Official 2008 Secondary Questions Thread

[dr2be111]

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For Boston U's secondary, is the question that asks "Please provide a narrative or timeline to describe any features of your educational history that you think may be part of particular interest to us: (2000 character limit, approximately 400 words)" optional, or required? if it's req'd I have no idea what to put in it since I covered those features in the previous two questions, any suggestions

i don't think it's required. i think it's meant for those that don't have straightforward educational paths. for instance, i took a summer class at another institution during undergrad. so i wrote a short sentence explaining when i took that class.

if you've done all your education in a very normal path (undergrad straight out of high school, not taken any classes at another institution), you probably don't have to fill this part out.

but i just wrote a short time

 

[Tadeo]

Just got University of Washington. They ask for a Biographical essay, a why UW essay, and other personal comments/publications.

Alman or others who may know,

Could you be a little bit more explicit as to the essay prompts. What do the essays ask, and is there a word limit? I am not from Washington but am hoping to ride the WWAMI train.


Thanks a ton,
Tadeo

 

[sillydoc2230]

Is anyone else experiencing a secondary lull? I had received half of mine so quickly it seems and now that I have finished pumping those out, I have nothing to do. Blegh, I want to get this phase over with and move onto interview season pronto!

 

[TrynaBeADoc]

yup im on the same boat. I've gotten 1 so far in july, while i was getting almost 1-2 daily in late june...waiting for drexel, temple, and UNC

 

[Phoenix.]

Is anyone else experiencing a secondary lull? I had received half of mine so quickly it seems and now that I have finished pumping those out, I have nothing to do. Blegh, I want to get this phase over with and move onto interview season pronto!

Ditto. Hoping they'll pick up again this week.

 

[boo-yeh]

Ditto. Hoping they'll pick up again this week.

Yeah, slowed down for me too. I think (er, hope) the lull was because of the Fourth.

 

[Ziggy08]

Anyone catch the discrepancy on the Columbia app?

In the application, it's "Years of coursework you have completed, or will complete before September 2007*" and in the pdf preview, its "Years of coursework you have completed, or will complete before September 2008"

Not really sure what to do.

 

[AMPed]

Yeah, slowed down for me too. I think (er, hope) the lull was because of the Fourth.

I'm appreciating the lull - I was starting to fall behind. So long as they pick back up again, I'm cool with a breather.

 

[M.Furfur]

I have received 4 so far, haven't submitted any yet. Haven't even touched two of them and I am wondering what am I going to do when the rest which is almost 25 universities comes! This process is so tiring, sometimes I think I deserve to be accepted just for going through all of this 🙂

 

[Jaded03]

Anyone catch the discrepancy on the Columbia app?

In the application, it's "Years of coursework you have completed, or will complete before September 2007*" and in the pdf preview, its "Years of coursework you have completed, or will complete before September 2008"

Not really sure what to do.

Hmm. Easy fix. If you know WHEN Columbia begins its academic year, then that should solve your problem. The idea is knowing everything about you BEFORE you matriculate.

If Columbia begins its term within Sept 2008, then I'd say until 2008. (Which I think is the better version.) If it begin its term before Sept 2008, like August. I'd say until 2007. (Which I think is just kind of weird if you have a WHOLE other year they don't give a crap about.)

 

[Phoenix.]

I have received 4 so far, haven't submitted any yet. Haven't even touched two of them and I am wondering what am I going to do when the rest which is almost 25 universities comes! This process is so tiring, sometimes I think I deserve to be accepted just for going through all of this 🙂

Just be sure to make a note in your calendar if some of them have a 30 day turn around deadline (I noticed that EVMS does).

 

[Ziggy08]

Hmm. Easy fix. If you know WHEN Columbia begins its academic year, then that should solve your problem. The idea is knowing everything about you BEFORE you matriculate.

If Columbia begins its term within Sept 2008, then I'd say until 2008. (Which I think is the better version.) If they begin their term before Sept 2008, like August. I'd say until 2007. (Which I think is just kind of weird if you have a WHOLE other year they don't give a crap about.)

