Why Do You Want to Go to Creighton Essay

[Tracie Smith]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi Everyone,

My son has finished every secondary two weeks ago except Creighton. He says that he can't think of much to say for the 'Why Do You Want to Go to Creighton' essay. I told him to make something up about wanting to see various cultural attractions in the surrounding area but he says he doesn't want to lie and risk possibly getting tripped up in the interview (if granted). He researched their page and also went in to Wikipedia about demographics, etc. in the area and still cannot come up with anything.

Should he forget applying there? Or...does anyone have any advice on what he could write for this essay? I can't help him anymore so since I've posted here several times before...I thought I'd try again.

Thank you all in advance!

FutureDrsMom 😱

 

[Dane07MD]

There are a lot of things at play here.

First of all, don't you think it is strange he can't come up with a reason to apply to the school? This leads me to believe, as is the case with MANY people on this forum, that he is applying there simply because his GPA/MCAT score matches their average.

1) These essays are ways the school can weed out these applicants, either by forcing them to not submit a secondary because they can't come up with legitimate reasons for applying, or more importantly, the admissions committee wil read an essay that says "I really want to take advantage of the social scene in Omaha" or something that screams "I applied here strictly because of numbers and maybe I found something in a matter of minutes on your website that looks interesting and now is one of the reasons I am applying..."

2) Tell your son to ask himself this question: If Creighton were the ONLY school he was accepted to this year, would he want to go there or maybe re-apply next year to schools he would rather attend? It's in Nebraska, it's a four year commitment, and maybe more if he lands a residency with the school... It is often a better decision to forego broadly applying to medical schools and choose schools you REALLY want to go to and find a way to get in.

If he is rejected from his top 5 choices, his BEST bet would be to contact the deans of those schools, solicit advice on what he can do to make his chance at accpetance optimal for the following year, and re-apply. People get far too caught up in the idea of needing to get accepted somewhere right away. Re-applying is not a bad thing, and in the grand scheme of things, when your son is 35 and has established a practice, being one year older will be the least of his worries.

I will offer this piece of info: If your son does fill out the application, have him refrain from finding information about the school and/or special programs on the website and writing about them. Write an essay that will make the admissions committee feel as if they have no choice but to accept him, and relate why Creighton is the school for him... granted, this will be much more difficult if he doesn't have the desire to go there that he does for other schools.

On that note, he should be on here asking these questions, not mom... if he's old enough to apply to medical school, he should be old enough to figure out how to write essays and get interviews without someone holding his hand....😕

 

[pete415273]

Various cultures and Omaha NE don't belong in the same sentence. They'll definitely see through that BS.

 

[Tracie Smith]

You're right - he should be asking these questions himself IF he wants to go there. I don't think he does because he had no problems with any of the other 20 schools. I am the one who wants him to complete it because I want him to have every opportunity to get in as possible. This is his 2nd application cycle.

Thanks for your time Dane - good answers and I appreciate it!

Tracie

 

[kypdurron5]

I think you've got good advice here- I personally use the same generic paragraph from school to school and just insert school-specific stuff (with Creighton I mentioned good reputation, catholic foundation, and a few things I liked about the curriculum that I saw on the web page). My dilemma with Creighton is the interview- I'm not not sure I want to drive 12 hours each way to interview at a single school. If I fly I'm talking about $400 or so considering ticket, meals, and using the $40/night student hosting program. I think it's a decent school, but since I've never seen it I really have no way of knowing.

 

[JulianStarscape]

Is that the only essay question on the creighton secondary... did your son end up getting in?
Julian

 

[Kernal83]

I believe the Creighton secondary has two questions. One is why do you want to go to Creighton and the second one is something along the lines of the professor or person in college that most heavily influenced you to enter medicine. Things may change from year to year, but that was the prompt I got for the 2008 application cycle.