working on secondaries

[cool fillings]

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I got an AADSAS receipt "ackowledgement" card from UCSF today (yeah, they spelled acknowledgement incorrectly in fairly big, bold letters...hope this means that they'll be a little forgiving if I misspell something in my app). I'm so psyched because this is my first secondary app! Very exciting stuff!

I was wondering if anyone out there could offer some advice for answering one of the questions. It asks us to comment on our independent academic endeavors, and I'm very weak in this area. I haven't done any research yet, so I haven't been published, I haven't given a formal presentation, I haven't done any of that stuff. I am beginning a research project in September, so I can comment a little about that and if I interview hopefully it'll be after I've begun my research so I can talk about it in greater detail. I spend 20+ hours a week working out and competing since I'm a varsity athlete, and just really haven't had much time to do research. The pre-health advisor at my school said my lack of research experience shouldn't be too big a deal because I have other things to set myself apart, but what am I supposed to do when a question flat out asks about research? Were any of you current dental students who check this board in my position when you were applying?

 

[jes1ca]

Hey Coolfillings,

I hate to see your thread go unanswered, so I am going to try my best to give you a good answer. I don't really know much about the application process for UCSF except that it is a really awesome school and hard to get in.

I think that you should write about any academic endeavors that you do have. If you don't have many, then really elaborate upon them. Have you done any independent research projects in any of your classes as just a class project? Or have you done anything else that isn't research related? Otherwise, you could talk about areas of your coursework that you have found really intruiging. I don't know the exact wording of the question or anything. Another idea that might be pushing it is that you could always spend a day or two in the next week in a research lab and learn about them and have something great to talk about in your essay (and perhaps start playing around in the lab a couple of times a week after that to get more experience for your interview). Just some ideas. Good luck!

 

[cool fillings]

Thanks for the reply jes1ca! Those are pretty good suggestions; if I weren't incredibly busy right now I would try to do something in a lab for the next two weeks (I'm taking physics summer school, competing with my team, and of course, working on these secondaries). The specific wording of the question is:

"List any experiences you feel are indicative of your independent academic endeavors. Such as formal presentations, table clinics, publications or research projects."

Right now I think I'll say something about the research project I'm going to start when I get back to school; I know what I'm working on and have it all set up with a professor, but unfortunately, I really don't know any specifics yet...I'm hoping that if I interview at UCSF it'll be after I'm into my project. Other than that, I'm not sure what to say. I guess my answer could be short...they give us three pages to write out our answers to 10 questions.

Any new tips, anyone?

 

[Fantasia]

Hi Cool fillings,
I wouldn't worry too much about not having any previous research experience. Just mention everything you can about what you'll be doing in research for the upcoming months. Like you said, you have 3 pages where you can show your other strenghths to UCSF by answering the other questions in the secondary. Good Luck! 👍

 

[HBomb]

Cool Fillings,

Like Fantasia said, there's a lot of ground in the secondaries to make up for some areas of perceived weakness. I know personally, I did not have research experience...I don't think a lot of applicants do. Definitely list out the research you will be doing and mention some of the speaking opportunities you've had, if any. I think if you think hard about it, you can find something that will accentuate your formal presentation skills. Also, at UCSF, there is a big focus on community, community work, and your involvement in it. So don't slack on that area in the secondary. Finally, on last bit of really good advice that was given to me from the admissions staff at UCSF, get the secondary in ASAP. Do not hold on to it for long. Get it done and submitted.

Good luck.

 

[Jess_SB]

Okay, this may be a dumb question but: Are we supposed to type our answers to the essay questions or hand write them? The ucsf secondary is in pdf form. What do you guys think? I'm pretty sure there are no instructions which state one or the other.

 

[Fantasia]

\ Are we supposed to type our answers to the essay questions or hand write them? The ucsf secondary is in pdf form. What do you guys think? I'm pretty sure there are no instructions which state one or the other.

Jess_SB:
I typed mine out because I wanted to make sure anyone could easily read them and not worry about my handwriting. What I did was print out the pdf file (making an extra copy of the essay sheets) then I messed around with my word document and printer so that my essays could print onto them.

 

[Jess_SB]

Hey Fantasia,
Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I'm leaning towards typing too. Just wanted to hear what other people thought. I'm going to cut and paste the headings from the pdf onto my three pages of Word, that should work well I think. I guess I had better get started on it!

 

[HBomb]

I typed mine too.

Jess, another way is to just increase the top margin on your word document...but then you'll have to print twice. I actually didn't know you could cut/paste a pdf, and actually, I don't think you can, but please let me know if I'm wrong and how to do it.

Last bit of advice here that I got last year from UCSF is to not hold onto the secondaries for long. Work on them, make sure they're good, and get them back to UCSF ASAP.

 

[Jess_SB]

Hbomb,

To cut and paste with a pdf you just use the 'Graphics Select Tool' from the toolbar - it's next to the big 'T' (which is the 'Text Select Tool'). And then you just paste your graphic onto a Word document. And by graphic, I'm referring to the header on each of the pages. What you can't do (I think) is cut and paste you answers onto the pdf.

I have another question about the application, though:

In the required courses page, there are not enough spaces to list your classes if you are on a quarter schedule (ie 3 quarters of Physics are required but there is only space to list two of them). Also, all of my science classes (Gen Chem, OChem, Bio, Physics) had separate labs with separate grades for the labs. I'm not sure how to indicate this on the form.

If anybody else has dealt with these problems and possibly gotten through to someone at UCSF let me know. I'm currently awaiting a call back, but would let to get the app done asap.

Thanks
Jess

 

[cool fillings]

I finally submitted mine! I used the tip about using the graphic select tool; it worked like a charm!

I had the same problem with not having enough room to fill in the coursework. A couple of my chem classes did not have concurrent labs, so I only included the ones that did, which in retrospect may have been a mistake. I should have tried to contact UCSF about what to do, but I was very anxious to get it out. Jess, did you ever find out what they'd like us to do about that? I was thinking that I could send just that page again with the corrections. I'd guess that it might be sufficient to put a note to see an attached page that has the additional information on it.

 

[HBomb]

Jess,

I just looked at my application from last year, and guess what? I totally didn't mention the labs that I took and only listed the lecture!!! I didn't even think to list the lab course...tells you something about my attention to detail. Anyways, it worked out for me in the end, so at least in my case, it ended up not being a big deal. I think UCSF uses it to confirm that you met their requirements. Just use your best judgement. If you include labs, I would just print out that page again and list the lab courses there.

Thanks for the tip on Acrobat.