You have completed your primary application process and are now receiving your secondary applications at this point in your application to medical school.
Each institution you have applied to provides you with a set of particular questions for your secondaries.
This stage of the application process is even more crucial than the previous one. Your secondary essays will help the school understand who you are, why you are a qualified applicant, and what makes you different from other applicants.
Although each prompt is particular to the institution, there are some similarities.
Different question types can be grouped into broad groups. This implies you can save time by pre-writing some medical school secondary essays.
We've created this article to guide you in writing your medical school secondary essays. Here we cover the some tips, as well as all the prompts from all of the different medical schools in the US.
What are Medical Schools Secondary Essays?
Secondary essays are part of your medical school secondary application. They ask particular questions about your objectives, experiences, and viewpoints on various subjects, such as your choice to attend medical school.
The admissions committee reads your secondary essays to see how they add to the information in your primary application. Your secondary essay is another test to see if you can adequately comprehend instructions (this time, specific instructions from the school) and concentrate on responding to the question.
What is the Purpose of Medical Schools Secondary Essays?
Examining a candidate's compatibility with a specific school's mission and aims is the aim of medical school secondary essays.
All applicants will get secondary applications for the majority of MD programs. These will range in length and type; some will be a series of yes/no questions, while others will require several lengthy essays.
Admissions committees use medical school secondary essays to acquire a more complete picture of the applicants.
Numerous schools want applicants with knowledge and talents complementing critical physician characteristics. This includes strong interpersonal and collaborative skills, moral responsibility, adaptability, service orientation, and capacities for quantitative reasoning.
Your medical school secondary essays are your chance to show off your skills and discuss why you are drawn to that particular MD program. The ambitions and experiences you have should be in line with the university’s mission and vision. What could you offer that institution's medical community that other applicants could not?
List of Secondary Essay Prompts for Medical Schools
Every applicant who submitted a primary application will likely receive a secondary application, regardless of their likelihood of being admitted.
Colleges frequently reveal the kind of student they seek when asking secondary questions. You may possess the qualities they are looking for in a candidate if you provide them with effective responses to their inquiries.
For your reference, here are a few samples of secondary essay prompts from different medical schools in the US.
Albany Medical College – Albany, New York
- Describe yourself in one way that will help the admissions committee decide whether or not to admit you to our program.
- If there are any discrepancies in your MCAT scores or academic achievement in college, graduate school, or professional school, please explain them.
- What are the leading causes if you've previously applied to medical school but weren't accepted? What have you done to address these concerns since then?
- Has something prevented you from attending graduate or professional school or a college or university? If so, could you explain? Also, please clarify if your post-graduate history contains significant gaps in activity or employment.
Albert Einstein College of Med, Yeshiva University – Bronx, New York.
If you answer "yes" to any of the following questions, elaborate in up to 3000 characters:
- I've previously applied to medical school.
- I didn't attend school full-time during my undergraduate years.
- Since graduating from college, I've taken at least a year off from school, including the year I'm applying.
- I have taken and obtained credit for online science core courses (such as chemistry, biology, organic chemistry, physics, and mathematics).
Baylor College of Medicine – Houston, Texas
- Is working as a doctor your second career? What was your first choice for a job, if any?
- After finishing your undergraduate studies, do you intend to enroll in medical school right away? If not, kindly describe your pursuits between completing college and submitting your application.
- List any unique qualities, odd circumstances, or other information that might help appraise you. It could be your schooling, employment, extracurricular activities, or ability to overcome hardships.
- Please briefly describe your main research areas for the Ph.D. part of the dual program. Mention any possible Baylor College of Medicine or Rice University faculty members you'd want to collaborate with.
- Include any unique experiences, odd circumstances, or other details you believe would help assess you. It could be your education, employment, extracurricular activities, or ability to overcome hardships. You may elaborate on information from the AMCAS application but not repeat it.
Boston University School of Medicine – Boston, Massachusetts
- Are you planning on pursuing a medical degree after finishing your undergraduate studies?
- If you were an undergraduate for over four years, please explain.
- Describe any aspects of your educational history that could interest us in a narrative or timeline. Have you, for instance, worked in a career that helped you comprehend individuals different from you or living in a foreign nation where you experienced a different culture?
- Do you have expertise with advanced training in any subject, such as the arts, music, or sports? Talk about educational experiences that may not have been covered in other sections of your AMCAS application. Describe any effects COVID-19 may have had on your intentions for further study, research, volunteer work, or employment.
- Boston Medical Center is New England's largest safety net hospital. We mainly provide care to immigrants, persons of color, and low-income residents of the Greater Boston Area. How do you think your prior experiences will prepare you for this learning environment, and why are you interested in starting your medical career there?
Brody School of Med, East Carolina University –
Greenville, North Carolina
- Tell us about the project or experience that has impacted your community the most.
- How do you believe your studies at the BSM will prepare you to become a future physician? Why are you applying to the Brody School of Medicine?
- The Covid-19 epidemic has significantly altered daily living. Consider what you have learned or experienced from your perspective and how this will affect you moving ahead.
- How did the pandemic impact you or the people in your life? Did Covid-19 provide any personal issues for you? Has Covid-19 altered or questioned your feelings about pursuing a medical career?
- Consider your motivations for pursuing a career in medicine, your goals for the future, your most memorable clinical experience, and your most memorable non-medical event.
Brown Univ Warren Alpert Med School –
Providence, Rhode Island
- Describe how your extracurricular activities are preparing you for a future in medicine.
- What goals do you have for med practice? Where do you envision yourself 15 years from now?
- How will your distinctive qualities (such as your ethnic or socioeconomic background, way of life, or professional experiences) contribute to the Alpert Medical School community's overall diversity?
- The special doctor-patient relationship is frequently the main topic of discussion regarding medicine. Why should medical schools teach aspiring doctors how to treat entire communities and populations rather than simply one patient at a time?
- Imagine if a multibillionaire philanthropist approaches you with the request to contribute a sizable sum of money to a single project to " fix the US healthcare system." They seek your professional advice on what endeavor this funding should support; what would you suggest and why?
California Northstate Univ, College of Medicine –
Elk Grove, California
- Why did you decide to apply to CNUCOM?
- Which direction do you want healthcare to move in over the next ten years?
- What do you consider to be the most challenging aspect of your medical career? What conclusions have you reached as a result?
- Please justify if your education has not been ongoing since high school. Discontinuities include gap years and time spent away from school while getting your undergraduate degree.
- You will encounter individuals from many cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds as students, instructors, coworkers, and patients in the medical field. How has your experience working with diverse people prepared you for a possible four years in Elk Grove, the surrounding region of Sacramento, and the remainder of the Central Valley?
Case Western Reserve Univ, School of Medicine –
Cleveland, Ohio
- How would you respond if you felt a fellow student wasn't doing enough while working on a small group project?
- Describe an instance when you got unanticipated criticism or unfavorable feedback. What was your response? How did you act?
- Is there anything else you want to inform the admissions committee about yourself that wasn't covered in the rest of your application?
- Describe your research's hypothesis, the methods used to test it, your findings, and how you interpreted them in light of potential future discoveries. Additionally, kindly quickly describe the inspiration for your decision to do this research and your thoughts following the event.
- Please give an example of a significant personal difficulty you have overcome that you believe has molded you. Examples could include a moral or ethical problem, a circumstance involving personal adversity, or a challenge you overcame. Please mention how you overcame the situation and what you discovered about yourself.
Central Michigan Univ, College of Medicine –
Mount Pleasant, Michigan
- Tell us about an instance when you felt uncomfortable as an outsider.
- Please share with us your most memorable volunteer experience. What about service have you learned from this experience?
- Please describe how you overcame or adjusted during the COVID-19 epidemic about your voluntary, professional, or academic activities.
- Describe why you want to attend the CMU College of Medicine and your goals for your future in medicine. Finally, explain how your training and experience will advance the purposes of the CMU College of Medicine.
- How are you preparing for a medical career since your last application, if you've applied to any medical schools in prior cycles? Write "N/A" in the box if you have never applied to medical school.
Charles R. Drew Univ of Medicine and Science –
Los Angeles, California
- Describe the socio-economic climate in your community.
- Describe your most meaningful leadership, community, and public service endeavors in the last six years.
- Please explain how your background, community, and experience have influenced your perception of disadvantaged communities.
- Were you ever guilty of a crime other than a relatively minor parking or traffic infraction? If the answer is yes, could you kindly elaborate?
- What are some of the most significant healthcare concerns under-resourced areas face besides healthcare access? How would you respond to them?
Chicago Med School, Rosalind Franklin Univ of Medicine & Science – North Chicago, Illinois
- Has your perseverance ever paid off? Describe the circumstances.
- What inventive or imaginative strategies have you discovered to maintain the development of the skills for incoming medical students during the pandemic?
- Please be clear about how your acceptance into our program would increase the diversity of the Chicago Medical School at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science community if accepted.
- Please make sure to specifically address how joining our program and attending our school would increase diversity in the community.
- Could you briefly describe your academic plans for the future year? Do you intend to work, research, give back to the community, attend classes, travel, engage in leisure activities, or engage in any other activities?
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Med – Cleveland, Ohio
- How do you envision your career developing over the next ten years?
- What would you do if you felt that one of the students wasn't doing their fair share while working on a project with a small group?
- Describe an instance when you encountered unanticipated criticism or unfavorable feedback. What was your response? How did you act?
- Our students set personal improvement goals for themselves each year. What private area do you believe needs strengthening besides learning new information? Plan how you're going to improve it.
- When have you been asked to coach, mentor, or teach others how to develop a new talent or enhance an existing one? Please explain what transpired and what you took away from the experience.
