2023-2024 Jefferson (Kimmel)

[wysdoc]

2023-2024 Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson Secondary Essay Prompts (Question 1 is new)
**Note that they are doing interviews in person this year**

1. Sidney Kimmel Medical College defines diversity as the richness in human differences. How will your own experiences allow you to contribute to the diversity of the student body and to provide equitable and inclusive care to your future patients? (2500 characters)

2. Do you have additional information that you would like to provide at this time? (4000 characters)

Good luck to everyone applying!

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[confusedcurls]

@wysdoc OOS secondary received 06/30/23. The first prompt has been slightly changed since last year:

1. Sidney Kimmel Medical College defines diversity as the richness in human differences. How will your own experiences allow you to contribute to the diversity of the student body and to provide equitable and inclusive care to your future patients? (2500 characters)

2. Do you have additional information that you would like to provide at this time? (4000 characters)

 

[Pipi&Pomegranate]

anyone else received it yet?

 

[Hippo.Jr]

anyone else received it yet?

nope, still waiting.

 

[madamemichaelscott]

nope, still waiting.

+1

 

[ZoeHart]

+1

 

[amoxicillin_resistant]

+1 OOS, for the question:

"If invited for interview day where will you be traveling from?"

does being farther away hinder my chances? What if I am closer by (I have family nearby)

 

[wysdoc]

+1 OOS, for the question:

"If invited for interview day where will you be traveling from?"

does being farther away hinder my chances? What if I am closer by (I have family nearby)

I don't think it will affect your chance for an interview, but they say they are interviewing in person this year and if they have a cancellation, they can ask the close-by people to come at short notice.

 

[prospectszn]

OOS Secondary Received 07/01/2023

 

[CRISPRi]

Has anyone that has submitted the application already have the LORs listed as not received? Mine have been received by AMCAS and designated to schools so wanted to double check

 

[stere0psis]

OOS Secondary Received 07/01/2023

+1, OOS

 

[wysdoc]

Has anyone that has submitted the application already have the LORs listed as not received? Mine have been received by AMCAS and designated to schools so wanted to double check

A lot of people have this question, and the answer is usually that a clerk in the admissions office needs to look at the letter/letters you sent, check how many there are, and manually mark the letters as complete in your portal.

 

[MediGator56]

+1 OOS
What is the "additional information" question for? Is it for literally anything at all I want to add?

 

[madamemichaelscott]

IS secondary received finally!

 

[wysdoc]

+1 OOS
What is the "additional information" question for? Is it for literally anything at all I want to add?

Yes - it can be a "why this school" essay, a "why me" essay, or anything you didn't have enough space to write about in the primary that will strengthen your candidacy at this school.

 

[Neur-out-of-my-mind]

Is it worth putting my SAT score if its 80th percentile? Do I even need to put anything?

 

[wysdoc]

Is it worth putting my SAT score if its 80th percentile? Do I even need to put anything?

Isn't that already on your AMCAS application? or does this school ask for it in a separate short-answer section?

If you are referring to the "optional" Question #2, I think it would be unwise to leave it blank as they give you quite a bit of space to say more to them.

 

[Neur-out-of-my-mind]

Isn't that already on your AMCAS application? or does this school ask for it in a separate short-answer section?

If you are referring to the "optional" Question #2, I think it would be unwise to leave it blank as they give you quite a bit of space to say more to them.

It asks in 4 fill-in-the-blank spots:

SAT Reading:

ACT English:

SAT Math:

ACT Math:

I didn't list my SAT on AMCAS, though there was an option to add standardized tests.

 

[Hippo.Jr]

OOS Secondary invite received early this morning!

 

[wysdoc]

It asks in 4 fill-in-the-blank spots:

SAT Reading:

ACT English:

SAT Math:

ACT Math:

I didn't list my SAT on AMCAS, though there was an option to add standardized tests.

hmmm, if you had taken it you should have listed it on AMCAS. But you can't add it now that you submitted.
It's not used to get you in or keep you out of med school, but for statistical analysis later, as in "people who do well on SAT do/don't necessarily do well on MCAT" type of statistics.

