What are secondary medical school essays?

What are secondary medical school essays?

Unlike primary applications, secondary applications ask specific questions about your goals, experiences, and your personal views on a range of topics, including your decision to go to medical school. Your secondaries will be read to see how they complement what you have said in your primary application.

How important are secondary medical school essays?

Secondary essays come after you submit your primary application. It is a way for schools to learn more about you. It helps the medical schools determine your fit to their mission and it helps you do some research to see if you truly want to go there.

How many secondary essays do you need for medical school?

Each medical school will have its own secondaries requirements. Some may ask for 1 or 2 essays, while others may require 10.

How long are med school secondary essays?

Most essays are between 250-500 words. We generally recommend that students write out at least a brief outline for each of the types of questions (see below) before they have received the secondary application. It will save you a lot of time, and get you in the right mindset.

How long should secondary essays be?

between 250-500 words
Most essays are between 250-500 words. We generally recommend that students write out at least a brief outline for each of the types of questions (see below) before they have received the secondary application. It will save you a lot of time, and get you in the right mindset.

How do you pre write a secondary essay?

There are several ways to approach pre-writing secondaries:

1. Look for common themes amongst secondary applications and focus on fleshing out ideas for those topics and prewriting a paragraph or two on each.
2. Do a quick Google search for secondary application prompts and you will easily find them for particular schools.

Do med schools send secondaries to everyone?

Some medical schools will send out secondaries to every applicant who has successfully submitted a primary application to their school. Other schools will only send secondaries to applicants who have “made it to the next round,” so to speak. This typically means selecting students based on MCAT and GPA cutoffs.

How fast should you turn in secondaries?

Generally it is best to turn in the secondary at least within two weeks after you received it. If the school gives you a submission deadline, try to submit at least two or three days before that deadline.

Should I Prewrite my secondaries?

Absolutely. One way to keep yourself from being overwhelmed by the secondary applications is to prewrite secondary responses for the schools that likely view you as a strong candidate. Even if it is not specified by the school, you should submit secondary applications within 2 weeks from the time you receive them.