College of Physicians and Surgeons in Columbia Univ –
New York, New York
- What collegiate extracurricular activities did you participate in?
- If you have already graduated from college, please briefly overview your recent activities.
- What difficulties do you anticipate from residing and working in a complex metropolitan setting? How are you going to meet them?
- Did you work for pay during the school year or the summer when you were attending college? What did you do if so? How many hours did you put in each week?
- Diversity is valued at Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in all of its manifestations. How will your history and experiences influence this crucial area of our organization's concentration and your upcoming career as a doctor?
Cooper Med School of Rowan University – Camden, New Jersey
- Describe something that makes you a standout candidate for CMSRU.
- Medical school is demanding and even stressful. Tell us about how you deal with stress and keep a work-life balance.
- Please describe your goals in your mission statement as a CMSRU student. How would CMSRU support you in achieving your goals?
- Talk about an instance where your personality or character interfered with a group's ability to accomplish a task. What actions did you take to make things better?
- Describe the planned academic, professional, volunteer, and extracurricular activities you plan to engage in between submitting your AMCAS application and enrolling in medical school.
Creighton University School of Medicine – Omaha, Nebraska
- Please explain why you are submitting an application to the medical school at Creighton University.
- If you’re not currently a full-time student, please describe your current activities or work.
- How will you support the Creighton University School of Medicine Mission with your unique qualities and experiences?
- Describe a challenging situation or personal struggle you have faced and overcame. Consider what you've discovered about yourself and how it will benefit you as you navigate the difficulties you could encounter in medical school.
- Creighton University's School of Medicine follows the Jesuit Catholic tradition. We aim to advance knowledge and offer comprehensive medical care while fostering a diverse community of students, professors, and staff members. Please elaborate on how you can contribute to the School of Medicine's mission.
Dartmouth Medical School – Hanover, New Hampshire
- Why are you interested in Dartmouth? Please be as descriptive as possible.
- Dartmouth respects diversity and social justice in all of its manifestations. Recall a time when you were the "other."
- Please describe your goals for the upcoming academic year. If you are a student, please mention your courses. If you are employed, please tell us a little about your position.
- As we analyze your file, please consider your primary application and offer anything that wasn't covered elsewhere that would be useful to the admissions committee.
Drexel University College of Medicine – Philadelphia, Philadelphia
- We have a storied past and a meaningful mission at Drexel University College of Medicine. Each person makes a contribution, helps out, and improves the medical community.
- Please use this place to emphasize anything not covered in your AMCAS application, such as fresh experiences.
- Please describe your activities since graduating if you are a recent graduate. Tell me your present obligations and actions if you haven't graduated yet. Remember to mention any conventional and/or nontraditional clinical exposures and volunteer work you have done during the epidemic.
- Have any difficulties in the past year affected your experiences receiving medical or non-medical services? You can use this place to draw attention to omissions in your application, such as fresh experiences not covered by your AMCAS application.
- If you had a break between undergraduate and medical school, talk about your experiences then. Explain how each experience advanced your development and made you a stronger applicant to medical school, which, from the admissions committee's perspective, is the primary objective of the gap year. Concentrate on the knowledge and abilities you acquired while on vacation.
Duke Univ School of Medicine – Durham, North Carolina
- Sometimes it can be demoralizing to fail to achieve an objective or a desire. How did your failures and losses help you and how has this affected your thinking?
- Communication, teamwork, and leadership all function together. As a contributor and a leader, what do you respect most? What leadership and teamwork skills do you possess, and how do you apply them on a regular basis?
- Describe a circumstance in which you decided to stand up for someone different from you or a cause or concept that was not the same as yours. Describe what you mean by advocating. What potential consequences might your decision to be a champion bring?
- Several traits are necessary for critical reasoning. Research expertise improves one's capacity for critical analysis. Describe when you applied critical thinking to a research project or another circumstance. How will the ability to think critically be helpful in your future career?
- As you consider a career where you will engage in conversation with those who share your interests and are different from you, you may provide additional information that expands your self-identity, including gender identification, racial and/or ethnic self-description, geographic origin, socioeconomic status, academic achievements, and/or other characteristics that define who you are.
ET State Univ, James Quillen College of Medicine –
Johnson City, Tennessee
- What about Quillen appeals to you about it, and what about you appeals to Quillen?
- What challenges did you confront in acquiring experiences crucial to your medical school admission? What were your solutions?
- Describe a personal struggle through which you gained knowledge that will be useful forever. Describe how you believe that will affect your medical career and education.
- Talk about how your mindsets will promote a healthy learning environment throughout medical school and aid your patients when you practice medicine.
- As a doctor, you can influence change in the community and your patients. Share your thoughts on how experiences influence your attitudes and ideals toward people, especially those whose values differ.
Eastern Virginia Medical School – Norfolk, Virginia
- Please state why you are applying to EVMS.
- Give a brief description of your medical exposure.
- What do you anticipate enjoying the most about being a doctor?
- What do you anticipate disliking the least about being a doctor?
- In ten years, how do you see yourself and your medical career?
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Med – Blacksburg, Virginia
- How do your goals in terms of your career fit with osteopathic medicine?
- If you haven't finished all the prerequisite coursework, please explain how you plan to before matriculating.
- Describe a significant obstacle you have faced, the methods you used to conquer it, and the lessons you took from the experience.
- What led you to submit an application to VCOM? (For instance, personal or health-related experiences; influences of friends, family, doctors, or mentors; etc.)
- In medical school and as a doctor, professionalism, and respect in the community where you live are crucial. What three professional traits do you think a student doctor should possess? How will you display these traits as a medical student at VCOM?
Emory University School of Medicine – Atlanta, Georgia
- What function do you think a doctor plays in the community?
- Briefly explain your interest in Emory and the degree program you have chosen there.
- Give a brief account of your experiences with health. Include relevant experiences from your AMCAS application and any more current ones.
- Please briefly describe below if you have any updates or additional information to share since submitting your AMCAS primary application.
- List every course you have planned for the current school year. If you do not already attend school, kindly briefly overview your plans for the upcoming academic year.
Florida Atlantic Univ, Charles Schmidt College of Medicine –
Boca Raton, Florida
- Tell us about your most impactful volunteer experience that wasn't directly involved in patient care. How have you changed? What did you discover? What about helping others? Did you find it enjoyable?
- Tell us about your leadership accomplishments and/or critical competencies. (I ran a fundraiser, served as a club or group officer, etc.) How do you influence or inspire others?
- Give a brief account of a time when you had to overcome hardship. Be sure to mention any lessons you learned and how you believe they will help your future as a doctor.
- Tell us about your most fulfilling paid job. What about the job was significant? What traits and abilities did the job help you cultivate and hone? What skills do you believe you acquired while working for that employer or during your work experience? Knowledge doesn't need to be connected to patient care.
- The Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University is committed to fostering an inclusive atmosphere. Every member of the medical school community has the chance to realize their full potential. We take pride in having a medical school with various socioeconomic, racial, and cultural backgrounds. What traits, attributes, abilities, and life lessons would you bring to our community?
Florida Int’l Univ College of Medicine – Miami, Florida
- Given the institution's unique mission, how do you know that the FIU Herbert College of Medicine will be a mission fit for you?
- Give a detailed account of when you worked with others or were exposed to people from various backgrounds than your own. Please explain how the experience affected you.
- Describe a period in your life or at school when you had to overcome a challenge. Think about what you've discovered about yourself and how it will support you in medical school.
- As the project's primary investigator, you and your chair would like to conduct this experiment on the patient. The patient's parents vehemently oppose the procedure. How would you respond to this circumstance?
- Your patient is an excellent candidate for a novel, experimental medication because they both have rare diseases. As the project's primary investigator, you and your chair want to proceed with the patient experiment. The patient's parents vehemently oppose the procedure. How would you respond to this circumstance?
Florida State Univ College of Medicine – Tallahassee, Florida
- What distinguishes you from other med school applicants in terms of exceptional quality, knowledge, or interest?
- What do you consider to be your academic and personal prerequisites for studying medicine?
- How will your contributions help the FSU College of Medicine accomplish its special mission?
- Why did you decide to submit an application to the FSU College of Medicine? Please be detailed when discussing what makes FSU COM so appealing.
- The admissions committee is aware of the various effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on candidates. If you haven't done so elsewhere in your application, use this section to tell the committee how these events have affected you
Florida College of Medicine – Gainesville, Florida
Several of Dr. Frankl's remarks about finding meaning and purpose in suffering are included here. Pick one or two, and describe an instance in which you saw these ideas in action.
- Being human always directs and points away from oneself, whether toward a purpose to pursue or a fellow human being to meet.
- There is a distance between the stimulus and the response. We can select our reaction in that area. Our development and freedom are found in our answer.
- There must be a purpose to suffering if there is any value to life. As inevitable as fate and death are, suffering is a part of life. Human life cannot be complete without pain and death.
- A man will never be able to toss away his life if he is aware of his obligation toward a person patiently waiting for him or toward an incomplete task. He understands the "why" of his existence and can handle practically any "how."
Frank Netter School of Medicine, Quinnipiac Univ –
North Haven, Connecticut
- What trait or characteristic is most crucial to being a doctor?
- How do you your time during your application year if you won't be enrolled as a full-time student?
- The student body at Netter SOM is inclusive and varied. What will you add to the community and the new SOM class?
- How do you view your position as a frontline provider in future public health emergencies, given your experience with the COVID-19 Pandemic?
- Please share a time when you encountered a conflict and resolved it. How did you resolve the argument? As a medical student and potential doctor, how would you practice what you learned from this event?
