Open Ended Questions on the Secondary (Dartmouth??)

[DZT]

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I got the Dartmouth secondary today and the second question is something like, "tell us something that is not present on the AAMC application." I'm pretty confused. What do they expect us to write down. I dont want it to sound like a second personal statemement. Can you go as far as writing a poem or painting a chiarscuro picture, or do they mainly expect you say what your hobbies are? Help me out. Do they want you to be very left field and hyper creative.

Another thing I want to ask is that people generally submit thier secondary within one week of recieving it. It doesnt seem that people put the same effort into their secondary that they put into their personal statement. Does this mean secondaries really dont matter much in admissions other than that they are another way for med schools to extort more money?

 

[oldman]

don't you love open ended questions? basically write whatever you want. as far as the 1 week turn around...you have to create an essay that is just as good as the personal statement in less time! the amcas was the regular season, now you are going into the playoffs...the interviews will be for the championship!

when i did dartmouth's app last year. i wrote about some clinical experiences i didn't put in my amcas.

 

[doctorivy]

I used that question as an opportunity to tell the committee why I wanted to go to Dartmouth and why I would be a good fit (be careful to not sound arrogant here). I thoroughly read the webpage and picked out some points about the school that were really interesting/unique and said why I liked them. Don't just recite back to them what they wrote. I would send in your secondary as soon as possible, this will get you an earlier interview. They start accepting applicants as soon as they begin interviews (rolling admissions). Also, don't be afraid to regularly call the admissions office and ask about your status - Dartmouth actually makes a note of every time you call and what you say (the assistant Dean of admissions told me this). Tell them how interested you are in DMS and ask what you can do to improve your chances. It's a great school in an awesome location - I will be in the class of 2006. Good luck!!

 

[oneironaut]

Write a good anecdote that reveals something about yourself, or elaborate on something you didn't have space for in the Primary. I wrote about how I was expelled from school for lack of tuition payment. -wrote about how it felt, and what I did about it. I'm sure there are many other good things to write about, but thats what I did.

Oh, on a seperate note- Someone alluded to doing somthing completely random.. I think U of Virginia asks for an essay on 'an ything' I did mine on the machiavellian characteristics of a Shakespear character. Not a darn thing to do with medicine. Got an interview too. 🙂
-Oneiro

 

[pocwana]

i think i've decided to use that gosh darned open ended question on all of my secondary apps to mention something about how i will fit into their school, probably coupled with some expansion of an idea that i couldn't fully explain in my PS. i'll probably end up repeating myself in an interview, but at least at that point i'll have the interview...

 

[Trek]

1 page porno screenplay, anybody? --Trek