"Elements that may be concerning to Admissions Comittee" Secondary

[premed414]

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Hey all,

A few schools have this secondary (UC Davis being one of them), and I was wondering how to approach this personally.

I thankfully did well on my MCAT (14 9 15), except the low verbal. Should I discuss my verbal score here, as I believe it is the most glaring aspect of my application? And how should I approach writing about this?

Thanks!

 

[protonate]

Hey all,

A few schools have this secondary (UC Davis being one of them), and I was wondering how to approach this personally.

I thankfully did well on my MCAT (14 9 15), except the low verbal. Should I discuss my verbal score here, as I believe it is the most glaring aspect of my application? And how should I approach writing about this?

Thanks!

Anything above an 8 is fine.

 

[Charles Darwin]

Ask yourself this: Would a 38 MCAT be concerning to an admission committee?

 

[gettheleadout]

Ask yourself this: Would a 39 MCAT be concerning to an admission committee?

Check yo maths.

But no, I wouldn't mention it OP.

 

[premed414]

Thanks guys. Then how do I go about approaching this question? It doesn't seem optional in anyway and that is the biggest red flag in my application.

 

[sodarayg]

Say that you may be too perfect

 

[Verum]

Say your biggest weakness is you work too hard.

 

[catzzz88]

Find a way to spin it... 🙂

For example, I will likely talk about my extensive research experience, multiple publications, and presentations at national conferences and how this may cause concern that I should pursue (or was at one point geared to pursue) a Ph.D. I will assure them that this is not cause for concern and point to how my path from research is invariably tied to medicine...

See what I did there? Spin it! 🙂

If you, like me, don't have any particular red flags in the application, look for something that may be misleading from your background and spin it towards medicine.

Another thing that I can think of for people (that doesn't really apply to me) would be to talk about your ECs and how they may seem "cookie cutter." Ben sure to mention some aspects of your ECs that are unique before assuring the reader that you have a genuine interest in these activities.

Another one may be if you are a normal white kid from upper/middle class America and how this may be perceived as having little diversity to contribute to an incoming class. Be sure to talk about how lucky you are to come from an educated family, but spin it in your favor by adding that although you can't help your background, that you are dedicated to serving and learning about other cultures... or something like that.

Idk if these are relevant to anyone... I am just trying to get the mental juices flowing ... since I am working on secondaries at the moment as well ... hope it helps 🙂

Best,
C

 

[TheMightySmiter]

Okay, I know "neurotic pre-meds" is a redundant term, but PLEASE try to stop freaking out about a 9VR, which is a perfectly acceptable verbal score.

 

[darkjedi]

I would leave that blank unless you have serious academic or legal troubles to answer for. Anything minor is not worth drawing attention to.

 

[WorldChanger36]

In other words Davis asked you if you could think of any reasons why they should reject you.... Ha....

 

[Tummytroubles]

As others have said, I think this is more for people who had 1 bad semester to explain themselves. maybe even for people with criminal convictions or say not completing a masters degree, peace corp, or americorps tour.

If you don't have anything like that, don't draw attention to anything unnecessarily (don't mention the verbal).

I like the suggestion of turning it into something positive. 'I only have 3,000 hours of clincial volunteering" . You get the gist but the risk is if you go too far they may see through that and you may annoy them.