George Washington Univ, Sch of Medicine and Health Sciences – Washington, DC
- What has been your most memorable clinical encounter that involved face-to-face time with patients?
- Describe how social justice and advocacy problems have affected your desire to attend medical school.
- What aspects of the MD program at GW particularly interest you? What possibilities as a student here would you take advantage of? Why?
- What makes you a particular person? What obstacles have you encountered? How can you use these elements to support the diversity of the GW student body?
- To be effective doctors in the twenty-first century, the MD Program contains significant content in clinical public health. What interests and background do you have concerning that area of the MD Program?
Georgetown Univ School of Medicine – Washington, DC
- Do you have any other information the Committee on Admissions should know?
- What prompted your decision to submit an application to the GUSOM? How do you believe Georgetown will help you prepare for a career as a doctor in the future?
- The Georgetown University School of Medicine (GUSOM) works to develop respectable medical professionals who embrace all facets of providing care for the whole person. We are committed to tackling the health imbalances aggravated by the recent epidemic because of our dedication to the Jesuit values of Cura Personalis, People for Others, and Community in Diversity. Please explain how your identity, deals, and life experiences will support these GUSOM priorities.
Harvard Medical School – Boston, Massachusetts
- How many hours a week did you work during the school year?
- Briefly describe your activities following graduation if you have already received your diploma.
- The virtual interview period for the 2023–2024 cycle is expected to go from mid–September through January 2024. Inform us if you have any primary (three weeks or more) limitations on your interview availability. If none, kindly leave this field empty.
- The COVID-19 epidemic has had various effects on candidates, as the Committee on Admissions is aware. If you haven't previously stated how these events have affected you elsewhere in your application but still wish to share that information with the Committee, kindly use this section.
- We encourage you to share any important information about your past or identification with the Committee here if it is not covered elsewhere in the application. Many candidates won't be required to respond to this question. For instance, atypical financial considerations, severe barriers to education, and identification with a minority culture, religion, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, or gender identity are all possible examples.
Howard Univ College of Medicine – Washington, DC
- After finishing your residency, do you want to practice medicine in a disadvantaged or underserved community?
- Have you lived in areas with poor access to healthcare or where most people have economic or educational disadvantages?
- Have you ever dealt with medically underserved, economically distressed, or educationally underprivileged people? Explain the experience.
- Do you have additional information to help review your application (such as additional coursework, academic record issues, being disadvantaged, etc.)?
Jacobs Sch of Med and Biomedical Sciences – Buffalo, New York
- Please briefly describe your motivations for applying to the JSM at the Univ of Buffalo.
- Describe how you would react to a fellow student who mumbled a racist or homophobic phrase in front of you and your peers.
- Everyone in the US has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic somehow. Please describe how this pandemic has negatively affected you and your family.
Joan Edwards School of Med, Marshall University –
Huntington, West Virginia
- Why did you decide to submit an application to Marshall University?
- Where do you envision yourself in ten years? Where do you wish to practice medicine or assist others?
- Indicate your work or other plans for the time leading up to your anticipated enrollment in medical school if you are not currently enrolled.
- If there have been any alterations to your academic, voluntary, professional, or personal lives due to COVID-19, let the admissions committee know about them.
Johns Hopkins Univ, Sch of Medicine – Baltimore, Maryland
- Are there any medical specialties that really interest you? Please explain.
- Briefly recount an instance in which you did not follow the crowd. Please explain.
- Describe an instance where you had to overcome hardship. Be sure to include any lessons you learned and how they will impact your future as a doctor.
- Tell us about a time when you were amazed by something ordinary. It can be unconnected to medicine or science.
- Do you have any material not included in the application that will help the committee learn more about you? It can be about being a first-generation college student, a member of a minority group (due to your sexual orientation, religion, economic status, gender identity, ethnicity), having undocumented parents, being undocumented yourself, etc.
Keck Sch of Medicine, Univ of Southern California –
Los Angeles, California
- What was the last time you had the most fun?
- What do you think the doctor's role should be in public health?
- Describe a circumstance in which you felt you were entitled to something but were not given it.
- Have you ever applied to a medical school abroad (M.D., D.O.)? If so, what do you think went wrong after considering it?
- Are you in an underrepresented group in medicine? What impact does under-representation have on your neighborhood?
Lewis Katz Sch of Medicine, Temple University –
Philadelphia, Philadelphia
- Tell us about the campus you choose and any particular areas of interest.
- What specifically interests you about the Lewis Katz School of Medicine?
- What contributions will you make to the Lewis Katz School of Medicine Community?
- All of us have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic in some way. Tell us how COVID-19 affected your academic performance, personal life, or career.
- To improve the medical school experience for everyone, LKSOM seeks an energetic student body with diverse backgrounds, experiences, viewpoints, and interests. What makes you different from other applicants? How will you benefit the LKSOM community?
Loma Linda Sch of Medicine – Loma Linda, California
- What qualities about you personally make you a suitable applicant to LLUSM?
- Talk about how your spiritual upbringing, evolution, and experiences have influenced your daily life.
- Please explain your current affiliation (or the basis for your lack of cooperation) with a church or other religious organization.
- Describe any effects of COVID-19 or current social events in America on your intentions for study, research, service, or employment.
Louisiana State Univ HSC, Sch of Medicine at New Orleans –
New Orleans, Los Angeles
- Describe your encounters with and familiarity with community and/or rural life.
- List all your undergraduate extracurricular activities, such as clubs, volunteer work, etc.
- Regarding your direct and extended family members who reside in rural or underserved locations in Louisiana, kindly supply precise details.
- Describe the functions and responsibilities of a pastoral or primary care physician based on your own personal experience, observations, and thoughts.
- Describe your involvement in your local community before and after you started college, including any community organizations, activities, or volunteer work you have done.
Loyola Univ Chicago, Stritch Sch of Medicine – Maywood, Illinois
- Describe how you lead. State an example of when and how you used your leadership style.
- Describe a personal or professional disagreement or issue that wasn't academic. Describe the knowledge, tools, and/or techniques you used to tackle the problem.
- Describe how you decided to devote your life to learning and practicing a career in medicine. Explain how the LUCSSM may assist you in achieving your goals of being the type of person and doctor you want to be.
- Serving communities with limited resources and service is an expression of social justice. Describe a memorable experience working with or for a community lacking enough resources. Describe what you have discovered about yourself due to your service. Include what has stymied your attempts to help others in these settings.
- A critical education component at SSOM is social justice in the Jesuit tradition. It is justice owed to each person owing to their inherent human dignity. What have you discovered about yourself due to your actual social justice experiences? Describe how you want to continue promoting contemporary social justice concerns as a medical student and a doctor.
Mayo Medical Sch, Mayo Clinic College of Med –
Rochester, Minnesota
- Tell us what you think about the value—or lack thereof—of various learning settings for the medical education you aspire to.
- Everybody's uniqueness is different. Describe how your personal diversity is reflected in your personal and professional actions.
- Even if you get accepted to other top medical schools, why do you want to pursue medical study at the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine?
- Do you have any history with any of the Mayo Clinic campuses, either present or past? This would include employment, volunteer work, and educational/research opportunities (such as the Mayo Worrall Scholars Program, the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURF), an internship, a lab assistant, etc.)
Medical College of Georgia, Sch of Medicine – Augusta, Georgia
- If applicable, list any unique circumstances, noteworthy events, or details you have not yet included in your application.
- Please explain why you want to become a doctor. What improvements do you think you can contribute to the medical field in the future?
- Describe any discrepancies in your academic history. This could include subpar course performance, grading patterns, MCAT results, etc.
- Give a brief description of the region in which you would probably practice medicine. When responding, kindly provide the nation, area, state, city, and/or town.
- The Admissions Committee views the diversity of each incoming class as a crucial component in advancing the school's educational goal. The Committee strongly encourages you to discuss any distinctive, personally significant, and/or challenging aspects of your background, such as the standard of your early educational setting, socioeconomic status, your region of residence about its need for health professionals, your affiliation with MCG Medical College of Georgia, culture, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and life and/or professional experiences. Please explain how these elements have affected your aspirations and training for a career in medicine.
Medical College of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Describe a situation when you made a choice that you later regretted. What did it do to you emotionally, and what did it leave you with?
- Describe how MCW will uniquely prepare you for your future goals and how your unique history, identity, hobbies, or talents will contribute to the MCW learning community.
- Describe the area in which you see yourself eventually residing and working as a physician. Discuss the advantages and difficulties of living in the community you have chosen.
- Explain why you want to enroll in a community-based medical education program with a primary care emphasis. Consider how attending an MCW regional campus will help you prepare for your medical profession. Include the impact of significant encounters with underserved rural or medical communities.
Medical Univ of S. Carolina, College of Medicine –
Charleston, South Carolina
- What are the aims of your medical practice?
- Where in the nation would you like to practice medicine? Why?
- What medical specialties currently interest you or are you planning to pursue?
- Do you have any achievements or experiences that might distinguish you from other applicants?
- If you received your bachelor's degree more than six months ago, please detail your employment situation since then (part-time, full-time, and dates).
Meharry Medical College – Nashville, Tennessee
- Why do you want to study at Meharry Medical College?
- Describe a time when you personally failed, faced a formidable task, or overcame a substantial obstacle. Describe your coping mechanisms and any lessons you took away from your experience regarding who you are.
Mercer University School of Medicine – Macon, Georgia
- Describe any disciplinary actions the institution took during your undergraduate and graduate studies, including any infractions of the honor code or conduct code.
- Describe here for the admissions committee any experiences, traits, or credentials you believe make you unique and can enhance the diversity of the learning environment at MUSM.
- Discuss your view of your academic preparation for the demands of a medical school program.
- Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM) aims to prepare medical practitioners to serve Georgia's rural and medically underserved communities. Write a brief summary of your educational and professional experiences that, in your opinion, align with the mission.
- Were you raised in a medically underserved community or to be a county resident with many medically underserved people? By medically underserved, we mean populations at risk for poor health due to challenges accessing quality medical care. Education level, poverty, lack of insurance or inadequate insurance, lack of a regular source of care other than the emergency room, membership in a socially marginalized group with worse health outcomes, cultural or linguistic barriers to receiving quality medical care, lack of transportation to necessary medical care, and others may all contribute to this. Please elaborate.
Michigan State Univ College of Human Medicine –
East Lansing, Michigan
- Talk about a time you ventured outside of your comfort zone. What were the difficulties? What did you discover?
- What information about you would you want the Committee on Admissions to be aware of if you had the opportunity to introduce yourself?
- The CHM provides students with an advanced learning setting. What life experiences have helped you be successful in our curriculum? How are you going to approach any obstacles you may encounter?
Morehouse Sch of Medicine – Atlanta, Georgia
- What proportion of your working hours do you anticipate giving to:
Management
Instruction
Patient Care
Research
- Determine which of the following medical specialties you might want to concentrate your professional efforts on:
- Write a brief essay outlining why you chose to apply to MSM and any personal details you believe the admissions committee should know while evaluating your application.
Mount Sinai Sch of Medicine – New York, New York
- What is the most challenging criticism you've ever received? How did you handle it? Please explain.
- Please briefly describe the activities you are involved in this academic year if you are not a full-time student.
- Describe any unfavorable conditions throughout your premedical preparation. It can be COVID-19's recent impact on you.
- Describe a circumstance you felt was unfair or unjust, whether toward you or others. If at all, how did you respond to the predicament?
- We encourage you to share with the admissions committee any significant aspects of your heritage, identity, or dedication to a particular community that is not covered elsewhere in the application. Parts may include severe obstacles to or circumstances relating to access to education, having a handicap, socioeconomic factors, identification with a religion, culture, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, or gender identity, or immigrant status,. Describe briefly how these elements have affected your motivation for a profession in medicine. This section's completion is not required.
New York College of Osteopathic Med at NYIT –
Westbury, New York
- Give a description of the area where you envisage yourself practicing medicine.
- Give an example of a problem you've had to solve and the actions you took to do so.
- Do you have any prior NYITCOM applications? If so, how specifically have you improved your qualifications for the current application year?
- Briefly explain your campus or site preference and mention one or two of the most significant aspects when deciding where to complete your medical education.
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion are values at NYITCOM. What contributions will your past and present make to our inclusive society, and how will this emphasis affect your upcoming career as a doctor?
New York Univ Sch of Medicine – New York, New York
- The most significant accomplishments are frequently not scholarly in nature. Specify the personal achievement of which you are most proud. Why are you concerned about this?
- Differences in viewpoints, priorities, worldviews, and traditions lead to daily conflicts. What would you say is respect? Describe a time when you struggled to remain competitive while maintaining respect.
- Give an example of when working with a friend, family member, or coworker was difficult. What lessons did you take away from the experience that you can use in your future career in healthcare? How, if at all, did you address the matter as a team?
- The admissions committee assesses a wide range of student characteristics and life experiences using a holistic approach. What special abilities or skills do you have that you could bring to the NYU Grossman School of Medicine community specifically?
- Our institution's ultimate mission is to create a population of doctors who share a joint commitment. We want to enhance the health of all societal segments through first-rate patient care, research, and education. Where do you envision your future medical career going in this situation, and why? Please include further information if your plans call for you to finish a dual degree program.
N.Eastern Ohio Universities, College of Medicine –
Rootstown, Ohio
- What do you want to upon studying at NEOMED?
- Give an example of how you helped your community embrace diversity.
- A doctor's workday involves a variety of tasks. Which medical activity will mean the most to you? Give an example from your life to support this activity's importance.
N.Western University, Feinberg Sch of Medicine –
Chicago, Illinois
- Specify your actions to balance your personal, academic, and professional obligations while managing your stress and preserving your health.
- Describe your past accomplishments and plans for the year or more that will elapse between your college graduation and admission to medical school.
- Describe how your learning style and personal characteristics would match with the institution. Considering the innovative educational philosophy and integrated curriculum at FSM.
- Feinberg aims to educate future medical leaders who will benefit society, communities, and patients. Describe a specific medical goal you have and how FSM, one of the most culturally diverse cities in the nation, would help you reach it.
- The Feinberg School of Medicine considers diversity to be a sign of excellence. Our definition defines variety as all our students' traits and life experiences. We think that having a varied student group enhances the learning environment and increases the capacity of our graduates. We want to serve a patient population that is becoming more and more diverse. Everyone has a story to tell. Please be more specific about how your experiences would benefit Northwestern University.
Oakland Univ William Beaumont Sch of Medicine –
Rochester, Michigan
- Note that this area is only intended for brand-new information; it cannot be used to emphasize credentials already highlighted in other sources.
- If you are reapplying to OUWB, please explain how your current application differs from previous cycles regarding academics, experiences, and/or personal traits.
- How have your experiences helping others helped you grow personally? How might your experiences help our community be more diverse, equitable, and inclusive?
- To demonstrate your dedication to helping the community and obtaining valuable medical expertise, please elaborate on how you overcame challenges or adjusted throughout the COVID-19 epidemic.
- Are there any further details regarding your qualifications for medical school that you would like the admissions committee to be aware of? For instance, briefly describe your activities if you have already received your diploma.
Ohio State Univ College of Medicine – Columbus, Ohio
- How prepared do you feel about choosing a family medicine career? Describe any other exposure or experiences you have had that wasn't already stated in your application.
- Ohio State University College of Medicine aims to "improve people's lives" via advancements in patient care, medical education, and research. Please explain how your prior experiences foretell your ability to make a difference in two of these three areas.
- According to the OSU COM Admissions vision statement, the admissions committee will create a class exhibiting "diversity in thought and background." Why are they a desirable quality for the student body of a medical school?
- If you want to say something to the admissions committee about the pandemic, kindly use the space provided here. Include your most important takeaways, innovative ways you were able to help your community throughout the crisis, or challenges you may have had due to the virus or quarantine.
- A communications initiative called "Health is Primary" aims to promote the ideals of family medicine, highlight the advantages of primary care, and include patients in our healthcare system. The goal is to build a primary care system that upholds the principles of family medicine, prioritizes the patient's needs, and enhances all Americans' health. How do you intend to incorporate family medicine principles into your future professional life?
Ohio Univ Heritage College of Osteopathic Med – Athens, Ohio
- Describe a circumstance in which you opted to fight for a person who is not like you.
- There are numerous ways to get to medical school and many challenges to overcome. If you have a unique path that led you to medicine, please describe it and any challenges you faced. How will this experience impact your medical career?
- Supporting diversity and public service while enhancing the health and well-being of underprivileged communities is a critical component of OU-HCOM's purpose. Describe what that implies and how, as a student and potential physician, you would support that mission.
- Describe the demographics of the area where you were raised or spent most of your early development. What fundamental principles were taught to you, and how will they affect the contributions you aim to make to your community as a med student and later as a doctor?
Oregon Health & Science Univ Sch of Medicine – Portland, Oregon
- Describe a period in your life when grit was evident.
- What aspect of being a doctor will be the most difficult, aside from striking a balance between work and life?
- What experiences have you had that have improved your comprehension of the patients you plan to aid in the future?
- Describe how you met the premedical competencies recommended by OHSU UME Admissions, paying particular attention to any experiences not listed on your transcript. Don't be explicit in your response by mentioning grades or test results. OHSU's Recommended Prerequisites and the AAMC's Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students.
- Please discuss how your experience shows the capacity to overcome difficulty and promotes diversity in healthcare delivery. Age, color, culture, handicap, gender identity or expression, national origin, ethnicity, marital status, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status might be considered diverse.
Pennsylvania State Univ College of Medicine –
Hershey, Pennsylvania
- Why did you apply to Penn State College of Medicine?
- Write a brief essay outlining a memorable teamwork event you've had.
- Is there anything special about your application that the admissions committee should consider?
- Describe briefly how you hope to use your medical training to improve care for underserved or marginalized communities.
- Describe your activities since finishing your baccalaureate degree through the time of this application. Include your goals until your medical school enrollment
Rush Medical College, Rush Univ Medical Center –
Chicago, Illinois
- Have you ever provided direct patient care or contact besides shadowing or observing? Explain the experience.
- Describe, if appropriate, how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected your efforts to apply to and/or prepare for medical school.
- Use this space to include any additional information that pertains to your application but is unrelated to COVID that you would like the Committee on Admissions to be aware of.
- RUMC is an anchor institution for efforts to enhance the socio-economic and structural factors that influence health. These efforts boost the economic vibrancy of Chicago's Westside communities and assist locals in improving their health. Describe how you have affected and/or altered a person or community using your experiences.
- On Chicago's near west side, Rush Medical College treats many patients. We aim to educate doctors who can relate to various patient populations, even though they may not come from similar backgrounds. Tell us about a personal experience that extended your perspective on the world or improved your ability to understand people different from you. Also, share what you took away from the encounter.
Saint Louis Univ, Sch of Medicine – St. Louis, Missouri
- What does social justice mean to you?
- Do you have any comments, other than your AMCAS personal statement, to the Admissions Committee?
- Will you be a full-time student for the 2023 – 2024 academic year? If not, please describe your current activities.
- Describe any experiences and skills that have made you more appreciative or sensitive of other cultures or the human condition.
