Rural-PRIME:
- Are you interested in applying to the Rural-PRIME program? [yes/no] Please describe how your experiences with rural communities make you a good fit for the Rural-PRIME program.
- Describe your future plans to serve a rural underserved community.
Time-sensitive considerations: "Applicants have one month from the date of the invitation email to complete the secondary application."
- What personal accomplishment are you most proud of and why? (1500 characters)
- Please describe to the Admissions Committee a challenge or disappointment you have overcome and what you learned about yourself from that experience. (1500 characters)
- (Optional) Do you identify as being part of a marginalized group socioeconomically or in terms of access to quality education or healthcare? If so, please describe how this inequity has impacted you and your community. (1500 characters)
- This essay is only for applicants that have already received their baccalaureate degree. Please clarify for the Admissions Committee your activities (school, work, and/or volunteer, travel, etc.) since receiving your undergraduate degree. You may list them in chronological order or you may incorporate them into an essay, stating why you chose particular activities. If you have just received or will receive your undergraduate degree this year, please discuss your plans for current year. (1500 characters)
MSTP prompts
- What research accomplishment are you most proud of and why? (1500 characters)
- Please describe to the Admissions Committee a research challenge you have overcome and what you learned from that experience. (1500 characters)
- What does it mean, to you, to be an MD/PhD? (1500 characters)
- Please list all posters, manuscripts (published or planned) you would like the Admissions Committee to consider. (1500 characters)
Time-sensitive considerations: "2 weeks from the date and time of invitation"
- At the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, students are provided with curriculum and experiences enabling them to become an "Outstanding Physician, AND. " dedicating themselves to important societal missions. What missions do you want to embrace? What have you done toward your missions? (800 characters)
- Respond to the following and indicate how these areas of experience have impacted your progress toward your future career goals in relation to becoming an "Outstanding Physician, AND. ".
- A. Describe your most unique leadership, entrepreneurial, or creative activity. (800 characters)
- B. Describe your most important volunteer work and why it was meaningful. (800 characters)
- C. Describe your most scholarly project (thesis, research or field of study in basic or clinical science or in the humanities) and provide the total number of hours, dates and advisor. (800 characters)
- Describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your pathway to medical school. Include any academic, personal, financial or professional barriers, as well as other relevant information. (800 characters)
- Did you experience or are you anticipating time between graduating from college and matriculating into medical school? (Yes/No)
- If yes: Describe the activities in which you participated or are planning to participate. Examples include additional schooling, employment, or caring for a loved one. (800 characters)
- Do you identify as being part of a group that has been marginalized (examples include, but are not limited to, LGBTQIA, disabilities, federally recognized tribe) in terms of access to education or healthcare? (Yes/No)
- If yes: Describe how this inequity has impacted you or your community and how educational disparity, health disparity and/or marginalization has impacted you and your community. (800 characters)
- Are you re-applying to DGSOM? Global Heath Equity Pathway Application Questions 1. Please describe why you are interested in the Global Health Equity Pathway and any experiences that have informed your decision to apply for this Pathway. 2. How do you think participation in the Pathway will contribute to your future career plans and career development? 3. What additional skills would you like to develop as part of the Pathway? What strengths do you currently have that may contribute to a global health or health equity project? (i.e., language, writing skills, advocacy work, monitoring and evaluation experience, data management/cleaning/analysis, website development, etc.) 4. What are the major challenges you might face as medical student working in global health or health equity? How might you overcome these challenges? 5. Optional question: Please let us know if you have a mentor or organization with whom you would be excited to work as part of the Pathway and why you would like to work with this individual and/or organization. Mentors and organizations may be affiliated with DGSOM/UCLA or may be pre-existing relationships you developed prior to medical school. Note that you are not expected to have a DGSOM mentor and/or partner organization identified prior to arrival at DGSOM. Urban Health Equity Pathway Questions 1. Please describe how your experience, community and family background impact your understanding of medically underserved/under-resourced communities. 2. Other than healthcare access, what are some of the most important health care issues confronting medically underserved/under-resourced and vulnerable communities? How would you address them?
Want a sample essay in response to every prompt required by UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, as well as every prompt required by every other medical school in the US and Canada? You can subscribe below.
