What's your biggest tip for writing secondaries?

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CloverBale

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I know, I know. The cycle isn't over, but there's nothing wrong with preparing for the next one.

But feel free to give me any tips on writing better secondaries. Besides the obvious pre-writing and having someone take a look.
 
CloverBale said:
I know, I know. The cycle isn't over, but there's nothing wrong with preparing for the next one.

But feel free to give me any tips on writing better secondaries. Besides the obvious pre-writing and having someone take a look.
Click to expand...

The way I approached it is trying to show why I am interested in Medicine and how the things I've done have prepared me for the medical field. I also looked over the Princeton Review book "Medical School Essays That Made a Difference" for some ideas on ways to frame my essay. If your interested, I'd be more than willing to share my Personal Statement if you PM me.
 
Write the secondary, wait a couple of days, then read it again. It’ll almost always sound weird or awkward or disingenuous when you review it. Rewrite / edit / polish it so it sounds better. Repeat until it actually sounds interesting and sincere, then submit.
 
E.Hemingway said:
Write the secondary, wait a couple of days, then read it again. It’ll almost always sound weird or awkward or disingenuous when you review it. Rewrite / edit / polish it so it sounds better. Repeat until it actually sounds interesting and sincere, then submit.
Click to expand...
Yeah I definitely know what you mean by it sounding awkward! I re-read some of my secondaries and cringed pretty badly.
 
I agree with @E.Hemingway above, usually writing something once and reviewing it a few days later helps you to prepare your best work, at least that's how I do my best writing. In addition, my advice for secondaries would be this: don't over think them. It took me 2 cycles to gain an acceptance and I think that with my first cycle, one of my issues was trying to tell a school what I thought they wanted to hear. Answer the prompts with genuine answers that reflect your beliefs, attitude, story, etc.

Essentially, just don't overthink them!

Good Luck!
 
Don't submit a secondary until after it goes through at least 3 edits. Also don't write secondaries to schools that you have no business applying to, it's a waste of your time. I spent over a week on secondaries to some of my reach schools which would have been better spent on schools within my range.
 
I think my biggest issue was writing too many. I was able to write alright essays but I think The schools that interviewed me were the ones that I coincidentally had a really good fit at. I think if I did fewer secondaries I could have taken the time to fit my persona with the schools a bit more.
 
Does anyone have tips on like, answering the prompts?

For example, I'm really bad at answering the question "why our school?" I just can't get myself to write "Heyyyyy guys, LOVE your curriculum!1!1! Think it would be a ~great~ fit for me 😉" Just because it seems so forced..also how do I know if their curriculum is something that will fit me? These questions are always so tough

Also, I'm a horrible story teller. If you asked me to tell you about a time I failed at work, I wouldn't know how to answer you. I'm really bad at recalling moments in my life. Like I'm sure there's been moments I've failed, but I would have to think about it for a week or two before I could answer you.

I don't know. I feel like I'm not answering the prompts correctly.
 
Hey Cloverbale. I hope you're hanging in there -- I know waiting this long must be super difficult for you. I've got pretty similar advice to the other posters, but after a really unexpectedly positive cycle, I hope my insight is valuable.

In terms of voice for the my secondaries, my number one goal was to be genuine, even if my genuine feelings/thoughts aren't a perfect match for a school. To second the users above me, I always made sure I was content with my secondary for at least 2 days before submitting. Revisiting with some time in-between insures you'll submit your best (or at least better) writing. On average, my turn around time was between 1 and 2 weeks for secondaries, though some took closer to a month and I still got interviews! I really believe that devoting a lot of time and attention to my secondaries made a huge difference for me as I consistently interviewed and was accepted by schools where my MCAT was below the median.

Don't let anyone tell you that your writing doesnt matter much. I heard that a lot from people whose cycle's didn't go nearly as well as mine.
 
I agree with the "be genuine" part of it, I think someones personality can easily be portrayed by the way they write.

If questions ask about biggest problem you've faced or most fun you've had lately don't relate it to academics because then you'll seem very one dimensional.

