2020-2021 Temple

[TheDataKing]

lease tag a pre-allo moderator when the secondary prompt is posted.

Good luck to everyone applying!

Interview Feedback: Temple University

2020-2021 Secondary Prompts:
What is the nature of your interest in the Lewis Katz School of Medicine?
Note: 2,000 character limit per essay question, including spaces.

How do you plan on contributing to the Lewis Katz School of Medicine Community?
LKSOM seeks an engaged student body with a wide variety of backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and interests to enhance the medical school experience for everyone. Please use the space below to describe what makes you unique as an applicant, an obstacle that you had to overcome, or how you will contribute to the LKSOM community. Note: 2,000 character limit per essay question, including spaces.

Tell us about your special interest in the campus you selected.
Note: 2,000 character limit per essay question, including spaces.

What are your plans for the current year - June 2020 until June 2021?
Note: 2,000 character limit per essay question, including spaces.

The Coronavirus pandemic has affected all of us in one way or another.
Please use this space to describe to us how you were impacted academically, personally or professionally by COVID-19. Note: 2,000 character limit per essay question, including spaces.

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[KatsuCurry]

Doing some research on this school - there's a writing activity if invited to an interview?? Is that used as sort of writing sample or something? Can any current students or people who interviewed here comment?

 

[MedScat]

Doing some research on this school - there's a writing activity if invited to an interview?? Is that used as sort of writing sample or something? Can any current students or people who interviewed here comment?

Current student: the writing assignment is just a prompt that you respond to. I think mine was something about the importance of advocacy and I just ended up ranting about how advocating for things like proper, safe, housing can impact health (specifically with kids with asthma) I thought I was speaking nonsense but I got in so, must not have been bad. Everyone's prompt was different

 

[FatherTime-PhD]

Doing some research on this school - there's a writing activity if invited to an interview?? Is that used as sort of writing sample or something? Can any current students or people who interviewed here comment?

My was just a challenge essay - something about adversity that you’ve gone through. It’s not bad

 

[beefeedflowermix]

@TPH225 I know one of their secondaries is about choosing which regional campus you'd like to attend, and I am a bit confused as to where to find concrete information about the differences between the two campuses. Do you happen to know of such a resource? Thanks!!

 

[MedScat]

@TPH225 I know one of their secondaries is about choosing which regional campus you'd like to attend, and I am a bit confused as to where to find concrete information about the differences between the two campuses. Do you happen to know of such a resource? Thanks!!

This question gets asked every year and its confusing because there really is no concrete resource that will tell you the difference. The main differences are:

1. St. Lukes is a smaller cohort so, if you learn better in a smaller, close-knit environment, this could be a reason why you would prefer St. Lukes. I believe these students develop closer relationships with professors since the program is small

2. Philly is obviously a city in one of the most underserved areas of Philly...If you want to serve the underserved, there is arguably no better place!

3. Philly campus also has a much more robust club/extra curricular opportunity offering. For example, we have prevention point (the needle exchange student clinic), many opportunities to work in north philly schools, teac. If you want to get involved with the north philly community, the main temple health is where you want to be

4. I personally want to eventually practice in an urban area (I'm from NYC) so, this also sold temple main for me.

5. I also even mentioned areas of the city that I knew about that I enjoyed and wanted to live, the different cuisines in philly, and the fact that i just love philly as a city and find comfort in enjoying the space that I live in.

Just think, which campus do you actually prefer and why? I know for me I was like "pshhh idc I just wanna get into medical school" which is totally valid but, in a perfect world, if you had to pick one, why would you want it? After you come up with those reasons, then make your list into a formal fluffy essay. The sincerity will show through the formalities.

 

[beefeedflowermix]

This question gets asked every year and its confusing because there really is no concrete resource that will tell you the difference. The main differences are:

thank you SO much!!

 

[sputniksweetheart]

for the question, "Tell us why you selected your first choice ranked Clinical/Regional Campus," how long were your responses? i found that i took the entire 2000 character count talking about 'why temple,' but am around half that for this question (mainly describing my ties and wanting to work at a more heavily underserved area). should i try and use up the entire character count?

 

[4573890]

for the question, "Tell us why you selected your first choice ranked Clinical/Regional Campus," how long were your responses? i found that i took the entire 2000 character count talking about 'why temple,' but am around half that for this question (mainly describing my ties and wanting to work at a more heavily underserved area). should i try and use up the entire character count?

I don't have an answer but I also don't see myself exceeding 1000 char for this question.. given the limited information on the website and the fact that they also ask "why temple" they can't reasonable expect us all to elaborate this much on campus choice, right??

 

[sports215]

Temple requires an additional letter to be sent if you have an IA. When I found out I had this letter sent about 1.5 months ago, I may have jumped the gun on that. Think it's worth having my school send the letter again so they can actually associate it with my app?

 

[bagellover017]

Temple requires an additional letter to be sent if you have an IA. When I found out I had this letter sent about 1.5 months ago, I may have jumped the gun on that. Think it's worth having my school send the letter again so they can actually associate it with my app?

Did you have your school send the letter directly to Temple or are you supposed to post it on their portal?