Med School Secondary Essay Premium Example Library (1,500+ Sample Essays)
Every month
Every 2 months
Gain instant access to med school secondary essay examples for every single prompt required by every medical school in the United States and Canada. Subscribe today to lock in the current investments, which will be increasing in the future for new subscribers.
- The mission of the UCR School of Medicine is to improve the health of the people of California and, especially, to serve Inland Southern California by training a diverse workforce of physicians and by developing innovative research and health care delivery programs that will improve the health of the medically underserved in the region and become models to be emulated throughout the state and nation. What experiences, skills, and abilities will you bring to the class to fulfill this mission? (250 words)
- The values of the UCR SOM are integrity, innovation, inclusion, excellence, accountability and respect. Please choose one of the values and tell us how you have personally experienced it or have seen it emulated in a clinical setting. (250 words)
- In what type of healthcare setting do you see yourself practicing medicine? (250 words)
- Tell us about a personal challenge you have faced in your life thus far and how you demonstrated resilience and grit to overcome it. [Please do not write about studying for or taking the MCAT.] (250 words)
- (Optional) If there is anything you would like the committee to consider about your candidacy that is not explained elsewhere in your application, please use this space to tell us. (250 words)
- (Only if you are non-California resident) If you answered Yes, please explain your connection to Inland Southern California and the mission of the UC Riverside School of Medicine (100 words)
(Suggested reading: How to Get Into UCSD Medical School, which contains a sample secondary essay)
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
This should be a true autobiographical statement. Topics to be included are family, childhood, primary and secondary school years, undergraduate years, and, if applicable, what you’ve done since completing your bachelor’s degree. You should also discuss the motivational factors which led you to a career in medicine including any disadvantages or obstacles which might put your accomplishments into context. A repeat of your AMCAS statement will not be acceptable. (6000 Characters)
- Please note: if you are applying to the MD/PhD program, please include why you are specifically interested in seeking MD/PhD training at UCSD.
PRIME - HEq
The goals of PRIME - HEq are: To increase the number of clinicians, research scientists, and advocates addressing minority health and health disparities; to create a diverse community of scholars that develop, transmit, and apply new knowledge in minority health and health disparities; and to promote a multidisciplinary community/university partnership to eliminate health disparities. The program utilizes existing opportunities to allow enrollees to obtain a master's degree emphasizing minority health and health disparities, tailored to student's interest (MPH, MBA, MAS, MS) Applicants indicating an interest in PRIME are required to write an additional essay detailing their qualifications and reasons for interest in the program.
- Please describe your interest in the PRIME-HEq program. Topics to include are longitudinal experiences that you’ve had with underserved communities, including the type of community that you’ve worked with and your level of involvement. Additionally, you should discuss the length of time that you’ve spent working in these communities. (Yes/No prompt. If yes, you have up to 4800 characters for your response.)
GHAC
Applicants to the UCSD School of Medicine may apply for admission to the GHAC. This track is available to five medical students per class per year, and will provide mentored research and clinical experiences in Global Health. The GHAC has four goals: 1) to prepare young physicians to engage with the global community to address health disparities; 2) to provide experiences and training in academic Global Health research; 3) to provide field experiences in Global Health delivery; and 4) to facilitate education about structural and social factors that create and propagate health disparities. Students in this concentration will undertake an additional curriculum that exposes them to Global Health topics throughout all four years of medical school. This track is appropriate for applicants hoping to pursue an academic medical career in Global Health. Students accepted into the GHAC will be provided with financial support for two international rotations (up to $5000 for both). Applicants interested in applying for the GHAC are required to write an additional essay detailing their qualifications and reasons for interest in this program.
- Please describe your interest in Global Health. The term Global Health can have many meanings; for our purposes, we find the definition provided by Koplan et. al. in their 2009 Lancet publication useful: “the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide”. In your essay, be sure to describe any personal or professional experiences that have shaped your interests, and how Global Health issues have influenced your decision to pursue a career in medicine. (Yes/No prompt. If yes, you have up to 4800 characters for your response.)
