Coming Up on Two Weeks...

[E.Hemingway]

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At this point, I have submitted 16 of the 27 secondaries I have received. There are only two schools left that have not sent me secondaries. All 16 were submitted within two weeks, and about half of them within a week. A few of them, my top choices, were submitted within a day. But now I'm coming up on two weeks for some of the older remaining apps. How big of a deal is it to not have secondaries submitted within two weeks? I've seen again and again on this forum that two weeks is sort of the magic number, but I am burning out and slowing down and don't think I can make it for all of the remaining apps.

Also, is it better to work on certain schools I like better first, even though I got them later? For example, I just got UCSD two days ago, but it's one of my top choices. Should I work on that one and try to get it in early even though I have ten or so other secondaries sitting in my inbox, some of them already two weeks old?

Sorry for the long post. Just trying to stay sane. Thanks.

 

[cactusman]

It's not a big deal at all unless a school gives a specific preferred time frame. Med schools aren't ready with a stopwatch on secondary turnaround time and you're fine as long as you're complete by a reasonable date.

 

[Toutie]

At this point, I have submitted 16 of the 27 secondaries I have received. There are only two schools left that have not sent me secondaries. All 16 were submitted within two weeks, and about half of them within a week. A few of them, my top choices, were submitted within a day. But now I'm coming up on two weeks for some of the older remaining apps. How big of a deal is it to not have secondaries submitted within two weeks? I've seen again and again on this forum that two weeks is sort of the magic number, but I am burning out and slowing down and don't think I can make it for all of the remaining apps.
Also, is it better to work on certain schools I like better first, even though I got them later? For example, I just got UCSD two days ago, but it's one of my top choices. Should I work on that one and try to get it in early even though I have ten or so other secondaries sitting in my inbox, some of them already two weeks old?

Sorry for the long post. Just trying to stay sane. Thanks.

Slow down, and take a breath...take a complete break from them for a few days if necessary. It's much better for you to turn in a good secondary a few weeks later than rush to turn in a crappy one right away. It is NOT a race. Being first does not mean best.

 

[Goro]

At this point, I have submitted 16 of the 27 secondaries I have received. There are only two schools left that have not sent me secondaries. All 16 were submitted within two weeks, and about half of them within a week. A few of them, my top choices, were submitted within a day. But now I'm coming up on two weeks for some of the older remaining apps. How big of a deal is it to not have secondaries submitted within two weeks? I've seen again and again on this forum that two weeks is sort of the magic number, but I am burning out and slowing down and don't think I can make it for all of the remaining apps.

Also, is it better to work on certain schools I like better first, even though I got them later? For example, I just got UCSD two days ago, but it's one of my top choices. Should I work on that one and try to get it in early even though I have ten or so other secondaries sitting in my inbox, some of them already two weeks old?

Sorry for the long post. Just trying to stay sane. Thanks.

Patience is a virtue, the need for instant gratification is not.

Schools stratify the apps as they come in and don't send out IIs merely in chronological order.

Secondaries are also a tax on the hopelessly naïve, if not pathologically clueless.

 

[E.Hemingway]

Patience is a virtue, the need for instant gratification is not.

Schools stratify the apps as they come in and don't send out IIs merely in chronological order.

Secondaries are also a tax on the hopelessly naïve, if not pathologically clueless.

Not sure if this is an insult haha but I don't see how patience and instant gratification factor into this

 

[E.Hemingway]

It's not a big deal at all unless a school gives a specific preferred time frame. Med schools aren't ready with a stopwatch on secondary turnaround time and you're fine as long as you're complete by a reasonable date.

Thank you

 

[Goro]

Not sure if this is an insult haha but I don't see how patience or instant gratification factor into this

As a teaching moment, you posted that you had secondaries from all the schools you applied to, except two.

What I took from the post was "Why haven't I received secondaries from these two schools yet?"

 

[cactusman]

As a teaching moment, you posted that you had secondaries from all the schools you applied to, except two.

What I took from the post was "Why haven't I received secondaries from these two schools yet?"

I think that was just to explain the volume of secondaries OP would have to write in a short period of time if the two week rule were more than a pre-med delusion.

Not sure if this is an insult haha but I don't see how patience and instant gratification factor into this

Gotta let Goro do Goro even if it means you're sometimes on the receiving end of a slightly irrelevant but classically insulting Goroisms thrown in there (they're usually on point). The advising experience would be so boring otherwise.

 

[Lawpy]

How big of a deal is it to not have secondaries submitted within two weeks? I've seen again and again on this forum that two weeks is sort of the magic number, but I am burning out and slowing down and don't think I can make it for all of the remaining apps.

The two week rule is a myth propagated by neurotic and paranoid SDNers that serves no purpose other than worsening the anxiety in an already anxiety-inducing process. Ignore it and focus on writing the most compelling essays as possible even if it means taking a few days off to relax and recharge.

 

[E.Hemingway]

As a teaching moment, you posted that you had secondaries from all the schools you applied to, except two.

What I took from the post was "Why haven't I received secondaries from these two schools yet?"

Yeah I figured you had misread it. Thanks for taking the time to reply anyway 🙂