Well, my question is just whether I should put 3 years or 4 years of schoolwork, if I'm a rising senior now.

 

[Jaded03]

Well, my question is just whether I should put 3 years or 4 years of schoolwork, if I'm a rising senior now.

That's what I meant. Check out Columbia's begin term for matriculation. I believe it should be all four years, not three. However, if they begin in August, they can't expect you to be taking classes September of 2008. Does that make sense? I'll try to look it up for you.

 

[Jaded03]

That's what I meant. Check out Columbia's begin term for matriculation. I believe it should be all four years, not three. However, if they begin in August, they can't expect you to be taking classes September of 2008. Does that make sense? I'll try to look it up for you.

I believe it's 2008. So put all four years. They begin last week of August. I'm sure they want you to show all the classes you'd have taken before matriculation. GL!

 

[146233]

but it said that you don't have to send them a hard copy, and only have to print it if you want a copy for your own records.

This is correct. "There is no need to send us a printed copy." I'd imagine the "Awaiting printed copy" bit is a throwback to prior years when they did require such a thing.

 

[midn]

I finished my optional essay for my Baylor secondary application. I was wondering if anybody could look over it and critique it a bit.

I'll reciprocate by looking over someone else's.

 

[TrynaBeADoc]

I know this isn't a secondary question, but no one in the other forums are answering this question. Hopefully someone in here knows what to do!!

1. do i need to do anything to send my NEW mcat scores to schools?
2. I want to add more schools, but I get this:

"You have just added or modified a designated medical school. To have your application verified and sent to your designated medical school(s) you must first certify and submit your application.
Do you want to certify and submit your application now?"
​

YES OR NO?? I have already submitted and got my AMCAS approved in early June.

3. Once I add more med schools how can I pay AMCAS to send my primary to those new schools? Cuz the first time I paid was when I submitted for the first time.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! THANKS!!

 

[killinsound]

can someone please PM the link to login for boston's secondary?

I'm at home and I forgot to e-mail myself the link.

thanks

 

[AMPed]

I know this isn't a secondary question, but no one in the other forums are answering this question. Hopefully someone in here knows what to do!!

1. do i need to do anything to send my NEW mcat scores to schools?
2. I want to add more schools, but I get this:

"You have just added or modified a designated medical school. To have your application verified and sent to your designated medical school(s) you must first certify and submit your application.
Do you want to certify and submit your application now?"
​

YES OR NO?? I have already submitted and got my AMCAS approved in early June.

3. Once I add more med schools how can I pay AMCAS to send my primary to those new schools? Cuz the first time I paid was when I submitted for the first time.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! THANKS!!

If you modify your AMCAS after verification, you need to have it re-certified, so Yes. I think your new MCAT scores would be updated automatically, but this I'm not sure of. I assume that once you re-certify your app, they'll ask you for more money to cover the new schools. I think you need to pay the $160 base fee again - bummer.

 

[Dr OCD]

i am a rising senior too, and i definately put 3 years because the online ap said before sept 2007 or whatever...i dont know what to do at this point because ive already submitted..but wouldnt you think that they would be able to tell how many years of college work youre going to complete based on your coursework inputs on amcas???😕😕

 

[mvenus929]

Is anyone else experiencing a secondary lull? I had received half of mine so quickly it seems and now that I have finished pumping those out, I have nothing to do. Blegh, I want to get this phase over with and move onto interview season pronto!

I've only gotten 2/9 of mine so far. So I've been pretty bored.

If you modify your AMCAS after verification, you need to have it re-certified, so Yes. I think your new MCAT scores would be updated automatically, but this I'm not sure of. I assume that once you re-certify your app, they'll ask you for more money to cover the new schools. I think you need to pay the $160 base fee again - bummer.

No, you just pay the $30 application fee for the new school. You don't have to be re-VERIFIED, you just have to re-certify (saying that you agree).

 

[waitforme]

i am a rising senior too, and i definately put 3 years because the online ap said before sept 2007 or whatever...i dont know what to do at this point because ive already submitted..but wouldnt you think that they would be able to tell how many years of college work youre going to complete based on your coursework inputs on amcas???😕😕

oh shizzle. me too. i JUST submitted. like 10 minutes ago and then got on this thread. i think i'm going to email them and ask about this discrepancy.

