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Secondary Essays: Simply Not Fun

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I’ve been getting a ton of questions about secondary essays. As many of you know, I’m not a fan of the entire secondary application requirement. (See my piece, “The Medical School Admissions Process is Falling Short.”) Having said that, most pre-med candidates will have to complete several – if not many – secondary essays and do so on an expedited timeline. 

Secondary essay prompts vary, but there are a few that are standard fare, and one of the most important is “Why do you want to attend our school?” 

Medical school admissions officers want to be assured you know their institution, are seriously considering it, and will fit in well. In approaching the “why-our-school” question, do your research on the institution and link something specific about you with the school’s philosophy, curriculum, patient population, and/or extracurricular programs.For example, if you were a physics teaching assistant in college, you might link your use of the Socratic method with a school’s tutorial-based learning. In that way, you demonstrate knowledge of the school, show you connect well with it, and showcase your distinctive accomplishment.  

The paradox here is that – although you’re focusing your essay on one school – because so many institutions have overlapping philosophies, curricula, programs, and objectives – you can oftentimes use the same framework for many different institutions. That’s one strategic way to cut down the overwhelming workload that secondary applications present.  As you craft your essay, it’s key, however, to know and leverage the names of institution-specific programs like student-run clinics, summer travel scholarships, and/or primary care tracks, for example.

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Get Reliable Post Baccalaureate Program Information

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For those applicants seeking post baccalaureate guidance, I highly recommend the AAMC database. On the left panel you can filter by public or private, undergraduate or graduate, and special focus. For the latter, distinguishing whether you need a career changer or academic record enhancer program is critical.

For each individual program, you can search whether the curriculum awards a certificate of completion or a master’s degree, affiliations like linkage programs, and, importantly, length of time to complete the program (from one year to 24 months).

Here’s some additional information from the AAMC regarding post baccalaureate programs – what to look for, how the curriculum prepares students for medical school, etc. 

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Your AMCAS/ AACOMAS Is In. What Should You Do Now?

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Once your AMCAS/AACOMAS is submitted, take a deep breath, relax for a few days, and then start thinking about your secondary essays. 

You can look online to see last year’s prompts and maximum character counts. While there’s no guarantee the prompts will be the same from year to year, the majority of the time they are for an individual school. Here’s a brief blog entry on a common secondary prompt: “Why Our School?”

Also, once the AMCAS/AACOMAS is in, take a moment to do some soul searching about what you’re seeking geographically, philosophically, and educationally. You want to make considered decisions when the time comes.

Finally, you can start practicing for your interviews. Here’s information on my mock interview services.

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Ten AMCAS Mistakes You Absolutely Want to Avoid

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May 28 (the date AMCAS application verification begins) is only three days away, so as you’re completing your final review of your written materials, here’s a quick and dirty list of AMCAS Work and Activities section errors to avoid at all costs:

1. Don’t write to write, and don’t fill to the maximum character count unless necessary. While you want to include many strong achievements, you do not want your AMCAS to be so wordy that your reader is tempted to skim.

2. While you need to be brief, don’t write in phrases; use full sentences. It’s a formal application, and you want to make your written materials as readable as possible.

3. Don’t assume your reader will carefully study the “header” section (including the title of the activity, hours, etc.). Make sure your descriptor could stand alone: Instead of “As an assistant, I conducted experiments…” use “As a research assistant at a Stanford Medical School neuroscience lab, I conducted experiments…”

4. Don’t be vague or trite. Make sure you spell out your accomplishments clearly and substantively. If your reader doesn’t understand an activity, you will not get “full credit” for what you’ve done. Make no assumptions.

5. Avoid abbreviations. Again, you want to be formal, and abbreviations you think are common might not be familiar to the reader.

6. Write about yourself and your role – not an organization. For example, don’t use the space to discuss Doctors without Borders. Use it to discuss the specifics of your role at Doctors without Borders.

7. Avoid generalities and consider using numbers to be persuasive. Saying that the conference you organized had 300 participants says it all.

8. Don’t merge the descriptors with the most meaningful paragraphs because they are separate sections: You can complete descriptors for up to 15 activities with up to 700 characters each plus up to three most meaningful paragraphs of up to 1325 characters each.

9. Unless your PI won the Nobel, avoid using supervisors’ and/or doctors’ names in your descriptors as they will be meaningless to the majority of your readers.

10. Choose the right category for each activity, so you get “full credit.”

Bonus: Get help. Do not submit your medical school application without having it reviewed by someone with experience. 

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Why the AMCAS Coursework Section is Even More Important than You Thought it Was

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As I mentioned in last week’s blog entry, the AAMC held a helpful webinar on April 14 called “Navigating the 2027 AMCAS Application Cycle for Applicants.” Here are some more take-home messages from the session:

  1. The Coursework area is the number one cause of verification delays.
  2. Ensure you report every course. This means you should report even if you earned no credit, you ended up with a withdrawal, the class was incomplete or repeated, the class was physical education, the class was later removed from your transcript, the course was advanced placement. 
  3. Avoid other common mistakes by following these tips: include plus/minus grades; note that the AMCAS academic year begins with the summer term prior; if a course has both a lecture and lab do not combine them into one entry.
  4. Use the 2027 AMCAS Applicant Guide and the Course Classification Guide if you are unsure how to categorize a class you’re taking.
  5. The BCPM that AAMC calculates is based on information provided by your individual college.

Look for more of my take-homes in near-future blog entries.

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About Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Michelle Finkel

Dr. Finkel is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Medical School. On completing her residency at Harvard, she was asked to stay on as faculty at Harvard Medical School and spent five years teaching at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital. She was appointed to the Assistant Residency Director position for the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency where she reviewed countless applications, personal statements and resumes. Read more

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