Secondary Struggle (Continued)

[HarryH00d]

Out of curiosity...how many of you ended up completing all of the secondaries you received?

I saved several of my 'least favorite' essays/secondaries for the end, and now that I'm finally coming back to them (after submitting >25 already), it's more of a sensation as I write essays that I feel are very unauthentic.

I think it might be time to cut ties and save some money.

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[sharkbyte]

I'm completing all of my 31 (have two left) but that's partly because my stats aren't so high so I need to finish all of them. I came very close to re-thinking my decision to apply to some schools because of the essay prompts and general burnout

 

[HarryH00d]

I'm completing all of my 31 (have two left) but that's partly because my stats aren't so high so I need to finish all of them. I came very close to re-thinking my decision to apply to some schools because of the essay prompts and general burnout

Nice! More power to you.

 

[WedgeDawg]

I completed all secondaries I received, but it was only 23 (so not some outrageous number) and several of them were schools like mayo and Harvard that don't really have essays.

 

[HarryH00d]

I completed all secondaries I received, but it was only 23 (so not some outrageous number) and several of them were schools like mayo and Harvard that don't really have essays.

You're school list is rad though...I would be very motivated to write secondaries for every single one. I think I over applied to safety schools and ran out of reasons for 'Why school XYZ' especially for those with a primary care emphasis when my background is research heavy.

 

[Califo Cat]

I've completed most of my 30 secondaries thus far, but I didn't have the strongest reasons to attend every school hahah. I just wrote about the location or the environment and pressed submit in some cases.

 

[lcm2020]

Complete my last secondaries today. I received over 40...

Let's just say it wasn't fun

 

[XxThaDoggxX]

Written a solid amount of mine 17/23, burnout is starting to creep it but I'm still intent on fighting the good fight!

Some of these though really do take it out you (Miami, USC Greenville, GTown)

Complete my last secondaries today. I received over 40...

Kudos^^

 

[medic86]

I've been slacking pretty hard lately. Still have 13 to do (though, most are damn near done).

Hope it doesn't bite me in the ass.

 

[gublagu3]

I still have three more to go with one of them being Duke. FML.

 

[Spector1]

28 down, 10 more to go XD.


I also have an equal number of rejections and interviews. Not sure if thats a good or bad thing

 

[pageantry]

22 down. 9 to go. Starting to get downright chatty with these essays.

 

[mazarine]

I completed the last of the 31 I've received, and have been twiddling my thumbs waiting for 6 schools that haven't gotten their secondaries to me yet.

 

[Oncie]

28 down, 10 more to go XD

!!! good luck

 

[winterwind_23]

Completed 29 of the 34 I've received so far. Waiting on three more MD secondaries to come in! Hopefully will finish these 34 by end of next weekend.

 

[Affiche]

22 down. 9 to go. Starting to get downright chatty with these essays.

Yessss haha I feel the same
Not even striving for eloquent, coherently written essays anymore. Just slappin' down an answer to the question + submit!

 

[On Eagle's Wings]

I completed all 8 of the 8 I got (I only applied to 8 schools).

 

[Biochemistry2014]

It sucks, but push through it and get it done. If you're giving up just on writing secondaries then med school itself will be a real pain for you. Keep on keeping on!

 

[vantheman]

I just looked at my bank account today and almost cried. I then went to my excel spreadsheet and crossed off 5 schools that I don't even really want to submit secondaries to anyways

 

[HarryH00d]

It sucks, but push through it and get it done. If you're giving up just on writing secondaries then med school itself will be a real pain for you. Keep on keeping on!

Well, I don't think that's entirely accurate.

 

[goldy490]

WHAT I LEARNED IN BOATING SCHOOL IS

 

[starlite911]

I'm on 19/20 (although I think I'm screened out of one most likely) and debating adding 2 or 3 more

 

[HalpSendHalp]

13/20 oh my
someone anyone please take me
currently writing two, hopefully send them both by tomorrow.

 

[SoCalPipeDreamer]

so burnt
at the beginning the question was "what should i write about"
now the question is "do i even have anything to write about"

 

[HalpSendHalp]

so burnt
at the beginning the question was "what should i write about"
now the question is "do i even have anything to write about"

And by the end of the stretch it's
"so how do i fit (squish, squeeze, deform) this vaguely recyclable topic to this somewhat ...kind of relate-able one?"
/did it /recycle, my new favorite word /recycle, the Goddess who smiles upon me during times of despair

 

[piii]

26 complete out of 29 received. Waiting on three more!

 

[pageantry]

I just completed five secondaries in a row and filled out a personality test while clutching a tidy glass of scotch.

 

[Spector1]

I clearly applied to too many schools

 

[Spector1]

added more schools to my primary so im even deeper now -____-

 

[rocklobstr]

I'm at 9 out of 17

But, I have finished them all within two weeks of receiving them, which is good. Starting to get backup up though.

Also, am I the only one here who didn't apply to 25+ school?

 

[tea guzzling traveler]

added more schools to my primary so im even deeper now -____-

I added a couple a week ago as I realized some secondaries were pretty screened.

And also applied to 25+ schools. @rocklobstr I think I applied to so many just because I didn't want to regret not applying to more.

