Secondaries

[MrAnonymous]

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I was wondering on the secondaries that I have just received. Some of them ask questions like if I attended or my relatives attended their school. The leave blanks for writing names, departments, etc. but no blanks for a "no" answer. Obviously I don't anyone going to Tulane University since I'm in Washington state. Am I just supposed to leave those questions blank without writing a "no" answer.
I also graduated at the University of Washington (ranked #1 in primary care by US News) and I was wondering how impressive is it compared to other schools. I know ranking systems don't mean squat, but what I am curious is if the admission committees will give some extra consideration. Thanks all!

 

[tristate]

For the first question, write "none".

I can't answer the second question. I don't know.

 

[doublelle]

You have already received secondaries for the 2001 application?

 

[drfermin]

MrAnonymous,

as for your second question, what do you mean by the admissions committees giving your UW degree more weight? If you're talking about your undergrad degree, it has no correlation to the UW med school's #1 ranking. You might get some extra consideration if you did some sort of internship or worked closely with the faculty of the UW med school.

 

[ana]

Mr. Anonymous,
Certain schools have reputations for being inflaters of grades for their undergraduates. Some schools have reputations for being very competitive. Medical schools know this and while there is not list of which schools these are and what their formula is for taking it into account, they sort of keep it in the back of their minds when looking at applicants. What category your school falls in is not related to your school's undergraduate ranking.

Also, while what I have said above is true, your overall academic achievements, MCATs, extracurriculars, clinical experiences have more to do with your success than your undergraduate institution.

 

[MrAnonymous]

That's great to hear because the University of Washington has been a real challenge in every class I have been in and I should know I have over 270 credits (we go by quarters). The overall GPA and MCAT at the medical school here is 3.6 and 10.X which I think is pretty high. I believe that the University of Washingto is a very competitive school. In fact, its so competitive I am so happy to be done with my undergrad

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What's best isn't always what's obvious..

 

[Carbon Klein]

On any application in which a question does not apply to me (ie. relatives who graduated from a particular medical school), I just type in NA, or N/A for not applicable. I never leave anything blank. It just looks more professional that way.