why x school?

[LostLost]

Do guys feel like you are just Buulll****tting in those essays?

I mean there are a couple of schools that I have a compelling reason for wanting to go there but other than that I am just applying to a lot of schools just like everybody else.

I feel like my answer to those "why our school?" is gonna sound generic because all you can do is read their web and incorporate some of what they say. It is like paraphrasing what somebody said to you to let them know you understood them.

Phewwww

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[Phoenix.]

Yes, but I think that schools develop a relatively decent sense for figuring out which applicants have a sincere and compelling interest in their school in particular, and which are just filling space with what they think they're supposed to say (i.e., applicants who have no more developed of an interest in the school than that it's a med school). For some schools they're really looking for the former ("fit" schools), while for others, the latter might be just fine and dandy. And I'm sure some schools are looking to see what you pick out from their web site as points of interest. I know GW, for instance, really looks for people interested in global health, health care policy, etc.

My pet peeve was the secondary essay that was basically a replica of "why medicine" which pretty much everyone covered in their personal statement. I really appreciated that Loyola explicitly stated in their secondary that if you felt you already covered their question in your personal statement, you could just refer back to your PS. And they really meant it too, since I did that for 2 or 3 of their 5(?) essays and did well.

 

[Begaster]

The "WHY ME" question is thoroughly absurd. As far as I can tell, it's there purely to make sure that you do your homework on the school before interviewing.

 

[LostLost]

I know so far I had no problem with Jesuit schools b/c i went to a jesuit UG and pretty much you know yada yada yada I love Jesuit education right? but other schools ? i don't even know where to start.. for GW i said I love the international opportunities etc etc. Now I am stuck in Temple.. I kind of like their inner city edge to it thgout.. i am just ranting now

 

[Phoenix.]

The "WHY ME" question is thoroughly absurd. As far as I can tell, it's there purely to make sure that you do your homework on the school before interviewing.

Yeah, well, even that question can't save some of us. I applied to so many schools (28) that at some point I was barely reading through the web sites when I answered that question. My answer was absolutely generic for most of them (I actually cut and pasted my answer and just changed a line or two). And then when I started reading up before an interview I was so pleasantly surprised by some of the opportunities/details about the school. Then again, there was a school or two that I later learned something about that I should have known when I was filling out my secondary that would have saved me the secondary fee had I known (i.e., I didn't realize quite how expensive Tufts was and ended up withdrawing post-secondary when I found out; or how MCW had optional dog labs at the time (I think they switched to pigs this year), etc.). Or how about finding out the night before my Mayo interview (which I thought I knew EVERYTHING about) that EVERY student gets a $15,000 or $25,000/year scholarship? Now that was a GREAT surprise (and happily added pressure), but I did feel pretty silly for not having done better research on the school. "Why us" may be a tedious question, but I actually think it's a good idea. And for those schools you actually have something to talk about, I welcomed it.

 

[DBR]

If you have to ask such dissenting qestions regarding the directions of what a medical school requests, then you'll probably become a horrible doctor.

 

[Phoenix.]

If you have to ask such dissenting qestions regarding the directions of what a medical school requests, then you'll probably become a horrible doctor.

I'd like to dissent. I think it's just a tedious process at times, and we've all been fed up with aspects of it. It feels like most of it is repetition and restating the obvious. SDN is thus frequently a much-needed venting ground. No fault in that. And the OP's question certainly has absolutely no bearing on what type of doctor someone will become.

 

[LostLost]

I'd like to dissent. I think it's just a tedious process at times, and we've all been fed up with aspects of it. It feels like most of it is repetition and restating the obvious. SDN is thus frequently a much-needed venting ground. No fault in that. And the OP's question certainly has absolutely no bearing on what type of doctor someone will become.

Love you phoenix ... you truly deserve to go to Mayo.

 

[Phoenix.]

Love you phoenix ... you truly deserve to go to Mayo.

Thanks! Although I don't think anyone (least of all me) truly deserves to go to Mayo. Attending this school is a ridiculously humbling experience. I swear I feel like I need to save no less than the world to justify taking up a spot at Mayo.