2016-2017 University of Southern California (Keck) Application Thread

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I had no idea the secondary for Keck was going to be this fun!

Sometimes the off the wall prompts can be the hardest (nickname anyone?), but given how relentless secondary season is, I'm happy to see some more fun questions to answer!
 
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TCSC13 said:
Use a professional photo!
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IMO, a professional photo is the gold standard, but not necessary. Tons of accepted applicants send a photo on a white background (like a white wall at your house) wearing a suit. You only need to take a passport style photo of your head and the top of your chest. Use epassportphoto.com after taking the photo with a smartphone or digital camera. You can edit the picture on the website and use a digital copy for the application, or print out a physical copy from your local drugstore if you need that instead. The adcoms really just want to see what you look like.

That being said, using a cropped photo from facebook is by all accounts unwise.
 
Is the under-represented portion of the secondary also designed to be humorous?
 
How is everyone using the optional space?

I'm thinking of using it as an update on current activities.
 
cytochromeg said:
Yes, I think it is a great way to screen out entitled applicants.
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I'm not sure what to write without sounding either silly, petty, or entitled :( Is anyone taking a comedic approach to this question?
 
soundslikefire said:
How is everyone using the optional space?

I'm thinking of using it as an update on current activities.
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I saw this space as meant for those that have extenuating circumstances and would like to explain discrepancies in their application. Usually, schools will ask about your gap year if they want to know what you're up to. I guess they made it vague enough that you can use it for anything though.
 
kitkattwix said:
I'm not sure what to write without sounding either silly, petty, or entitled :( Is anyone taking a comedic approach to this question?
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Maybe try to point out a life lesson from the experience, or mention something positive about the experience. I don't think they will screen you out because they believe you are entitled from reading three sentences you wrote. Just be honest and true to yourself: if you are a more serious kind of person, offer a serious answer. For those of comedic persuasion, they should answer in kind.
 
kitkattwix said:
I'm not sure what to write without sounding either silly, petty, or entitled :( Is anyone taking a comedic approach to this question?
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I think you very well can take a comedic approach. :)

Also it might help to reframe the question as "think about a time you failed or were rejected". On the flip side, what you feel you deserved can also be punishment. Also note that there's no follow-up question. So the follow-up you take can be in one of many directions: 1) how you've grown 2) what you did to change it 3) what you learned etc.,

I'm personally torn between writing about something in my family life, or playing it safe with a "rejection" scenario in college. I'm more inclined towards the first since it's more personal, but I don't know how USC feels towards using pre-college experiences/events to answer questions.
 
soundslikefire said:
I think you very well can take a comedic approach. :)

Also it might help to reframe the question as "think about a time you failed or were rejected". On the flip side, what you feel you deserved can also be punishment. Also note that there's no follow-up question. So the follow-up you take can be in one of many directions: 1) how you've grown 2) what you did to change it 3) what you learned etc.,

I'm personally torn between writing about something in my family life, or playing it safe with a "rejection" scenario in college. I'm more inclined towards the first since it's more personal, but I don't know how USC feels towards using pre-college experiences/events to answer questions.
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I personally think I'm going to go along the lines of a time I thought I deserved to be punished, etc and use it as an example of development.

I worry about coming off as entitled too, so I will opt to fall back on a more light-hearted approach after that.
 
Man, the essay question's really making me think... the open-endedness is killin' me! :boom:
 
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littledreamer said:
I personally think I'm going to go along the lines of a time I thought I deserved to be punished, etc and use it as an example of development.

I worry about coming off as entitled too, so I will opt to fall back on a more light-hearted approach after that.
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I thought about that too...but I also don't want to give them an example of when I was a bad person...
 
kitkattwix said:
I thought about that too...but I also don't want to give them an example of when I was a bad person...
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Oh of course! I don't want to get too specific, but in my case, I was thinking of a time that I made a truly honest but highly unfortunate and expensive mistake in the lab. I definitely deserved some sort of mild repercussion, or at least a solid lecture, but it didn't occur that way, which proved much more beneficial and educational for my development as a physician and scientist.
 
Let me clarify what I mean. It doesn't have to be a professional photo shoot. A white background with business attire is perfectly fine. Just don't use a picture of you surfing or out drinking with buddies or try and "stand out" from the rest of the applicants in photo creativity. Chances are, it's going to stand out for the wrong reasons. A passport style photo is absolutely fine.

