secondaries

I just finished my secondary applications which means I’m finally done applying. For those who don’t know how med school apps work, the secondary is a device for the schools to get a bit more information on you, gain some insight into your personality, and net thousands upon thousands of dollars. Each secondary costs anywhere from 50-125 bucks just for the privilege of filling one out. This in and of itself is not unexpected, what is bothersome however, is that there is no cut off between filling out the universal application and the secondary application. Very few schools (2 out of 17 that I applied to) actually look at your primary and make decisions more revealing than, “yes this application exists” . The majority of schools wait for your primary app, your secondary app and your letters of rec before making a selection. So if a school automatically rejects applicants below a 3.5 g.p.a. and you are below that, instead of outright cutting you, they will ask you for a secondary, have you spend hours filling out enthralling questions like, “describe an adverse time in your life and how you got through it” or “what does learning mean to you” and spend upwards of $100 just to be immediately rejected without ever reading a word about your difficult time making friends at theatre camp.