How important is following instructions

[medboy]

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Hey everyone...

I want to know how important is it to follow a school's instructions? I received a secondary that said to fax in the secondary application (which totaled about 14 pages for me) and then wanted to have the original FedEx pronto! Isn't that kind of obsessive?

Second Question pertains to Dartmouth Secondary... They send me snail mail with their secondary on pretty nice/distinct greenish paper... The instructions said to fill it out using a printer/word processor. It also said that we could go the website and fill out the app there and then print it off. Do you think it really matters if we typed it up on the nice/greenish heavy paper they supplied the Q's on .... or would it still be ok to type it up and print it out on regular printing paper?

I know these questions are anal, but some people have told me that certain schools are really picky when it comes to following their directions.

 

[ice_23]

For the Dartmouth Secondary, I just printed out on regular paper, and sent it in. I don't know, if they reject me because I didn't print it on the green paper that they gave me, I wouldn't have wanted to go there in the first place...🙂

So yea, I think that if they explicitly say to do something (like how to delineate activities, or how many words are in an essay) then you should do it, but if it's iffy like the Dartmouth thing, then I say do what suits you best. As long as you send them money, I don't really think they'll care. 🙂🙂

-Ice

 

[myhc]

yes. follow their instructions. if the instructions say use pink and blue paperclips only, then use pink and blue paperclips only. sure some instructions may seem a bit much, but trust me, laziness on your part will only result in your application being thrown in the trash.

 

[AverageMan]

I sent it in already so I don't have it in front of me, but for the essays didn't it say you could attach additional pages if necessary? That's what I did for the essays rather than trying to work it into the spaces given.

 

[BerkeleyPremed]

In "iffy" situations like with the Dartmouth Secondary...I would just call the admissions office and speak with an admissions officer to see what they want. If you really want to get in to **insert school here**...you'll spend as much time as you can on the app and follow their instructions to the smallest detail. I know it sounds really anal and obsessive, but that's what I would do if I really*** was set on getting into **insert med school here.** Remember...there are 50,000 of us (applicants to med schools)..and only 128 of them (med school adcoms...let's say each adcom has 5 members on it...you do the math). Needless to say...we need them wayyyyyy more than they need us. Best of luck!