Inspector JacquesClouseau said:
IMO, a professional photo is the gold standard, but not necessary. Tons of accepted applicants send a photo on a white background (like a white wall at your house) wearing a suit. You only need to take a passport style photo of your head and the top of your chest. Use epassportphoto.com after taking the photo with a smartphone or digital camera. You can edit the picture on the website and use a digital copy for the application, or print out a physical copy from your local drugstore if you need that instead. The adcoms really just want to see what you look like.

That being said, using a cropped photo from facebook is by all accounts unwise.
Click to expand...
 
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For the optional "anything else" essay, are people opting to fill this out? I could use it for a diversity/adversity statement to explain my unique upbringing...or to explain my withdrawal from my Master's program, or just leave it blank. Not sure what the right move is here.
 
gribear said:
For the optional "anything else" essay, are people opting to fill this out? I could use it for a diversity/adversity statement to explain my unique upbringing...or to explain my withdrawal from my Master's program, or just leave it blank. Not sure what the right move is here.
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I'm leaving mine blank, but I think its a place to explain any part of your app that they might have questions about (a sudden drop in grades, taking a semester off school..etc.). It might be a good idea to explain the Master's program if you haven't done it anywhere else.
 
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DingoPingo said:
Essay:
Do you believe that you are a member of a group that is under-represented in medicine?
Yes No

Write a sentence that is not true, then tell us why you wish it were true.
Please answer the question in 200 words or less.


Have you ever previously applied to any medical school ( M.D. , D.O., international)?
Yes No

Have you ever previously applied to any medical school ( M.D. , D.O., international)?
Yes No

Short Answer:
What is the most fun you’ve had lately?

If you had to give yourself a nickname, what would it be?

If you had enormous wealth, how would you allocate your charitable donations?

Describe a situation in which you didn’t get something you felt you deserved.
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If you answer yes to the URM question you will also have to answer this:

What does this mean to you? (200 words or less)
 
Inspector JacquesClouseau said:
I saw this space as meant for those that have extenuating circumstances and would like to explain discrepancies in their application. Usually, schools will ask about your gap year if they want to know what you're up to. I guess they made it vague enough that you can use it for anything though.
Click to expand...
gribear said:
For the optional "anything else" essay, are people opting to fill this out? I could use it for a diversity/adversity statement to explain my unique upbringing...or to explain my withdrawal from my Master's program, or just leave it blank. Not sure what the right move is here.
Click to expand...

I have heard different things from different people, but have come to the conclusion that the safe thing to do is if it's a school you're really interested in, it doesn't hurt to write something so long as you're not just trying to fill up space. If there's a purpose to your optional essay, then the person reading it now has more information about you. So I think writing about adversity or explaining academic decisions is fine. But if it's a school you're lukewarm about then it's up to your discretion if you want to put in the extra effort--plenty of people still get interviews to schools where they leave the optional blank. Hope that helps.
 
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Another question - for the charitable donations question, are people picking specific organizations they would hypothetically donate to, or just causes in general? Not really sure how to go here.
 
Does anyone know how strict Keck is about the LORs? I have some letters from full-time professors who probably didn't write as personalized letters as the lecturers/adjunct profs I asked. Does it matter? Some people say they're completely different positions, and others are saying lectures/adjunct profs are just lower tiers of professors...
 
gribear said:
Another question - for the charitable donations question, are people picking specific organizations they would hypothetically donate to, or just causes in general? Not really sure how to go here.
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I think you have a lot of freedom here--with so much money you can fund existing organizations, make new ones, etc. I think they want to know what causes are the most important to you, it speaks to what kind of person you are and your interests.
 
TCSC13 said:
Let me clarify what I mean. It doesn't have to be a professional photo shoot. A white background with business attire is perfectly fine. Just don't use a picture of you surfing or out drinking with buddies or try and "stand out" from the rest of the applicants in photo creativity. Chances are, it's going to stand out for the wrong reasons. A passport style photo is absolutely fine.
Click to expand...
What do you guys think about using one of those professional graduation head shots?
 
Still haven't received a secondary. Come on Keck! Grrrr
 
just submitted! everything's ready to go except one letter i'm waiting for interfolio to deliver to amcas...
 
Secondary also received! Love this secondary, very cool questions! Good luck everyone!
 
.
 
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Mcat513 said:
Is anybody complete yet? My letters are marked as not received despite submitting them from AMCAS this past weekend.
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I was complete and submitted the secondary earlier today. It took a few days after I got the secondary for my letter to show up.
 