PRIME-TIDE
Applicants to the USCD School of Medicine may apply for admission to the Program in Medicine - Transforming Indigenous Doctor Education (PRIME-TIDE), which is available to six medical students per class per year. The educational objectives of the PRIME-TIDE are to: 1) teach medical students the appropriate management and treatment of diseases common in AI/AN communities with a focus on culturally sensitive care via a mentored clinical experience in local, regional or national tribally-operated Indian Health Service (IHS) ambulatory clinics; 2) understand the opportunities for community-based research with AI/AN communities through the California Native American Research Center for Health (CA-NARCH); 3) engage in preventive medicine and public health in a tribal healthcare setting; and 4) understand the social, environmental, economic and political issues related to providing healthcare to tribal communities, as well as the limitations/adaptations to the delivery of IHS care. These objectives will be met by completing didactic coursework, as well as mentored research and clinical experiences.
- Please describe your experiences with American Indian and Alaskan Native communities, including the type of community and your level of involvement. Please provide the length of time you spent working in or exposed to these communities. Be sure to detail any personal or professional experiences that have shaped your interests, and how American Indian and Alaskan Native issues have influenced your decision to pursue a career in medicine. Finally, please delineate how completion of the PRIME-TIDE program will help you obtain your medical education goals." (Yes/No prompt. If yes, you have up to 4800 characters for your response.)
TAN FAMILY SCHOLAR PROGRAM
Applicants to the UC San Diego School of Medicine may also apply for admission to the Tan Family Scholar Program, into which they are selected after being accepted to the School of Medicine. This is an academic concentration available to up to five medical students a year, in which selected medical students are provided support to partake in course work designed to develop specific knowledge about empathy and compassion in medicine, participate in research in this area, and travel internationally for inter-institutional exchanges of knowledge regarding empathy and compassion in medicine. Applicants interested in being considered for the Tan Family Scholar Program are required to write an additional essay detailing their qualifications and reasons for interest in this program.
- Please describe your interest in Compassion and Empathy. In your essay, be sure to describe any personal or professional experiences that have shaped your interests, and how you think your career as a physician would benefit from being in this program. (Yes/No prompt. If yes, you have up to 4800 characters for your response.)
MEMBER OF A MARGINALIZED GROUP
Do you consider yourself to be a member of a group that is marginalized in a way that systemically affects access to quality education or healthcare?
- Please describe how educational disparity, health disparity and/or marginalization has impacted you and your community. (Yes/No prompt. If yes, you have up to 4800 characters for your response.)
MOST MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES (FROM AMCAS)
On your AMCAS Application, you were asked to identify your three “most meaningful” experiences. These activities have been auto-filled in your secondary application.
In addition to the information you provided on the AMCAS application, we would like to know if there are any additional activities you would consider among your most meaningful. This may include activities that you’ve already completed but couldn’t include as you were limited to three selections on the AMCAS application, or it may include a new activity that began after your initial AMCAS application was submitted. Use the “Add” button below to enter a new activity.
This section is optional –you can enter any number of additional experiences including zero. If you have no experiences to add, simply click save and continue and this section will be marked as complete
We would also like to know if a letter of recommendation has been submitted on your behalf by somebody you worked with through this experience. If you do not have a letter from this experience, simply type N/A. This information allows Admissions Committee members reviewing your application to more readily match your letters to your experiences and thus facilitates the review of your application." (Yes/No prompt. If yes, additional basic information and a 100-character box appear. )
POSSIBLE CAREER PATHWAY (Required, with a 400-character box)
Some medical school applicants are already focused on pursuing a particular career pathway in medicine. While many students will change from this pathway during medical school, knowing of your potential interests does help us to assign interviewers. Your choice below does not influence how the Admissions Committee selects students to interview.