- Were there any significant effects in your academic, work, volunteer, or personal life due to COVID-19 that you'd like to draw the Admissions Committee's notice to? You can also add any comments you like about getting letters of recommendation or difficulties you had taking the MCAT.
Sanford Sch of Medicine, Univ of South Dakota –
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
- Describe how your involvement in social or healthcare activities will aid your development as a good doctor.
- Explain how your history and experiences with diversity will benefit the school in light of the institution's diversity statement.
- What career goals do you have if you are not accepted into a medical school this year or after submitting numerous applications?
- In light of the school's mission statement, please elaborate on how your experiences and long-term objectives would support the mission.
- Give a succinct description of a significant obstacle or crisis, how you overcame it, and what you took from the experience.
Southern Illinois Univ, Sch of Medicine – Springfield, Illinois
- Please explain how your qualifications have improved since applying to the SIU School of Medicine.
- SIU School of Medicine aims to help the people of southern and central Illinois meet their healthcare needs through education, patient care, research, and community service. The school takes a comprehensive approach to identifying and selecting a diverse student body. What specific ways do you think you could help with this mission?
- You must be adaptable and committed to developing and using essential interacting and learning abilities to succeed as a student at SIU School of Medicine and as a practicing physician. Give examples of your experiences showing how you've contributed to a team, engaged in lifelong learning, identified and addressed your learning needs and goals, and experienced the small group tutorial process employed in a problem-based learning environment.
Stanford University School of Medicine – Stanford, California
- Please give an example of a time or circumstance when you stood up for someone else.
- Please explain how you have made a distinctive contribution to the community you identify with.
- How will you use the Stanford Medicine Discovery Curriculum and the need for a scholarly emphasis to advance your professional aspirations?
- Please list any lessons learned, sufferings endured, difficulties overcome, or opportunities created due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Describe how these insights have influenced your motives for attending medical school and your preparation for it in terms of your academic, research, career, volunteer work, and/or clinical experiences.
- The diversity of an entering class is viewed by the admissions committee as a crucial component in advancing the school's educational purpose. You are highly urged to discuss distinctive aspects of your identity and personally significant or challenging aspects of your past. These conversations may touch on your early schooling, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical difficulties, or other life or professional experiences.
Texas A&M Health and Science Center, College of Med –
College Station, Texas
- Briefly describe any encounters or abilities that have increased your sensitivity to or appreciation for other cultures or the human condition.
- Discuss any significant financial, personal, or academic challenges brought on by COVID-19 that may have affected you or your close relatives.
- List and briefly describe the medical field(s) that most interest you. Do not omit the field. The optional question has to do with a list of medical specialties that can be found on the A&M Secondary Portal.
- The Aggie Core Values of Excellence, Respect, Loyalty, Leadership, Integrity, and Selfless Service are upheld by the Texas A&M College of Medicine. Describe the actions that show you would be a good steward of these fundamental values.
- Describe any hardship-indicating events not covered in your primary application essays. This includes financial hardships, a medical condition, personal or family illness, educational disadvantage or a death in the immediate family.
Texas Tech Univ HSC, Paul Foster Sch of Medicine – El Paso, Texas
- Describe any unique personal experiences or challenges you have had in pursuing a medical degree, including financial, educational, or other difficulties.
- The Texas Tech Univ Health Sciences Center, Paul L. Foster Sch of Medicine's mission is to serve the needs of our culturally and socially diverse communities and region while offering excellent education and development opportunities for diverse students and residents, faculty, and faculty staff. Because PLFSOM is near the US-Mexico border, please explain why you are considering applying to our institution.
- The Foster SOM student honor code reads: "In my role as a medical student at the TTUHSC, I shall protect the honor of the medical community. I'll do everything I can to avoid doing anything that would endanger my patients.
Following the accepted medical norms of practice, I shall uphold the dignity of my patients, including the deceased, and respect their private information. I won't steal, cheat, or lie. To support my profession's high standards and expectations, I will always professionally act when interacting with coworkers, instructors, and other healthcare providers.
Others breaking this code will not be tolerated by me, and I will report them to the proper authorities. Please include details about your prior encounters or character traits that show a commitment to this honor code.
Texas Tech Univ HSC Sch of Medicine – Lubbock, Texas
- Have there been any bumps in your academic career so far?
- Would you kindly provide any lessons learned from the COVID-19 epidemic that you would like the admissions committee to consider?
Disruptions in your personal, professional, volunteer, or academic life
How you used your creativity to help your community throughout the crisis
Hardships you may have had as a result of confinement, illness, or quarantine
- The Paul Foster School of Medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center’s mission is to serve the needs of our region's socially and culturally diverse communities. We offer excellent education and development opportunities for diverse students, residents, faculty, and staff.
Please explain why you are applying to our school, considering the elements of this mission and the fact that PLFSOM is situated near the US/Mexico border. - According to the Foster SOM student honor code, "I will preserve the dignity of the medical profession in my role as a TTUHSC medical student. To the best of my abilities, I will refrain from taking any acts that could endanger my patients.
Following accepted medical practice norms, I shall uphold the dignity of my patients, the deceased, and their sensitive information. I won't steal, lie, or cheat. I will behave in a way that respects my profession's high standards and expectations when I interact professionally with my coworkers, instructors, and other healthcare providers. I won't put up with other people breaking this code and denouncing them to the proper authorities.”
Please give examples of your prior behavior or character traits demonstrating your adherence to this honor code.
Tufts University School of Medicine – Boston, Massachusetts
- How can you help the Tufts University School of Medicine student body be more diverse? Give a brief explanation.
- Did you take any significant interruptions or leaves of absence from your undergraduate studies? Give a brief explanation.
- Contextualize how your experiences—including your professional, personal, and educational journey—have been impacted by COVID-19.
- Describe your plans for the upcoming year in a few sentences. If you are a student, working, performing research, volunteering, etc., mention it in this explanation.
- We are aware that many applicants struggle with their academics. Please describe any academic challenges you have had that you believe may hurt your chances of being accepted to medical school. We think such challenges present an opportunity for development and would be interested in knowing how your experiences have changed how you approach academics.
Tulane Univ Sch of Medicine – New Orleans, Los Angeles
- Who best knows you, and what would they say about you?
- What have you been working on since receiving your degree?
- Tulane Univ Sch of Medicine values the diversity of its patients, teachers, staff, and students. Do you consider yourself to belong to a group that is underrepresented among medical professionals? These include but are not limited to, groupings based on ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, religion, handicap, and socioeconomic status.
- Which health inequalities do you think are relevant to the patients in New Orleans? How would you approach them as a Tulane medical student? To support your response, you can describe and compare your interest in any student activities provided at Tulane or New Orleans.
- Tulane University School of Medicine aims to improve human health and foster healthy communities by discovering and translating the best science into clinical practice and education. We prepare the next generation of eminent clinical and scientific leaders and provide the highest quality patient care.
Give a brief explanation of why Tulane University School of Medicine is appealing to you.
The University of Hawaii at Manoa, John A. Burns Sch of Medicine – Honolulu, Hawaii
- Please write the additional essay below if you are reapplying to JABSOM. Describe the actions you have taken to strengthen your MD Program application
- Describe a time when your fortitude was tested personally. What did you learn from it that will help you in handling similar circumstances in the future?
- Please choose ONE of the following three questions:
Talk about a moment you attempted to remedy a perceived wrong, felt motivated to defend someone, or stood up to something you thought was unfair.
Describe a circumstance that illustrates your integrity as a person.
Explain a difficult circumstance in which you disagreed with a direction or regulation and how you handled it.
- Describe any personal ties you may have to JABSOM, Hawaii, or the Pacific. Please explain your interest in attending JABSOM if you don’t have a personal connection to Hawaii or JABSOM.
The University of Illinois College of Med – Chicago, Illinois
- Have you previously applied for admission to a medical school?
- Have you ever started a professional or graduate program but never finished it?
- Describe any abrupt changes you went through in your medical school admission process due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Describe a challenging circumstance you have faced. Please explain how you felt, how you handled the incident, and what you learned from it that will make it simpler and easier for you to deal with a similar issue in the future.
- Please choose up to two more topics of interest from the list below that you might like to pursue during your medical education in addition to becoming a qualified doctor. Your comments will not affect any dual degree applications or special programs to which you may also apply.
The University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille Carver College of Med –
Iowa City, Iowa
- Please briefly explain why you are applying to Carver College of Medicine.
- How have you improved your application if reapplying to the Carver College of Medicine?
- Describe any unique traits or challenges you may have faced that will affect how you contribute to a diverse healthcare system.
- If you’re not presently enrolled in a program leading to a degree, please describe your plans for completing this secondary application and the commencement of medical school.
- List and briefly describe each paid or volunteer medical experience you have had over the past five years. Provide different experiences not listed on your AMCAS as well as the occasions stated on your AMCAS.
University of Kansas School of Medicine – Kansas City, Kansas
- What have you done to improve the quality of life in your town? Please explain.
- Describe the most significant issue you have faced and the methods you have taken to solve it?
- Describe instances where you have exercised leadership and greatly impacted people, helped settle conflicts, or made a long-term contribution to collective activities.
- Describe your experiences in the medical field that gave you firsthand knowledge of a doctor's clinical responsibilities and how those experiences influenced your decision to apply to medical school.
- Please let us know who you are. What role has your identity had in forming your attitudes and values toward others, especially those whose values differ from yours? Please explain how your beliefs and perspectives will help create a productive learning environment during your medical education and assist your future patients.
University of Kentucky College of Med – Lexington, Kentucky
- What skills and attributes do you believe a doctor should have?
- Should doctors keep a safe emotional distance when treating patients, or should they be understanding of their emotional state?
