How to write a good "Why X School" essay?

[Oranges2]

Hi All! In looking forward to the secondary prompts that will be soon trickling in, and having perused many old school threads that have their essays posted, I was wondering how to best go about writing the "Why X School" essay. Some schools give you like 100 words, others have unlimited character/word count. I could easily write generic things for each i.e. the curriculum and research opportunities, but I feel that it is so bland. Sometimes I wonder what the true meaning for these essays is - doesn't seem like you can glean much about an applicant from this essay ...

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Shinobiz11]

Why did you apply to that school? go on their website and look up why you're interested in it, seeing how you haven't done that already.

 

[deleted577188]

Why did you apply to that school? go on their website and look up why you're interested in it, seeing how you haven't done that already.

Let's not pretend like many applicants don't choose which schools to apply to based off of where their stats are competitive.

"Google MSAR and look up where you're within the 10-90th percentile" is the first thing people suggest when making a school list, generically speaking.

 

[northernlights15]

Would repeating a lot of the information that's provided in the "school overview" section in MSAR be bad? Some schools elaborate on the academic support services and clubs and such. I'm just not sure if that's helpful though.

 

[Oranges2]

I mean, yeah I understand if you're like REALLY into that school you will give it your all and actually care about the school's program and what not...but the application process is a game of chance almost, and most people are applying broadly. Surely after a few of these essays it's hard to be so passionate when you're just applying to increase your odds.

I'm just wondering what other applicants have done in the past. It feels (I could be wrong) that most of these essays will not be unique from each other.

 

[Shinobiz11]

Let's not pretend like many applicants don't choose which schools to apply to based off of where their stats are competitive.

"Google MSAR and look up where you're within the 10-90th percentile" is the first thing people suggest when making a school list, genetically speaking.

Of course they do, but if you're making the monetary investment to apply, you should also do your research on the schools.

 

[deleted577188]

I feel like the "Why this school?" question is weird and that many people bull**** their answers. Think about it this way:

The school one wants to go to for legit reasons other than being statistically competitive is usually ones reach school I'd say. "I'd like to go here for x, y and z but I'm not really competitive so it's my reach".

On the other hand, I would imagine one applies to 15 other schools because they have a legit shot of getting in, not because they love the curriculum or history of producing great physicians or whatever the BS reason may be.

Not to be pessimistic but I'm not sure how I'm even gonna answer that question when the time comes. "Uh idk cause I don't care where I go so long as I'm able to practice medicine".

Edit: I'm not really gonna say that but you bet I'll be BS'ing my response to fit the typical "why this school?" question.

 

[deleted577188]

One last thing: I haven't put much thought into where I'm gonna apply yet besides every school in my state, but I hope it comes down to the best "fit" and not solely where I'm competitive at.

 

[Copernicium]

I feel like the "Why this school?" question is weird and that many people bull**** their answers. Think about it this way:

The school one wants to go to for legit reasons other than being statistically competitive is usually ones reach school I'd say. "I'd like to go here for x, y and z but I'm not really competitive so it's my reach".

On the other hand, I would imagine one applies to 15 other schools because they have a legit shot of getting in, not because they love the curriculum or history of producing great physicians or whatever the BS reason may be.

Not to be pessimistic but I'm not sure how I'm even gonna answer that question when the time comes. "Uh idk cause I don't care where I go so long as I'm able to practice medicine".

Edit: I'm not really gonna say that but you bet I'll be BS'ing my response to fit the typical "why this school?" question.

I actually loved this question because it forced me to research the school on a deeper level. Plus it helped me explain "why this school" in better detail in person when asked during the interview

 

[PantherPride]

You realize you are likely to be asked this in an interview, right? If you go to an interview and demonstrate you've done no research about the school, things aren't gonna work out for you. The essay will help you in the long run