Please select from one of the career pathways listed below. In addition to this selection, please provide a brief description of your future career goals:
- Academic Medicine (Working as a faculty member at a School of Medicine either as a clinician, a clinician-educator, or a clinician investigator. This could be in any field of medicine)
- Primary Care and/or work in underserved communities (Working as a general internist, a pediatrician, or a family medicine physician and/or spending the majority of your time working in a community currently underserved by the medical profession)
- Public Health, administrative leadership in medicine (Pursuing an MPH and/or working for a public health department or organization; working in health care policy; working as a hospital administrator)
- Specialist in private practice (Working in a private practice or managed care setting as a subspecialist. Examples include cardiologist, infectious disease specialist, obstetrician, orthopedic surgeon, general surgeon, anaesthesiologist, radiologist)
- Other/undecided
- If you wish to update or expand upon your activities, you may provide additional information below. (500 words)
- If you are 2023 or earlier college graduate, please use the space below to tell us what you have done since completing your undergraduate degree. (350 words)
- Do you identify as being part of a marginalized group socioeconomically or in terms of access to quality education or healthcare? Please describe how this inequity has impacted you and your community. (500 words)
- UCSF PRIDE values serve as a guiding light for institutional life and activities. Briefly describe how you will contribute and support one of our PRIDE values that is consistent with your goals or life experience. (500 words)
- What is the most fun you’ve had lately? (65-word limit)
- If you had to give yourself a nickname, what would it be? (65-word limit)
- What are three things you don't care about at all? (65-word limit)
- Describe a situation in which you didn’t get something you felt you deserved. (65-word limit)
- Have you previously applied to or attended medical school (M.D. , D.O., international)? Yes/No
- If you answered yes, please provide an explanation on what occurred with your application process or previous matriculation to medical school.
- Is there anything else you would like us to know? Please respond in 200 words or less (max. 1,400 characters)
Additional questions for MD-PhD applicants:
- List your publications and papers submitted including one or two sentences describing your role on each publication. (250 word, max. 1,800 characters)
- Please indicate fields of study for which you have a special interest. For example: Anatomy, Biostatistics, Molecular Biology, Systems Biology, Epidemiology, Bioengineering, Human Genetics, Neurosciences, Biochemistry, Immunology Nutrition, Microbiology, Pathology, Pharmacology Biophysics, Physiology, Cancer, Other
- Please provide the names of faculty with whom you would like to meet, if invited for an interview. For each faculty member suggested, provide a sentence or two explaining why you would like to meet that person. (250 word, max. 1,800 characters)
Questions are the same for the Pomona and Northwest campuses.
- What experience observing a DO solidified your desire/ambition to become an osteopathic physician? (This could be a formal shadowing experience (one-on-one with a physician), scribing, observing your own physician, friend, or family member who is a DO). (500 words)
- If you have not had the opportunity to shadow/observe a DO why is it important to you to become an osteopathic physician? (500 words)
- What was your most memorable community service activity and how did your activity benefit the community? (500 words)
- How does the COMP Mission statement align with your values? (500 words)
- Why do you want to attend COMP? (500 words)
- What does diversity, equity, and inclusion mean to you and why are they important? (500 words)
- Have you participated in research? (Yes/No)
- If yes, briefly describe your role and what skills you gained from participation in the research. (500 words)
- Please provide us with the link to the publication or abstract if possible.
- Did you contribute to the published work as an author/coauthor? (Yes/No)
- Briefly discuss any extenuating circumstances which you feel are pertinent to your application (poor grades, course withdrawals, lapse in your education, etc.). (500 words)
- If you have not taken any coursework for over 3 years, please explain why and what you have been doing during that period of time. (500 words)
- Are you a transfer applicant? (Yes/No)
Canada
- Describe your personal experience in community service, volunteer work or service/help to another. What did you learn from this experience?
- Describe your strongest quality and provide a specific example of this quality. How does this quality relate to the study and practice of medicine?
- The Dalhousie Medicine curriculum uses case-based small group learning. Describe one or more examples of your experiences with small group learning or teams and what you have learned from it.
- What does being a physician mean to you? How did you come to this understanding?
- Health care professionals work with people from diverse and broad populations and experiences. Cultural competence and sensitivity are important skills to develop. How would you describe your own level of cultural competence/sensitivity? What steps could you take to further build cultural competence/sensitivity?
- Out-of-province applicants: In 250 words or less, please describe your knowledge of any connections to and past experiences with the Maritime Provinces and how these have contributed to your selection of Dalhousie University as your preferred choice of medical schools.
