Pre-writing Secondaries

[littlebluefish]

Hi everyone!

I'm planning on doing a full-time research program over summer break and have been worried that I won't have the time and energy to write my secondaries. That's why I want to pre-write my secondaries, but I'm scared that the prompts will change too much from the previous year's, and I'll just be wasting a lot of my time. Any advice?

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[voxveritatisetlucis]

At most schools the prompts don’t change. Even if they do, you would be able to use those secondaries (adapter versions) for other schools.

 

[KnightDoc]

Hi everyone!

I'm planning on doing a full-time research program over summer break and have been worried that I won't have the time and energy to write my secondaries. That's why I want to pre-write my secondaries, but I'm scared that the prompts will change too much from the previous year's, and I'll just be wasting a lot of my time. Any advice?

The advice is to do what you have to do. Some prompts will probably change, but most won't, or won't change too much and you will be able to modify your work to conform. You will certainly end up doing some extra work if you pre-write, but that's the price of getting the bulk the work out of the way early. It's your choice which path to take.

I ended up playing myself by pre-writing the ones I didn't expect to change and waiting for the others. Some of those with no recent history of changing changed last cycle, so you never really know. You'll be fine if you pace yourself. You have all summer. Everything really, honestly, does not have to be in on Day One. Good luck!!

 

[BeMoConsulting]

Hi there, this is a great question.

It is definitely helpful to pre-write your secondaries, especially as it is advantageous to get them submitted within 2 weeks of receiving the prompt. As you will experience, even then it can be difficult to get through all of them, depending on how big your school list is. We have spoken to various successful med students and a common theme is that they organized their secondary writing effectively. This helps to ensure you don't burn out as well.

And although prompts can change from year to year, many school do not change their prompts, or change only 1-2. One suggestion is to create a table or excel document with a list of the schools to which you have applied on one axis and prompts on the other axis. Next, you can find the prompts from the previous year(s) and put this into your document. You will find that some prompts are more common than others. You can then check each school and start writing answers to the prompts that are used by the most schools. This is an effective way to ensure that even if you don't pre-write all prompts, you will be able to pre-write those that are used most often.

Best of luck!

 

[littlebluefish]

At most schools the prompts don’t change. Even if they do, you would be able to use those secondaries (adapter versions) for other schools.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[littlebluefish]

The advice is to do what you have to do. Some prompts will probably change, but most won't, or won't change too much and you will be able to modify your work to conform. You will certainly end up doing some extra work if you pre-write, but that's the price of getting the bulk the work out of the way early. It's your choice which path to take.

I ended up playing myself by pre-writing the ones I didn't expect to change and waiting for the others. Some of those with no recent history of changing changed last cycle, so you never really know. You'll be fine if you pace yourself. You have all summer. Everything really, honestly, does not have to be in on Day One. Good luck!!

You bring up really good points. I think writing out the bulk of them will be worth my time, as they will all more or less be adaptable. I would rather spend more unnecessary time when I have the time right now than to have to sloppily rush to write them when I don't have the time later. Thank you for sharing your experiences!

 

[littlebluefish]

Hi there, this is a great question.

It is definitely helpful to pre-write your secondaries, especially as it is advantageous to get them submitted within 2 weeks of receiving the prompt. As you will experience, even then it can be difficult to get through all of them, depending on how big your school list is. We have spoken to various successful med students and a common theme is that they organized their secondary writing effectively. This helps to ensure you don't burn out as well.

And although prompts can change from year to year, many school do not change their prompts, or change only 1-2. One suggestion is to create a table or excel document with a list of the schools to which you have applied on one axis and prompts on the other axis. Next, you can find the prompts from the previous year(s) and put this into your document. You will find that some prompts are more common than others. You can then check each school and start writing answers to the prompts that are used by the most schools. This is an effective way to ensure that even if you don't pre-write all prompts, you will be able to pre-write those that are used most often.

Best of luck!

That's a great approach that I bet will make my life a lot easier and more organized! I'll do just as you described but probably wait to finalize my schools list after my MCAT score gets released. Thanks for your suggestions!

I have an additional question if you wouldn't mind answering! I heard some interviews start as early as early August. The research program doesn't finish until mid-August, and I have to commit to the whole length. Should I be worried about interview timing?

 

[KnightDoc]

That's a great approach that I bet will make my life a lot easier and more organized! I'll do just as you described but probably wait to finalize my schools list after my MCAT score gets released. Thanks for your suggestions!

I have an additional question if you wouldn't mind answering! I heard some interviews start as early as early August. The research program doesn't finish until mid-August, and I have to commit to the whole length. Should I be worried about interview timing?

Not at all. IIs begin going out in August (or even mid-July), but many people do not receive any that early. Moreover, you will have flexibility, especially that early, to schedule around conflicts.

You will have zero problems scheduling past mid-August, no matter when you receive IIs, and will be at absolutely no disadvantage, since the first As do not go out until 10/15.

 

[littlebluefish]

Not at all. IIs begin going out in August (or even mid-July), but many people do not receive any that early. Moreover, you will have flexibility, especially that early, to schedule around conflicts.

You will have zero problems scheduling past mid-August, no matter when you receive IIs, and will be at absolutely no disadvantage, since the first As do not go out until 10/15.

Thank you so much for sharing! I really appreciate your help!

 

[OchemOficionado]

I pre wrote a ton and rarely did the prompts ever change.

 

[BeMoConsulting]

That's a great approach that I bet will make my life a lot easier and more organized! I'll do just as you described but probably wait to finalize my schools list after my MCAT score gets released. Thanks for your suggestions!

I have an additional question if you wouldn't mind answering! I heard some interviews start as early as early August. The research program doesn't finish until mid-August, and I have to commit to the whole length. Should I be worried about interview timing?

You are very welcome. Glad we could help. As for your question about interviews, it is true that they can start as early as August, although that is relatively rare. I do not think that should be too much of an issue for you finishing your research in mid-August. However, I would certainly suggest starting to prepare for your interviews before you get invites, as sometimes the time between the invite and the interview is very short. It is best to prepare ahead of time.

Good luck with everything!

 

[LindaAccepted]

Hi everyone!

I'm planning on doing a full-time research program over summer break and have been worried that I won't have the time and energy to write my secondaries. That's why I want to pre-write my secondaries, but I'm scared that the prompts will change too much from the previous year's, and I'll just be wasting a lot of my time. Any advice?

Good question. Pre-writing secondaries is a good idea, if you have the time now, because they come in a deluge and you want to turn them around quickly. It's much easier to edit or update something you wrote than to start from scratch when rushed and tired. It is also easier to update or even respond to a few entirely new prompts than to have nothing pre-written. Just remember that secondaries are your opportunity to show fit with individual schools.

Good luck!

 

[littlebluefish]

Good question. Pre-writing secondaries is a good idea, if you have the time now, because they come in a deluge and you want to turn them around quickly. It's much easier to edit or update something you wrote than to start from scratch when rushed and tired. It is also easier to update or even respond to a few entirely new prompts than to have nothing pre-written. Just remember that secondaries are your opportunity to show fit with individual schools.

Good luck!

Thank you for your advice!