- Give an example of a personal activity involving activism, social justice, or civic participation that impacted your beliefs about providing equitable patient care.
- If you feel that your personal qualities or any achievements or experiences help to indicate your capacity to contribute to the college or the field of medicine, please go into more detail.
- Please share any interesting, meaningful, or challenging details about your background. You may mention your early schooling, your socioeconomic situation, your culture, your sexual orientation, your race, and your ethnicity. Please explain how these elements have affected your aspirations and training for a medical career.
University of Louisville Sch of Medicine – Louisville, Kentucky
- How do you envision yourself using your medical training after completing a residency?
- Please list any factors that are negatively affecting your college academic achievement.
- What have you done to serve or volunteer in your community that has had the most significant impact? What impact did it have on the neighborhood and you?
- Describe your most noteworthy individual achievements and how they might be related to your ability to make a difference in the medical profession.
- How have your cultural experiences influenced your outlook on your role in the medical profession and improved your capacity to deliver just treatment to a varied patient population?
University of Maryland Sch of Medicine – Baltimore, Maryland
- Please describe your plans for the 2023–2024 academic year. What do you plan on doing after graduation if you graduate, or will you graduate in 2023?
- Please explain below if you ever had academic issues in college, graduate school, or professional school. Include any withdrawals, incompletes, failing grades, etc.
- Tell us if there’s a particular reason you are considering enrolling in the University of Maryland Sch of Medicine and if you have any unique connections to our organization.
- How can you contribute to the core values of inclusion and diversity at our medical school and in the medical community without focusing just on your identity?
- Describe the activity, the time frame it was scheduled to occur, and any pertinent contact information if the COVID-19 outbreak influenced a particular medical school application activity.
University of Massachusetts, Sch of Medicine –
Worcester, Massachusetts
- Outline an instance in which you encountered a setback. What response did you have to this challenge?
- Describe an instance in which you had to make a choice that did not go over well and how you handled it.
- Talk about a period when you were part of a dysfunctional team. How did you handle the circumstance?
- Have you ever been in a situation where communication was insufficient? What did you do to improve the situation?
- In recognition that diversity strengthens our community and enriches the patients we serve, UMass Chan Medical School aims to be a diverse academic community. Describe how you define diversity. Cite an example of how you helped a group, team, or class be more varied. Consider how you may contribute to the community's diversity at UMCMS.
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey of Rutgers – Newark, New Jersey
- Discuss any extra information you think may help us review your candidacy.
- If you chose to go through one or more growth years before applying to medical school, please share your insight on your decision.
- We are committed to an environment that fosters humanism, collaboration, equity, and social justice. Keeping this in mind, how will you contribute to the NJMS community?
- If you are not a full-time student between June 2023-August 2024, please describe in detail your planned activities, including the projected time commitment for each action.
- We seek students who are resilient, self-aware, and adaptable. Discuss a personal or professional challenge you’ve experienced and how you resolved it. Please include insight into what you learned about yourself as a result.
University of Miami, Leonard Miller Sch of Medicine – Miami, Florida
- Please describe a scenario in which you had to exercise leadership.
- What steps have you taken to help find, address, and resolve a systemic discrimination issue?
- Please provide a timeline with dates and a brief summary of your clinical experiences and/or shadowing.
- What actions did you take during the most recent COVID-19 pandemic that will help you be a better medical student and future doctor?
- Why did you pursue a medical degree at the UMLMSM? Please be as detailed as you can.
University of Michigan Med School – Ann Arbor, Michigan
- How did the COVID pandemic affect your path to medical school? Feel free to discuss any features, either favorable or unfavorable.
- Comment about your future goals for the medical field. Please consult our Seven Paths of Excellence for examples if necessary.
- Describe your identity, how it has influenced your values and attitudes toward others different from you, and how this will affect how you interact with patients and future coworkers.
- Describe the missing voices and how increased medical representation might affect the medical community if you recognize and/or represent one absent, underrepresented, or underestimated.
- Let us know what you are fascinated about, passionate about, or what offers you joy - and why - outside of medicine and beyond what we can read in your application. A few examples are reading historical fiction, visiting national parks, building things out of wood, making cupcakes, listening to podcasts, crocheting, playing pickleball, making movies, and creating music.
University of Minnesota Med School – Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Describe a time when you fought for someone or something. What did this experience teach you?
- Recall a time when you overcame a failure that wasn't academic. What steps did you take to recover after realizing the setback? Please explain.
- Recall a time when you saw bias (unconscious or blatant), or experienced it firsthand. We are curious about what you discovered in either scenario. Please explain.
- Our nation is coming to terms with its racist past, current racial injustice, and anti-black racism. Please share your thoughts, experiences, and key takeaways on systematic racism.
- Please let us know who you are. What role has your identity played in how your values have evolved and how you treat people, especially those whose values differ from yours? What effect will this have on your potential patients as you practice medicine?
University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Medicine – Jackson, Mississippi
- Explain and elaborate why you want to become a doctor.
- How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your academic preparation for medical school or your possibilities for research, volunteering, or shadowing, for example? Please inform the executive admissions committee about any other pandemic effects you feel they should be aware of.
University of Missouri, Kansas City Sch of Medicine –
Kansas, Missouri
- Has COVID-19 significantly impacted your application to medical school in 2024?
- Please elaborate (using, for instance, particular personal qualities, education, life experiences, etc.).
- Tell us how you learned about our institution and any reasons (programs, people, mission, geography, etc.) that influenced your decision to apply.
- Please mention any aspects of your candidacy that the Admissions Committee should take into account that weren't sufficiently addressed on the AMCAS application.
- How will you foster a friendly learning environment and add to the medical school's general diversity?
University of Nebraska Med Center, College of Medicine –
Omaha, Nebraska
- What is your greatest accomplishment?
- Please explain if you have been away from full-time academics for over two years.
- Why are you applying to the UNMC College of Medicine?
- Tell us about a time when you faced a challenge and overcame it.
- How did the COVID-19 pandemic affected you personally and professionally?
- How do you know that you want to be a doctor and what the job entails given the dearth of shadowing chances during the past 18 months?
University of Nevada Sch of Medicine – Reno, Nevada
- Describe your direct patient care experience and what you took away from it.
- If there is something you haven't mentioned or disclosed that you would like taken into account when your application is being reviewed, kindly comment about it.
- Describe a period when you had a significant life crisis, a personal challenge, or a setback in school or work. How did you respond, and how did that influence how you behaved later?
- Describe your main reasons for applying to UNR Medical and your most significant ties to Nevada. What plans do you have to use your medical profession to help us realize our vision of a healthy Nevada?
- Nevada's rural regions suffer from a physician shortage, racial and ethnic health inequities, and inadequate healthcare for the LGBTQ population and non-English speakers. Describe how your past experiences have equipped you to treat underserved people.
University of Nevada, Las Vegas Sch of Medicine – Las Vegas, Nevada
- How does your background and goals contribute to the mission of the UNLV School of Medicine? Please explain.
- Discuss how you envision yourself contributing to caring for our growing and diverse population in Nevada.
- Provide a short summary of your time since graduating from high school and applying to medical school.
- You are welcome to inform the admissions committee of any delays or effects that COVID-19 has had on your application materials, the application procedure, and/or your personal life.
- If you have other background and information you believe is essential for the Admissions Committee to consider, please include it here. Do not restate the statement already in your primary AMCAS application.
University of New England College of Osteopathic Med –
Biddeford, Maine
- Have you interacted with any members of the UNE COM faculty, staff, students, or alums?
- Have you ever submitted an application for graduate, undergraduate, or professional study at the University of New England?
- If you are applying to medical schools for the second time, what have you done to improve your preparation? Please be brief and precise.
- Why are you applying to osteopathic medical schools if you applied to allopathic medical schools before? Please be brief and precise.
- The core of the curriculum of UNE COM is team-based, collaborative education. Tell us about an instance when you joined a productive academic or professional group. Describe the benefits of using a team-based approach in your medical education.
University of New Mexico Sch of Medicine –
Albuquerque, New Mexico
- What facets of public health do you believe the UNM SOM program should emphasize? Why?
- In New Mexico, there is a scarcity of doctors. Why do you think this is and what solutions do you have in mind?
- Give examples of a challenge or dispute you have faced on the job or in your personal life. How did you solve the issue? What abilities, tools, and/or tactics did you use? Do not discuss the MCAT, a course, or a subject in school.
- To obtain an awareness of the difficulties and rewards of being a doctor, mentorship and clinical experience are essential. What patient encounter or mentorship experience do you recall from your own journey toward applying to medical school that most shaped your development to date? Please discuss this event and elaborate.
- We are dedicated to creating a vibrant, successful, and happy learning environment at the UNM School of Medicine as well as fostering intercultural and interracial understanding among students with a variety of skills, experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds. Describe any distinctive or challenging aspects of your knowledge, such as the standard of your early educational setting, socioeconomic situation, culture, race, ethnicity, and life and professional experiences. How may your experiences or background add to the variety of a medical school class?
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Medicine –
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Give an example of how you changed someone's life, and then discuss what you learned about yourself.
- Give an example of a time or circumstance in which you failed. Please explain.
- Describe when you positively impacted someone's life and what you learned about yourself.
- The UNC School of Medicine supports inclusion and diversity throughout the organization. In our opinion, educational settings that integrate people with various backgrounds and experiences improve education and professional development. How might your background and/or experiences benefit the UNC SOM community?
- Use the space below to discuss anything you'd like to about the COVID-19 public health crisis. Your most important takeaways and revelations from the pandemic, inventive ways you were able to help your community throughout the situation, and difficulties you may have had due to the virus and/or quarantine are a few examples of potential themes.