Autobiographical Sketch questions:
- Considering NOSM University’s self-directed, small group, distributed learning environment, select ONE (1) entry from your autobiographical sketch and describe how it has specifically prepared you for being a medical student at NOSM University.
- Select ONE (1) entry from your autobiographical sketch that has had a significant impact on your personal growth and describe how this experience has influenced your development and prepared you to be a medical student at NOSM University.
- Considering NOSM University’s social accountability mandate, select ONE (1) entry from your autobiographical sketch and describe how this experience has prepared you to learn and work in Northern Ontario and/or rural/remote settings.
Supplementary questions:
- Describe how you have developed resilience and coping mechanisms. How will you utilize these skills to support yourself during your medical training in making informed and rational decisions when faced with difficult circumstances?
- Describe an experience you have had interacting with individuals from backgrounds different from yours. How would this experience translate to working within a health care environment and/or with patients?
- Provide a specific example of when your work or performance was criticized. Explain how your responded to the criticism and how this experience contributed to your personal development/growth.
- NOSM University’s Social Accountability mandate is to improve the health of the people and the communities of Northern Ontario. Describe how you plan to embody this mandate as a medical student and future physician, and how this has factored into your decision to apply to NOSM University.
- List and describe your top two personal achievements/experiences. (750 characters per)
- Share a life experience where you encountered challenges and describe how you addressed the situation(s). You may include a different experience that you have not previously addressed in your application which will further serve the goal of learning more about you as an applicant. (2000 characters)
- Please share an experience that you have had which was significant enough, potentially even life altering, that helped you become a better person. (1500 characters)
- Detailed Autobiographical Sketch: Write about an impactful experience from your Autobiographical Sketch that demonstrates your personal growth, character, and values. How did this experience prepare you for medical school? (500 words)
- The COVID-19 pandemic imposed obligatory changes in all our lives. What have you learned and how has this changed you as a person? Are there ways that you adapted that you would keep going forward? (250 words)
- What is the purpose of a mentoring relationship? What are the 3 most important elements of a mentoring relationship? Discuss a mentoring situation that you experienced in relation to these qualities. (250 words)
Abbreviated Autobiographical Sketch
(Note: These questions allow you to expand on activities described in your OMSAS Autobiographical Sketch; however, you may include up to two activities that are not in your Autobiographical Sketch.)
- Teamwork and Leadership: We are interested in extracurricular activities or experiences (employment, volunteering and/or other extracurricular activities) that demonstrate your teamwork and leadership skills. Please highlight a minimum of 1 activity and a maximum of 2 activities that highlight your teamwork and leadership skills. Note: Leadership does not mean being the boss or having a formal title. Instead, it refers to someone who is engaged and takes the initiative to contribute in a collaborative way toward sustainable and positive change. Please ensure that in whatever activity you choose, you demonstrate a clear link to these skills. Maximum points are allocated if you can link to both skills of teamwork and leadership, as defined above. Please provide a brief description of how this activity demonstrates your teamwork and leadership skills, outline concretely what you have learned (3 items) and how this will be helpful to your career in medicine. (Max. 2,400 characters/activity)
- Respect for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Please list your top 1 to 2 activities (employment, volunteering, or other extracurricular activity) that demonstrate your respect for diversity, equity, and inclusion. As an example, this core value can be demonstrated through interactions and exposure to those who may have perspectives different from our own (e.g. different age, skill level, educational background, gender identity, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religious beliefs, etc.). These activities and experiences do not necessarily have to be international/global and the definition of diversity is broad. The activities can be local or regional, and do not necessarily have to be volunteer-related. In whatever activity you choose, you must clearly articulate the link between the activity and diversity. Please provide a brief description of how this activity demonstrates your respect for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Please also outline concretely what you have learned (3 items) and how this will be helpful to your career in medicine. (Max. 2,400 characters.)
