Do secondaries even matter?

[cruz21]

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I don't mean to start an inflammatory thread, but after reading about some med schools having an automatic admission based on number calculations (e.g. OHSU), I just started to wonder...for schools who have them, do secondary essays even matter? Will anybody even read our essays that we slaved over for hours to perfect if our numbers are sub-par? Or will ADCOMS simply toss our application to the side without looking into what we had to say in response to their questions?

And for those schools that don't have secondary essays...will they really read our PS if our numbers are teetering around their cutoffs (which most claim to not have in the first place)? As much as I read on SDN that all of these essays are important, I tend to think that unfortunately, too much of this process is based on sheer numbers.

What does everyone think?

-cruz

 

[twolfbear]

I don't mean to start an inflammatory thread, but after reading about some med schools having an automatic admission based on number calculations (e.g. OHSU), I just started to wonder...for schools who have them, do secondary essays even matter? Will anybody even read our essays that we slaved over for hours to perfect if our numbers are sub-par? Or will ADCOMS simply toss our application to the side without looking into what we had to say in response to their questions?

And for those schools that don't have secondary essays...will they really read our PS if our numbers are teetering around their cutoffs (which most claim to not have in the first place)? As much as I read on SDN that all of these essays are important, I tend to think that unfortunately, too much of this process is based on sheer numbers.

What does everyone think?

-cruz

Basically it depends on the school I would assume. Some schools just give out secondary essays to everyone. It's a business, so the more secondary essays the more money. Which means that those who have low stats will be eliminated after the secondary, probably not even reading it. Some schools will read the secondaries, and some will not (depends also on your interviewer and how busy they are). It is safe to say however that indeed you should answer the secondary essays with your best effort. If you do make the cut off, then you don't want to be eliminated because of some mistake you wrote about.

For me the question would be which schools seriously look at the secondary with dramatic effort, and which ones don't? Not so much as if they matter, because they do.

 

[zoobymed]

Is it okay to use some of the same experiences on secondary apps essay questions that you used on your AMCAS essay? I only have so many life experiences.

 

[cruz21]

I'm kind of having the same problem, I was very (unnecessarily?) detailed in describing my work/activities in AMCAS and now it's becoming really hard to paraphrase some of those things for the secondary essay questions...ughhh

 

[GreenShirt]

Is it okay to use some of the same experiences on secondary apps essay questions that you used on your AMCAS essay? I only have so many life experiences.

Only if you bring something new to the table by re-mentioning them. Most of the secondary questions are going to ask you about things that you probably didn't mention in your PS, such as "Why our school?" etc. so you don't have to worry about re-hashing what you already wrote about.

While a lot of schools make their decisions based on numbers, don't forget that there are likely 5000-10000 candidates with your numbers or better applying to the same schools. You have to be able to differentiate yourself from those people somehow. Your essays give you the opportunity to do so. Even if the AO only skims through them, your better off putting your best foot forward.