How much time for secondaries?

[DO_or_Die]

I'm getting back from a vacation in Europe June 9th and should have my primary app in by the beginning of July. I'm an RN and have a pretty flexible schedule (I'm PRN) and can schedule myself as little as 4 times in a pay period. I was "hoping" to work a lot when I get back, but I am not sure how much time it will take to write the secondaries and do not want to over schedule myself. As I don't have my MCAT back yet, I am anticipating applying to ~30 schools.

How much time do you think it would take to write secondaries for that many schools (assuming I am a slow writer)?

Thank you, SDN.

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[jma90]

From june thru sep last year, i spent over 160 hours on secondaries, for around 30 schools

 

[scribbles&rambles]

Applied to 30+ schools. I was writing secondaries (either pre-writing or writing them as I received them) from mid-June to early-August. I think I was only able to get the secondaries done by August because: (1) I ended up taking two weeks vacation time off work to just finish my essays; and (2) I am a fairly quick writer.

Definitely start pre-writing secondaries as soon as you've submitted your primary. Most rarely change from year-to-year.

 

[Dr. Let 'er Buck]

Ya, certainly don't short-change yourself when it comes to secondaries. It took countless hours to get them done the way I wanted.

As a bit of anecdotal evidence to how important this is, A friend of mine applied to the same state school I did, but his stats were FAR better. MCAT 90% percentile and a gpa of 3.95ish. His story was great and he seemed a perfect fit for our school.

I ended up with an interview and acceptance whereas he wasn't even offer an interview. In fact, my school interviewed fewer people this time despite having a standard number of applicants. When I asked some of the admissions staff why, they simply put that 99% of applicants are technically competent (GPA and MCAT), so the deciding factor comes down to personal statement and the secondary essays. I spent DAYS going over my secondary for this school (was my top choice) after having gone through 10 drafts of my personal statement.

I don't think my friend put as much time and effort into it and I think that bit him.

So, in conclusion, don't short yourself when it comes to filling out secondaries. Take your time and make them perfect.

 

[WedgeDawg]

applicants always woefully underestimate the time it takes to develop, write, and polish secondaries. I tell all my applicants that applying to medical school is a full time job from May until thru August, if not September. As an advisor, my busy time of the year in invariably Labor Day weekend with frantic applicants telling me they still have 10 secondaries left of 25.

Part of the problem is the belief that most secondaries essays can be used across schools. This is only partially true. First, most applicants do not research school indepth and try to tailor their secondary to the school. Second, is while most secondaries have some form of diversity and/or adversity essays, they are often framed differently and, more importantly, have significantly different lengths. You cant take a highly structured and well polished 2,000 character essay on diversity and simply edited it down to 500 characters. It may need to be completely restructured to get your main theme across. So while experiences you discuss may be the same, how you discuss them can be totally different. I find the first 5 or 6 secondaries require the most work. Additionally, most applicants dont write their primary work and activities with themes/points that interlock with themes on PS.

I suggest applicants start looking over the secondaries from last cycle.
2017-2018 Secondaries (Alphabetical List)
@WedgeDawg is there a 2018-2019 list?

There is, and a 2019-2020 list is forthcoming.