2023-2024 Pittsburgh

[wysdoc]

2023-2024 Pittsburgh Secondary Essay Prompts

1. Tell us about a challenging problem you faced and how you resolved it. Include how the experience contributed to the person you are today. (250 words or less.)

2. At UPSOM, diversity and inclusion are measures of distinction, integral to achieving institutional excellence, and essential to the development of future physicians who become leaders in medicine. Describe how you have demonstrated a commitment to diversity and inclusion in the past, and how you hope to grow that commitment in medical school. (250 words or less.)

3. Tell the Admissions Committee why you are applying to Pitt Med and why you think this school would be a good fit for you? (250 words or less.)

Good luck to everyone applying!

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[docbach14]

OOS secondary received. Havent checked prompts yet

 

[Ajtbs06]

OOS secondary received. @wysdoc
1. Tell us about a challenging problem you faced and how you resolved it. Include how the experience contributed to the person you are today. (Limit your response to 250 words or less.)

2. At UPSOM, diversity and inclusion are measures of distinction, integral to achieving institutional excellence, and essential to the development of future physicians who become leaders in medicine. Describe how you have demonstrated a commitment to diversity and inclusion in the past, and how you hope to grow that commitment in medical school. (Limit your response to 250 words or less.)

3. Tell the Admissions Committee why you are applying to Pitt Med and why you think this school would be a good fit for you? Limit your response to 250 words or less.)

 

[YodaPineapple]

I will do some more investigating into this school shortly, however I seem to remember hearing that Pitt is very research heavy. Do others know if this the case? Am I probably wasting my time if my research involvement is very, very minimal?

@chilly_md @Mr.Smile12

 

[amdocahe]

OOS secondary received

 

[Labe]

I will do some more investigating into this school shortly, however I seem to remember hearing that Pitt is very research heavy. Do others know if this the case? Am I probably wasting my time if my research involvement is very, very minimal?

@chilly_md @Mr.Smile12

Yes Pitt is definitely very research heavy. It'll probably hurt a bit, but if your stats and other parts of your app are strong enough, it could be worth a shot.

 

[madamemichaelscott]

IS 2º received!

 

[garnmonster]

is anyone confused on how to fill out the course requirements section? my courses which included lab were listed as one on my transcript so idk if i should only fill out one line under lecture or put a duplicate under lab

 

[Labe]

is anyone confused on how to fill out the course requirements section? my courses which included lab were listed as one on my transcript so idk if i should only fill out one line under lecture or put a duplicate under lab

It says to put "LB" in the course name/number if it was a combined lecture and lab.

 

[garnmonster]

It says to put "LB" in the course name/number if it was a combined lecture and lab.

oh yes i saw that but i was overthinking it and wondering if i should still put it twice. but then i thought about it after posting and realized that doesn’t make any sense lol

 

[parasaurolophus]

Is anyone having trouble submitting payment?

 

[skybluepink]

Is anyone having trouble submitting payment?

I cannot either

 

[pablo213]

+1 OOS

 

[OreoLover365]

Is anyone having trouble submitting payment?

I can't submit payment either. It declined my card

 

[garnmonster]

I can't submit payment either. It declined my card

my card was also declined. if enough of us get declined we won’t have to pay right 🤡

 

[Anonymousapplicant33]

Anyone received their MSTP application yet along with their MD one?

 

[SultanateIV]

my card was also declined. if enough of us get declined we won’t have to pay right 🤡

I can't pay either lol

 

[RuggedShark]

Is anyone having trouble submitting payment?

Mine is getting declined too. Has anyone contacted them about it?

 

[ranmasaotome]

Anyone received their MSTP application yet along with their MD one?

I did not.

 

[madamemichaelscott]

Tell us about a challenging problem you faced

Are you all interpreting this as a challenge essay (eg, navigating college) or an adversity essay?

 

[garnmonster]

Mine is getting declined too. Has anyone contacted them about it?

i called the IT number but wasn’t able to get connected to anybody. i figure since it’s past normal business hours they probably won’t resolve it until tomorrow morning

 

[adnwastaken]

Did you all put that any prerequisite courses taken during COVID year as being taken online? I know that normally taking online classes is looked down on but everything was online that year. Or should we only use the "online" box if the class was designed to be taken online?

Edit: also, for anyone on the quarter system, did you convert the hours into semester hours or leave them as quarter hours?

 

[roundgarlic]

Did you all put that any prerequisite courses taken during COVID year as being taken online? I know that normally taking online classes is looked down on but everything was online that year. Or should we only use the "online" box if the class was designed to be taken online?

Edit: also, for anyone on the quarter system, did you convert the hours into semester hours or leave them as quarter hours?

