<p>D was home for Easter and in our very limited time together we discussed her timetable . Junior year courses need to be picked now (and she still doesn't have a perfect handle on pre-req's, AP's, dual credit). :eek: Kaplan starts in 3 weeks. :eek: NSF Summer Fellowship starts in @ 8 weeks.</p>
<p>Gee. Time is just rushing by now. </p>
<p>It'll be May of 2009 before I can blink twice. She asked where she can see online the AAMCAS app and some secondaries. Anybody got a link they'd like to share?</p>
<p>You can actually go to the AAMC and make an account. That's what I did a summer before the one in which I actually applied. It doesn't count as applying unless you actually submit the app. I have to warn you though: the AMCAS app is pretty boring. 15 slots to list your EC's/awards/conferences/pubs, a general background page, a page to list ALL of your courses, and some generic instructions for the PS.</p>
<p>Some searching of SDN will reveal most of the secondaries.</p>
<p>Thanks. The application worksheet is probably enough for her at this time. The 127 page sucker can wait on her.;)</p>
<p>Doesn't look that bad but I'm not writing it. </p>
<p>If she did a substantial volunteer experience in high school (summer of full-time volunteering with some unique experiences leading to a project that she continues now-albeit haltingly) I guess that has to go either as the project and the volunteer experience can be in the "explanation" or just use it in the Personal Comments section, right? She has plenty of other clinical (another summer) and volunteer (many projects) and research but the high school "thing" is what started it and is probably more significant to her motivation to be a doc. </p>
<p>Did y'all go through kind of a "trial run" or "pretend" cycle the year before as far as the apps go? To know how long it will take?</p>
<p>Now, to SDN to see how bad the secondaries are. A little bird told me Duke had like 6 essays. Jiminy. She'll be flopping around like a fish on a hot sidewalk. Do they change these secondaries every year? Or is this something they can start on earlier than May of app year?</p>
<p>Secondary questions generally do not change from year to year. Duke is known to have one of the most onerous of secondaries. I didn't apply to Duke so I don't know exactly how onerous but it's safe to say that quite a few people submitted a primary but not a secondary to Duke.</p>
<p>HS projects cannot be listed on the official list of 15 items, but can (of course) be written about in essays. If it's a big part of her "Why Medicine?" story, then in fact it's probably a good idea.</p>
<p>A trial run sounds like an intriguing idea, but in practice I'm having trouble visualizing how it would work. The timing is extremely idiosyncratic and would be hard to mimic.</p>
<p>Your daughter is lucky she's not a California resident. The year I applied, USC had five, UCD had eight, and UCLA had nine (!). Duke had eight the year I applied, two of which were extremely frustrating questions.</p>
<p>(The worst question prompt: The scientific and popular news media have heralded several "life-extending" and “life-altering” technologies--among which are embryonic stem-cell research, cloning, genetic intervention, and organ transplantation. While such technologies represent remarkable developments and applications of our emerging scientific understanding, these technologies raise critical issues with respect to the ethics, morality and economics of these technologies. Identify some of the critical issues evoked by such technologies and address what potential moral, theological, and ethical questions might arise from the decisions made regarding developing and using these technologies in the care of patients.)</p>
<p>Duke's six essays this year were not only very difficult essays, but were actually unlimited in length! Duke has what is generally considered the worst secondary in the country. It is worth it for a Duke undergrad to do, because the combined work of the secondary and the interview (no travel, since you're there anyway) is still very low. Otherwise, I'm not sure I'd recommend it.</p>
<p>OT: The essay prompt above seems like something we would discuss in my HS IB Theory of Knowledge class. It's a very philosophical topic, and it indeed sucks... (Problems of Knowledge ftl)</p>
<p>The unlimited length of the Duke essays were what made them difficult. I had to convince myself that it was okay to stop or write a short-ish essay. And yes, I haven't heard the numbers, but anecdotally, I've heard of a lot of people who submit a primary to Duke but not a secondary.</p>
<p>The essay prompt specifically said it wanted me to identify the critical issues and address what questions might arise. I figured it wanted me to identify what the fundamental moral dilemmas were, not actually answer them.</p>
<p>I wasn't going to pick a side unless the question prompt forced me to, and this one didn't. There's just no sense coming down on a controversial issue, since you're probably going to offend at least one of the people reading your essay.</p>
<p>Sorry, I didn't read the full prompt. I saw "stem cell" and immediately assumed it was meant to be a provocative topic. That seems interesting though, considering just about anybody can expound upon the issue itself. I assume you have to apply some knowledge/perspective that is specific to a med school applicant?</p>
<p>I looked at the verified app. Is the personal comments section what we are calling the personal statement? From what I saw in the link before it is but hey....might as well ask.</p>