do schools look more at primary or secondary app?

[toby13]

just wondering if after submission of secondary app if the primary app is still considered in full or if it's not as important and was just used to cut out some people

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[Knocked Up]

Primary. Specifically the bit where you receive a score out of 45.

 

[Barcu]

Depends on the school.

For pretty much every school, your PS, MCAT/GPA, ECs, and LORs in the primary will be the biggest focus. However, many schools take their secondary quite seriously, especially the ones that receive a bunch of apps. They want to make sure that you really want to go there. Your secondaries aren't expected to be as polished as your PS, but take the time and really cater it to the specific school.

Now, there are a lot of secondaries that are similar to each other, so you can certainly re-use essays or parts of essays. However, really put the time into the "why our school?" questions.

 

[EBTrailRunner]

Generally, your primary is going to have a greater impact on whether you receive an interview invite. It's four years of your life condensed into a dozen pages. Several schools will have secondaries that essentially ask you to enter your credit card information and click submit, in which case your primary's what's going to get your foot in the door. However, many schools have lengthy secondaries that probe you're specific interest in their program. Don't take these lightly. A well written secondary will likely give you a small boost, but a poorly written one will cause your application to be tossed in the reject pile.

 

[MDschoolorbust]

Primary. Specifically the bit where you receive a score out of 45.

I don't understand.

 

[MedPR]

Don't forget that some schools send secondaries to everyone that applies (even if they don't have a shot).