Photos for Secondaries

[AAKRAZY]

To anyone who has applied or is applying this summer, what did you do/are you doing about getting your pictures taken to put on the secondary application forms?

Someone mentioned getting digital pictures which can then be printed on photo paper with an adhesive back. Seems like a good idea.

Still, I wanted to know if this was an all-out kind of thing. Can I do this on my own or would it be better to get real portraits by a photographer?

Yes, this is a legitimate concern of mine. I can go into more detail why if you PM me. Otherwise, help me out with some info.

AAK

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[VienneseWaltz]

I had mine professionally done--found a good price with a local photographer. If you have a photography dept at your school, you can probably hire a student to do a good job for cheap, too. I don't see any problem doing it digitally as long as it looks professional, which with photo paper and a decent printer is quite possible. Just make sure you use a backdrop (blank wall, etc) and sufficient lighting.

 

[Yogi Bear]

u could either take one w/ a digital camera or scan it in and print it out on glossy paper.

what i did was scan a pix, put 16 in a ms word document and took it to office depot to be printed in color. total cost was like $

 

[JennyGirl]

You don't need to go all out on these photos....I went to CVS and had a passport photo taken and got a sheet (which is 16 pictures give or take) of them printed on the Kodak photo machine for less than $10, and it took all of 10 minutes.

These pictures are really just so they can recognize you at interviews, so I wouldn't waste my time/money on Glamourshots or something...

Jen

 

[paramed2premed]

Last year, after I had mailed in all my secondaries, I noticed that you could see my nipple poking out through the cheese-cloth draped over over my recumbent body!

I tried to be tasteful, more sensual than erotic, but it TOTALLY backfired.

Had some great interviews, though .

 

[Herpeto]

I wouldn't waste the money getting a professional photo taken. I am just going to cut out a photo of myself with a mountain or waterfall backdrop. This will give more insight into my character and is more likely to be remembered by the admission committee than the repetitive Joe-Smo picture that every one gets by a professional photographer.


Herp

 

[Allygator89]

I had mine done at Wolf Camera. Many of my applications said "passport style" photos and passport size, so if you get them to take it with a digital camera, they will print you a page of them for 10 bucks or so. Bring a diskette, and save the picture, because when you need more ( I needed almost 20) you are only charged for the "reprint" which is only a couple of bucks.

 

[ShaylaFinn]

I did my own pics at home. I had a friend take several pics of me with my digital camera, then I printed them on premium, glossy photo paper with my color printer. And it was fine. As I recall, some of the secondaries say that a photo is optional, but that if you don't submit one, they'll take a polaroid of you at the interview. So really, I think the pic verifies that the person who took the MCAT, applied, interviewed, was admitted, and then matriculated are all the same person. (Supposedly AMCAS/MCAT forwards your MCAT registration pic to your med school for comparison). Also, many months can pass between when an interview takes place and when the adcoms make their final decisions, so the pics help them remember the interviewees.

Make sure you have lots of light and stand against a plain, light-colored background (like a white or cream wall). And this probably goes w/o saying, but you'll want a head&shoulders shot, not a full-length one. Also, I'd suggest wearing something modest & professional so the ad coms can envision you as a doc. Skip the strapless dress, tank top, or Budweiser T-shirt.

 

[DialAView]

I went to CVS, didn't shave, and wore a tshirt, did fine. It really doesn't matter, waste your money on more important things. Take Care. Paul

 

[Manny]

Just to repeat what everyone basically said. It doesnt really matter how good the picture is since the Adcom members get a black and white photocopy of that picture along with the applicant's file. That's what my impression was during the interview.

 

[Nefertari]

Wal-mart $4.88 w/ tax Just don't let them talk you into doing crazy poses & getting those cheesy $30 packages. (you do have to plan ahead since they take 3 weeks to develop)

 

[wolferman]

Originally posted by paramed2premed
Last year, after I had mailed in all my secondaries, I noticed that you could see my nipple poking out through the cheese-cloth draped over over my recumbent body!

I tried to be tasteful, more sensual than erotic, but it TOTALLY backfired.

Had some great interviews, though .

That's practically straight out of Seinfeld. Hilarious!!

 

[Louweezel]

Took a pic of me and my sister, scanned it into the computer, photoshopped out my sister, cut to size and printed it on regular white paper on a friend's color printer. And no one even raised an eyebrow.