For example at USC- I have a LizzyM of 67 and havent been rejected yet from August and I know I could easily still be rejected without an II, but I literally answered the "most fun you've had lately prompt" about how my cousin and I got stranded at a Costco in Iceland because it was actually one of the must hilarious experiences of my life. You just have to be genuine more than anything in my opinion. I think they also want to make sure you have a life outside of school for certain questions
 
Welshman said:
I think my biggest issue was writing too many. I was able to write alright essays but I think The schools that interviewed me were the ones that I coincidentally had a really good fit at. I think if I did fewer secondaries I could have taken the time to fit my persona with the schools a bit more.
Click to expand...
warning: not even my time to apply so forgive my ignorance.
I thought secondaries and primaries were really general topics that you could send to all schools on your application list. because I've noticed that when people ask for schools, most adcoms recommend like 30-35 schools. if that is the case do you guys just change the name of the school like most undergraduate common apps.
 
Just a few off the top of my head:
  • STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, & Results) doesn't just work for interviews. It can work for secondaries too with an additional "R" for "Reflection". You tell us what happened, how you handled/resolved it, how it worked out and what you learned. Rinse and repeat with a bunch of scenarios and you may find some common threads.
  • Think of the most obvious answer/scenario. Then discard it and go for the next one. This will help you avoid clichés and conventional examples.
  • Beginnings are hard. Sometimes to write a story, the best is to start at the end and then retrace your steps.
  • It can be tempting to cover as much as possible but I generally find the most interesting responses are the ones that focus on a single moment. A patient encounter, a personal accomplishment, a moment of pleasure/awe at learning something cool.
  • Always try to write in the active voice whenever you can. Active voice is almost always stronger.
  • It's helpful if you have a central theme that knits all of the major components of your narrative together. This will help make your application more cohesive and compelling. For example, I was a literature major, and I used storytelling as the central theme for my application.
 
E.Hemingway said:
Write the secondary, wait a couple of days, then read it again. It’ll almost always sound weird or awkward or disingenuous when you review it. Rewrite / edit / polish it so it sounds better. Repeat until it actually sounds interesting and sincere, then submit.
Click to expand...

CloverBale said:
Yeah I definitely know what you mean by it sounding awkward! I re-read some of my secondaries and cringed pretty badly.
Click to expand...

Does it sound like "the real you"? This goes hand in hand with the "Don't overthink" advice. If you put 'SAT words' in there in an effort to sound more intelligent, professional or polished, take them out. Don't be 'enthralled' when you could more appropriately just be 'excited'.

Try reading it aloud to a friend who isn't a pre-med and give them permission to gag. If you're not sure they'll be honest with you, throw in a deliberate gag phrase just to make sure their being straight --

Edited to clarify 'SAT words' intent
 
Last edited:
UnassumingToad said:
Hey Cloverbale. I hope you're hanging in there -- I know waiting this long must be super difficult for you. I've got pretty similar advice to the other posters, but after a really unexpectedly positive cycle, I hope my insight is valuable.

In terms of voice for the my secondaries, my number one goal was to be genuine, even if my genuine feelings/thoughts aren't a perfect match for a school. To second the users above me, I always made sure I was content with my secondary for at least 2 days before submitting. Revisiting with some time in-between insures you'll submit your best (or at least better) writing. On average, my turn around time was between 1 and 2 weeks for secondaries, though some took closer to a month and I still got interviews! I really believe that devoting a lot of time and attention to my secondaries made a huge difference for me as I consistently interviewed and was accepted by schools where my MCAT was below the median.

Don't let anyone tell you that your writing doesnt matter much. I heard that a lot from people whose cycle's didn't go nearly as well as mine.
Click to expand...
Hey thanks for the thoughtful response! I totally appreciate it. In terms of finding your voice for your secondaries, what did writing genuinely look like?
 
CloverBale said:
Hey thanks for the thoughtful response! I totally appreciate it. In terms of finding your voice for your secondaries, what did writing genuinely look like?
Click to expand...

I just decided that I was going to be ruggedly myself, even if that turned heads away. I'm sure that approach did turn heads away, but I also think it got me attention from people who could relate. I'll PM you with more details! It's a little hard to talk about without being personal!
 
