<p>It can definitely be helpful to check SDN, ofttimes the questions are identical each year. They say you should try to turn each around within two weeks, but try for even sooner, especially on the ones you care about most.</p>
<p>You will begin to see a certain similarity to the questions, you can use the same basic answer with different emphasis for many questions. My DD tried to NOT give a pat average normal answer, but to think like a politician and see how she could use each question to convey who she truly is. It must have worked as she did well on interview invites with low to average numbers.</p>
<p>I suggested that she do the same thing that CC people use to recommend for undergrad apps, come up with the three word adjective phrase to describe yourself and try to make everything you promote support those items. If you are bilingual, fit that in, if you an athlete, fit that in, whatever you are, be sure you use the questions to convey that while answering the questions.</p>
<p>Thanks somemom, I like your idea about the three adjectives and presenting an out of the ordinary portrait. </p>
<p>She was thinking of starting on the ones that looked the same the past couple of years, and perhaps those that she’s most interested in so that she is able to have an especially short turn around for those.</p>
<p>The secondaries will come out at various times ranging from mid/late June to early August. At least in my case last year, it seemed like the state schools were a little slower to come out and the privates were a bit quicker. Considering your primary app was sent in early, I wouldn’t be surprised if a few secondaries started to arrive before the 4th of July.</p>
<p>I sent them in in the same order I received them. ASAP, but without rushing. If I received multiple secondaries in the same go, I sent in the ones I was most satisfied with first. I made a point to try to only apply to schools I was really interested in (looking back, I probably applied to 3-4 I wouldn’t have gone to even if I were accepted), so there wasn’t much need to prioritize based on how much I liked the school. I actually grappled with one of my secondaries (a notoriously terrible one!) until just a week before it was due–guess it worked, as I picked up a winter interview there shortly after submitting it.</p>
<p>I agree with the idea of figuring out how to weave in who you are and to try to avoid giving generic answers. Once I had a few paragraphs I really liked from various secondaries, I found ways to incorporate them into future secondaries. </p>
<p>Son did the same as kristin, filled them out as he received them. He too had is AMCAS is second day and transcripts, vberification quickly afterwards, just a few days. Secondaries came in quicker than he thought and he did just start writing them. Less than 2 week turn around as well, since he was lopsided for MCAT and gpa and was very concerned about finances he did complete 24 apps with secondaries. However after several early acceptances he did withdraw from some where he knew money would be an issue.</p>
<p>He did use SDN for dates for when secondaries were starting to be issued. It seemed to have worked.</p>
<p>kristin & kat, thanks for the information. </p>
<p>She’s taking a few days to refresh and then moves and starts a new job in a week. I asked if she wanted to delay submitting so that secondaries would come later, but she didn’t think things were going to calm down much and preferred to do them while she is still in application mode. So getting an early start on them may just be wishful thinking.</p>
<p>Don’t worry too much if you can’t get the secondaries out right away. I studied abroad last summer, and when my application was verified I got around 10-12 secondaries on the same day! It took me a few weeks to get them all out, since I didn’t always have internet access. The last secondary that I submitted in September still garnered me an interview and eventually an acceptance. Obviously it’s best to get them out as soon as you can, but don’t skimp on the essays! Take your time and write them thoroughly, and get help from friends/family for editing.</p>
<p>With your daughter’s wonderful writing skills, I doubt she will need edits. D filled out 32 or so secondaries and as other posters have noted, you can recycle many of them. I’m a betting woman, and I’m sure your daughter is going to have an awesome cycle with great results.</p>
<p>^Thanks for the encouragement! My hope is that D will thrive and M will survive :).</p>
<p>Speaking of writing, here’s something just to lighten up the Med school discussion: when I suggested that to save characters on the primary she should drop the commas before each ‘and’ in a list, D1 sent me this illustration:</p>
<p>I should probably read that book. I’m a serial comma abuser and have no idea what the rule is for using semicolons; although I like them :rolleyes:.</p>
