Official Secondary Venting Thread.

[amakhosidlo]

Secondary gripes/annoyances.

Let's hear 'em.


#1. Secondaries that ask you for information explicitly listed on your AMCAS. "Please list your activities", "Why medicine?"
You'd think for a $150 they'd be willing to leaf through a few pieces of paper.

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[Generic Student]

#2 Why do you want to attend X school of medicine?

Honest Answer: Because I want to be a doctor, and your school has an MD program to which my stats closely match.

 

[partinerns]

#3: Re-entering course information.

I spent hours entering my classes on my primary, so look at my AMCAS if you want to see if I took intro to biology!

 

[dbrokut]

#4: Having to write additional three to seven essays depending on the school.

 

[Myuu]

#4: Having to write additional three to seven essays depending on the school.

I think you mean none to seven.

 

[zerial]

#5: Suddenly, you have to take extra classes next year because of ridiculous requirements.

 

[Exalya]

#6 - Before I started doing secondaries I was going to do some creative writing this summer. Now I just hate writing. ^.^

 

[BlueElmo]

I hate them period.

 

[PanicAttack]

7. Please write a bunch of essays in this PDF, which you are not allowed to save any changes to for no apparent reason.

8. You are responsible for confirming the completeness of your file, yet we do not offer status checks of any sort.

 

[SteinUmStein]

9. $$$$$$$$$

Mad props to those applying to 30+ schools who are responsible for their own costs.

 

[amakhosidlo]

9. $$$$$$$$$

Mad props to those applying to 30+ schools who are responsible for their own costs.

On a related note,

#10: Schools that charge literally SIX TIMES more than others that are arguably more desirable... (Cinci: $25, Creighton: $150. Really Creighton? Is your time REALLY worth THAT much more??? )

7. Please write a bunch of essays in this PDF, which you are not allowed to save any changes to for no apparent reason.

8. You are responsible for confirming the completeness of your file, yet we do not offer status checks of any sort.

Yeah, GW = Most rage-inducing secondary to date, w/ Jefferson a close second. "Don't copy and paste"? I'm sorry, is that too much for your rinky-dink little web app to handle?

 

[LAman10]

#11: Just to screw with you, after you submit we're going to show you a pdf version of your essays WITHOUT the spacing/punctuation/formatting that you put. it's ok though, because we get the essays the way you intended. We're just not gonna tell you.


#12: We're going to make our app intentionally vague so that you call and inquire about them. Don't blame us; we're lonely and we need someone to talk to.


#13: Columbia's character limits (3475, 760, 345..... need I say more?)

 

[dw2158]

these are all so good!

#14: we have a deadline of january 15th. but if you want any shot at this school, do this secondary immediately.

 

[not so calm now]

#15 Be sure to give us an error screen after payment, still deduct the money from our bank account, and be sure to answer emails with a "we'll answer this later" email.

 

[MegaProjectile]

#16: Please get LOR from your Committee.If not, from your Premed advisor including TWO science prof plus one non-science prof! Oh and if you're out of school get one from your work too!!

 

[not so calm now]

#17 Please include any additional info in this blank (250 - 1000 characters.)

If we had something to say, how can we say it in such a short space?!

 

[rockaction]

18. AMCAS letter service? Nah, we prefer you to get your letter writers to send an additional letter directly to us because we're too good to use the letter service.

19. Send us a photo. We like a name to a face when we dish out a rejection.

 

[MegaProjectile]

#5: Suddenly, you have to take extra classes next year because of ridiculous requirements.

. UWisconsin comes to mind. Statisics req, I mean, seriously ?

 

[Rach83]

18. AMCAS letter service? Nah, we prefer you to get your letter writers to send an additional letter directly to us because we're too good to use the letter service.

Sorry to interrupt but which schools do this? That's v. annoying!

