Anyone else have a least favorite secondary essay?

[deleted972488]

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Be conversational and not robotic, but this isn’t a stand up routine. Your interviewer may not share your sense of humor. I personally don’t find “I’m [insert astrological sign]” funny. And I would get annoyed if someone tried to be funny by not answering my question appropriately.

 

[Kardio]

I appreciate the diversity and adversity prompts because there wasn't any place to appropriately discuss such things on the primary and I feel like I have some genuinely compelling answers. I think they should always be optional, though, and schools should be more straightforward about what types of answers they actually want (for example, Harvard's diversity essay did a good job of mentioning specific answers they're looking for).

I dislike "why our school" prompts, especially when there isn't much information on the website... how can we possibly answer these well?

I think the bolded is where lower-stat applicants get a chance to shine. They’re not coming gunning with a 3.99/520, but they might have visited the school during an open house, had meeting with the school’s administration, socialized with students, want to practice in a specific state or legitimately align with the school’s mission in some way.

 

[Phoebus Apollo]

I would chuckle with you, MemeLord.

I know humor is frowned upon in the application process (sad), but I'd hope a little levity is appreciated.

Some levity is appreciated, but it tends to fall flat in written things particularly because many of those prompts just don’t lend themselves to humor. (Except USC’s prompts, which are bae)

In the interviews, you definitely get sparkling moments of levity, but you need to take them as they come and read your interviewer. I do not recommend going in with jokes in mind

 

[Jeremy Bearimy]

Some levity is appreciated, but it tends to fall flat in written things particularly because many of those prompts just don’t lend themselves to humor. (Except USC’s prompts, which are bae)

In the interviews, you definitely get sparkling moments of levity, but you need to take them as they come and read your interviewer. I do not recommend going in with jokes in mind

I'd agree with all of that. Even writing answers to USC's prompts felt too cutesy on paper and I opted for more serious answers than if I were in person.

 

[907914]

I do not think you can plan ahead as to whether you can tell jokes at an interview or not - - it totally depends on who is across from you, I think their facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice will make it obvious whether they would be turned off by silly jokes or not

Oh yah, I totally get that it is situation and interviewer dependent. I just want to see if it is OK in general. Literally my entire written application is the most professional I could possibly be except for one sentence about a cat and 3 words about NPR. I just wanna try to be myself in interviews (not my full spongebob-licking-elmo self, obvi)

 

[Cornfed101]

I now actually have a genuine question on this kind of thing:

Is it good to try to utilize tactful humor? Like 95% serious, 5% conversational humor? The point of the interviews is to show that there is a personable human behind the person we portray on paper, right? I don't want to force myself to be too stiff, as jokery is natural part of conversation.

Genuine question that I am unsure of then. @Goro @LizzyM @gyngyn what are your opinions on humor(not as the central focus of, but as a component of) the interview?

I say yes, but it has to be universally funny. After you know your interviewer a little better perhaps. I wouldn't start out with "I'm a Taurus" because personally, I have no idea what that means other than you were born in a particular month.

Here let me give you an example. I have kids. If my interviewer also has kids, and I talk about how my wife came out of the shower and found our 1-year-old daughter standing on the kitchen table that would be funny. Humor is best when it's spontaneous and relatable.

 

[907914]

In the interviews, you definitely get sparkling moments of levity, but you need to take them as they come and read your interviewer. I do not recommend going in with jokes in mind

Oh yah, most certainly. I can dig this 100. I am big on in the moment quips, but also with the whole room reading situation.

Wish I applied to USC now, they are already offering interviews and the secondary sounds fun....

 

[Goro]

I now actually have a genuine question on this kind of thing:

Is it good to try to utilize tactful humor? Like 95% serious, 5% conversational humor? The point of the interviews is to show that there is a personable human behind the person we portray on paper, right? I don't want to force myself to be too stiff, as jokery is natural part of conversation.

Genuine question that I am unsure of then. @Goro @LizzyM @gyngyn what are your opinions on humor(not as the central focus of, but as a component of) the interview?

We interviewed a guy once who tried cracking jokes.

He got rejected.

A wry comment every now and then should be OK. Maybe.

 

[907914]

We interviewed a guy once who tried cracking jokes.

He got rejected.

A wry comment every now and then should be OK. Maybe.

Again interviewer dependent, but do you really want applicants to be 100% professional 100% of the time? Like, ‘my passions,’ opinions, and anecdotes can only portray so much of one’s personality m, right?

 

[deleted972488]

Again interviewer dependent, but do you really want applicants to be 100% professional 100% of the time? Like, ‘my passions,’ opinions, and anecdotes can only portray so much of one’s personality m, right?

Do you want your doctor to be 100% professional?

Edited to add: There are some lines that shouldn't be crossed, but there is also a balance. I want my doctor to have a personality, but not too strong of one.

 

[Goro]

Again interviewer dependent, but do you really want applicants to be 100% professional 100% of the time? Like, ‘my passions,’ opinions, and anecdotes can only portray so much of one’s personality m, right?

We want to see that you are a real human being who we can also envision in the white coat as a colleague, and trust you to do a pelvic exam on our sisters or a prostate exam on our dads.

It's not a time for stand-up.

Just be yourself, know what's in your app, and speak from the heart.

 

[907914]

Do you want your doctor to be 100% professional?

Not really. But yes, I get it. Will adapt and overcome.

 

[907914]

It's not a time for stand-up.

Sorry if I gave off the impression that I want to go in with jokes lol That is not what I meant. Being conversational, acting like myself, and speaking from the heart does just tend to come off with some jives of situationally dependent humor. I have never had issues with interviews, so I am not sure why I am worrying, just worrying...

 

[deleted972488]

Sorry if I gave off the impression that I want to go in with jokes lol That is not what I meant. Being conversational, acting like myself, and speaking from the heart does just tend to come off with some jives of situationally dependent humor. I have never had issues with interviews, so I am not sure why I am worrying, just worrying...

Don't be afraid to have a personality, but also don't be unprofessional. There are boundaries.

 

[Goro]

Don't be afraid to have a personality, but also don't be unprofessional. There are boundaries.

Truth.

This isn't Einsteinian physics here either.

 

[907914]

This isn't Einsteinian physics here either.

Au contrare - just like Einsteinian physics, the harder one tries in an interview, the slower the clock goes. Righteousness. feedback received and thread un-hijacked.