And to piggy back off of this: should one redo all of their essays/personal statements or is it better to alter them (especially the PS) a bit but keep the content pretty similar?
 
fly_youfools said:
Just a few off the top of my head:
  • STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, & Results) doesn't just work for interviews. It can work for secondaries too with an additional "R" for "Reflection". You tell us what happened, how you handled/resolved it, how it worked out and what you learned. Rinse and repeat with a bunch of scenarios and you may find some common threads.
  • Think of the most obvious answer/scenario. Then discard it and go for the next one. This will help you avoid clichés and conventional examples.
  • Beginnings are hard. Sometimes to write a story, the best is to start at the end and then retrace your steps.
  • It can be tempting to cover as much as possible but I generally find the most interesting responses are the ones that focus on a single moment. A patient encounter, a personal accomplishment, a moment of pleasure/awe at learning something cool.
  • Always try to write in the active voice whenever you can. Active voice is almost always stronger.
  • It's helpful if you have a central theme that knits all of the major components of your narrative together. This will help make your application more cohesive and compelling. For example, I was a literature major, and I used storytelling as the central theme for my application.
Click to expand...
Oh thanks for the tips! I'm pretty good at the STAR method, but I'm absolutely horrible with the "reflection" part. I remember having issues with this when writing papers in high school too. Like it's super difficult for me to explain the obvious? It feels really forced for me to say: "I showed dedication and resiliency by re-applying to my job after I was fired." Any tips on writing the reflection part?
Should secondaries read like stories like our PS do?
Also, I'm really good at being super general about things. For example, when it asks me to describe a time I've had to juggle multiple things, I'll list several examples. Or for the diversity question, I'll describe several ways I'm diverse. So it's better to just focus on one angle?

In terms of a central theme, do I extend that out to secondaries as well?
 
UnassumingToad said:
I just decided that I was going to be ruggedly myself, even if that turned heads away. I'm sure that approach did turn heads away, but I also think it got me attention from people who could relate. I'll PM you with more details! It's a little hard to talk about without being personal!
Click to expand...
Thank you so much I so appreciate it <3
 
buckoh24 said:
And to piggy back off of this: should one redo all of their essays/personal statements or is it better to alter them (especially the PS) a bit but keep the content pretty similar?
Click to expand...
From a few pages back on our oh no! thread, it seems like we're better off re-writing everything unfortunately :/
 
CloverBale said:
I know, I know. The cycle isn't over, but there's nothing wrong with preparing for the next one.

But feel free to give me any tips on writing better secondaries. Besides the obvious pre-writing and having someone take a look.
Click to expand...

Get them on paper.
Pre-write, whatever.

Most of them are variations of the same garb.
 
CloverBale said:
Did you have a ton of people look at it?

People either loved my personal statement or hated it. Not sure what that means
Click to expand...
I had about 10: mostly random med students, a couple residents, and a residency adcom. They all thought it was good and made some minor adjustments to help it flow better but nothing major.
 
blah blah blah be genuine....

But seriously, at this point you should realize there are a few common topics that you can expect. I know you mentioned pre-writing, but also pre-sort your experiences. You'll get the following essays (among other variations):
1) Why School X
2) Diversity
3) Challenge/Obstacle/Hardship
4)Adversity/Stress
5) Additional Information

Take the time to figure out what experiences you want to use for each. Some may be an expansion of an EC including specific anecdotes. Others should be things that aren't in your PS or ECs.

As for "Why School X" I look at the mission statement or student stories (if their site has them). Frankly, beyond grades, a program is going to build a class that reflects their mission statement. Show them you are an interesting person who fits their mission.
 
When many students read a secondary prompt, they think: "What does the school want to hear from me in relation to this question?"

What they should think is: "Which of my past experiences and the attributes I've acquired from them relate to the question I'm being asked? How can I use this prompt to show how my background and experiences allow me to fit at this school?"
 
For the "why this school" question - there are 150+ medical schools in the US. Are you applying to all 150+? I'm guessing no. I'm guessing that you're not even applying to every single school that matches your stats. So why are you applying to the schools that you're applying to? Start there when drafting your answer.
 
txplcoord said:
For the "why this school" question - there are 150+ medical schools in the US. Are you applying to all 150+? I'm guessing no. I'm guessing that you're not even applying to every single school that matches your stats. So why are you applying to the schools that you're applying to? Start there when drafting your answer.
Click to expand...
cuss I want to go to *a* medical school..lol I'm desperate
 
bigbite said:
Try to reinforce connections to schools that you applied to in your secondaries... for example, I am from PA but I have spent the last 5 years in Boston... in my secondaries to PA schools, I talked about growing up in PA, my interactions with these schools/students there, family/personal experience with their hospitals, etc.. I was very fortunate to receive interviews at most of these schools. In my opinion, it's because for the "why x school question" I didn't just launch into a generic rant about their curriculum but made it more personal
Click to expand...
What if you have absolutely no tie to a school?
 
CloverBale said:
What if you have absolutely no tie to a school?
Click to expand...