 

[Dr OCD]

oh shizzle. me too. i JUST submitted. like 10 minutes ago and then got on this thread. i think i'm going to email them and ask about this discrepancy.

can u please post back here and tell us what they said? thanks...

 

[AMPed]

I've only gotten 2/9 of mine so far. So I've been pretty bored.



No, you just pay the $30 application fee for the new school. You don't have to be re-VERIFIED, you just have to re-certify (saying that you agree).

My bad.

 

[midn]

Umm, I just checked my mail and apparently I got a book from Johns Hopkins that was postmarked June 27th which is two days before I submitted my AMCAS application 😕. My AMCAS hasn't been even verified yet. This was the day my MCAT scores were released, so that makes sense. The address they sent it to though is my apartment address which I never specified anywhere if I recall correctly. God knows how many books they sent to my home address which is currently occupied by no one since my parents are on vacation.

But there is another oddity, the book is for the 2006-2007 academic year. This book does have a lot about their school which I could use potentially in an interview.

Anyone else get these books?

 

[somethingpositi]

I believe it's 2008. So put all four years. They begin last week of August. I'm sure they want you to show all the classes you'd have taken before matriculation. GL!

I sent Columbia an e-mail about this last week and haven't heard back yet. Hopefully I'll hear back early this week so that I can submit it...

 

[waitforme]

can u please post back here and tell us what they said? thanks...

sure, but it might take them a while to get back to me. i sent them an email a week ago and no response yet. i may call admissions on monday. anybody else having this problem or is it just me and dr. ocd??!

 

[frickonastick]

Is there anyone else out there that hasn't gotten the UVermont secondary yet? My AMCAS was in right away and verified before June 21st, so they definitely have my primary. Also, I'm not in-state, so perhaps that has something to do with it? Since I know, from this lovely thread, that the secondary is out, just wanted to check if anyone else is in the same boat.

 

[doctortobe2012]

wheee! i'm done with my secondaries (well, until i receive more...)

 

[mvenus929]

Umm, I just checked my mail and apparently I got a book from Johns Hopkins that was postmarked June 27th which is two days before I submitted my AMCAS application 😕. My AMCAS hasn't been even verified yet. This was the day my MCAT scores were released, so that makes sense. The address they sent it to though is my apartment address which I never specified anywhere if I recall correctly. God knows how many books they sent to my home address which is currently occupied by no one since my parents are on vacation.

But there is another oddity, the book is for the 2006-2007 academic year. This book does have a lot about their school which I could use potentially in an interview.

Anyone else get these books?

I haven't. At least, not at my home address. And mail hasn't been forwarded from my school address since 15 June. Maybe they sent it there.

 

[BigRedPremed]

Columbia in the second question asks us to list our collegiate extracurriculars. Does that mean the EC's we did while physically at college or all EC's since we started college (including the summer/winter breaks as well)?

 

[Phoenix.]

Is there anyone else out there that hasn't gotten the UVermont secondary yet? My AMCAS was in right away and verified before June 21st, so they definitely have my primary. Also, I'm not in-state, so perhaps that has something to do with it? Since I know, from this lovely thread, that the secondary is out, just wanted to check if anyone else is in the same boat.

I didn't get Vermont either. Not sure if it's because I don't have my MCAT score back yet, or if they're simply sending them out in batches.

 

[Boogsie]

Is the Georgetown secondary working for anyone with more than 3266 characters? I have 4996 characters, so that's almost two paragraphs getting cut off.

They say they have updated the secondary with changes to the MCAT, Alumni, and Essay length, but I am still having the same problem I was having before.

Is there a special way to cut and paste into the section that I don't know about?

Thanks

 

[gujuDoc]

Edited since someone already corrected AMPed

 

[doctorific]

The Tulane application says to "List" hobbies in one section and leadership experience in another. Does this simply mean to list 1,2,3. Or should I elaborate. They give you room for about a paragraph. Any thoughts?

