secondaries

After working with 300+ students to develop and submit their applications, I watch students do the stupidest things (e.g. “I want to write a secondary about how I grew up rich and how I’m proud of it and don’t think I should hide it” – his exact words by the way). I also witness incredible...

Hello. I don’t know if this is just me catastrophizing because I currently have no IIs (just Rs and silence), but it seems like the application cycle is moving faster. I mean…interviews are being scheduled in January of next year, according to some schools. We’re supposedly early in the...

Has anyone been rejected post secondary so far for 2023-2024? I personally have heard nothing back in terms of II, but maybe on the bright side, have I survived some waves of post secondary Rs? Just wanted to know :/

Hi all, I'm debating on whether to mention in secondary essays that my father is from South Africa. He immigrated here in the 80s, and his nationality is part of my culture; I grew up eating babotie and South African pancakes and other foods, taking part in some traditions, and learning some...

What are my chances for the 2023-2024 cycle. I applied already but have not received any interviews yet so someone on edit told me to post here. I have: MCAT: 517 (Chm/Phy : 128 CARRS: 129 Bio/Biochem: 129 Psych/Soc: 131) overall GPA: 3.8 BCPM GPA: 3.77 FL resident

Ok, is it just me, or is the Harvard MSTP secondary kind of odd? The mission of the Harvard/MIT MD-PhD program is “to train the next generation of premier and diverse physician-scientist leaders”. Please describe, in the form of a high-impact abstract of your life experiences to date, how your...

Hello! I'm completing secondaries, and when schools ask the "anything else" question, I have been including that my paper was published after I submitted my AMCAS application. Is it recommended to include this information in a secondary? Or is it better to save it for an update letter so I have...

This is a summary of my grades: Here is a more detailed account of my specific class grades each year I talked to someone and they told me that my GPA is not bad enough to need to address it as an inconsistency in a secondary app, but I am just not sure. If I were to address it, I would...

Hi! I am completing the "Why Us?" secondary question for a school my parent got an engineering Master's from. They had no affiliation with the medical program but really enjoyed their time there. Can I briefly mention this in my response? Thanks :)

I have three ideas for the diversity secondary essay prompt, and I can't decide on which one to run with:

would any admitted students be able to provide feedback to 3-4 core secondary essays?

Hi all! Is there by chance a list of MD schools that vet before sending secondaries? I know there are some schools that just send secondaries once verified, was wondering if there was a comprehensive list of schools that vet (and saves us a whole lotta money T__T) Thanks!

Hello! What are some common dos and do nots for writing secondaries? From speaking with a couple folks I have: Do’s: - Begin with the in state schools - Make clear outlines to address the prompt specifically - Be specific to the med school in question Do Nots: - Copy paste from other prompts...

If I submit my primaries on day 1 of when submission opens up for AMCAS and get verified quickly (I saw on last year's threads that some that submitted day 1 got verified the same day), does that mean secondaries begin rolling in right away? I guess I'm confused on when secondaries begin...

Hi - I am reapplying to med school this cycle and am wondering how much I should change my primaries and secondaries. For TMDSAS, I completely rewrote my PS and diversity essay, but kept the optional essay with some revisions/edits since it mainly pertains to one of my hobbies: writing. For my...

Hello SDN! Thanks in advance for your help. I'm debating between a few topics for my diversity essay. For context, I am a non-Hispanic white woman. edit: removed identifying information, thank you!

Hello, I am currently trudging through secondaries and am curious whether or not I should talk about my faith for certain schools with jesuit/christian/catholic values such as Loyola and Georgetown. Loma Linda is quite obvious, as it blatantly wants me to talk about my involvement in church, but...

Hello all, I am excited to be entering my fifth year of advising medical school and residency applicants! I have helped numerous folks successfully enter medicine or their desired specialty. I offer comprehensive services - primary and secondary application editing, interview preparation and...

Hi everyone, Today I finally received a letter that I have been waiting on for a while. I was unsure if this letter would actually ever come, so I didn't add it to my letter packet and instead opted to have them submit it through AMCAS. I submitted my letter packet a while ago and was marked...

Hey everyone, I studied abroad in junior spring at DIS Study Abroad in Copenhagen and took 5 classes, 4 science ones. In hindsight that might have been a bit too much, and I ended up getting B-'s and even a C- in one that I didn't receive credit for. The grades don't appear on my transcript...

Hi everyone, I am a NY state resident applying to several NY schools. Some of these schools ask in their secondary if you graduated from a NY high school within 5 years of applying for medical school. I graduated in June 2017 and submitted my app in mid-June 2022, with my app being verified in...

I'm taking my Casper on August 11th (tomorrow) and since Casper takes 2-3 weeks to process and be sent to schools, I was contemplating just submitting the secondary essays for both AMCAS and TMDSAS after Casper gets sent out. I don't see the point of submitting the secondary essays before...

I am really struggling to try to find a good challenge essay topic. here are some of the ideas I thought of: - my transition to college: I attended the same small private school from k-12th grade so going to college was a big change. i had trouble making friends during my first year and being a...

I am currently pre-writing secondary essays for WVU, and their prompts have such low word counts! I am writing about my experience in the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS) and wanted to know if I could use the abbreviation to save space? In a previous question, I already wrote...

Hello, I have a question about writing my secondaries. I grew up in a low income family and community, from which I saw various perspectives that I wanted to talk about in my secondary essays. However, I didn't check the "disadvantaged" box on my primary application, mainly because I felt that...

Is it okay to write about dealing with the loss of a loved one as a part of the 'describe a time you face a challenging situation' essay? I am unsure if it is too emotional/personal a topic to be addressed. (If anyone is willing to look over a rough draft to see if it is appropriate, then I...

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Hello everyone. I've been prewriting my secondaries, and came up with my own mix of ideas on this one. But, would appreciate if anyone has recommendations or examples! (I'm actually in-state, but (a) apart from a few issues specific to the state, just saying "I feel at home here" feels weak...

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Hi everyone, Wanted to ask about secondaries, MCAT, etc. I know there is a ton of info available but I just wanted to see if anyone had specific advice for my situation. I am taking the MCAT end of June. I was scheduled for next week but had a minor incident and have spent a few days on pain...

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how did you guys tackle the diversity essay? I'm currently applying and have been targeted and hit with the "we value diversity in strengthening our community. Share your experiences or perspective on this topic." I know I can just talk about my diversity regarding being a minority but I feel...

Case is asking for "1 page, about 3500 characters" for its secondary and I have 4100 (a page and 3 lines). It's about my research, so it's hard to cut down without neglecting some part of the question. Is it fine to submit a little over the limit here?

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Hey everyone, I volunteered in a research lab during the summer of 2015, which was the summer before my senior year of high school. I initially came into the lab wanting to produce a project that I can use in the Intel Science Fair. On the first day, the PI introduced me to everyone in the lab...

I forgot to explain withdrawing from a TA position. I forgot because it was actually really minor. I didn't get accepted for the TA position back in Novemeber and only noticed I was receiving credit for it the Monday right after drop/add week some time in January. The professor had accidentally...

Some of the schools I am applying to have the secondary prompt asking about what I am planning to do during my gap year. What if I do not have solid plans but I am interested in some opportunities. Would listing the opportunities I am interested in acceptable?

I've been really struggling to write my diversity essay, but I think I've come up with a decent angle for it. I'm a straight white male that hasn't faced any particularly unique challenges, so I'm really looking for anything interesting to write about. The best idea that I have so far is...

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