Creativity in secondaries?

[LSiliati]

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Most of the secondaries I look over tend to contain very straightforward essay/writing prompts (e.g. discuss an important medical experience, provide a biographical sketch of yourself, etc). How do adcoms feel about creativity when it comes to these responses? Is it supposed to be formal and structured? Or would it be ok to be a little more liberal in our writings (e.g. use of quotes, etc) to enhance the creative aspect of it? Just curious. Thanks for the feedback!

 

[ajnak182]

Most of the secondaries I look over tend to contain very straightforward essay/writing prompts (e.g. discuss an important medical experience, provide a biographical sketch of yourself, etc). How do adcoms feel about creativity when it comes to these responses? Is it supposed to be formal and structured? Or would it be ok to be a little more liberal in our writings (e.g. use of quotes, etc) to enhance the creative aspect of it? Just curious. Thanks for the feedback!

Though this is just a guess, I think that based on the fact that they have to read thousands of the bloody things, a little creativity will help you stand out and cause them to pay more attention to your secondary. But just don't go writing a children's story about a duck when they ask you to talk about why you want to go to their school, if you catch my drift.


AJ

 

[ng16]

I wrote a creative essay for Yale in the optional space. It was basically, how I wanted to be like my mechanic, who recently, helped me out with my POS car. I got an interview there a few weeks after being complete. I say, go for creativity, it makes you stand out and if you can tie in medicine, you're gold

 

[UCLAstudent]

The three schools that I was most creative with in my secondaries (UCLA, Miami, and Tulane) all offered me interviews. It can't hurt! 🙂

 

[KK82]

is creativity different from a poignant story? i tend to use more neat ways of writing like, writing in the third person or "i leanred blah blah blah from my two-year old cousin and this makes me good bc blah blah blah". is that creative? are the examples i used above too un-orthodox or is it alright.

anyone know if poignant is better than creative

 

[superseif]

So How can you be creative in secondaries that ask why our school or whatever?

 

[jbrice1639]

So How can you be creative in secondaries that ask why our school or whatever?

I think the way to be creative on a question like that is just to find an angle other than "I think your curriculum suits my goals." Find a way to make it a little more anecdotal because, like someone else mentioned, they read 1000s of these essays, and it won't take much to stand out, but a little something to set you apart could be the difference between someone noticing you or not noticing you...

(100 posts...finally...woo-hoo!)

 

[Nakhrewali]

I think the way to be creative on a question like that is just to find an angle other than "I think your curriculum suits my goals." Find a way to make it a little more anecdotal because, like someone else mentioned, they read 1000s of these essays, and it won't take much to stand out, but a little something to set you apart could be the difference between someone noticing you or not noticing you...

(100 posts...finally...woo-hoo!)

I agree. A little bit of an anecdotal approach wouldn't hurt. You can (and probably even should) mention how the curriculum suits your goals though too. Right?

 

[jbrice1639]

I agree. A little bit of an anecdotal approach wouldn't hurt. You can (and probably even should) mention how the curriculum suits your goals though too. Right?

absolutely...i'm thinking something along the lines of:

"i was most interested in applying to _____________ because the curriculum is well-suited to my goals. my experience when i was _________ doing __________ had a great impression on me, and _____________ school of medicine's curriculum will help me achieve my goals very well."

 

[PostalWookie]

If you can get creative in the space of a few lines, more power to you. I seriously don't think creativity is anywhere as important here as in your personal statement

 

[jbrice1639]

If you can get creative in the space of a few lines, more power to you. I seriously don't think creativity is anywhere as important here as in your personal statement

true...although, several of the essays are more than a few lines...georgetown asks for an entire page, single-spaced on why you chose to apply there...and other schools have similarly long essays, so creativity could play a role when adcoms are flying through tons of tedious cookie-cutter essays

 

[superseif]

Thank you all for your reply... So are you guys mentioning specific information about each school, like researching the curriculum and specifically saying what you like, or are you taking a more general approach...

 

[UCLAstudent]

Thank you all for your reply... So are you guys mentioning specific information about each school, like researching the curriculum and specifically saying what you like, or are you taking a more general approach...

It's always better to be specific for those "why our school" questions. Adcoms have seen billions of secondaries. They can tell which applicants have done their research on the school. Mention specific programs or aspects of the curriculum that appeal to you. 👍

 

[jbrice1639]

Thank you all for your reply... So are you guys mentioning specific information about each school, like researching the curriculum and specifically saying what you like, or are you taking a more general approach...

I'm being at least somewhat specific. Certainly for the "why our school?" essays i'm being specific...for some of the others that ask more general questions, i'm trying to work in specifics where it's appropriate, but of course there's a fine line between showing interest and planting a smooch on a boo-tay 😉

 

[Nalgene]

Does anyone know where you can find examples of good secondary essays or tips on writing them so you don't end up with the same boring BS as everyone else?

 

[Nakhrewali]

Does anyone know where you can find examples of good secondary essays or tips on writing them so you don't end up with the same boring BS as everyone else?

I personally think that if you research the school's curriculum, which is available on their website and you mention it in the "why do you want to attend" essay, then you should be fine. Don't get bogged down by these secondaries. I think it's definitely more important to turn the secondary around within a week or soon after you receive it. I don't know about you but once I had the "why this school" essay and a few others like, "what could you add to the community at ___," then you can easily replicate them for other schools and change a few things around so it fits. I suggest not to spend as much time as you did on your personal statement, that's for sure. Good luck! 👍

 

[superdavykinz]

Does anyone know where you can find examples of good secondary essays or tips on writing them so you don't end up with the same boring BS as everyone else?

Probably viewing another person's essay would be a bad idea since it already gives you something to work with. Just do your own work, get it checked by some friends and send it off. No one needs to spoon feed anyone after going through college.

 

[rugirlie]

Ok so last year for G-town I did the cheesiest thing for the essay which I'm willing to share here... I don't know if creative is the right word but its certainly unconventional, however it got me an interview so yea.... anyhow what I did was write the essay from the future and I looked back on how my med education at G-town helped me get where I am today... Cheesey, yes, but it appeared to work...

 

[AxlxA]

that's similar to the UVA essay, which i really enjoyed writing.

 

[it.]

Most of the secondaries I look over tend to contain very straightforward essay/writing prompts (e.g. discuss an important medical experience, provide a biographical sketch of yourself, etc). How do adcoms feel about creativity when it comes to these responses? Is it supposed to be formal and structured? Or would it be ok to be a little more liberal in our writings (e.g. use of quotes, etc) to enhance the creative aspect of it? Just curious. Thanks for the feedback!

go with whatever gets your ideas across as concisely and effectively (leaving a lasting impression) as possible