I had no ties to one school at all, had never even visited the state before. But I wrote about how I liked the geography of the state in comparison to my home area in addition to curriculum, etc. Got an interview and then acceptance. If you google long enough, you'll find something personal to write about.
 
harmony14 said:
warning: not even my time to apply so forgive my ignorance.
I thought secondaries and primaries were really general topics that you could send to all schools on your application list. because I've noticed that when people ask for schools, most adcoms recommend like 30-35 schools. if that is the case do you guys just change the name of the school like most undergraduate common apps.
Click to expand...
No way, Jose. Many schools ask the question in slightly different ways, so just changing the wording is not enough. I talked about one particular experience for most "challenge" prompts, but the prompts "Discuss how you've responded to a challenge" "Discuss how you handled a challenging situation where someone's beliefs were different than yours" vs "Discuss a time you used teamwork to resolve a challenge" require very different essays even though I could use the same situation for all of them.

I found that most schools did not directly overlap questions word for word. Just about everything required customization.

CloverBale said:
What if you have absolutely no tie to a school?
Click to expand...
I spent hours poring over the school website to try to find something I really liked to make a connection about. For some schools, this was very difficult because I could find absolutely nothing special about them (to me). Those are the schools I feel like I got my fastest rejections from. They can tell if you're just trying to find some BS reason to say they're a good fit.
 
CloverBale said:
Does anyone have tips on like, answering the prompts?

For example, I'm really bad at answering the question "why our school?" I just can't get myself to write "Heyyyyy guys, LOVE your curriculum!1!1! Think it would be a ~great~ fit for me 😉" Just because it seems so forced..also how do I know if their curriculum is something that will fit me? These questions are always so tough

Also, I'm a horrible story teller. If you asked me to tell you about a time I failed at work, I wouldn't know how to answer you. I'm really bad at recalling moments in my life. Like I'm sure there's been moments I've failed, but I would have to think about it for a week or two before I could answer you.

I don't know. I feel like I'm not answering the prompts correctly.
Click to expand...

Just as I did, I'm sure you applied to schools that you never heard of before coming on to SDN and asking for a school list or looking at MSAR lol. To answer the why our school for those schools, I just went to their website and looked at their student organizations and student clinics and curriculum until I found something that was remotely interesting. Most, if not all, schools have a student run clinic so I always talked about how I liked that they emphasized early clinical experiences and then I usually threw something in about the importance that they place on diversity. If they had a PBL based curriculum I would say something how I learn best actively participating in my education and like a hands-on approach so their curriculum suits me well. When I was at one of my interviews, the dean basically said she knows that everyone BS's their secondaries. She said she hated the diversity question and the why here question because people just gave terrible answers. So, I think the important thing is finding something you actually like about the school and then running with that. Even if its BS at first hopefully by the end of the essay something started to click.

As far as the story telling, I'm right there with you. I just found one story in my life in which I failed and I told over and over again on my secondaries and at interviews lol. Mine was basically I ran to be on exec for a club and I thought I was 100% gonna get it then I didn't and instead of quitting I doubled down and devoted more time to the club that next year and now I'm VP.
 
CloverBale said:
Hey thanks for the thoughtful response! I totally appreciate it. In terms of finding your voice for your secondaries, what did writing genuinely look like?
Click to expand...

To find your own voice, start by writing in a “stream of consciousness” style. Just start writing whatever comes to mind when you read a particular question. Write honestly and until you have no more thoughts on the matter, then edit for structure and formatting. It’ll sound more like “you” than if you focus on structure at the beginning of the process. Also, in many cases, my best ideas emerged unexpectedly as I was just putting random thoughts to paper.
 
CloverBale said:
I know, I know. The cycle isn't over, but there's nothing wrong with preparing for the next one.

But feel free to give me any tips on writing better secondaries. Besides the obvious pre-writing and having someone take a look.
Click to expand...
Get as many eyeballs on it as possible

Use spell check

Do NOT use the name of School A when you're writing for School B.
 
E.Hemingway said:
To find your own voice, start by writing in a “stream of consciousness” style. Just start writing whatever comes to mind when you read a particular question. Write honestly and until you have no more thoughts on the matter, then edit for structure and formatting. It’ll sound more like “you” than if you focus on structure at the beginning of the process. Also, in many cases, my best ideas emerged unexpectedly as I was just putting random thoughts to paper.
Click to expand...
Ahhhh...that's a very good idea! In college and high school I wouldn't put a single sentence down unless it was perfect. I'm sort of stuck with that routine. It's hard for me to just write whatever comes to mind because frankly I don't like what I see lol. But I'll try! Maybe I'll have a glass of wine while I'm writing!
 
