Secondaries repetitive?

[Pablo94]

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Hey you guys,

Was just wondering if you guys felt like secondary application questions are getting repetitive. Do you find yourself saying the same things you said in your primary? Do an of you guys copy and paste essays for different schools?

Thanks

 

[benjamin94559]

Diversity essay
Challenge essay
PARTS of why our school essay.
Research essay
award essay

 

[Pablo94]

So yeah..?

 

[tuco's revenge]

I used this template for all my secondary "why?" essays:

I love ______ school of medicine. Its my #1 choice! It has groundbreaking research, earth shattering community outreach programs, and a one-of-a-kind exclusive and uniquely holistics mission like no other medical school in the US. When I first read about _____ SOM's very unique and exclusive mission to serve the world and advance healthcare I knew at once that I am a great match for ____ SOM.

You can use this template too, but just change a few words around (change "love" to "worship" or "cherish") so they don't notice its the same as mine

I have 0 II so far. I think I did a great job on my secondaries, they should start flooding my inbox any day now.....any day now......

 

[baratheonfire]

I used this template for all my secondary "why?" essays:

I love ______ school of medicine. Its my #1 choice! It has groundbreaking research, earth shattering community outreach programs, and a one-of-a-kind exclusive and uniquely holistics mission like no other medical school in the US. When I first read about _____ SOM's very unique and exclusive mission to serve the world and advance healthcare I knew at once that I am a great match for ____ SOM.

You can use this template too, but just change a few words around (change "love" to "worship" or "cherish") so they don't notice its the same as mine

I have 0 II so far. I think I did a great job on my secondaries, they should start flooding my inbox any day now.....any day now......

Oh god so I'm not the only one

(I don't have any II either kek)

 

[freak7]

Secondaries across medical schools are based on the British Theory of Circumlocution, originally put forth by Dickens in 1857 and fully develop into the Vogsphere by Adams in 1979. It can best be equated here in the US by the Office of Redundancy Department found across the Federal, State and Local governments

Shouldn't that be the Department of Redundancy Department?

 

[libertyyne]

I used this template for all my secondary "why?" essays:

I love ______ school of medicine. Its my #1 choice! It has groundbreaking research, earth shattering community outreach programs, and a one-of-a-kind exclusive and uniquely holistics mission like no other medical school in the US. When I first read about _____ SOM's very unique and exclusive mission to serve the world and advance healthcare I knew at once that I am a great match for ____ SOM.

You can use this template too, but just change a few words around (change "love" to "worship" or "cherish") so they don't notice its the same as mine

I have 0 II so far. I think I did a great job on my secondaries, they should start flooding my inbox any day now.....any day now......

Is this what people really do ?
I was trying to find what good secondaries looked like, but I could'nt find any examples on the internet. So I wrote an essay that talks about my experiences and relates back to the candidates the school seeks.. So i have been cutting and pasting from a master essay and editing for individual ones. I have two II's so far, but my stats are ok.

 

[Cotterpin]

Secondaries are definitely repetitive. What I did was write 250-300 word responses for the most common questions and then tweaked them thoughtfully to meet the specific wording and requirements of each school. I have 3 II's so far... but I am also a reapplicant. Make of that what you will.

 

[sammiesings]

Is this what people really do ?
I was trying to find what good secondaries looked like, but I could'nt find any examples on the internet. So I wrote an essay that talks about my experiences and relates back to the candidates the school seeks.. So i have been cutting and pasting from a master essay and editing for individual ones. I have two II's so far, but my stats are ok.

lol no. i think tuco was being facetious 😉

 

[libertyyne]

I just assumed no one ever reads the secondaries.

 

[sammiesings]

I just assumed no one ever reads the secondaries.

lol. i don't doubt some schools are like that. the ones who just ask "why us" or even the "why us" + "diversity" i'm always a bit wary of. seems like the bare minimum of essays to disguise wanting secondary money lol

 

[baratheonfire]

Is this what people really do ?
I was trying to find what good secondaries looked like, but I could'nt find any examples on the internet. So I wrote an essay that talks about my experiences and relates back to the candidates the school seeks.. So i have been cutting and pasting from a master essay and editing for individual ones. I have two II's so far, but my stats are ok.

I didn't actually use an internet template. I wrote a master essay too.

 

[LizzyM]

Be very careful about changing the name of the school to the one you are applying to and not the last one you applied to.

Be very careful to spell the name correctly and get the words in the right order (College of Medicine, School of Medicine, Medical School, Medical College not to mention those names of rich donors and famous scientists and physicians).

 

[Gryffindor20]

Be very careful about changing the name of the school to the one you are applying to and not the last one you applied to.

Be very careful to spell the name correctly and get the words in the right order (College of Medicine, School of Medicine, Medical School, Medical College not to mention those names of rich donors and famous scientists and physicians).

Yeah, that's a serious "ouch" if you're writing to school X and gushing about why school Y is your #1 choice. Nobody likes a form letter.

 

[MiamiBoyy]

Be very careful about changing the name of the school to the one you are applying to and not the last one you applied to.

Be very careful to spell the name correctly and get the words in the right order (College of Medicine, School of Medicine, Medical School, Medical College not to mention those names of rich donors and famous scientists and physicians).

Lol best piece of advice here. Proofread before pressing that submit button. Almost happened to me on several occasions.

 

[libertyyne]

Actually, I would say that at many schools, perhaps even most, the essays and secondary questions are more important than the PS on the primary. So academic metric and EC on primary get you passed initial screen, secondary gets you the interview

Well I am screwed.

I assumed a PS was the deciding factor between invite vs non invite as some schools do not require secondaries.

