Secondary Application

Overview

Medical schools send out secondary applications once they receive your AMCAS or AACOMAS application information. Getting a secondary application does not necessarily mean that you have passed any screening processes at the school. Most schools do not screen your application until they have received your secondary application. However, a few medical schools do screen first and then send out secondary applications (although this is less common).

At times, you wonder if medical schools just mail you a secondary application (without prior screening), so that they can collect the additional fee you have to submit along with the application. In most cases, the secondary application fee is somewhere between $40 and $100, depending on the school. What makes you wonder even more about the need for a secondary application is the fact that many medical schools don't even ask you for any new significant information. Some just ask you to verify the information you submitted through AMCAS or AACOMAS or ask something new (but very unimportant).

Some secondaries actually ask you for new information, to answer some more questions, including why you are interested in attending the specific medical school or specific questions like "Why medicine?".
You may have to write a small essay and answer some other related questions.

Read what successful applicants have to say about secondary applications.

Timing