University of North Dakota, Sch of Medicine and Health Sciences – Grand Forks, North Dakota
- Describe the research you are doing. Examples include the results of a formal research experience, undergraduate research required for a course, a thesis, or a capstone project.
- Describe the things you do creatively. Examples are the results of a creative endeavor, a capstone project, a senior recital, a performance, a debate, the creation of a product, or any other significant production or installation.
- Extend and consider your last team and leadership experiences. This could contain an overview of your previous leadership and teamwork roles in paid positions, recreational activities, organizations, volunteer work, or other settings.
- Describe your encounters with various population groups. You may include a summary of a volunteer project, a study abroad experience, employment, or a self-taught project.
- Discuss in detail and consider how your medical and/or clinical expertise relates to the School of Medicine & Health Sciences' purpose. A list of clinical observations, community service, volunteer activity, employment, and/or physician shadowing may also be included.
University of Oklahoma College of Med – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Please send an essay outlining your commitment to and interest in community medicine.
- Please describe how you anticipate the SCM track will improve your medical education.
- Please list any extra volunteer or community service not already listed on your AMCAS application.
- Please note any other life experiences that may be important to your application to the SCM track.
University of Pennsylvania, Perelman Sch of Medicine –
Philadelphia, Philadelphia
- Have you ever enrolled in a course online for credit?
- Have you ever been a nominee or winner of a state, regional, or national organization's award?
- If you were given the choice of continuing your courses using a conventional grading system or switching to a Pass/Fail system, please explain your choice in this section.
- Between your college graduation and your acceptance into medical school, have you taken a break, or do you have any plans to? If so, explain in no more than 500 characters.
- Do you have any unique, distinctive, and personal information that you’d like the admissions committee to be aware of but haven't already done so? Please explain.
University of Pittsburgh Sch of Medicine – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Tell us about a complicated issue you encountered and how you handled it.
- Please include in your essay anything else you’d like to inform the admissions committee or add to your application.
- To prepare doctors to provide culturally competent, person-centered care and to foster a supportive, collaborative learning environment, UPSOM is dedicated to creating a diverse and talented community. To do this, we want other students to be aware of health inequities and promote health equity. All systemic hurdles should be eliminated. However, we are particularly interested in your opinions on tackling systemic racism, anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, and misogyny. What role will you play?
University of Rochester Sch of Medicine and Dentistry –
Rochester, New York
- Describe any experiences you have had since your prior application to medical school.
- Mention any difficulties and/or unique circumstances that affected your application beyond the usual disruptions. Keep in mind that this past year was complicated for many reasons.
University of South Alabama College of Med – Mobile, Alabama
- What areas of medicine interest you most, even though your interests may change over time?
- Although our primary responsibility is to Alabama residents, we take into account competitive candidates from nearby states and those with significant ties to the state of Alabama. Please compose a brief essay outlining your connections to Alabama.
- The Univ of South Alabama College of Med benefits from having students from various backgrounds and life experiences as members of its learning community. The admissions committee invites you to talk about significant events in your past or life experiences that show you are prepared to practice medicine in a diverse community.
Univ of South Florida, College of Med – Tampa, Florida
- If you have ever had academic problems, please describe how you overcame them.
- Do you think the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced how competitive your application to medical school was in terms of course requirements, experiences, academic performance, etc.?
- Which practices (Private Practice, Academic Medicine, Public Health, Health Care Administration, Health Policy, or Other) are most likely for your future medical career? Describe the abilities, knowledge, and skills you have acquired to be prepared for the job path you selected in the initial question.
- The term "diversity" refers to a wide range of factors, racial/ethnicity, including lifestyle, socioeconomic level, geography, and length of life. The term "strength" is similarly broad and encompasses traits like leadership, humanism, scholarship, and intellectual curiosity. What unique strengths and variety will your experiences, hobbies, and interests bring to the USF class and, ultimately, the medical profession?
- Through possibilities for academic pursuits in areas of particular interest, the Scholarly Concentrations program at the USF Morsani College of Medicine seeks to assist the educational development of medical students. What benefits will the USF Morsani College of Medicine's Scholarly Concentrations Program have for your professional objectives?
The University of Tennessee HSC College of Med –
Memphis, Tennessee
- Include any new information in the personal remarks section of your AMCAS Primary application.
- Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we would want to offer this year's UTHSC COM secondary applicants an optional essay question. Please let us know in the text space below how the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected you, such as any disruptions to your academic, financial, or medical plans.
The University of Texas Medical Branch Sch of Medicine –
Galveston, Texas
- What qualities do you seek in your doctor(s)? What one of these qualities do you need to work on? How are you going to grow them?
- Describe a moment when you managed a difficult situation. How can this experience aid your success as a medical student or doctor?
- What would you say is curiosity? Give an instance where your inquisitiveness solved a problem or increased your knowledge and experience outside the classroom.
- The John Sealy School of Medicine emphasizes advocacy and inclusion. Recall an incident when you stood up for someone whose social identity differed from yours. It can be someone whose ethnicity, gender, sex, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic background, or ability level differs from yours. Describe the circumstance and the need for advocacy.
- Are there any specific aspects of our institution, the Galveston region, its locations, histories, or other qualities that particularly pique your interest in enrolling here?
The University of Texas Med School at Houston – Houston, Texas
- How have your experiences equipped you for a career as a doctor?
- What would you hope to accomplish in medicine and be recognized for?
- Describe a time or circumstance in which you failed or were unsuccessful. What lessons did you take from this event? How have you used them in your job or personal life?
- Recall a difficult circumstance or barrier you have already encountered. Why was it difficult? What were your tactics? Would you change anything if you knew what you know now? What did you discover?
- Do you have any academic setbacks throughout your career (poor grades, course failures, dropping/retaking courses, etc.)? Why was it difficult? What were your tactics? Would you change anything if you knew what you know now? What did you discover?
University of Texas, Southwestern Med School – Dallas, Texas
- Describe any academic irregularities or extraordinary situations you believe the school should be aware of.
- Have you participated in long-term public service endeavors (such as the military, the Peace Corps, Teach for America, etc.)? If so, explain how the situation affected your personal and professional growth.
- Describe a conversation or experience that increased your sensitivity to or appreciation of cultural differences. How do you support efforts to promote fairness and inclusiveness in your studies, career, or personal life?
- Describe a project or activity from a group in which you are most proud. In your response, consider the following: Which feature makes you the proudest? How did it get done and handled dissent or dispute within the team? How did you persuade other group members to agree with you?
- Describe a situation when you saw someone acting unethically. Describe when you were the victim of harassment or prejudice. In your response, consider the following: How did you act? What specifically made the scenario challenging for you? Describe your answer and what, looking back, you might have done differently.
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Sch of Medicine –
Edinburg, Texas
- Let us know how you determine whether a source or individual is reliable.
- Give a brief description of the area where you plan to practice medicine after finishing your residency.
- Describe a situation in which being conscious of your limitations led to a successful outcome for you or a close friend.
- Do you have any recommendations for enhancing access to quality medical care in the Rio Grande Valley? How can the School of Medicine contribute to the situation's improvement?
- If you were accepted to more than one med school, what criteria would you use to choose the "best fit" for you? Do you think we need to know anything about you personally that would help us evaluate your capability as a med student and practicing doctor?
University of Toledo College of Medicine – Toledo, Ohio
- Talk about a particular instance from your life that displays your ability to be resilient and adaptable in the abovementioned manners. Discuss how you believe this experience will prepare you for any new issues you may encounter in medical school.
- Resilience and flexibility are among the AAMC Core Competencies for incoming medical students. This talent involves accepting challenging or shifting circumstances or settings and effectively adjusting to them. This talent has different traits of persistence and the capacity to bounce back from failure.
- Cultural competency is one of the AAMC Core Competencies for incoming medical students. The competency involves some different domains, such as:
Successfully interacting with individuals from various backgrounds
Demonstrating appreciation and respect for diversity's many facets
Acknowledging and fulfilling the duty to support one's own judgment
Acknowledging bias in oneself and others and taking necessary action
Using varied and opposing viewpoints as a resource for education, citizenship, and employment
Demonstrating an understanding of the sociocultural influences on relationships and conduct.
- Use the space below to discuss anything you'd like to about the public health catastrophe caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19). The following are some examples of possible topics: Challenges you may have had as a result of the virus or quarantine
University of Utah Sch of Medicine – Salt Lake City, Utah
- What do rural and underserved mean to you?
- What did you do to strengthen your application if you are re-applying?
- Please describe your activities if you indicated that you won't be taking classes in 2023 or 2024.
- Why did you apply to the University of Utah School of Medicine for non-Utah residents? If you are related to the state of Utah, please say so.
- In this optional essay, you can discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected you. You may use this area to reflect on your experiences.
University of Virginia Sch of Medicine – Charlottesville, Virginia
- Tell us about a situation that you found difficult. How did you do that?
- How will you help the University of Virginia School of Medicine and your medical school class to be more diverse?
- If you have any impending clinical work, shadowing, research, or community service plans for the upcoming year, please include them here.
- What makes the UVSM appealing to you? What aspects will matter the most to you while selecting a medical school?
- Please briefly explain how the pandemic affected your capacity to pursue experiences like clinical work, shadowing, research, or volunteer work.
University of Vermont College of Med – Burlington, Vermont
- Use this space to explain how the COVID-19 epidemic might have harmed your application.
- Please consider a challenging non-academic experience you have gone through. Describe the stressful situation, how you handled it, and what you learned from others.
- The UVCM understands that diversity embraces all of a person's experiences and goes beyond their self-identified or unidentified identities. Consider a period when you gained knowledge from a person or organization that is different from yourself.