 

[dw2158]

Sorry to interrupt but which schools do this? That's v. annoying!

as for the photos, the ones i know of that ask are:
BU
columbia
einstein
sinai
hopkins
tufts
GWU

 

[red10]

as for the photos, the ones i know of that ask are:
BU
columbia
einstein
sinai
hopkins
tufts
GWU

add SIU and Rosalind Franklin.
Sometimes I wonder if somewhere there is a box with rejected applicants pictures. Or maybe they use the photos for coasters for their coffee cups while they accept other people

 

[SteinUmStein]

The 10,000 different LOR requirement combination possibilities have been the most frustrating and the least expected for me... my adviser told me to get 2 science letters lined up and a third letter of my choice, and boy has that haunted me. If I could go back in time, I'd ask literally the maximum 10 people for LOR's, and go back later and figure out which ones I'll actually use, rather than this bs of hunting down continually more LOR writers...

 

[housefish26]

The 10,000 different LOR requirement combination possibilities have been the most frustrating and the least expected for me... my adviser told me to get 2 science letters lined up and a third letter of my choice, and boy has that haunted me. If I could go back in time, I'd ask literally the maximum 10 people for LOR's, and go back later and figure out which ones I'll actually use, rather than this bs of hunting down continually more LOR writers...

Amen brother!! Specifically graduate program department head (wtf?) and a non-science faculty who I took a course from! Future applicants, you've been warned...

 

[redrower]

The 10,000 different LOR requirement combination possibilities have been the most frustrating and the least expected for me... my adviser told me to get 2 science letters lined up and a third letter of my choice, and boy has that haunted me. If I could go back in time, I'd ask literally the maximum 10 people for LOR's, and go back later and figure out which ones I'll actually use, rather than this bs of hunting down continually more LOR writers...

your school doesnt offer a committee letter??

 

[SteinUmStein]

your school doesnt offer a committee letter??

Nope. My school has <2000 people, we're not that organized about it.

 

[SteinUmStein]

Amen brother!! Specifically graduate program department head (wtf?) and a non-science faculty who I took a course from! Future applicants, you've been warned...

At this point I'm ditching all the schools with a concrete requirement for a non-science faculty LOR... it's just bs, if you want to know non-science stuff about me it does not have to come from a professor...

 

[Meat]

Schools that require four letters of rec (looking at you Penn state).

 

[flip26]

My chief complaint is that each secondary app is unique - not so much unique info requested - but you have to figure out the quirks and the "do's and don'ts" for each online site.

Some of the sites have tables where you fill in class work, and the course titles don't fit, or it is impossible to repeat or copy repetitive stuff (like where you took the classes, which for most people is one school).

And the schools that have apps you can't save and return to later should be ashamed. I lost several mostly filled in apps to certain schools where this was not clear. WTF? Why would you have sign ons and passwords but NOT have a file that can be saved and retrieved???

You also have to keep painstaking details about the different requests, how to follow up, how to check status, etc.

I have done 15 secondaries, and I am waiting on a few more, but I am sick of this stuff and don't know how anybody can retain their sanity doing 30+ of these bastards.

 

[LiveUninhibited]

The school that makes you pay before you even get to see the secondary with weird length requirements (25 lines, what?!). Bad Loyola!

 

[alibai3ah]

The school that makes you pay before you even get to see the secondary with weird length requirements (25 lines, what?!). Bad Loyola!

Or the schools that make you pay for the secondary and then pre-screen you out? I hate you University of Nebraska, you took my 80 bucks! If I can convince enough people to not apply here, my job is done....

 

[student1799]

I hate schools with paper secondaries. Get computerized and shut the hell up.

 

[Aggro]

#2 Why do you want to attend X school of medicine?

Honest Answer: Because I want to be a doctor, and your school has an MD program to which my stats closely match.

This. I have no idea how I'm going to answer this in interviews, either. The real answer is that the school is in the right location and has an excellent reputation.

 

[teddy bear doc]

My personal top complaints, most of which have been voiced before:

1) Money, money, money. Guess they just want us to get a jump on the massive debt situation.
2) Character/word limits in general. Tell us all about yourself and why you are unique and why you want to go here and where you see yourself in 10 years... in 100 words maximum. REALLY????
3) Repeating AMCAS info. Seriously, just look at my primary. It's all there. I promise.
4) The "why do you want to go here" question. Truthfully, it is in the right location. I am really not too picky. I don't have the stats for a top 10 or anything, so anywhere remotely close that isn't super crappy is okay with me. But you can't say that, of course, so I google the school and what they are known for or pride themselves on, then write this ridiculous BS about how great they are and how I have always wanted to go here, blah blah blah. It cheapens the application for everyone involved and I can only hope that I can write it convincingly enough that they don't see straight through me...