I am done with this secondary except for the nickname question. Honestly, its killing me. Everything I come up with is either super cheesy or makes me sound big headed. Bahh! I want to submit!

Edit: pulled the trigger and submitted. Marked complete almost immediately. Does anyone remember when II started going out last year?
 
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Would someone be able to clarify the word/letter requirements for the questions, please? For example, for the 3-5 sentence answers, are they actually measuring the sentences or is there a word count specification? Thank you!
 
m2regen said:
Would someone be able to clarify the word/letter requirements for the questions, please? For example, for the 3-5 sentence answers, are they actually measuring the sentences or is there a word count specification? Thank you!
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They don't list a word count, and I had one with five pretty long sentences, so I don't think theres a character count in the box. I kept it at 5, because they could easily count and not following directions is a fast way to rejection
 
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When they say 3-5 sentences, does that mean you HAVE to write at least three sentences? A nickname is only a word or two.
 
poloboy said:
When they say 3-5 sentences, does that mean you HAVE to write at least three sentences? A nickname is only a word or two.
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Including an explanation for why you chose that nickname might be a good idea.
 
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Iwannaknow said:
I have a friend who wrote 1-2 sentences for all of them. But also this is a guy that wrote like 3000 characters for his personal statement. He's a second year there.
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Glad to hear I wasn't the only one who wrote a 3000-character statement!
 
my app is complete but the status page indicates they've only received 2 out of 3 letters. The one i don't see is the letter that had not been delivered to amcas until this morning. should i contact them and tell them that they should still be looking out for a letter?
 
For the leadership essay, would it be a negative to basically reuse one of my meaningful experiences from my primary? I essentially wrote it exactly to this theme, but just wondering if that would seem to be overkill. Thanks
 
knimtz22 said:
For the leadership essay, would it be a negative to basically reuse one of my meaningful experiences from my primary? I essentially wrote it exactly to this theme, but just wondering if that would seem to be overkill. Thanks
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leadership essay?? :bored:
 
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drjmd2be said:
what about photo upload? professional to be safe or just a nice clear single portrait taken somewhere nice?
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Professional - suit jacket and tie (for men). Something conservative and business-like for women. They really care about this. Do not post something with you in a t-shirt.

Location doesn't quite matter as long as it isn't something crazy (like disneyland is in the background or something). But simple and professional is your safest bet.
 
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soundslikefire said:
I think you very well can take a comedic approach. :)

Also it might help to reframe the question as "think about a time you failed or were rejected". On the flip side, what you feel you deserved can also be punishment. Also note that there's no follow-up question. So the follow-up you take can be in one of many directions: 1) how you've grown 2) what you did to change it 3) what you learned etc.,

I'm personally torn between writing about something in my family life, or playing it safe with a "rejection" scenario in college. I'm more inclined towards the first since it's more personal, but I don't know how USC feels towards using pre-college experiences/events to answer questions.
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That's pretty much what I did. Ended it with a sentence to say what I learned from the experience.

mysticalUnicorn said:
leadership essay?? :bored:
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U Michigan?

BKN89 said:
Professional - suit jacket and tie (for men). Something conservative and business-like for women. They really care about this. Do not post something with you in a t-shirt.

Location doesn't quite matter as long as it isn't something crazy (like disneyland is in the background or something). But simple and professional is your safest bet.
Click to expand...
Oh noes! Didn't have a suit on hand so I ended up using a nice collared shirt with no tie on a blank background :eek:
 
Hau5MD said:
Oh noes! Didn't have a suit on hand so I ended up using a nice collared shirt with no tie on a blank background
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Well it's not the end of the world, as long as it was a conservative shirt and a neutral background you'll probably be ok.
 
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Can anyone tell me if there is an additional question on the secondary if you say yes to the "previously applied" question? Any associated character/word/sentence limits? I am waiting on verification and trying to prewrite. Thanks!
 
eecaz said:
Can anyone tell me if there is an additional question on the secondary if you say yes to the "previously applied" question? Any associated character/word/sentence limits? I am waiting on verification and trying to prewrite. Thanks!
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Not that I remember. I'll update when I get home. 3 to 5 sentences for the short question. 200 words for the essay (fake statement).

EDIT: There is a previously applied yes/no question. However, I'm not sure if it opens another response box.
 
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Are people really writing some not 100% serious answers to the short answer part? I am thinking about writing the thing I thought I deserved one about the time my grandma sent me and my brother a cake and he ate the entire thing without saving me a piece lol
 
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