University of Washington Sch of Medicine – Seattle, Washington
- What obstacles and difficulties have you faced, and how did you resolve them?
- What unique viewpoints or life experiences can you share that will benefit the class?
- How have societal injustices in the US impacted you or the patients you've treated?
- Explain how you have researched and grown to understand social sciences and humanities themes relating to the "human condition" to demonstrate your expertise.
- We acknowledge that the worldwide pandemic has dramatically altered the globe. Please describe how COVID-19 has affected you, your loved ones, your neighborhood, and/or the patients you'd like to help.
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine – Nashville, Tennessee
- Please talk about a difficult circumstance or difficulty you have encountered. Why was it difficult? What were your tactics? Would you change anything if you knew what you know now? What did you discover?
- Publish a brief autobiography. Share information about your family, your life, and the significant occasions. Find the values that are most important to you when doing this. Please share your accomplishments or activities since graduating if you have completed your undergraduate studies.
Virginia Commonwealth Univ, Sch of Medicine – Richmond, Virginia
- Discuss how a profession in family medicine can enable you to become the type of doctor you desire.
- Please explain any gaps in your undergraduate studies, such as absences from class or pauses between finishing the undergraduate research and applying to medical school.
- Medical school requires continual learning, and while new knowledge about diseases and drugs is always added, encouraging patients remains an exciting task. Please discuss how doctors handle this issue in 2000 characters or fewer. You may cite sources in your response to this query, but footnotes are not required.
- You are part of a planet plagued by the Coronavirus since December 2019, which has killed millions of people. Please describe your own experience with the COVID-19 epidemic. What have your experiences taught you? Please talk about the possible realities you believe some people may have had to face. What impact has COVID-19 had on your desire to become a doctor?
- Consider yourself a volunteer medical assistant working in a pediatric clinic. The clinic is running around an hour behind schedule due to multiple urgent walk-in cases. When a parent becomes obviously irate and begins cursing about how long they have had to wait to be seen, you are taking the child's vitals and intake information. You know that the pediatrician is doing a procedure in the adjacent room, and the parent insists that you bring her in immediately. How would you respond to this circumstance?
Virginia Tech Carilion Sch of Medicine – Roanoke, Virginia
- Describe three VTCSOM features and how they fit with your medical philosophies.
- Describe the course of medical research you would take if money were no object.
- Describe how your experiences with people who think differently than you have influenced your worldview and how you would contribute to the VTC community.
- Describe how your experiences with people who think differently than you have influenced your worldview and how you would contribute to the VTC community.
- Tell us about any constructive criticism you've gotten or a personal struggle you overcame that greatly impacted you. Please explain how this experience has helped you become a future thought leader in medicine.
Wake Forest Univ, School of Medicine (Bowman Gray) – Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Explain a non-academic difficulty you have encountered and how you overcome it.
- Please share a fun tidbit about yourself that a stranger might find surprising or intriguing.
- Describe any factors (personal, academic, etc.) that led you to the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
- Is there anything special you would like us to know about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected you and your application? Please explain.
- We want to develop doctors who can relate to various patient populations, even from different backgrounds. State a time when you’re more able to comprehend people different from you and what you took away from that experience.
Warren Alpert Med School, Brown Univ – Providence, Rhode Island
- Do you have any substantial restrictions on when you can conduct interviews for the 2023–2024 admissions cycle?
- What do you hope to accomplish and achieve with your medical practice? Where do you envision yourself 15 years from now?
- Write a summary of your academic year 2022–2023 activities. Please explain how your activities are preparing you for a future in medicine.
- How can your distinctive qualities (such as your ethnic or socioeconomic background, way of life, or professional experiences) contribute to the Alpert Medical School community's overall diversity?
Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine – Spokane, Washington
- What interactions have you had with underserved or rural communities or populations? What have you taken away from these encounters?
- How will you support the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine's goals and objectives? Describe your experiences or other qualities to support your response.
- If there have been any disruptions in your academic, volunteer, professional, or personal life due to COVID-19, kindly inform the admissions committee about them.
- If you are reapplying to WSU ESFCOM, please explain what you’ve done to improve your chances of admission to our medical school since your last application.
- Learning from others is improved in educational situations when people from different backgrounds are present. Give details about your traits or life experiences that would benefit your peers' study.
Wayne State Univ, Sch of Medicine – Detroit, Michigan
- Why do you want to attend WSUSM for your medical education?
- Give an example of an activity or a project that you worked on diligently. How did you contribute to the project's management?
- You must cut back on some present hobbies because medical school takes time. What are your top priorities while in med school? Why?
- Only re-applicants should respond to this question. What coursework, jobs, or volunteer activities have you been involved in since submitting your most recent application to a medical school? What distinguishes your present application from your earlier one?
- If you’ve ever been the victim of institutional action, only respond to this question. Explain thoroughly the events leading up to the disciplinary institutional action citation you highlighted on your AMCAS application. What lessons did you take away and from the experience?
Weill Cornell Medical College – Manhattan, New York
- Please give an example of your problem and how you solved it.
- What are your plans if you’re not going to college in the forthcoming academic year?
- Explain why you are applying to Weill Cornell Medical College.
- If applicable, kindly provide any unique aspects of COVID-19 that can help us comprehend you better.
West Virginia Univ, Sch of Medicine – Morgantown, West Virginia
- What is your guiding principle, and why?
- Describe a situation in which you collaborated successfully with someone with a different background.
- Describe an experience demonstrating to the admissions committee that you can contribute to the collaborative environment at the WVU SOM.
- Which intrapersonal or interpersonal core competency of the AAMC is most vital for you, and why? How would this skill improve your capacity to practice medicine at the highest standard?
- Give the name of a disease that is particularly common in West Virginia. Describe a time when you treated a patient with that particular medical condition. Please describe a relevant shadowing, leadership/educational, research, or service experience if you could not actively care for an affected patient.
Western Michigan Univ, Sch of Medicine – Kalamazoo, Michigan
- Explain your motivation for enrolling in WMed. Please explain any ties you may have to Southwest Michigan.
- WMed Re-Applicants Only: Describe how your application has changed from past cycles, taking into account your academics, professional experiences, and/or personal qualities.
- Describe your values, abilities, talents, and life experiences as they relate to medical practice and how they contribute to the medical industry's cultural, racial, and socioeconomic diversity.
Yale Univ School of Medicine – New Haven, New York
- Diversity of every kind is valued at Yale School of Medicine. How will your history and experiences influence this crucial area of our organization's concentration and your upcoming career as a doctor?
- All medical students at Yale School of Medicine complete a research thesis because research is crucial to patient care. Please describe how your areas of interest, qualifications, and expertise in research would benefit the Yale School of Medicine scholarship.
- While the doctor-patient relationship is highly valued, Yale School of Medicine stresses the significance of preparing future doctors to treat communities and populations. Describe how your experiences would help the Yale School of Medicine achieve this goal.
5 Tips for Medical School Secondary Essays
Secondary essays for medical school might be a monumental task. Again, aim to write these essays as well as possible because they are highly significant.
You must take some steps to lessen the burden of writing secondary essays while improving your chances of being given an interview at a medical school.
Below are some of the best tips and pieces of advice we can give you as you write your medical school secondary essays:
Look Up Secondary Essays From Past Medical School Applicants
Take advantage of the few weeks between submitting your AMCAS application and obtaining secondary essay prompts. Do not wait until you get the prompts from the schools you applied to.
The secondary essay prompts for medical schools do not change each year. You can Google past years' prompts and begin outlining or drafting your secondaries before the essay prompts even arrive.
It would be best if you have all the time you can get because secondary essay prompts frequently vary between institutions. This is a beautiful way to save time later on.
Respond to the Question Being Posed
Secondary essays ask particular questions about your objectives, experiences, and viewpoints on various subjects, such as your choice to attend medical school.
The admissions committee reads your secondary essays to see how they add to the information in your main application.
Your secondary essays are another test to see if you can adequately comprehend instructions (this time, specific instructions from the school), and concentrate on responding to the question posed.
Support Your AMCAS With Your Secondary Essay
Your secondary medical school application must complement your AMCAS. Your application for medical school should be one seamless document, with each application component supporting the others in some way.
Remember the narrative you presented in your primary application. Continue it in your secondary essay instead of viewing it as a separate entity.
You may also use this chance to submit in-depth essays on subjects only briefly discussed in your AMCAS application.
Another strategy is to start a brand-new discussion that supports and enhances the core narrative you used. In any event, having a coherent application linking your prior successes to your future objectives is crucial, as always.
Do Not Copy and Paste; Carefully Respond to the Secondary Essay Prompts
Mostly, this may seem apparent, but it bears reiterating. Give each secondary essay prompt careful consideration before responding. When they begin writing their secondary essays for medical school, applicants are sometimes worn out and try to cut corners to save time.
It is a recipe for disaster to copy and paste information directly from your primary application. Or even worse, it would be highly awkward to appropriately respond to the prompt from one institution while answering the essay assignment from another.
There is no assurance that the admissions staff will read all of your secondary essays. However, having poor-quality secondary pieces will make it harder for you to get an interview.
Utilize the Secondary Application With a Quick Turnaround Time
People do not discuss enough the importance of submitting applications on time for medical school. Unfortunately, many applicants learn this lesson after it is too late.
The later in the application cycle you are, the fewer interview openings there are. Your chances of receiving an interview will increase if you submit a solid secondary application in a short amount of time.
You do not want to wait until the last minute and submit-secondary essays that are either late or of low quality that are submitted on time. Timeliness and quality are equally crucial.
Additional FAQs – Secondary Essays Complete Guide