<p>My daughter will start medical school in 3 weeks and i will be attending her white coat ceremony!(never had that when i went to medical school) it was difficult last year here in texas during the application process! one of the schools( it is highly ranked) is being investigated by the government for medicare violations. glad my daughter is not going there! One of the other texas schools( a very good one) was put on probation because it’s curriculum was outdated during inspection-glad my daughter is not going there also! My L applied to only 6 texas med schools(no out of state) and got interviews at 3 of them! she accepted a pre-match offer at the one that grilled her the most!( she is now happy that she did because they really have their act together!) she and her husband with baby are all settled in a really nice house and she has made friends with her classmates and some of the upper levels! alot of PHDs in the class! The administration has really been on their toes about everything! I will meet the faculty soon and look forward to meeting the dean who is from boston university!(phi beta kappa and AOA) The two interviewers asked her alot about how she could go to medical school with a baby and be a decent mom! My L has connnected with a upper level student with two kids and she is doing quite well! I think they grilled her to challenge her and to see if she would fly off the handle! They did not know that her mom had completed a competitive residency with a young child and husband! My point is that don’t shy away from the schools that give the difficult interviews! Maybe these med schools have been burned by fancy grades and fancy MCAT scores!( there is alot of grade inflation in colleges now) I think the interviews are really important! My L had excellent grades and MCAT scores and did quite well on all her interviews! If your child gets grilled by a school don’t shy away from it because it may just be their way of thinning the applicants out!</p>
<p>Once a student submits his app to AMCAS with his listed schools, doesn’t it take AMCAS a few weeks to process? If so, how can people get secondaries right away? Or do secondaries come before AMCAS has done everything?</p>
<p>Also…if a student applies to - say 8 schools, can he later add in a few more? What negative affects can come from that?</p>
<p>(I’m not going to have any fingernails after all of this… )</p>
<p>Yes he can add more schools. No negatives that I can think of.</p>
<p>Process as in verify? Verifying transcripts against self-reported info…takes longer the later you submit and they need the actual transcripts.</p>
<p>People getting the secondaries right away would be those that had a turn around for verifying of a day or two. Son submitted second day and was verified day or 2 later. So after AMCAS downloaded all their stuff to the med schools listed then he got secondaries right after that.</p>
<p>My D. was also grilled at one of her interviews. She was able to stand her grounds, she is very good at interviews. But when she shared with me, I realized it was definite attempt to put her down to make her feel bad about her experiences. it did not work, she was OK. However, it turned her down so much that she did not consider this school after. I believe that some of them do it on purpose to see a reaction. I agree, just hold your own, do not bend for them. D. was put on Hold there, but she withdrew as she did not care much about this specific program and she had very good choices anyway.</p>
<p>ON secondary timing, I recall that DD submitted in June, was verified a few weeks later and got secondaries the first day that the AMCAS released the applications to schools. I got the impression that some schools send them immediately, but I think your app must be verified in order to be released to the schools.</p>
<p>Ok…trying to determine a rough budget for this whole process. What am I missing or misunderstanding.</p>
<p>Costs for…</p>
<p>opening AMCAS (son did this, don’t know if there was a cost or not…lol)</p>
<p>each SOM you list on AMCAS…first one is a bit higher, but a little less for each SOM after (so, if you have 18 schools, then you’ll pay AMCAS about $600?)</p>
<p>??? Then a fee that goes to each SOM? roughly how much is that per SOM?</p>
<p>??? Then a fee for any supplementals? how much is that per SOM?</p>
<p>Then interview transportation costs (I know will vary with distance. )</p>
<p>sending transcripts to AMCAS…very little cost</p>
<p>i’m a bit confused about the timing of the secondary apps. my D received 4 secondary apps within a couple of days of sending in the primary (18 schools) tells me she’s not sending in the secondary apps until her “stuff” is verified by AMCAS. supposedly she was told that it would take several weeks for AMCAS to do their thing. is it true that the schools she has applied to haven’t received her primary?? she was told that all they know is that she WILL be applying and that since nothing is verified, there’s no point in sending the secondary now.<br>
don’t know what to make of all this info</p>
Obviously it’s best to get them out as soon as you can, but don’t skimp on the essays! Take your time and write them thoroughly, and get help from friends/family for editing.</p>
)</p>