I took ochem 1 and bio lab online during 2020/2021 so in the box I just put that the class was online bc my entire university was online.

 

[deleted1071450]

Are you guys just putting the bare minimum requirements for hours? Or like if we had many bio courses, you're putting all them?

 

[paperjam]

Are you guys just putting the bare minimum requirements for hours? Or like if we had many bio courses, you're putting all them?

Other med schools have specified only to enter the minimum, so I'm assuming Pitt is the same, though someone affiliated please correct me if I'm wrong. From my understanding, it's just to certify that you meet the minimum requirements.

 

[aspiringdoc111]

Was anyone able to submit the payment?

 

[SultanateIV]

Was anyone able to submit the payment?

No

 

[soundofsilence]

I can't submit payment either. It declined my card

Lmao i thought it was just my poor ass

 

[toastedbutter]

Same payment problem here.

 

[kkrossy]

Should I even submit their secondary if I have 350 hours of remote research with just a virtual poster? I heard they really like research and idk if it's worth it to still shoot my shot. LM 76 for what it's worth

 

[toastedbutter]

Should I even submit their secondary if I have 350 hours of remote research with just a virtual poster? I heard they really like research and idk if it's worth it to still shoot my shot. LM 76 for what it's worth

I don't think that's too bad especially if the rest of the application is strong

 

[pablo213]

Should I even submit their secondary if I have 350 hours of remote research with just a virtual poster? I heard they really like research and idk if it's worth it to still shoot my shot. LM 76 for what it's worth

dunno but i only have 1 poster as well and im applying lol.

 

[paperjam]

Just got ahold of IT about the payment issue. They weren't aware of the problem but they said they're looking into it now. If anyone gets it to go through plz let us know.

 

[dihedralsymmetry]

Just got ahold of IT about the payment issue. They weren't aware of the problem but they said they're looking into it now. If anyone gets it to go through plz let us know.

My payment went through and I am now marked as "complete and under review."

 

[garnmonster]

i was able to submit my payment, but the portal says my application is not complete. i have all my letters of rec and mcat score in though. idk if i should contact them or if i just need to wait for it to update.

 

[OreoLover365]

i was able to submit my payment, but the portal says my application is not complete. i have all my letters of rec and mcat score in though. idk if i should contact them or if i just need to wait for it to update.

Mine also says "Your MD Application is submitted, but NOT COMPLETE." I'm not sure why since my LORs and MCAT are in as well

 

[garnmonster]

Mine also says "Your MD Application is submitted, but NOT COMPLETE." I'm not sure why since my LORs and MCAT are in as well

the only thing i can think of is that someone needs to go through and manually verify that the courses we entered match what is on our transcript. but someone else above said they were marked as complete and under review after submitting so i'm not sure.

 

[WarBoar8]

I ran into the same issue as above. I called admissions 35 minutes ago (they picked up instantly) and said they would double-check for me. I'm now complete and under review.

 

[confusedcurls]

For the course name/number, are we supposed to write out the code and number (like: CHEM123) or the full name of the course AND the code/number?

 

[garnmonster]

For the course name/number, are we supposed to write out the code and number (like: CHEM123) or the full name of the course AND the code/number?

i did course code and name

 

[vtea6131]

OOS haven't received anything yet is this the case for anyone else? Not sure if most schools will send out secondaries in waves
First time applying!

 

[bstomd2024]

anyone having issues even opening the portal? mine says "sorry, an error occurred while processing your request".

 

[mangoroad]

anyone having issues even opening the portal? mine says "sorry, an error occurred while processing your request".

yes, I am getting the same message when the page loads

 

[woopho]

anyone having issues even opening the portal? mine says "sorry, an error occurred while processing your request".

same here- I emailed admissions and they said that they have IT working on it and hope to fix the issue by the end of today

 

[bstomd2024]

same here- I emailed admissions and they said that they have IT working on it and hope to fix the issue by the end of today

it worked for me and i was able to submit it this morning fwiw

 

[coffeespin23]

Are people approaching the diversity essay like normal or changing it? It seems to me like they're looking for something a little different, maybe community service experience or serving on committees as opposed to what makes us unique?

 

[garnmonster]

Are people approaching the diversity essay like normal or changing it? It seems to me like they're looking for something a little different, maybe community service experience or serving on committees as opposed to what makes us unique?

i interpreted it as more experience-based

 

[pokjoko]

OOS II invite received!

 

[kaleidoscope1202]

OOS II invite received!

Congrats! Were you complete early ?

 

[pokjoko]

Congrats! Were you complete early ?

Primary verified 7/7, secondary recieved 7/10, submitted 7/11