 

[sports215]

Did you have your school send the letter directly to Temple or are you supposed to post it on their portal?

My school sent it directly

 

[qwertyjuice]

An additional letter? I have a unique non-academic IA, will my prehealth committee letter suffice?

Temple requires an additional letter to be sent if you have an IA. When I found out I had this letter sent about 1.5 months ago, I may have jumped the gun on that. Think it's worth having my school send the letter again so they can actually associate it with my app?

 

[bagellover017]

For the institutional action letter while I had submitted it on my AMCAS application I realized it is required to send in a letter to school as well. How do I submit that letter? Do I have my university send the letter to Temple Admissions directly or do I receive it from my school and I put it on the secondary portal?

 

[msmathteacher]

Is anyone willing to share the secondary prompts?

 

[GroundDigger]

Is anyone willing to share the secondary prompts?

I don't think they have sent them out yet

 

[lumya]

Secondary just now. OOS

What is the nature of your interest in the Lewis Katz School of Medicine?
Note: 2,000 character limit per essay question, including spaces.

How do you plan on contributing to the Lewis Katz School of Medicine Community?
LKSOM seeks an engaged student body with a wide variety of backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and interests to enhance the medical school experience for everyone. Please use the space below to describe what makes you unique as an applicant, an obstacle that you had to overcome, or how you will contribute to the LKSOM community. Note: 2,000 character limit per essay question, including spaces.

Tell us about your special interest in the campus you selected.
Note: 2,000 character limit per essay question, including spaces.

What are your plans for the current year - June 2020 until June 2021?
Note: 2,000 character limit per essay question, including spaces.

The Coronavirus pandemic has affected all of us in one way or another.
Please use this space to describe to us how you were impacted academically, personally or professionally by COVID-19. Note: 2,000 character limit per essay question, including spaces.

@TheDataKing

 

[theoriginalyaga]

secondary received, IS.

 

[sassypants15]

Secondary received OOS

 

[TabbyTuxy]

Secondary received OOS

 

[GameOfZones]

No secondary yet for me. OOS

 

[4573890]

No secondary yet for me. OOS

+1 OOS

 

[deleted1057987]

Secondary received OOS.

 

[premed1139724]

Secondary received OOS

 

[AegonTargaryenVI]

So if we want to self-report our SAT/ACT scores they want us to upload a screenshot of the scores after submitting?

 

[simplicityw]

anyone getting an error message when trying to submit responses?

 

[deleted1057987]

Is anyone having trouble even starting an application? Whenever I click it the page doesn't show me anything

 

[InfectiousDiseasesH&TM]

So if we want to self-report our SAT/ACT scores they want us to upload a screenshot of the scores after submitting?

It's optional. I looked up my ACT percentile from high school and it was lower than my MCAT one -- so I left that section blank.

My thinking: it could especially be for applicants that have not yet received an MCAT score

 

[MoonQuail]

Does anyone know how to check if we are complete? I submitted and my application status now just says "Submitted." On their portal. I think that they have my casper and LOR already. But is there any definitive way to know that we are fully complete and the app is ready for review?

 

[howdidienduphere]

Is anyone else having issues submitting the secondary essays? Whenever I click Save and Continue after inputting my essays I get an error message and I have to restart my whole app.

 

[wowens11]

Is anyone else having issues submitting the secondary essays? Whenever I click Save and Continue after inputting my essays I get an error message and I have to restart my whole app.

I can't even put in my responses to the essay questions. I'm not seeing anywhere to click or anything.

 

[deleted1058452]

Anyone else *possibly* click the wrong link to access the secondary?

 

[sports215]

IS Submitted 7/15 and complete on 7/17

 

[futureSurgeon98]

Has anyone received an email confirmation after submitting their secondary?

 

[simplicityw]

+1

 

[Chromatica]

This question gets asked every year and its confusing because there really is no concrete resource that will tell you the difference. The main differences are:

1. St. Lukes is a smaller cohort so, if you learn better in a smaller, close-knit environment, this could be a reason why you would prefer St. Lukes. I believe these students develop closer relationships with professors since the program is small

2. Philly is obviously a city in one of the most underserved areas of Philly...If you want to serve the underserved, there is arguably no better place!

3. Philly campus also has a much more robust club/extra curricular opportunity offering. For example, we have prevention point (the needle exchange student clinic), many opportunities to work in north philly schools, teac. If you want to get involved with the north philly community, the main temple health is where you want to be

4. I personally want to eventually practice in an urban area (I'm from NYC) so, this also sold temple main for me.

5. I also even mentioned areas of the city that I knew about that I enjoyed and wanted to live, the different cuisines in philly, and the fact that i just love philly as a city and find comfort in enjoying the space that I live in.

Just think, which campus do you actually prefer and why? I know for me I was like "pshhh idc I just wanna get into medical school" which is totally valid but, in a perfect world, if you had to pick one, why would you want it? After you come up with those reasons, then make your list into a formal fluffy essay. The sincerity will show through the formalities.