Edited because I was wrong, the SAT score is not asked for on AMCAS.
I am always willing to learn something new & walk back my errors

 

[notanorthobro]

Submitted 07/01 OOS

 

[confusedcurls]

Yes - it can be a "why this school" essay, a "why me" essay, or anything you didn't have enough space to write about in the primary that will strengthen your candidacy at this school.

If we need an exemption for the recommendation letters (since they have specific preferences), do we have to write about it in this section? The only reason I don't want to is because I feel like it would ruin the flow of the essay I already have if I just randomly added something so technical in there. Is there any other way to receive an exemption, does anyone know/have recommendations?

 

[sweetpotatofever]

Has anyone that has submitted the application already have the LORs listed as not received? Mine have been received by AMCAS and designated to schools so wanted to double check

I'm also having this issue. Under Document Status it even says my letters have been received by the admissions office.

 

[wysdoc]

If we need an exemption for the recommendation letters (since they have specific preferences), do we have to write about it in this section? The only reason I don't want to is because I feel like it would ruin the flow of the essay I already have if I just randomly added something so technical in there. Is there any other way to receive an exemption, does anyone know/have recommendations?

I don't think you will get a prompt response about acceptable letters if you post such a request in an essay.

It will be better to email admissions office with your request, keep it polite, short, and specific.

 

[Bowel-Plumber]

hmmm, if you had taken it you should have listed it on AMCAS. But you can't add it now that you submitted.
It's not used to get you in or keep you out of med school, but for statistical analysis later, as in "people who do well on SAT do/don't necessarily do well on MCAT" type of statistics.

@wysdoc The SAT/ACT doesn't belong anywhere on AMCAS. No student is supposed to report their scores, nor is there even a section to even do so on AMCAS. The only reason AP courses are listed on AMCAS is because universities give college credit for them. I don't believe there is any university in the country that gives college credit for the SAT/ACT as they're standardized exams to get into college, not for credit.

As far as the secondary goes @Neur-out-of-my-mind, I'm opting not to include my score to any school that asks (unless it gives me an issue when I try to submit). Even if it's just for research purposes, humans are subject to bias. Who I was as a student when I was 16 is not and should not be indicative of my candidacy as a medical student at any school. Med schools want a standardized test, and I gave them an MCAT to go along with my 120+ college credits.

 

[littlebrightblob]

It asks in 4 fill-in-the-blank spots:

SAT Reading:

ACT English:

SAT Math:

ACT Math:

I didn't list my SAT on AMCAS, though there was an option to add standardized tests.

I think I'm leaving mine blank. Unfortunately it's been +10 years since I took the SAT and despite saving my username/password collegeboard won't let me login with it.

 

[wysdoc]

@wysdoc The SAT/ACT doesn't belong anywhere on AMCAS. No student is supposed to report their scores, nor is there even a section to even do so on AMCAS. The only reason AP courses are listed on AMCAS is because universities give college credit for them. I don't believe there is any university in the country that gives college credit for the SAT/ACT as they're standardized exams to get into college, not for credit.

As far as the secondary goes @Neur-out-of-my-mind, I'm opting not to include my score to any school that asks (unless it gives me an issue when I try to submit). Even if it's just for research purposes, humans are subject to bias. Who I was as a student when I was 16 is not and should not be indicative of my candidacy as a medical student at any school. Med schools want a standardized test, and I gave them an MCAT to go along with my 120+ college credits.

Sorry, it is required on TMDSAS and I thought on AMCAS also.
I will edit my response

 

[yayparty112]

I think I'm leaving mine blank. Unfortunately it's been +10 years since I took the SAT and despite saving my username/password collegeboard won't let me login with it.

Same here

 

[Arbiter604]

A lot of people have this question, and the answer is usually that a clerk in the admissions office needs to look at the letter/letters you sent, check how many there are, and manually mark the letters as complete in your portal.

So to clarify does this mean we need to reach out to them and ask? Or they will automatically do this after submission?

 

[wysdoc]

So to clarify does this mean we need to reach out to them and ask? Or they will automatically do this after submission?

