How diverse should my experiences be on secondaries?

[TehTeddy]

Hey SDN,

I'm about to start pre-writing my secondaries as I'm waiting for my mcat score, and one issue I'm having is balancing the diversity of experiences I present. Is it recommended that each prompt draw from separate experiences, or can I use the same general experience but present different aspects of it in multiple prompts?

I ask because some experiences provide a lot more interesting material to work with. For example, I spent a year in the peace corps before being evacuated, and for virtually every prompt I could think of a situation there more interesting than my local experiences. However, I don't want to come across one-dimensional, as if my life started after undergrad. I do have local material to draw from, it just wouldn't be as unique.

Thanks!

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[GreenDuck12]

Hey SDN,

I'm about to start pre-writing my secondaries as I'm waiting for my mcat score, and one issue I'm having is balancing the diversity of experiences I present. Is it recommended that each prompt draw from separate experiences, or can I use the same general experience but present different aspects of it in multiple prompts?

I ask because some experiences provide a lot more interesting material to work with. For example, I spent a year in the peace corps before being evacuated, and for virtually every prompt I could think of a situation there 5x more interesting than my local experiences. However, I don't want to come across one-dimensional, as if my life started after undergrad. I do have local material to draw from, it just wouldn't be as unique.

Thanks!

Remember, your goal with secondaries is to get an admissions committee to invite you to an interview so that they can get to know you more. Presenting one experience multiple times may fill in some of the gaps that they would likely fill in during an interview. That being said, you can talk about the peace corps more than once, but I wouldn't make it the focus of all of your responses. I was a teacher for a number of years, and I drew on that experience for two of six secondary prompts.

 

[TehTeddy]

Remember, your goal with secondaries is to get an admissions committee to invite you to an interview so that they can get to know you more. Presenting one experience multiple times may fill in some of the gaps that they would likely fill in during an interview. That being said, you can talk about the peace corps more than once, but I wouldn't make it the focus of all of your responses. I was a teacher for a number of years, and I drew on that experience for two of six secondary prompts.

Ah that makes sense, sort of like a trailer for a movie - it makes you want to watch it, but doesn't reveal everything. I'll try to mix it up then, mostly using it for the diversity prompt. Would any faculty/advisors be able to comment?
@Goro @gyngyn @gonnif @Catalystik

 

[Goro]

Ah that makes sense, sort of like a trailer for a movie - it makes you want to watch it, but doesn't reveal everything. I'll try to mix it up then, mostly using it for the diversity prompt. Would any faculty/advisors be able to comment?
@Goro @gyngyn @gonnif @Catalystik

Agree with the wise duck