was helpful to approach each prompt as helping to illustrate where you want to be in 5, 10, 25 years. "I participated in service because I want to be a community doctor," or "I advocated for sunscreen awareness because I'm passionate about dermatology, and GW can help me become a great dermatologist because LMNOP reasons (faculty you want to work with, research that the school has done in the past, programs in DC that you want to partner with - so many options)." It gives just a lil bit more of a punch than only illustrating the good things you've already done. Just a thought :thinking:
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I was wondering if there are any opportunities to tutor in the community as medical student? or time to do so?

Edit: just kidding I found a couple opportunities!
 
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SUPER excited to have received this secondary. I know it goes out to everyone but I'm ridiculously pumped to fill this out and send it back.
 
Prompts same as last year.

@Lucca @gyngyn

Prompts:

Please provide the Admissions Committee with a brief summary of your activities, academics, employment or other occupations to account for full-time activity (approx. 30-40 hours/week) for the 2017-2018 application cycle, or from the point of application through matriculation in 2018. (750 characters)

What is your most meaningful community service experience to date? (350 characters)

What is your most meaningful clinical experience to date, involving direct patient contact? (350 characters)

What makes you a unique individual? What challenges have you faced? How will these factors help you contribute to the diversity of the student body at GW? (1000 characters)

What is your specific interest in the MD Program at GW? What opportunities would you take advantage of as a student here? Why? (2000 characters)
 
Overthink said:
Prompts same as last year.

@Lucca @gyngyn

Prompts:

Please provide the Admissions Committee with a brief summary of your activities, academics, employment or other occupations to account for full-time activity (approx. 30-40 hours/week) for the 2017-2018 application cycle, or from the point of application through matriculation in 2018. (750 characters)

What is your most meaningful community service experience to date? (350 characters)

What is your most meaningful clinical experience to date, involving direct patient contact? (350 characters)

What makes you a unique individual? What challenges have you faced? How will these factors help you contribute to the diversity of the student body at GW? (1000 characters)

What is your specific interest in the MD Program at GW? What opportunities would you take advantage of as a student here? Why? (2000 characters)
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I think the character limit excludes spaces and punctuation. My google docs character counter w/o spaces is pretty close to GW's character count, and I assume any difference between the counts is punctuation.
 
Overthink said:
Prompts same as last year.

@Lucca @gyngyn

Prompts:

Please provide the Admissions Committee with a brief summary of your activities, academics, employment or other occupations to account for full-time activity (approx. 30-40 hours/week) for the 2017-2018 application cycle, or from the point of application through matriculation in 2018. (750 characters)

What is your most meaningful community service experience to date? (350 characters)

What is your most meaningful clinical experience to date, involving direct patient contact? (350 characters)

What makes you a unique individual? What challenges have you faced? How will these factors help you contribute to the diversity of the student body at GW? (1000 characters)

What is your specific interest in the MD Program at GW? What opportunities would you take advantage of as a student here? Why? (2000 characters)
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Is it inappropriate to use modified descriptions of experiences from our ECs?
 
herphorse said:
I think the character limit excludes spaces and punctuation. My google docs character counter w/o spaces is pretty close to GW's character count, and I assume any difference between the counts is punctuation.
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The character count does exclude spaces and this is indicated in the instruction just above the prompt.
 
Sixsuit said:
Is it inappropriate to use modified descriptions of experiences from our ECs?
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Yes, I'm curious about this as well. I kind of did write about my most meaningful experiences for both of the essay questions.
 
morejedi said:
SUPER excited to have received this secondary. I know it goes out to everyone but I'm ridiculously pumped to fill this out and send it back.
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I know, isn't that funny and depressing at the same time? Like, I know they go out to everyone, but it still feels good. Dear god, this is going to be a long several months.
 
While I do have other experiences to write about for volunteering and clinical, I wrote about the most meaningful ones in the primary application. Should I elaborate on those experiences or write about something else?
 
So two question probably dumb questions but:
1) For the first prompt about what I'm doing during, the application process would it make more sense to put in paragraph form or bulleted?
2) As aforementioned in other posts I also wrote about my most meaningful community service experience in my primary application so would I just expand on that more or use a different experience to talk about?
 