 

[boo-yeh]

The Tulane application says to "List" hobbies in one section and leadership experience in another. Does this simply mean to list 1,2,3. Or should I elaborate. They give you room for about a paragraph. Any thoughts?

I simply listed since it was 'List' in bold and underlined...

 

[cruz21]

Is the Georgetown secondary working for anyone with more than 3266 characters? I have 4996 characters, so that's almost two paragraphs getting cut off.

They say they have updated the secondary with changes to the MCAT, Alumni, and Essay length, but I am still having the same problem I was having before.

Is there a special way to cut and paste into the section that I don't know about?

Thanks

i was having the exact same problem and even started a thread on it! people's suggestions were just to make it shorter. mine was a bit over 4000 characters but i just kept shortening and shortening it until the whole thing appeared in the preview, mine ended up being like 2900ish. i got so annoyed with the damn app that i just submitted as it was, even though the longer version was better. good luck!

 

[Daydreamer2008]

Is there anyone else out there that hasn't gotten the UVermont secondary yet? My AMCAS was in right away and verified before June 21st, so they definitely have my primary. Also, I'm not in-state, so perhaps that has something to do with it? Since I know, from this lovely thread, that the secondary is out, just wanted to check if anyone else is in the same boat.

I haven't gotten mine yet either 🙁

 

[datthang]

Has anyone been able to access Rochester's secondary?

 

[Womialas]

Is there anyone else out there that hasn't gotten the UVermont secondary yet? My AMCAS was in right away and verified before June 21st, so they definitely have my primary. Also, I'm not in-state, so perhaps that has something to do with it? Since I know, from this lovely thread, that the secondary is out, just wanted to check if anyone else is in the same boat.

I didn't get mine yet... and I'm in-state. So don't worry about it. Us Vermonters, we like to take things slow.

 

[keys]

i got into rochester's site just now.

 

[GreenMudPhud]

Is this seriously all there is for Rochester?

 

[sosarah]

Is anyone else having trouble logging in to the secondary of the University of Louisville? I get an ACESS DENIED message everytime I try. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that it still says 2007...

 

[GymClassHero]

So is anyone NOT filling out the UW Autobiographical essay? It says you can leave it blank if you feel your PS answers the questions. I think mine does, but I don't want to leave it blank and risk appearing lazy/uninterested....

 

[AMPed]

So is anyone NOT filling out the UW Autobiographical essay? It says you can leave it blank if you feel your PS answers the questions. I think mine does, but I don't want to leave it blank and risk appearing lazy/uninterested....

Really, nothing is optional. I think it would be a mistake to not take advantage of the space to discuss something not touched on in your personal statement, or expand on something mentioned in your AMCAS. On the other hand, if you truly have nothing else to add, don't write just for the sake of filling space.
My two cents.

 

[waitforme]

yo, is there anyway to check the status and LOR status of your columbia application or am i just dumb?

 

[waitforme]

yo, is there anyway to check the status and LOR status of your columbia application or am i just dumb?

never mind. i answered my own question.

i called the columbia people and they said not to worry about that discrepancy with the years, etc. and there's no way to check your status yet because they are still working on the waitlist from last year's cycle so they aren't even gonna start looking at this year's until AUGUST. woopee... 😍

 

[dalagita15]

has anyone heard from any other IL schools yet besides Pritzker and UIC? For those who got UIC's, how long did it take after your application was verified before you received the email? Also, did anyone encounter a login problem for Pritzker? I keep getting an invalid login error but I'm entering the correct AAMC ID and email 🙁

 

[Jolie South]

The Tulane application says to "List" hobbies in one section and leadership experience in another. Does this simply mean to list 1,2,3. Or should I elaborate. They give you room for about a paragraph. Any thoughts?

I wrote a sentence listing 5 or 6 things.

"I enjoy x, y, z, etc."

 

[doinmybest5840]

The Tulane application says to "List" hobbies in one section and leadership experience in another. Does this simply mean to list 1,2,3. Or should I elaborate. They give you room for about a paragraph. Any thoughts?

They said list, so I listed. As in:

1. Blah blah blah
2. Yada yada yada
3. This
4. That
5. The other