What does it MEAN if you get a secondary?

[plsfoldthx]

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Does that mean they think your grades and scores are good for their next class and that they have gone through your transcript in detail?

 

[christina30]

No. Everyone gets one. They want everyone's $$$$

 

[RogueUnicorn]

What does it MEAN if you get a secondary?

it means you need to turn it in with some $$

 

[Hifey]

Some schools screen heavily before they send out their secondaries. With these, a secondary is a positive.

Some screen unbelievably light (like 24 MCAT/3.0 GPA) to get a secondary. These are no biggie.

And then most school don't screen at all. They might screen you out internally based on your stats, but you still get a secondary and they still get your money. yeah, these suck.

 

[runawayclock]

Most schools want your extra $70-120. Some will pre-screen based on your stats, i believe.

 

[loveoforganic]

Some schools issue secondaries to everyone who submits an application, others issue only to those they selected for interviews.

 

[rbnsafsadgf]

It really depends on the school.

Most schools fall into a few categories

1) Everyone
2) Most people who didn't sleep through college
3) People they are vaguely interested in
4) People they are very interested in
5) You've already been invited for the interview

The majority of schools fall somewhere in the first three groups.

 

[tremulousNeedle]

Some schools screen heavily before they send out their secondaries. With these, a secondary is a positive.

Some screen unbelievably light (like 24 MCAT/3.0 GPA) to get a secondary. These are no biggie.

And then most school don't screen at all. They might screen you out internally based on your stats, but you still get a secondary and they still get your money. yeah, these suck.

This would be the answer I would go with given my understanding of how the admissions process works.

 

[JJMrK]

Most schools send a secondary to everyone (presumably to make money). 👎

Some schools screen, and getting a secondary is very difficult. 👍

Some schools do weird things. Example: Vandy will invite you to interview and fill out a secondary at the same time. Which seems good. But then you see that they interview a TON of people and it's not so good.

 

[Geekchick921]

Do we have any idea which schools fall into which categories? We need a spreadsheet for THAT! ;-)

 

[JJMrK]

Do we have any idea which schools fall into which categories? We need a spreadsheet for THAT! ;-)

You can usually find that information near the beginning of the SSD thread for a particular school. The MSAR also tells you if the school screens its secondaries (although some screens are very low). Maybe more importantly, it tells you how many they interviewed and how many spots they have. In general, most schools are going to fall into the first category.

Or I could start mentioning some that I know screen:
- Vandy (see example above)
- All or most of the UCs
- Mayo (although, there is an easyish screen for your fee, and a harder one for your LOR 🙄)
- Wake, IIRC

 

[christina30]

Most schools send a secondary to everyone (presumably to make money). 👎

Some schools screen, and getting a secondary is very difficult. 👍

Some schools do weird things. Example: Vandy will invite you to interview and fill out a secondary at the same time. Which seems good. But then you see that they interview a TON of people and it's not so good.

NYCOM does this - they invite you to interview without a secondary - the secondary is then due the day of the interview (to be handed in in person). It's very weird and the only school I applied to that did this.

 

[BrainBuff]

No. Everyone gets one. They want everyone's $$$$

Not completely true. Some schools may reject you pre-secondary. Strictly based on scores and geography.

 

[christina30]

Not completely true. Some schools may reject you pre-secondary. Strictly based on scores and geography.

Shouldn't have generalized - but the majority of schools will send you one regardless of your stats. it's all about $$$$$$$$

 

[JJMrK]

NYCOM does this - they invite you to interview without a secondary - the secondary is then due the day of the interview (to be handed in in person). It's very weird and the only school I applied to that did this.

IMO it's good as long as they don't use it as an excuse to interview a thousand people.

 

[christina30]

IMO it's good as long as they don't use it as an excuse to interview a thousand people.

Can't really say how many they interview - the day I interviewed, I was surprised that I was one of only 8 or 9 people interviewing that day.