I'm applying to GW as a reach school, but I double-checked their MSAR average stats and I was surprised to find that, despite the crazy number of applications they get, their MCAT/GPA is much lower than I thought. Do they typically interview high-stat applicants early in the cycle and then move on to people more around their averages?
 
Stumpyman said:
I'm applying to GW as a reach school, but I double-checked their MSAR average stats and I was surprised to find that, despite the crazy number of applications they get, their MCAT/GPA is much lower than I thought. Do they typically interview high-stat applicants early in the cycle and then move on to people more around their averages?
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Not necessarily.Based on what I heard, I think GW is one of those schools that really look for the right "fit" and not overly focused on numbers. But would like to hear confirmation from current GW students!
 
Anyone having trouble getting the Application Fee Payment Code? I payed yesterday and still have yet to receive the email with the code. I have checked my spam/junk folder as well.
 
I have legacy to GW but unlike all the other secondaries I've received, it doesn't have place to put relative affiliations. I'm not sure if I should email them about it or just wait and bring it up during an interview..? Has anyone else dealt with this before?
 
lcm28 said:
I have legacy to GW but unlike all the other secondaries I've received, it doesn't have place to put relative affiliations. I'm not sure if I should email them about it or just wait and bring it up during an interview..? Has anyone else dealt with this before?
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Meniton it for why GW: "My ..... went to GW for his medical education and I have witnessed first hand how excellently he/she practices medicine. I want GW to be a part of my legacy as well...."
 
Their website says, "if your MCAT score includes a 123 subsection, this is not a competitive score"
my CARS is a 123 and the other three sections are all 4 or 5+ points above 123. Do you think I should even bother applying? I have a ton of service experience and a 3.9 gpa for science and cumulative
 
premedstudent2017 said:
Their website says, "if your MCAT score includes a 123 subsection, this is not a competitive score"
my CARS is a 123 and the other three sections are all 4 or 5+ points above 123. Do you think I should even bother applying? I have a ton of service experience and a 3.9 gpa for science and cumulative
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It's hard to tell. I'd still go for it and hope to be an outlier. You could call the office and ask for an honest opinion.


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How have you guys been approaching the meaningful experience prompts? I feel like 350 characters really doesn't let you describe the activity in detail. Would you suggest just stating an experience and a quick note about what you learned?
 
MedicalMermaid said:
How have you guys been approaching the meaningful experience prompts? I feel like 350 characters really doesn't let you describe the activity in detail. Would you suggest just stating an experience and a quick note about what you learned?
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Yeah, 350 characters just barely scratches the surface of what I actually did. I kind of described what I did. Plus, my clinical volunteering was a MM on my primary, so I had to repeat some info.
 
MedicalMermaid said:
How have you guys been approaching the meaningful experience prompts? I feel like 350 characters really doesn't let you describe the activity in detail. Would you suggest just stating an experience and a quick note about what you learned?
Click to expand...
that's pretty much exactly what I did, you can't really make it a good story in so few characters
 
For the "What makes you a unique individual? What challenges have you faced? How will these factors help you contribute to the diversity of the student body at GW?" I was thinking about using my diversity essay, however, I just realized that it doesn't address a specific challenge that I've faced. I would say that my diversity essay is pretty strong and speaks to what I could contribute to the school but I'm slightly worried that submitting as is might appear as if I didn't answer the prompt exactly. Is it expected that we address all three parts of this question? I feel that I'm consistently over the 1000 character limit if I add in more about a challenge faced.
 
smvk24 said:
For the "What makes you a unique individual? What challenges have you faced? How will these factors help you contribute to the diversity of the student body at GW?" I was thinking about using my diversity essay, however, I just realized that it doesn't address a specific challenge that I've faced. I would say that my diversity essay is pretty strong and speaks to what I could contribute to the school but I'm slightly worried that submitting as is might appear as if I didn't answer the prompt exactly. Is it expected that we address all three parts of this question? I feel that I'm consistently over the 1000 character limit if I add in more about a challenge faced.
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Right? I read that prompt, and it's seriously asking for 2 questions in one without allowing for a large enough character limit.
 
For the question about most meaningful clinical experience with direct patient contact, does shadowing count? Or do they want volunteering or something more hands-on?
 
wisconsingirl65 said:
For the question about most meaningful clinical experience with direct patient contact, does shadowing count? Or do they want volunteering or something more hands-on?
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If it was truly meaningful, I would think shadowing counts.
 
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