Secondaries: How many would YOU fill out?

[pianola]

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Poll: What is the greatest number of secondaries you'd be willing to fill out?

2? 5? 10? 15? 20+?

Let me know! I'm curious.

 

[engineeredout]

As many as I recieve

 

[146233]

I filled out like 28 or so.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

30+

 

[eeyoreDO]

as many as it would take

 

[pianola]

REALLY? You would fill out 30 secondaries with 3-6 essays each?

I sure hope I could say the same....

 

[arb011]

9

 

[chad5871]

I plan on filling out any that I receive. As soon as AMCAS is turned in, I'm going to get a head start on those essays with the "Secondary Prompts" thread from last year. I have never understood why people withdraw pre-secondary - why did they apply there in the first place?

 

[ChubbyChaser]

REALLY? You would fill out 30 secondaries with 3-6 essays each?

I sure hope I could say the same....

most have about 2 essays...plust after you do 10, they start repeating themselves, so you can tweak them a little bit and reuse.

Other schools like GT and GW dont have any essays...they just want your money.

 

[pianola]

2 sounds more reasonable 🙂. Well, if I get secondaries from all the schools I'm applying to, looks like I'm going to become a little essay-churning machine or something, though.

 

[neuro1617]

most have about 2 essays...plust after you do 10, they start repeating themselves, so you can tweak them a little bit and reuse.

Other schools like GT and GW dont have any essays...they just want your money.

GW doesn't have any essays on their secondary? Nice...What is on the secondary besides essays?

 

[paradocs we are]

17

 

[ChubbyChaser]

GW doesn't have any essays on their secondary? Nice...What is on the secondary besides essays?

they might...but I know alot dont.

They just have the traditional...convicted of a felony? Misdemeanor?, etc.

 

[paradocs we are]

GW doesn't have any essays on their secondary? Nice...What is on the secondary besides essays?

GW asks you to write why you chose to apply to their med school. The space is limited to a short paragraph (about 100 words or so).

 

[ChubbyChaser]

GW asks you to write why you chose to apply to their med school. The space is limited to a short paragraph (about 100 words or so).

maybe it was drexel and BU??? Lol idk I looked at the secondary prompts months back.

 

[neuro1617]

they might...but I know alot dont.

They just have the traditional...convicted of a felony? Misdemeanor?, etc.

Oh ok...I thought you were saying they definitely don't. Thanks though.

 

[NBA Cares]

all of the schools that I send my primaries too, which would be 16.

 

[HigHal320]

I got so tired and sick of writing essays after my 30th secondary.i completed about 32 secondaries total.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

I got so tired and sick of writing essays after my 30th secondary.i completed about 32 secondaries total.

but was it worth it??? how high up on your list was MCW pre app season?

 

[enjoydrywax]

as many as it takes

 

[AlexMorph]

20 max, ideally 1

 

[Textuality]

I did 18, but to be fair, a decent number of them (Harvard, Penn, NYU, etc) utilized the "give us more money" secondary, so all I had to do was send in an extra check along with an optional address update...lol. So I maybe only had 13 or so that required actual essays writing.

 

[pianola]

I did 18, but to be fair, a decent number of them (Harvard, Penn, NYU, etc) utilized the "give us more money" secondary, so all I had to do was send in an extra check along with an optional address update...lol. So I maybe only had 13 or so that required actual essays writing.

Thanks...that's helpful to know.



Thank you to all of you who are posting!

 

[MilkmanAl]

I'd fill out as many as I received. I did something like 15 secondaries which was a serious pain in the butt once school started. Most of them required essays.

 

[Myuu]

GW doesn't have any essays on their secondary? Nice...What is on the secondary besides essays?

Actually, you get 10 lines to tell them why you love them.

It's WashU that has no essays at all. I'd totally fill out 50 of those!

More realistically though, I'm looking at probably around 30 this time around. Did 13 last year.

 

[p30doc]

going to be doing 30-40 =/

 

[st0w]

I plan on filling out any that I receive. As soon as AMCAS is turned in, I'm going to get a head start on those essays with the "Secondary Prompts" thread from last year. I have never understood why people withdraw pre-secondary - why did they apply there in the first place?

I withdrew pre-secondary from a couple places because I got tired of filling out all those damn forms. Emory's secondary wasn't even released until September, and by that point I'd already had enough of secondary season (I finished mine by early August) and was in interview mode. Tulane's secondary came early, but it came at the same time as a bunch of schools that I cared more about and I never got around to completing it (truth be told, I barely looked at it - later in the year I was mad at myself because it was so simple).

All told, I completed 27 secondaries, and withdrew from 9 of them after I got accepted on 10/15. And yes, it was well worth it. 🙂

 

[fireflygirl]

I filled out 20+ secondaries and it was a lot of work but I would rather apply to that many schools and have a better shot at getting in somewhere than applying to the fewer and not being accepted anywhere.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

I filled out 20+ secondaries and it was a lot of work but I would rather apply to that many schools and have a better shot at getting in somewhere than applying to the fewer and not being accepted anywhere.

30 or so,

Chubby was right that they start repeating after the first dozen or so, one tough thing is when one school asks "what have you done since/during college" and allows one paragraph, another school asks a similar question and provides a full page for response, pretty much have to rework the full essay. Lots of schools have character limits for the essays. Also, a number of schools have essays along the lines of "why are you applying to our school" that require some research.

My favorite was the one asking about any convictions (ever) including minor traffic violations, was that 1 speeding ticket or 2 my first year driving and will this seriously impact the app?. 2nd favorite was the one(s?) asking for $$, no additional info/essays needed.

 

[Nooblet]

the same essays can be used over and over and over again, maybe with some minor tweaks.

 

[stellastarr]

I filled out 20. I applied to 22 schools but withdrew from two pre-secondary since I really couldn't think of a response for the "why this school?" essay, even after reading the website etc.

If I had to do it again (luckily I don't) I probably wouldn't have bothered with some of the top top tier schools. I have tons of experience but my stats are average, and looking back I didn't have a realistic shot at some of the schools I applied to. Waste of time and money-I could have saved at least 700 dollars. Everyone says it's better not to wonder "if only I had applied" but seriously, be realistic. Someone on another thread put it best-yes there are exceptions to the rule but you won't be the exception, you'll be the rule.

 

[LikeClockWork]

I applied to 2, so I guess I'd fill out 2.

 

[pianola]

I filled out 20. I applied to 22 schools but withdrew from two pre-secondary since I really couldn't think of a response for the "why this school?" essay, even after reading the website etc.

If I had to do it again (luckily I don't) I probably wouldn't have bothered with some of the top top tier schools. I have tons of experience but my stats are average, and looking back I didn't have a realistic shot at some of the schools I applied to. Waste of time and money-I could have saved at least 700 dollars. Everyone says it's better not to wonder "if only I had applied" but seriously, be realistic. Someone on another thread put it best-yes there are exceptions to the rule but you won't be the exception, you'll be the rule.

I get the feeling this may be me...

 

[bioteach]

I applied to 23, filled out 21 secondaries. I didn't make the cut at UWSOM and I decided I wasn't interested in U of Minnesota. It seems like most schools do the no-screen (aka give-us-all-your-money) secondary, unfortunately. Therefore, I filled out a ton.

 

[dienekes88]

I filled out 20. I think I should have done 25-30.

However, I also would have kicked my own butt to have the primary verified in early July and the secondaries in by mid-August.