Secondary turn-around time? (2weeks?)

[Daitong]

Hey guys,

My application hasn't been verified yet (submitted 6/20), but already I'm getting request for secondaries. Since most schools have similar essays (diversity, most significant challenge, etc), I really wanted to write a polished essay. However I've heard there's ideally a 2 week turn-around period to be the most competitive?

I'm wondering how true this is especially since the schools that sent me secondaries are highly competitive (Hopkins, Columbia, UChicago).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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[Lamel]

Ideally a 2 weeks is a good window to have. . However, if you feel your essays are not up to par, then it is probably better to take some extra time and polish them up well. Just not too long of course.

 

[Daitong]

Do you think it's 2 weeks after I get verified? Or 2 weeks after they sent it? Because I'm 99% sure they don't know my stats and just sent out secondaries regardless.

 

[NickNaylor]

You should try and get the secondaries in ASAP without sacrificing quality once you receive them (not after your app is verified). Depending on how many schools you applied to and how many secondaries you received, this will be more or less difficult. The key, though, is to not sacrifice quality for some arbitrary deadline. It took me a month to complete the secondary at the school I ended up matriculating to. Quality is more important than speed.