Were/Are You Content With Your Primary/Secondary Application?

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aspiringdoc1234

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For those who have already applied, or are getting ready to submit their applications this Tuesday, did you guys ever feel 100% happy with the application you were submitting? What about your secondary essays?

I ask because I feel that I could continue to "improve" my application for years on end, but I have already been working on it for over 6 months and I know I've done the best I can. Looking at it in terms of cost-benefit analysis, any extra time I put into changing minor things on my work/activities or personal statement won't change the final outcome (at least I think so). Does anyone else feel like this? How did you come to terms with what you were submitting to medical schools and allow yourself to say, "I've done what I can. Now time to hope for the best!"

I'm probably just being paranoid as submission opens up, but I can't help feeling that my app isn't "perfect" yet. :scared:

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I have the same exact feeling. And I just want to submit it because I have finals that I need to study for.
 
Let it go - perfect is a ridiculous if not unattainable standard.

I thought my app was the best it could be when I submitted on day one a few years ago. When I think about it (which isn't often), there are things I would have changed, particularly in the PS. But the app, and the PS, are a best effort snapshot of you, and you just have to let it go...
 
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I know exactly what you mean. I keep going back and editing tiny miniscule things that an adcom will probably skim over anyway. I think its human nature (or at least premed nature) to want to do this, but its important to realize that once your edits start becoming smaller and smaller, it is probably time to let it go. Im sitting down with another person and reading through everything one last time, and then sending it away without another thought tomorrow morning. I suggest you do the same. :)
 
I know exactly what you mean. I keep going back and editing tiny miniscule things that an adcom will probably skim over anyway. I think its human nature (or at least premed nature) to want to do this, but its important to realize that once your edits start becoming smaller and smaller, it is probably time to let it go. Im sitting down with another person and reading through everything one last time, and then sending it away without another thought tomorrow morning. I suggest you do the same. :)

same here. over-editing may actually make your app sound worse, in my opinion. i'm just making sure my app is accurate, free of grammatical/spelling errors, and is easy to read and logical to follow.
 
same here. over-editing may actually make your app sound worse, in my opinion. i'm just making sure my app is accurate, free of grammatical/spelling errors, and is easy to read and logical to follow.

Im actually starting to think that grammar errors arent a huge deal either. Unless they are blatantly painful mistakes adcoms are just like any other person and will probably skim over them. If you gave a friend your app and they didnt find any errors and then you find a small grammatical mistake a week later, chances are that mistake wouldnt have made a difference. Adcoms have way too many apps to read to focus in on every tiny mistake. Plus grammatical rules arent always set in stone. I for one tend to use less commas than some of my friends. I doubt that i will be punished for this. At least I hope not!
 
My recommendation is to have multiple people read your PS, preferably ones who would look at it from different angles. I had my mom, an English major friend, and a science major friend read my essay. Not only do they all have different relationships with me, so they would have different ideas about how well my PS reflected who I am, they also had varying notions on what should be changed. I got three completely different sets of edits this way, all of which were useful in making me reconsider my PS in a new light.

As for how much you yourself should edit it, I would say do it once before you ask others to, look at it after each set of edits you receive from a friend to evaluate what to incorporate from them, then go through it once more after all of that. And that's it. Otherwise you do start making yourself insane with the nitpicky little details that no adcom will notice after one read-through.

That being said, I disagree with the above poster that grammatical errors are fine. I definitely notice things like that on one read-through, and if your adcom is like me, that instantly will put a sour taste in his or her mouth. Spelling errors are even more unforgivable.
 
In order for the app to get verified, you need to have your PS or can you submit that later?
 
Your personal statement is part of the primary...
 
Nope. I never feel quite happy about anything I have written. Looking back on the cycle though, I'm happy with my apps. They seem to have served me well.
 
Nope. I never feel quite happy about anything I have written. Looking back on the cycle though, I'm happy with my apps. They seem to have served me well.

You also have AMAZING stats lol. If I wasn't such a borderline applicant I probably would feel much more confident.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who feels this way though. I'm sure I will feel the same way once I start working on my secondaries >.<.
 
Wayne Gretzky said you miss every goal you don't shoot for.
 
One piece of advice-- print everything out (primary and secondaries) before you submit. Sometimes you catch mistakes on paper that you just didn't see on the screen.
 
Also, have a couple people look at it. You've been looking at the same thing for too long to catch some mistakes. Another thing is to cold read it after not reading it for a couple days. Good luck
 
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