No, it means that you should wait and allow them time to go through all the info they receive and mark it in your portal.
Calling them to ask, well , it just interrupts them from doing these things.

 

[asclepius12]

What do folks generally write in the "anything else" essay? Why Jefferson? Covid statement?

 

[adnwastaken]

Yes - it can be a "why this school" essay, a "why me" essay, or anything you didn't have enough space to write about in the primary that will strengthen your candidacy at this school.

Sigh I should have done this, left it blank :/. Definitely won't make the same mistake on the next ones that give a lot of room and don't ask many questions

 

[wysdoc]

On the SKMC FAQ page, specifically addressing LOR exemption requests, they write, "You may direct exemption requests to the Committee on Admissions using the optional information section on the Secondary Application." I know requesting a letter exemption in the optional essay isn't traditional, but they explicitly say on their website to follow that protocol. @wysdoc, do you still think it's better to email instead?

You seem to have researched this well.
If that’s where they have asked you to address this, then try to set it apart from other things you might want to write in that space

 

[notanorthobro]

Looking at their LOR requirements, they mentioned they want a letter from bio, chem, physics, and one humanities. I submitted 3 letters (biochem, physics, humanities). I was planning on submitting a fourth chem letter to use my biochem as bio. This morning, however, I got an email saying my application is complete. Should I still try to submit the additional letter? Does that mean they are okay with the letters I currently have? (Maybe they considered biochem to be both bio and chem, I’m not sure).

 

[confusedcurls]

Looking at their LOR requirements, they mentioned they want a letter from bio, chem, physics, and one humanities. I submitted 3 letters (biochem, physics, humanities). I was planning on submitting a fourth chem letter to use my biochem as bio. This morning, however, I got an email saying my application is complete. Should I still try to submit the additional letter? Does that mean they are okay with the letters I currently have? (Maybe they considered biochem to be both bio and chem, I’m not sure).

It seems like they're marking the letter of recommendation section complete even when not all of the letters have been received. Source: myself, one of my letters hasn't even arrived yet, but I'm still marked as complete. So I'm not sure if they actually consider it "okay," it might be more of an automatic check. Does anyone else have similar experiences with this? Are we actually considered complete or is this a premature completion notification?

 

[climbablewhale4]

Is it a problem if I don’t have the recommended letters of recommendation? I submitted 1 biochemistry, 1 chemistry, 1 research, 1 humanities, 1 physician I shadowed.

 

[ishouldnotbehere]

For those of you that used the additional comments as a “why us”, around how many characters was your response?

 

[moonshapedpooll]

For those of you that used the additional comments as a “why us”, around how many characters was your response?

currently around 2000

 

[icedamericanopls]

for previous application year question, do we put 2021 if I applied for 2020-21 cycle?

 

[MediGator56]

Does anyone know was Jeff BEACON is? Is it the same as JeffHOPE I cannot find anything online about it lol.

 

[garnmonster]

For those of you that used the additional comments as a “why us”, around how many characters was your response?

mine was 3155

 

[doctortarget]

when would be likely interview dates any idea?

 

[bstomd2024]

when would be likely interview dates any idea?

it said after you submitted your application wednesdays (i believe in person) from mid september to april

 

[stere0psis]

currently around 2000

2400ish for me. Said what I needed to and hit submit

 

[Ablo_Baconker]

II received, earliest interview date 9/13

Love this school I'm so excited

 

[Labe]

II received, earliest interview date 9/13

Love this school I'm so excited

My neuroticism just went CRAZY right now. Holy **** they're so fast.

 

[madamemichaelscott]

II received, earliest interview date 9/13

Love this school I'm so excited

Holy that's early! Congrats friend!! Stats? (if you don't mind)

 

[Labe]

II received, earliest interview date 9/13

Love this school I'm so excited

When were you complete? The neuroticism's coming out now lol

 

[Ablo_Baconker]

LM 72, I pre-wrote so submitted pretty much immediately

They are indeed fast so get your secondaries in!

 

[Sunrizon]

II received, earliest interview date 9/13

Love this school I'm so excited

Are you ED??? This is crazy fast