First Secondaries

So far, I’ve only navigated the first few of the many  frustrating and agonizing stages of the med school application process. I’ve already submitted my  centralized application via AMCAS (using IE8’s compatibility view since no other browsers work). While I wait for AMCAS to get around to looking at my application and verify that I didn’t lie about my college transcript, the schools you designated have the opportunity to send out secondary applications.

The way I imagine a secondary application process would work is that the schools wait to receive my application from AMCAS, look over it, and if they’re interested, send out a secondary. This way they can sort through potential students with less paperwork to go through, and in fact, some schools do just that. However, far more schools simply send out a secondary application to everybody, some of them even before receiving the AMCAS app. These also tend to be the schools with the highest secondary application fees, paid directly to them. Coincidence? I think not.

Although my AMCAS is still waiting to be verified, two schools have already sent me secondaries. One of them simply asked if I had any relatives going to the school before collecting my $100 fee. The second one is a bit more interesting. They’ve provided a space to tell something about yourself not in my regular application that will help the Admissions Committee as they review me.

I’ve talked a lot outside this space about how the med school application process is dehumanizing, and undervalues activities not directly related to getting medical experience. Yet at least one school has provided me with the opportunity to talk about whatever I want, even the meaningful experiences I’ve had that aren’t medically-themed, and now I’m not quite sure what to say.