Secondary Application Death Sentence?

[deleted969405]

I've been seeing a few posts on this subject already into the application season, but I'd like to get a better idea on mistakes on secondaries? Specifically, how is incorrectly using a common phrase by either modifying or changing one word in the phrase seen as? For example "I had to miss my only lunch break for the day for a medical school interview."

Will these errors stop an applicant from getting an II if the rest of their application is "up to snuff"? How about an acceptance?

I just want to make clear, I am not talking about major errors like spelling errors or incorrectly using punctuation. I am talking more along the lines of grammar errors in which an adjective form of the word was used instead of the noun, or the past tense instead of the past perfect tense.
@Moko @Catalystik @gyngyn @LizzyM

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[GloballyMed]

Is this a serious question? I know applying to medical school could make us neurotic but . You are fine dude or gal.

 

[deleted969405]

Is this a serious question? I know applying to medical school could make us neurotic but . You are fine dude or gal.

I promise I'm not a troll lol. I have just seen some writing (implied) that if you make ANY mistake at all, you're done. I really hope that this is the case. My writing is by no means written at a third grade level, nor does it appear that English is not my primary language, but still, I hope that adcoms focus more on the content a tiny word error.

 

[Bonne Nuit]

I've been seeing a few posts on this subject already into the application season, but I'd like to get a better idea on mistakes on secondaries? Specifically, how is incorrectly using a common phrase by either modifying or changing one word in the phrase seen as? For example "I had to miss my only lunch break for the day for a medical school interview."

Will these errors stop an applicant from getting an II if the rest of their application is "up to snuff"? How about an acceptance?

I just want to make clear, I am not talking about major errors like spelling errors or incorrectly using punctuation. I am talking more along the lines of grammar errors in which an adjective form of the word was used instead of the noun, or the past tense instead of the past perfect tense.

Not an adcom, but I think what you're describing falls on a continuum.

One or two mistakes = probably not a big deal at all, may not even be noticed depending on how fast your essay is being reviewed. If I saw a tiny error in an otherwise spotless essay or application, I would chalk it up as a typo and immediately forget about it.

Several mistakes throughout your essays = you start to look like someone who lacks writing ability (or is too lazy to proofread).

It would make zero sense for a medical school to reject a stellar applicant over a single stupid grammatical error or misspelling. They're not interested in finding reasons to reject very well-qualified applicants.

 

[deleted969405]

Not an adcom, but I think what you're describing falls on a continuum.

One or two mistakes = probably not a big deal at all, may not even be noticed depending on how fast your essay is being reviewed. If I saw a tiny error in an otherwise spotless essay or application, I would chalk it up as a typo and immediately forget about it.

Several mistakes throughout your essays = you start to look like someone who lacks writing ability (or is too lazy to proofread).

It would make zero sense for a medical school to reject a stellar applicant over a single stupid grammatical error or misspelling. They're not interested in finding reasons to reject very well-qualified applicants.

Yep I totally agree with you, just wanted to get others thoughts on it. Given that secondaries have to be submitted so quickly (compared to the primary) I'm not able to check them as much as I did with my primary, so there are definitely some sentences I see later on that could be improved from purely a sentence structure point of view or word choice as I described above. However, for the apps that do have this, there's no more than 2 of these types of "errors"

 

[Big Tall Doctor]

Did @calipremed5768 make a new account?

 

[907914]

I promise I'm not a troll lol. I have just seen some writing (implied) that if you make ANY mistake at all, you're done. I really hope that this is the case. My writing is by no means written at a third grade level, nor does it appear that English is not my primary language, but still, I hope that adcoms focus more on the content a tiny word error.

In my PS, I left a period out, left a random “how” in the middle of a sentence somehow, had one like 70 word sentence...and I have a few interviews. If those errors happened on my primary, I can only imagine they happened in my secondaries. It is what it is. We are people. We are tired people.

You good.

 

[Moko]

You'll be fine..

 

[calipremed5768]

I don’t even comprehend what is being asked so definitely not me

 

[907914]

You are applying to be a doctor, where life and death is in your hands. Attention to detail and near perfection is expected as merely average. There should be a highly polished secondaries with no spelling, typos or grammatical errors. Verb-noun agreement, verb tense better be consistent, none of this perfect-imperfect mix or past present participle issues. Ending a sentence with a preposition or using a contraction in a death knell. And none of this oxford comma stuff. This america and we dont need some stinking extra comma. And dont me laugh with misuse of colon and semicolon. Any of these can have me throwing you application on the floor, setting fire on the file, while I dance on on the burned out embers of your medical school dreams.

On the other hand, we dont really care that much

Why the hate for the oxfords?

 

[Future_Bone_Docta]

You are applying to be a doctor, where life and death is in your hands. Attention to detail and near perfection is expected as merely average. There should be a highly polished secondaries with no spelling, typos or grammatical errors. Verb-noun agreement, verb tense better be consistent, none of this perfect-imperfect mix or past present participle issues. Ending a sentence with a preposition or using a contraction in a death knell. And none of this oxford comma stuff. This america and we dont need some stinking extra comma. And dont me laugh with misuse of colon and semicolon. Any of these can have me throwing you application on the floor, setting fire on the file, while I dance on on the burned out embers of your medical school dreams.

On the other hand, we dont really care that much

 

[Bonne Nuit]

And none of this oxford comma stuff. This america and we dont need some stinking extra comma.

"This book is dedicated to my parents, Ayn Rand and God."