CloverBale said:
Ahhhh...that's a very good idea! In college and high school I wouldn't put a single sentence down unless it was perfect. I'm sort of stuck with that routine. It's hard for me to just write whatever comes to mind because frankly I don't like what I see lol. But I'll try! Maybe I'll have a glass of wine while I'm writing!
Click to expand...

It’s definitely not as easy as it sounds, but it is very effective. Just let loose and don't worry. Wine is a great idea. Here’s a passage by one of my favorite writers, Charles Bukowski, which might inspire you:

“I’m not sure when I first saw Lydia Vance. It was about 6 years ago and I had just quit a twelve year job as a postal clerk and was trying to be a writer. I was terrified and drank more than ever. I was attempting my first novel. I drank a pint of whiskey and two six packs of beer each night while writing. I smoked cheap cigars and typed and drank and listened to classical music on the radio until dawn. I set a goal of ten pages a night but I never knew until the next day how many pages I had written. I’d get up in the morning, vomit, then walk to the front room and look on the couch to see how many pages were there. I always exceeded my ten. Sometimes there were 17, 18, 23, 25 pages. Of course, the work of each night had to be cleaned up or thrown away. It took me twenty-one nights to write my first novel.”
 
E.Hemingway said:
It’s definitely not as easy as it sounds, but it is very effective. Just let loose and don't worry. Wine is a great idea. Here’s a passage by one of my favorite writers, Charles Bukowski, which might inspire you:

“I’m not sure when I first saw Lydia Vance. It was about 6 years ago and I had just quit a twelve year job as a postal clerk and was trying to be a writer. I was terrified and drank more than ever. I was attempting my first novel. I drank a pint of whiskey and two six packs of beer each night while writing. I smoked cheap cigars and typed and drank and listened to classical music on the radio until dawn. I set a goal of ten pages a night but I never knew until the next day how many pages I had written. I’d get up in the morning, vomit, then walk to the front room and look on the couch to see how many pages were there. I always exceeded my ten. Sometimes there were 17, 18, 23, 25 pages. Of course, the work of each night had to be cleaned up or thrown away. It took me twenty-one nights to write my first novel.”
Click to expand...
Love it!! Will definitely do 🙂 Thank you so much!
 
Don’t try to sound like Jesus. Just be honest and be yourself
 
CloverBale said:
Oh thanks for the tips! I'm pretty good at the STAR method, but I'm absolutely horrible with the "reflection" part. I remember having issues with this when writing papers in high school too. Like it's super difficult for me to explain the obvious? It feels really forced for me to say: "I showed dedication and resiliency by re-applying to my job after I was fired." Any tips on writing the reflection part?
Should secondaries read like stories like our PS do?
Also, I'm really good at being super general about things. For example, when it asks me to describe a time I've had to juggle multiple things, I'll list several examples. Or for the diversity question, I'll describe several ways I'm diverse. So it's better to just focus on one angle?

In terms of a central theme, do I extend that out to secondaries as well?
Click to expand...

That’s because it is really forced... Whatever you do not writte like that in your essays. It’s much better to show not tell. So if by the end of the essay the reader doesn’t get that you’ve showed XYZ without you saying it, then you probably haven’t said it in the strongest way or used the best example.

I would write it like a story, people love stories, they’re what make you memorable but you have to constantly touch on the theme of the essay and not get distracted with details or cliches.
 
Welshman said:
That’s because it is really forced... Whatever you do not writte like that in your essays. It’s much better to show not tell. So if by the end of the essay the reader doesn’t get that you’ve showed XYZ without you saying it, then you probably haven’t said it in the strongest way or used the best example.

I would write it like a story, people love stories, they’re what make you memorable but you have to constantly touch on the theme of the essay and not get distracted with details or cliches.
Click to expand...
That's what I thought too. I wasn't sure if you were suppose to do it like that or not. Thanks for clearing that up!
 
I think getting a professional help isn’t a bad idea either especially if you applied once and things didn’t go well. I get it, most people would say let your professors, advisors, mentors, etc edit your essays, but most people would take editing more seriously if they are getting paid. English isn’t my first Language and have been here in the U.S. for only few years. I saved money and I got a professional help. I can’t ask my professors and advisor to edit 100’s of essays lol. I don’t regret it at all!!! PM me if u want more info.
 
