do you guys get people to proofread ur secondaries??

[neurofreak]

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so we all know how important it is to have ur PS completely error free before submission...and hence give it to countless number of people to proofread. but do applicants take the same approach with the secondary essays? we're probably going to have to write at least 20 different essays, and i honestly have no idea who would have the patience to put up with my writing for 20 more times...

so what do ya'll think...proofread yourself, or bug your friends/mentors some more?

 

[benzene21]

My advisor was just telling me the other day to pay serious attention to your secondary essays because that's how the admissions committee really sees who you are as a person. So I would say have at least one person read over it...maybe someone who knows you well to see if they think your personality comes through. I haven't done any secondaries so my opinion doesn't really have any basis, it just seems like the appropriate thing to do. 😕

 

[TheRealMD]

If you want to be efficient about it, go dig up the old SDN thread with all the secondary essays in it, write down some ideas for the schools you are interested in, and present it to a mentor or someone that really knows you well. Since most secondaries take time to send out during school, you should take advantage of your writing center if you have one and fix grammer there. The hardest part about secondaries isn't grammar though, but ideas, so work on those right now.

 

[Tropicana100]

so we all know how important it is to have ur PS completely error free before submission...and hence give it to countless number of people to proofread. but do applicants take the same approach with the secondary essays? we're probably going to have to write at least 20 different essays, and i honestly have no idea who would have the patience to put up with my writing for 20 more times...

so what do ya'll think...proofread yourself, or bug your friends/mentors some more?

I live alone w/ my parents. I have them read my essays, but since they're first generation immigrants, I basically have to translate everything for them. Oh the despair. 🙁

 

[neurofreak]

lol kinda the same thing here...i just don't know who would be willing to proofread my stuff another 15-20 times. i should have saved some of my readers for this stage of the game 😀

 

[armybound]

date an english major.

 

[voirlesetoiles]

date an english major.

oh snap, maybe it's not too late

"Excuse me, do you have skills... I mean, editing skills?" 😉

 

[armybound]

oh snap, maybe it's not too late

"Excuse me, do you have skills... I mean, editing skills?" 😉

"I've got something I'd like you to look over..."

 

[sehnsucht]

oh snap, maybe it's not too late

"Excuse me, do you have skills... I mean, editing skills?" 😉

i hear adcoms like applicants with "skills"....you know, computer skills, nun-chuck skills, dancing skills...

 

[proclivity]

date an english major.

Now, there is a fantastic idea.

 

[neurofreak]

any more real responses?

 

[trevagandalf]

LOL, i guess your other option is NOT to get people to proofread them? I didn't...

 

[armybound]

any more real responses?

I proofread them myself (which doesn't make sense, since I wrote it) and have my fiancee read it. She does a much better job than I do.

 

[nick_carraway]

date an english major.

FYI, that plan's a no-go. Sure, it might work early in the relationship but it doesn't work once everyone's settled down. My GF probably cares the least about my app than anyone else I've given it to.

 

[spanamit]

Interesting.

 

[voirlesetoiles]

FYI, that plan's a no-go. Sure, it might work early in the relationship but it doesn't work once everyone's settled down. My GF probably cares the least about my app than anyone else I've given it to.

oh bummer. And here I was, so excited about going English-major hunting.... 😛

 

[Dr.D-man]

so we all know how important it is to have ur PS completely error free before submission...and hence give it to countless number of people to proofread. but do applicants take the same approach with the secondary essays? we're probably going to have to write at least 20 different essays, and i honestly have no idea who would have the patience to put up with my writing for 20 more times...

so what do ya'll think...proofread yourself, or bug your friends/mentors some more?

I am definitely going to have several people proof read my secondary/s. I think they need to be equal to your PS in quality.

 

[CardiacIntensivist]

I'd recommend getting people to proofread secondaries. Don't let them be as extensive as the primary but check for general readability, grammar and spelling etc.

 

[nick_carraway]

I am definitely going to have several people proof read my secondary/s. I think they need to be equal to your PS in quality.

I agree. I read somewhere (Princeton Review's PS guide?) that adcoms are disappointed when a secondary doesn't meet the standards set by an applicant's PS. They get concerned if the writing style is substantially different.

 

[Haemulon]

I want to echo the comments of other posters and suggest that it is usually helpful to get someone else to look over your essays. It is sometimes difficult for someone to pick up on readability or grammar problems in one's own work. In a couple of instances I submitted my essays without other people looking over them and unfortunately found some errors after my they were submitted. Ah well. Your right though, the process can just plain wear you out (and those helping you) because of the amount of writing and other hoops involved. But it is all worth it in the end!

 

[voirlesetoiles]

I thought I should add my real input as well... haha since I've posted twice already but for no useful reason 😛

For secondary apps, I'm going to try to find a different set of readers than my PS. I feel bad bugging the same people again. Since it's not as complex as the PS... the questions are very specific... I think proofreading for grammar/spelling should be sufficient.

 

[neurofreak]

I thought I should add my real input as well... haha since I've posted twice already but for no useful reason 😛

For secondary apps, I'm going to try to find a different set of readers than my PS. I feel bad bugging the same people again. Since it's not as complex as the PS... the questions are very specific... I think proofreading for grammar/spelling should be sufficient.

sounds like a good idea...i think i'll also try to find another set of readers who may be bored enough to read my ish...

 

[medstuddude]

how about PMing other SDNers 👍