 

[rocklobstr]

I added a couple a week ago as I realized some secondaries were pretty screened.

And also applied to 25+ schools. @rocklobstr I think I applied to so many just because I didn't want to regret not applying to more.

So, more like a "I don't want to regret NOT applying to this super awesome school" than a "I have to apply to 25 schools because I need to based on my competitiveness."?

 

[pageantry]

I have FAP so the cost of applying broadly is the one part of the application cycle where I feel like numbers are on my side.

28 down. 3 to go. Waiting on four.

 

[rocklobstr]

I have FAP so the cost of applying broadly is the one part of the application cycle where I feel like numbers are on my side.

28 down. 3 to go. Waiting on four.

I cry when I look at my bank account

 

[pageantry]

I cry when I look at my bank account

You'll go numb soon enough. *pat pat*

 

[Spector1]

I added a couple a week ago as I realized some secondaries were pretty screened.

And also applied to 25+ schools. @rocklobstr I think I applied to so many just because I didn't want to regret not applying to more.

exactly, if you apply to too many, you will kick yourself for wasting some money

if you apply for too few, well then you're screwed for the cycle.

 

[theguardsman]

31/44 ugh this has been a rough month especially with starting a new full time job... Trying to find motivation for the final push

 

[SmurfingReviews]

I feel for you guys.. Hang in there, after you finish you guys can go out and have fun.... Since next part is more grueling waiting for IIs x_X

 

[winterwind_23]

Finished 37 out of 38 MD secondaries today! Just waiting for UCSF now. I think I'm going to put off my 6 DO secondaries until next month.

 

[MD/DO_2016]

Applied to 30 schools,
3 rejections out right, no chance for secondaries=thank you very much! cause I don't mind
Already 1 rejection post-secondary, Georgetown
Received 20 secondaries so far
Filled out 13/20
So burned out
Really have the respect for those who have submitted over 25 secondaries in the last 2 months!
Will be thinking about you tomorrow morning when I start on my #14

 

[purplecricket]

Received 19 MD secondaries, 1 DO so far (AACOMAS just got verified, ugh). Currently have about 4 left, and waiting on 4 more DO secondaries. Props to those of you who have cranked out so many in a short amount of time!

Going to the beach after Labor Day because I need a vacation!

 

[wasteofspace323]

I just looked at my bank account today and almost cried. I then went to my excel spreadsheet and crossed off 5 schools that I don't even really want to submit secondaries to anyways

I'm not going to look at my bank account until its done completely. I'll just trust in it to survive the month.

Am I the only one compiling a giant excel chart to keep track of secondaries, completion, IIs, Login Info, progress, etc?

 

[takeurmeds02]

Written a solid amount of mine 17/23, burnout is starting to creep it but I'm still intent on fighting the good fight!

Some of these though really do take it out you (Miami, USC Greenville, GTown)



Kudos^^

luckily, I did Miami in the beginning when I was full steam...it worked out that most of my more intensive secondaries came first.

 

[takeurmeds02]

I'm at 9 out of 17

But, I have finished them all within two weeks of receiving them, which is good. Starting to get backup up though.

Also, am I the only one here who didn't apply to 25+ school?

I applied to 20 MD's, only submitted 16. 1 was a soft rejection from Emory based on my old MCAT; I could have updated them on my new MCAT score and requested a secondary but I only scored like a point above the cutoff on the new one so I was like forget it...

I'm still waiting on DO's to start running in. Doing 10 of those.

 

[mazarine]

I'm not going to look at my bank account until its done completely. I'll just trust in it to survive the month.

Am I the only one compiling a giant excel chart to keep track of secondaries, completion, IIs, Login Info, progress, etc?

If I didn't have my Google spreadsheet I would be so lost.

 

[XxThaDoggxX]

If I didn't have my Google spreadsheet I would be so lost.

Google Doc & Spreadsheets are invaluable!!!!!!

 

[nwts]

Apparently I'm the only old school one here. I have a notebook, and I have made several tables in it with all of my information.

 

[Rainbow Zebra]

I completed 24 out of the 25 secondaries I received (ended up passing on Duke).
Still waiting for a Vandy secondary (I may not pass their screen).
Glad the writing is pretty much over, that was a tough July getting it all done.
Tried to outline and pre-write some paragraphs, but didn't work out too well.
Pretty much started from scratch, but after the first 15 or so, got a good selection of essays I could reuse.

 

[ChillDawg]

I've found that reusing hasn't been as convenient as I had thought... Maybe it's just the schools that I applied to, but most of the time that I tried to reuse an essay, I edited it pretty extensively due to slight differences in prompt or character/word limit.
Plus, whatever I wrote previously almost always sounded like garbage when I returned to it.

 

[mehc012]

I completed 24 out of the 25 secondaries I received (ended up passing on Duke).
Still waiting for a Vandy secondary (I may not pass their screen).
Glad the writing is pretty much over, that was a tough July getting it all done.
Tried to outline and pre-write some paragraphs, but didn't work out too well.
Pretty much started from scratch, but after the first 15 or so, got a good selection of essays I could reuse.

If you passed on Duke, you may not want to get the secondary from Vandy!