- Self-directed Learning, Problem-solving, and Critical Inquiry: Please list your top 1 to 2 activities (employment, volunteering, research or other extracurricular activity) that demonstrate your capacity for self-directed learning, problem-solving, and critical inquiry. Note: You may choose any activity as above, so long as you can articulate well where you demonstrated these higher learning skills in that activity If you have done research in any capacity (undergraduate, Master’s and/or PhD), one of your activities must be related to your research experience. If your research led to any notable awards and/or publications, please provide enough information so that it may be corroborated. The verifier you choose must be able to confirm any publications and/or awards. If you do not have any research experience, that is acceptable so long as you can clearly link your activity to how you problem-solved, demonstrated intellectual curiosity and how you worked towards improving your performance in that activity. Please provide a description and examples of how this activity concretely demonstrates your problem-solving, critical inquiry, and self-directed learning skills and how they will be helpful to your career in medicine. (Max. 2,400 characters.)
- Social Accountability and Responsibility: Please list your top 1 to 2 activities (employment, volunteering, other extracurricular activity) that highlight your commitment to serving other individuals or your community and that speak to your ability to advocate for others. Please note: No preference will be given for formal volunteering compared to other activities, so long as the activity demonstrates a commitment to your community and advocacy of others. For example, this could include helping a neighbor as long as you can. Clearly articulate the connection between the activity and the commitment to helping and advocating for others and have someone who can verify this activity. Please provide a brief description of how this activity concretely demonstrates your commitment to helping others, advocating for others and serving your community's needs. Please comment on what you have learned (3 items) and how this will be helpful to your career in medicine (Max. 2,400 characters.)
Optional questions
- Please tell us about a unique (non-academic/non-research) personal life experience(s) and/or challenges that are relevant to your application to medical school. Please also outline how you overcame those challenges, if applicable. If none, please state “none”. (Max 2,400 characters.)
- Please outline whether there are any gaps and/or unusual circumstances to your file/application. If none, please state “none”. (Max. 2,400 characters)
Colorado
- What noteworthy characteristics, abilities, or skills do you possess that will help ensure RVU achieves new heights in medical education? (No limit mentioned.)
Please do not repeat content from your AMCAS personal statement in these essays. To the extent that there is overlap in the personal statement to what you want to write here, please choose a different approach to discussing the issue(s), such as influence on your values and beliefs, changes you made in your life, reflections that are from a different perspective. The committee utilizes this important information in the selection process.
- The pillars of our curriculum are Leadership, Curiosity, and Commitment. Tell us about how you have embodied one or more of these attributes in your path to medicine thus far. In which of these areas do you see the most opportunity for personal growth and why? Limit this response to 500 words.
- Please describe how your background and/or your unique lived experiences contribute to our culture of inclusive excellence. Limit the response to 300 words.
- (OPTIONAL) Fort Collins Track: Please tell us why you are interested in being a part of the 4-year CUSOM at CSU (Fort Collins Branch campus).? With the background that FCB’s smaller class sizes and unique structure lead to a highly interactive curriculum, please tell us how this campus matches your learning style and personal philosophy. Limit your statement to 1500 characters, including spaces (approximately 300 words).
- (OPTIONAL) Colorado Springs Branch: Please submit a short statement regarding your interest in the Colorado Springs Branch. You may address characteristics of the Branch that would be a fit for your strengths, experiences, and/or career plans. You may also note your ties to or interest in Colorado Springs or other similar communities. Limit the essay to 1500 characters, including spaces (approximately 300 words).
- (OPTIONAL) Rural Track: Why are you interested in being a rural physician? How will rural life and work fit your personal goals? You may include your past experiences and ties or interest to rural Colorado. Limit your statement to 1500 characters, including spaces (approximately 300 words).
- (OPTIONAL) For applicants interested in the Aerospace engineering dual degree: Describe your career path up to this point and how that has led to your interest in human spaceflight. What is your motivation for seeking a dual degree in Aerospace Engineering and how does this fit into your vision for your career.