 

[sammiesings]

Actually, I would say that at many schools, perhaps even most, the essays and secondary questions are more important than the PS on the primary. So academic metric and EC on primary get you passed initial screen, secondary gets you the interview

As someone who spent an excessive amount of time on my secondaries, I'm very relieved to hear I was wrong about that lol

 

[libertyyne]

Yeah, schools just send out those secondaries for fun and make more trouble for premeds, why would anyone think we actually read them? I mean, it just what we want in physicians, assuming things that are assigned. I mean, what could possibly happen if we dont actually read the chart or examine the patient.

I understand the need to submit a secondary essay that is of quality and one that answers the question being asked. I am a terrible writer. I had difficulty finding what a good secondary even looks like or what rubric adcoms use to decide if a secondary meets their standards. I tried my best and it would be crazy if it call came down to 250 words considering the years of effort it took to get to that point. But that doesnt detract from the question on why is soo much value placed on secondaries and the benefits of them.

questions like :
explain your interest in the program.Why us?
-Do want the honest truth? Your school meets my GPA and MCAT measures
- Your school has cheap tuition
- I like the research that occurs there , but I have never collaborated with that professor or department.
- I love the location
- I love x facilities you have even though I have never once stepped foot on campus nor have I experienced them


What have you been doing?
- Look at my primary
- Look at my primary
-OK I will repeat my primary.

how would you contribute to diversity at school x?
Look at my primary?
-I am a haitian hemophelliac that likes trains and has experience training bears that i undertook in my summers away from school. Maybe you already have such a person in your class, maybe your class is predominately people who have trained bears during their summers.


all seem disingenuous.

The school knows all of that information from primary application. I guess I have difficulty finding the value that schools obtain from the practice considering that some schools dont even require it.

At least there is some evidence for MMIs and quality of patient interactions and board scores. I have yet to see any evidence of the value that secondary essays bring to the table.

 

[LizzyM]

I understand the need to submit a secondary essay that is of quality and one that answers the question being asked. I am a terrible writer. I had difficulty finding what a good secondary even looks like or what rubric adcoms use to decide if a secondary meets their standards. I tried my best and it would be crazy if it call came down to 250 words considering the years of effort it took to get to that point. But that doesnt detract from the question on why is soo much value placed on secondaries and the benefits of them.

questions like :
explain your interest in the program.Why us?

Look at the school's website. Besides the fact that you think you will fit in based on numbers, what would make you choose this school over any other that admits you. Know the basics. Don't get there and be surprised that the school is in a ghetto or in a remote location or that the immediate area is sorely lacking in diversity.
Are you interested in away rotations, or overseas travel or research opportunities (or even research requirements)? Are you attracted to the pass/fail system or grading, PBL, or specific clinical rotations available at that school?

What have you been doing?
- Look at my primary
- Look at my primary
-OK I will repeat my primary.

how would you contribute to diversity at school x?
Look at my primary?

You sound like a snot. Would it occur to you that some schools do not want to bias their interviewers and so they provide only the secondary to them rather than giving them your grades and scores? Don't assume that everyone who has a role in your admission has the entire file or has time to review the entire file and so go to the high yield portions of your file.

 

[libertyyne]

Look at the school's website. Besides the fact that you think you will fit in based on numbers, what would make you choose this school over any other that admits you. Know the basics. Don't get there and be surprised that the school is in a ghetto or in a remote location or that the immediate area is sorely lacking in diversity.
Are you interested in away rotations, or overseas travel or research opportunities (or even research requirements)? Are you attracted to the pass/fail system or grading, PBL, or specific clinical rotations available at that school?

This makes sense, it always feels like most applicants are lucky to get one acceptance and if they do they will matriculate even if the school is a suboptimal area or grading system or has clinical rotations that dont meet the students preferences.

You sound like a snot. Would it occur to you that some schools do not want to bias their interviewers and so they provide only the secondary to them rather than giving them your grades and scores? Don't assume that everyone who has a role in your admission has the entire file or has time to review the entire file and so go to the high yield portions of your file.

I apologize if I came off a bit too surly. I made a bad assumption that schools get to chop up the AMCAS primary submission into bits and pieces and those get funneled through to different areas. It makes perfect sense that schools would want a mini-primary, but they sometimes instruct us to not repeat any information from the primary. This makes sense from a non biasing perspective. Thank you.

 

[Goro]

The purpose of the PS is to answer these questions:
Who am I? and Why Medicine?

I understand the need to submit a secondary essay that is of quality and one that answers the question being asked. I am a terrible writer. I had difficulty finding what a good secondary even looks like or what rubric adcoms use to decide if a secondary meets their standards. I tried my best and it would be crazy if it call came down to 250 words considering the years of effort it took to get to that point. But that doesnt detract from the question on why is soo much value placed on secondaries and the benefits of them.

questions like :
explain your interest in the program.Why us?
-Do want the honest truth? Your school meets my GPA and MCAT measures
- Your school has cheap tuition
- I like the research that occurs there , but I have never collaborated with that professor or department.
- I love the location
- I love x facilities you have even though I have never once stepped foot on campus nor have I experienced them


What have you been doing?
- Look at my primary
- Look at my primary
-OK I will repeat my primary.

how would you contribute to diversity at school x?
Look at my primary?
-I am a haitian hemophelliac that likes trains and has experience training bears that i undertook in my summers away from school. Maybe you already have such a person in your class, maybe your class is predominately people who have trained bears during their summers.


all seem disingenuous.

The school knows all of that information from primary application. I guess I have difficulty finding the value that schools obtain from the practice considering that some schools dont even require it.

At least there is some evidence for MMIs and quality of patient interactions and board scores. I have yet to see any evidence of the value that secondary essays bring to the table.

 

[ChrisMack390]

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