Get your thoughts on paper. That might be the hardest step. Get your thoughts on paper first and plan to go through many revisions to edit them and rearrange them to make the effect you want. And when someone else reads your essays, ask them to summarize it in two sentences for you and see if that's the message you want to send across. Adcoms don't have that much time to read the essays so you need to leave them with a good gut feeling after a brief read.
 
Age old wisdom: write drunk, edit sober.

Anecdotally, all my interviews came from schools I had a good reason to attend. Geography, Family, Mission, ETC. Re-reading my secondaries, those essays drip of honesty and the others reek of bullsh*t. Some schools I flat out didn't want to attend (looking at you chicago area schools) and you can totally tell. If you're writing about their curriculum in a secondary, you're probably doing it wrong.

Take away point: Convince a school you'd accept their acceptance in the secondary. No matter the prompt, answer "why am I worth one of your few interview slots". When you review it, do you sound excited? honest? genuine? do you have a good reason to attend that school? You aren't done until all those answers are yes. Like a date, if you're being honest and they're not into it, you aren't really missing out on anything.
 
IWillMakeIt1 said:
I think getting a professional help isn’t a bad idea either especially if you applied once and things didn’t go well. I get it, most people would say let your professors, advisors, mentors, etc edit your essays, but most people would take editing more seriously if they are getting paid. English isn’t my first Language and have been here in the U.S. for only few years. I saved money and I got a professional help. I can’t ask my professors and advisor to edit 100’s of essays lol. I don’t regret it at all!!! PM me if u want more info.
Click to expand...
Yeah I definitely hired someone to look at my secondaries to go through that stuff 🙂 it was the best thing I ever did tbh
 
BombsAway said:
Age old wisdom: write drunk, edit sober.

Anecdotally, all my interviews came from schools I had a good reason to attend. Geography, Family, Mission, ETC. Re-reading my secondaries, those essays drip of honesty and the others reek of bullsh*t. Some schools I flat out didn't want to attend (looking at you chicago area schools) and you can totally tell. If you're writing about their curriculum in a secondary, you're probably doing it wrong.

Take away point: Convince a school you'd accept their acceptance in the secondary. No matter the prompt, answer "why am I worth one of your few interview slots". When you review it, do you sound excited? honest? genuine? do you have a good reason to attend that school? You aren't done until all those answers are yes. Like a date, if you're being honest and they're not into it, you aren't really missing out on anything.
Click to expand...

Took a screenshot of this! Thank you!! Awesome advice!
 
aldol16 said:
Get your thoughts on paper. That might be the hardest step. Get your thoughts on paper first and plan to go through many revisions to edit them and rearrange them to make the effect you want. And when someone else reads your essays, ask them to summarize it in two sentences for you and see if that's the message you want to send across. Adcoms don't have that much time to read the essays so you need to leave them with a good gut feeling after a brief read.
Click to expand...
How long did you spend on yours in terms of hours? And that’s a really good point about the gut feeling part.
 
Definitely want to second the good gut feeling part... I feel like I screwed that up once.

Specifically, for the failure essay, I'd write/talk about a mild failure you've had, rather than a major one. I made the (I think) mistake of talking about a very serious failure in one of my interviews. Long story short, I didn't catch a rhythm change fast enough, and the patient ended up dying. I caught it before the fatal event, so I could chart my butt off (did this, did that, ran a 12 lead, notified X physician of changes), but didn't catch it in time to do the things I usually do when that sort of thing happens. Absolutely practiced by the book, I am 100% confident that anyone that would try to sue me in relation to the patient's death would have absolutely no legs to stand on... but I personally know I could have done a better job. I cried on the way home that morning and it tore me up for a couple of weeks.

I even learned a couple of very good lessons from the incident, and I can talk about changes I've made in my practice in a positive way, but I really don't think adcoms are looking for that level of negativity in an applicant. I get the impression that maybe they want more shiny, happy people instead. I picked a different failure to talk about at my next interview, and got accepted to that school. Funny, because you'd think they'd appreciate people knowing what they're getting into (everyone makes mistakes, and I'd argue most physicians have made at least one fatal mistake and I've shown how I can deal with it in a positive manner), but I think the shiny happy may outweigh the super serious heavy stories, so just don't do that.
 
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