Connecticut
- If you will not be enrolled as a full-time student, how will you be spending/intend to spend your time during your application year? If you are a re-applicant, please address steps taken to improve your application for medical school. (200 words)
- Why is it important to you to go into medicine and become a physician? (200 words)
- Tell us about your lived experiences that will enable you to provide quality care to all patients. (200 words)
- As a medical student and future physician, you will be faced with many uncertain situations. Please describe a situation when you were asked to do something that was beyond your capabilities. How did you handle the situation? Please provide a specific example. (400 words)
- Netter SOM is a diverse and inclusive community, and we believe that each person brings their own unique experiences and attributes. Our students also serve and interact with diverse patient populations and communities. Please share how you have made efforts to work with people from a different background than you. What did you learn from these efforts? (400 words)
- If applicable, please address any withdrawals, repeated courses, leaves of absence or breaks in your undergraduate education that are not explained in your application. (250 words)
Time-sensitive considerations: "Regardless of when the secondary is received, applicants should aim to complete their secondary applications within two weeks."
- Highlight your experiences in the healthcare field. What insights have you gained about potential problems you will face as a physician? (1800 characters)
- How will the University of Connecticut School of Medicine best serve your needs of becoming a physician or physician scientist? (1800 characters)
- The University of Connecticut School Of Medicine realizes that each applicant brings a unique perspective from a broad range of experiences that have been influential in leading to a career in medicine. How will your own life experiences and unique identity enhance the UConn SoM classroom and community? (1800 characters)
Essays (Required)
Please submit answers to the following questions. Please limit your responses to approximately 500 words each.
Required Essay 1:
- Yale School of Medicine values diversity in all its forms. How will your background and experiences contribute to this important focus of our institution and inform your future role as a physician?
Required Essay 2 (please select one of the following):
- MD applicants: Please answer either one of the following questions.
- MD/PhD applicants: Please answer question 2 as it pertains to your proposed PhD research.
- (1) While there is great emphasis on the physician-patient relationship, Yale School of Medicine also emphasizes the importance of training future physicians to care for communities and populations. Describe how your experiences would contribute to this aspect of the mission of the Yale School of Medicine.
- (2) Research is essential to patient care, and all students at Yale School of Medicine complete a research thesis. Tell us how your research interests, skills and experiences would contribute to scholarship at Yale School of Medicine.
Additional Information (Optional)
- This section is optional. It should be used to bring to the attention of the Admissions Committee any important information (personal, academic, or professional) not discussed in other sections of your Yale Secondary Application. Please limit your response to 500 words.
Activities and Achievements (Optional)
- If you are not enrolled in college or graduate school classes for the duration of the current academic year, please tell us how you are spending your time. Include both your current and any planned activities prior to enrolling in medical school.
- Have there been any updates regarding your activities / achievements / distinctions since completing your AMCAS application, or do you have any important accomplishments you have not yet shared with us here or in your AMCAS application? The Office of Admissions will review your activities / achievements / distinctions in the Experiences section of the AMCAS Application, so you do not need to restate anything included there. We include your AMCAS experiences below for reference.
District of Columbia
Character limits do not include spaces.
- 1. Application Fee Payment Code (This is not a question.)
- 2. Have you ever registered at an institution under a different name? (Yes/No)
- If YES, please enter the name here:
- If YES, please provide a description here: (500 characters)
- If YES, please provide a description here: (500 characters)
- Main Campus Preferred
- Regional Medical Campus Preferred
- Main Campus Only
- Regional Medical Campus Only
- If YES, please explain: (250 characters)
- If YES, then please describe why you want to pursue the MD/MPH program and how the combined degree would fit into your career goals (1500 Characters).
Med School Secondary Essay Premium Example Library (1,500+ Sample Essays)
Every month
Every 2 months
Gain instant access to med school secondary essay examples for every single prompt required by every medical school in the United States and Canada. Subscribe today to lock in the current investments, which will be increasing in the future for new subscribers.
- The Georgetown University School of Medicine (GUSOM) strives to ensure that its students become respectful physicians, with cultural humility, who embrace all dimensions of caring for the whole person. With our Jesuit values of Cura Personalis, People for Others, and Community in Diversity, we are steadfast in our commitment to racial justice and to addressing the health inequities exacerbated by the recent pandemic. Please describe how your values, life experiences, and your identity will contribute to these GUSOM priorities. (1000 Characters)
- Is there any further information that you would like the Committee on Admissions to be aware of when reviewing your file that you were not able to notate in another section of this or the AMCAS Application? (1000 characters)
- Why have you chosen to apply to the Georgetown University School of Medicine and how do you think your education at Georgetown will prepare you to become a physician for the future? (3000 characters)
- Have you lived in communities which are medically underserved, or where the majority of the population is economically and/or educationally disadvantaged? [Please indicate, Yes or No and then explain/describe briefly in 250 words or less.]
