re-using essay responses from previous application cycle?

[chilon09]

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[RxnMan]

I was wondering if it would be okay to re-use your responses to secondary essays from the year before again for this year's application cycle? I know that some of the universities don't change their secondary essay prompts but will they know if you submit a similar, if not exact, essay as the one from the previous application cycle? Thanks for your help.

Check the FAQ. My opinion is that a person probably doesn't change all that much in a year, so why would a short essay about your motivations, i.e., a response to a question on a secondary, change all that much in the same time?

Another way - if a school gets 10,000 applications / year, how many are they going to check are re-applicants? How many of those will they look up? How many of those will they cross-reference with your current app to look for changes? Think about how many man-hours that would require, and you'll feel better.

I'll tell you that universities will hold on to applications for 1-3 years. But it's usually so that your interviewer, if they want, can check to see if you've done anything different since last time.

 

[chilon09]

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[RxnMan]

Thanks for the reply RxnMan. I can def. see your points. I guess being a neurotic and incredibly stressed applicant is finally getting to me!!!

I've been there before. If you've got everything in already, but the only thing you can do is work on your interview skills. If not, then work on what you can and get it done soon - the application season's moving on. Worry about what you can control; the rest, forget.

The good news is that the application anxiety studd continues with residency and fellowship and writing grants...Oh wait.

 

[DrBubbles]

I don't know the answer to your question, but I personally chose to rewrite them. When you reapply, the school knows if you've applied before. If they didn't accept you last year, the only way to get considered for this year is to show how you've better prepared yourself to become a physician in the last year. I would assume that means they then just figure out what's different between last year's and this year's application... Besides, hopefully you bring fresher perspectives now that you're a year wiser 🙂

 

[Blade28]

Personally, I'd at least tinker around with them a little, maybe update a little with an extra sentence or two...I wouldn't turn in the EXACT same thing!

If you're reapplying, doesn't it make sense to try and improve all aspects of your app, not just your grades and/or MCAT (if applicable) or the content of your gap year?

 

[scraibin]

yes definitely agree with what the above posters said. If its a school you've applied to before and rejected you, make sure you rewrite those essays. They will know you applied before. I rewrote my essays putting in some new perspectives when they apply and have an interview coming up Oct at a school that rejected me last year. keeping my fingers crossed this time!