 

[LAman10]

dudes, we lost the numbering system somewhere...


#19: we're going to make our website unorganized and put all the important information different pages so that you can't find it all. that way you'll likely miss some small detail and we'll have a good reason to reject you without having to read your whole app.


#20: The link in our secondary invite email takes you to a "Page Not Found" page (NYU...)

 

[housefish26]

I hate schools with paper secondaries. Get computerized and shut the hell up.

Yes. It's like, really Rosalind Franklin?? Do you really need another reason why I shouldn't apply to your school?

 

[SteinUmStein]

Yes. It's like, really Rosalind Franklin?? Do you really need another reason why I shouldn't apply to your school?

The funny thing is it's probably even worse on their end, I bet it makes their admissions department a living hell to deal with thousands of physical, paper applications. Probably why they have to charge $100.

Tell you what, I'll make it easier on all of us and just not do their secondary, mkay?

 

[dw2158]

i would vent, but...

i'm all finished.

 

[xcrunner01]

21. Schools that not only want you to send in your LORs separately (too good for AMCAS, apparently), but they also have their own form that each prof must fill out and send in with the secondary. *Really, why is this necessary?!? My undergrad career center already has a nice form/rating sheet that are submitted with all recommendations.

22. Schools that make you mail them a copy of your secondary application even though you also submitted it online. *cough*Hopkins

All in all, what an annoying/obnoxious/expensive process. Filling out all these secondaries has given me a whole new level of respect for reapplicants for suffering through this process more than once.

 

[red10]

Is anyone else getting sick of their own voice/writing. Most of my applications have either the diversity question or the challenging situation question. Even though I'm tweaking things for each school, I'm just sick of my own stories at this point. The first time I wrote about it I was like "wow this is good stuff if I do say so myself", but by the 4th time reading and tweaking it I'm bored with myself. lol

 

[SportingMD54]

i would vent, but...

i'm all finished.

I'm jealous, though I only have three left assuming Vandy doesn't screen me.

As for secondary complaints, they have already been said above but I hate the additional comments essays, listing my classes again, and schools asking me why I want to be a doctor again.

 

[scattun]

23. Here's a link to your status page. It may or may not work. If it doesn't, don't contact us, just give it a couple weeks.

 

[SpaceDementia]

24. When you submit an essay for a secondary, then write about the same topic for the second school, but realize your second essay is considerably better and wish you'd included some of those ideas in the first secondary.

 

[osumc2014]

24. When you submit an essay for a secondary, then write about the same topic for the second school, but realize your second essay is considerably better and wish you'd included some of those ideas in the first secondary.

especially your when your first secondary is from a much more desirable school

 

[LAman10]

25. When application statuses change back and forth. We're already stressed; do they still need to screw with us?!?

 

[Compass]

26. Essays which, when left blank, make you wonder why you haven't discovered the cure for cancer, received a Nobel Peace Prize, and why you haven't played frisbee with the President.

 

[danimjo]

26. We're not going to send you a confirmation that your application is complete, and we're not allowed to discuss you're application status over the phone. Please email us, but know that on each page of the admissions website there will be a new "contact us" email, giving you dozens of options... but only one of which will work on any given day. It's sort of like a lottery... good luck to you...

 

[shiftingmirage]

#2 Why do you want to attend X school of medicine?

Honest Answer: Because I want to be a doctor, and your school has an MD program to which my stats closely match.

Georgetown wanted a page of this. And they don't give bonus points for efficiency (ie, you + me = MD).

 

[chicubsfan]

Rush, we are fighting. Your secondary is horrifying. Ditto Rosalind Franklin. Maybe I don't like Chicago so much anymore.

 

[Abdullaah]

27. I got 20 more secondaries left, some of which have been sitting in my inbox for a month.

 

[brooklynblunder]

28. all of our secondary essays are probably exactly the same