This was so beyond helpful. Thank you x10000000

 

[deleted1054798]

For this kinda vague prompt:
How do you plan on contributing to the Lewis Katz School of Medicine Community?*LKSOM seeks an engaged student body with a wide variety of backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and interests to enhance the medical school experience for everyone. Please use the space below to describe what makes you unique as an applicant, an obstacle that you had to overcome, or how you will contribute to the LKSOM community. Note: 2,000 character limit per essay question, including spaces.

What did yall go with? Im debating between Diversity and adversity, but my adversity essay is better but it also seems like they want diversity.

 

[deleted1058452]

For this kinda vague prompt:
How do you plan on contributing to the Lewis Katz School of Medicine Community?*LKSOM seeks an engaged student body with a wide variety of backgrounds, experiences, perspectives, and interests to enhance the medical school experience for everyone. Please use the space below to describe what makes you unique as an applicant, an obstacle that you had to overcome, or how you will contribute to the LKSOM community. Note: 2,000 character limit per essay question, including spaces.

What did yall go with? Im debating between Diversity and adversity, but my adversity essay is better but it also seems like they want diversity.

Personally I went with my diversity essay since it seemed to fit perfectly. I tied the diversity into how I would contribute as well

 

[mpmp3233]

Does this secondary allow for an optional text box for IAs or allow for updates after submission? To make a long story short, I have pre-written all my secondaries but still waiting for my primary to be reviewed (hopefully in a few more days!), but when I submitted my primary I indicated I had no IAs because what I thought were not violations actually were. After talking to a few admissions departments I have learned my best bet is to 1)email the admissions office and dean of admissions, 2) explain in the optional text box why I did not report it on my primary, and 3)update my application with the details if allowed.

Therefore, does this secondary have an optional text box or allow for resubmission where I would have the opportunity to explain this situation?

 

[deleted1058452]

Does this secondary allow for an optional text box for IAs or allow for updates after submission? To make a long story short, I have pre-written all my secondaries but still waiting for my primary to be reviewed (hopefully in a few more days!), but when I submitted my primary I indicated I had no IAs because what I thought were not violations actually were. After talking to a few admissions departments I have learned my best bet is to 1)email the admissions office and dean of admissions, 2) explain in the optional text box why I did not report it on my primary, and 3)update my application with the details if allowed.

Therefore, does this secondary have an optional text box or allow for resubmission where I would have the opportunity to explain this situation?

I don’t know about updates in general but you can update the IA thing.

There is a section for IA where you can say if what was stated on your primary(yes to IA or no to it) is correct or not.
For you just say it isn’t correct and you’ll need to have someone from the office of student conduct or whatever send an official response about your record. You just have to put in their name and email in the “required forms” section whenever you get the secondary

 

[mpmp3233]

I don’t know about updates in general but you can update the IA thing.

There is a section for IA where you can say if what was stated on your primary(yes to IA or no to it) is correct or not.
For you just say it isn’t correct and you’ll need to have someone from the office of student conduct or whatever send an official response about your record. You just have to put in their name and email in the “required forms” section whenever you get the secondary

Is this specific for the Temple secondary? Just seems like an oddly specific thing for a secondary.

 

[deleted1058452]

Is this specific for the Temple secondary? Just seems like an oddly specific thing for a secondary.

I have only seen something this specific on temple’s secondary of the roughly 15 MD ones I’ve submitted. I know MCW requires a Deans certification form for anyone who has an IA

beyond that I haven’t really seen anything specific about IAs

 

[deleted1058452]

Just received the complete email
Submitted on 7/17

 

[premed1139724]

Just received the complete email
Submitted on 7/17

+1 submitted yesterday

 

[SpreadKindness20]

@MedScat or any other Temple students, can you comment on your experience living/studying in North Philly? My understanding is that it's a pretty rough area vis-a-vis crime and open drug dealing. But please do correct me if that's not been your impression.

 

[MedScat]

@MedScat or any other Temple students, can you comment on your experience living/studying in North Philly? My understanding is that it's a pretty rough area vis-a-vis crime and open drug dealing. But please do correct me if that's not been your impression.

You're correct about the area but most people either just come to school and study in the library then go home. I think the worst I heard was that a student got mugged for their backpack or something. It's really not much different than working in any major city hospital since they tend not to be located in the best areas. The Temple building is beautiful and security is abundant.

 

[sevenout]

The worst part about philly is the parking authority. I kid! Mostly...

 

[msmathteacher]

@MedScat or any other Temple students, can you comment on your experience living/studying in North Philly? My understanding is that it's a pretty rough area vis-a-vis crime and open drug dealing. But please do correct me if that's not been your impression.

I’m not a Temple student, but I lived in Philly for two years. I think most Temple med students don’t live near campus. Many live further south in places like Fishtown or Center City, I think.

 

[MedScat]

I’m not a Temple student, but I lived in Philly for two years. I think most Temple med students don’t live near campus. Many live further south in places like Fishtown or Center City, I think.

Yes this is true, and the ones that do live near school tend to live extremely close so they get all the security benefits that temple provides (flood lighting, security close by)

 

[SpreadKindness20]

Got it. That's reassuring. Thank you both!