26 to Go!

In three weeks, my scores will be released from my September 1 MCAT. Right now, all of my applications are in that limbo known as "under review." Yesterday, I recieved an email alerting me to log into my account with VCU since my status had been changed. Knowing that my new scores weren't ready, I was certain that I got my first rejection. Nope...just a notification that I was cleared for a secondary application.

Secondaries are like a horde of minions, with each one tossing three or more essays at you. If it wasn't all managed electronically, I think that I would die the death of a thousand paper-cuts. Some schools actually do a cursory review of your file (whatever that means) before sending you a secondary, but most seem eager to collect the associated fee and have you craft a few more essays. (Did I mention the fee waiver? If you've got kids, you just might qualify. See my July 8, 2012 post.)

So, yeah, I've got "a few" more essays to write. Actually, I meant to say 26. I just counted them. Just for kicks, I decided to string all those prompts together in one long document, scanning for the opportunity to re-work some of material on the six secondary applications I've turned in thus far. I sorted the questions by themes. A few schools had somewhat similar prompts. For instance, three schools asked me how I will contribute to the school's diversity. Of course, all of the essays are different enough that there is no way you can simply plug in one for another. And I still have 26 essays to go. Twenty-six!

I'm curious how much time the typical applicant spends on these puppies. Arizona asked me (in 350 words or less) to answer the question, "Do you believe your MCAT scores or GPA accurately represents your potential to succeed in medical school? Why or why not?" Of course, being me, I couldn't answer this without asking what the research says and wondering if I feel like I'm some sort of outlier (hey, I'm 38--I'm an outlier). Just so you know, a broad review of the literature shows that correlation between MCAT scores and med school performance are not particularly strong. SpringerLink had an  interesting little abstract on age and gender as predictors of medical school success, but I think that bit of info simply illustrates how easily I am distracted from the task at hand (more than it illustrates that I'm totally going to kick it as an older female student).

When I read the prompt from The Commonwealth Medical College, "List the 5 most important attributes you feel a physician should possess," my heart leapt with joy for the sheer simplicity. "2000 characters" brought me down, especially when you consider that prompt two is, "Choose one attribute from the above list, and describe one personal experience that best exemplifies that attribute. 2000 characters."

Yep, they want it all. These schools want you to disclose your greatest accomplishments, biggest failures, and personal challenges. Utah even wants you to write a second personal statement that is "specific, succinct, straightforward and sincere" in  3990 characters. Essentially, think of all the poetic angst that went into the AMCAS/AACOMAS/TMDSAS essay, and do it again with a completely different story arc.

Part of me thinks this process is just about jumping through hoops. The primary medical school application is pretty thorough as it is, and it is considered good enough for some schools (e.g., Mayo doesn't ask for a secondary). But then another part of me hopes maybe, just maybe, this vetting process will help filter out some of the shallow, egotistical folks who simply see medicine as a lucrative career.

Yeah, I know. Not likely.