How long does it take on average to finish a secondary?

[eyesfeeltired]

I feel like I take forever

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[OrdinaryDO]

I think this varies from writer to writer. Are you pre-writing?

 

[Layla92]

I feel like I take forever

Depends on how many essays and what the essays are asking.
Some of them I can get down in a couple days. some took me a few weeks.
Most importantly. Take your time on them and have some edits done. Secondaries are not something to be taken lightly. I thought I was talking forever to write them too but I got interviews.
Don't worry, try to stay off here and just get them done. When u feel they've said everything you want them to, hit submit and move to the next one.
Good luck.

 

[becomingdoctor]

LECOM 45s sem±10s

 

[TUVIX]

Depends on how many essays and what the essays are asking.
Some of them I can get down in a couple days. some took me a few weeks.
Most importantly. Take your time on them and have some edits done. Secondaries are not something to be taken lightly. I thought I was talking forever to write them too but I got interviews.
Don't worry, try to stay off here and just get them done. When u feel they've said everything you want them to, hit submit and move to the next one.
Good luck.

The longest ones so far took me a full day of working on it and editing it. Are you sure you are not over thinking it? It shouldn't take a few weeks to write a secondary. I did 6 in one day that had similar prompts. I'm not bragging or something I just wonder if maybe you are trying to finesse them too much when they really are extremely straightforward questions.

 

[Layla92]

I like to take my time. Everyone is different. I guess we'll see what happens at the end of the cycle...

 

[hopefulERdoc251]

everybody's different. Personally, I like reading a prompt, getting a rough draft, wait a day or two without looking at it and reevaluating it. You're less likely to make a big mistake doing so. But hey, to each their own. Also balancing a full-time job while writing secondaries is difficult so it's understandable that people take time to write them.

 

[hopefulERdoc251]

Many of these secondaries are most definitely not straightforward. If you're asked why D.O, it's not like you're going to rattle of X, Y, and Z are the reasons why i want to go D.O. It's more like I had experience X that influenced character Y which led me to decision Z. Making that into a cohesive essay that stands out can take some time.

 

[becomingdoctor]

Touro CA = 6 month
Lecom= 45 sec
Taking average is like averaging bill gate's income and mine. Suddenly I joined billionaires' club

 

[PKA<0]

WTH I had no idea people took that long for secondaries. I did all of mine the day I got them. If you have clinical experience and have a good understanding about who you are and why you want to be a doctor, they're not that hard.

All of that being said, secondaries are just as important as the personal statement in the primary. Adcoms literally draw most, if not all of their questions in interviews from those two sets of information. Add a moral dilemma and viola, you have your interview.

 

[Bones 2020]

WTH I had no idea people took that long for secondaries. I did all of mine the day I got them. If you have clinical experience and have a good understanding about who you are and why you want to be a doctor, they're not that hard.

All of that being said, secondaries are just as important as the personal statement in the primary. Adcoms literally draw most, if not all of their questions in interviews from those two sets of information. Add a moral dilemma and viola, you have your interview.

Wait, I'm supposed to know how to play the viola for interviews???

 

[TUVIX]

And I'm not trying to be a d*ck, but many of these secondaries are most definitely not straightforward. If you're asked why D.O, it's not like you're going to rattle of X, Y, and Z are the reasons why i want to go D.O. It's more like I had experience X that influenced character Y which led me to decision Z. Making that into a cohesive essay that stands out can take some time.

Yes true but almost every D.O. secondary has that same question. Once you write it once it takes almost no time to edit it for the correct character length on every other one.

 

[MarshMedic]

fo'eva

 

[MarshMedic]

Yes true but almost every D.O. secondary has that same question. Once you write it once it takes almost no time to edit it for the correct character length on every other one.

Most of the ones I got are different enough to be just about a new essay, plus DO has a variety of essays asked....MD on the other hand has like the same cookie-cutter 3.

 

[femmegoblue]

Yeah, took me one day for each except for MSUCOM which took two.

 

[gannicus89]

One took me almost 2 weeks. I kept putting it off. But the others, I've sped through, especially when I was able to use bits and pieces of other secondaries I wrote. I wouldn't go crazy rushing to submit secondaries the same day you get them...it's pointless if your file is incomplete, i.e. rec letters still haven't been received or whatever. Different story if the only thing that is holding you back from being reviewed are your essays.

 

[maybe0123]

How was your guys length? Enough to answer the question or did you try and max out available characters/words?

 

[PKA<0]

How was your guys length? Enough to answer the question or did you try and max out available characters/words?

Answer the question as thoroughly as you can without being redundant. A shorter elegant answer beats a long rambling response.

 

[asdf123g]

1 took me a little over 2 weeks. Generally 10 days though.

 

[lyana]

Those who do it an a day or two, I am amazed. Seriously, taking my hat off for you.
It depends on a school, but it can take me up to 2 weeks ( sometimes longer). With my full time work, volunteering, hobbies,and attempt to keep my house clean and meals cooked, I have a very hard time promptly writing the secondaries.