- Have you worked (volunteer or paid employment) with medically underserved, economically disadvantaged and/or educationally disadvantaged populations? [Please indicate, Yes or No and then explain/describe briefly in 250 words or less.]
- After residency, do you plan to practice medicine in an underserved or disadvantaged community? [Please indicate, Yes or No and then explain/describe briefly in 250 words or less.]
- Please provide below any additional information you believe is important in evaluating your application (e.g. additional coursework, problems with academic record; disadvantaged, etc.) [Please indicate, Yes or No and then explain/describe briefly in 250 words or less.]
- Did COVID-19 impact you preparing your AMCAS application for fall 2024? (i.e. volunteer/work experience, financially, course registration, MCAT testing, etc.) [Please respond Yes or No and then explain/describe briefly in 250 words or less, indicate N/A if not applicable]
- Why Howard University College of Medicine? (2500 characters, max)
Florida
Prerequisites: [For 2023—2024, this section had a 1600 character limit (for each) including spaces.]
1. Use this area to justify and/or explain any academic hardships on your transcripts (any failed and/or repeated courses due to any reason)
2. Use this area to explain exceptions to these prerequisites at your institution.
About Self:
3. Whether or not you will be a full-time student, please provide details of your activities/employment for the application year. (1200-character limit including spaces)
4. Describe why you would like to attend the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at FAU. What values, skills, talents, and life experiences would you contribute to our community? (1600-character limit including spaces)
Experience (1600 character limit including spaces):
5. Please share a meaningful community service experience outside of direct patient care that has been meaningful to you. What drew you to this particular experience? How did it contribute to your personal growth and learning? What aspects of your involvement did you find particularly fulfilling?
6. How have your previous experiences, whether in paid roles or volunteer work, shaped the skills and qualities you believe will be essential for success in medical school and as a future physician? These experiences do not necessarily have to involve direct patient care.
7. Describe a situation where you effectively demonstrated your leadership skills by guiding a group or organization towards a common goal or aligning their collective efforts.
8. Share a notable personal challenge that has influenced your personal growth. Discuss the insights gained about yourself and how these lessons will assist you in navigating challenges in medical school and your future career as a physician. Describe the support systems or resources you relied on and their impact on your journey.
Primary Activity/Employment (The questions in this section appeared for 2023—2024 so we are leaving them in case you need to address them for 2024—2025.)
- Whether or not you will be a full-time student, please explain what you will be doing prior to your planned matriculation into medical school. (600 characters)
- If you have taken a gap year(s), please explain what you have been, or will be doing since graduating from your undergrad institution.
Supplemental Essays (These are for 2024—2025.)
- Miami is a vibrant and multicultural, multilingual city. You will be exposed to cultures and languages different than your own while living and studying in this city. Please explain in detail an experience in which you collaborated, worked, or were exposed to backgrounds that were different than your own. Please describe the impact the experience had on you. (1200 characters)
- Why did you choose to apply to FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine? (1200 characters)
- Please describe a significant personal challenge you have faced. If you sought guidance, support, or resources, describe how it helped you? Focus on what you learned about yourself and how you think it will help you face new challenges. (1200 characters)
- What do you think will be the most rewarding and challenging part of practicing medicine in the future? (1200 characters)
- (OPTIONAL) Use this area to explain any exception to the prerequisites at your institution. (1000 characters)
- (OPTIONAL) Is there any additional information about your academic record that you would like the Admissions Committee to know? Please include any academic difficulties or course withdrawals. (1000 characters)
For those who are not Florida residents, the following prompt appeared for 2023—2024 (so we are leaving it here to prepare you in case it appears for 2024—2025 as well):
- Please describe any connection to FIU, FIU HWCOM, or South Florida.
"Please complete this application with as much specificity and detail as you can. Though many questions are optional the Admissions Committee STRONGLY ENCOURAGES applicants to submit detailed answers to each question"
A. Personal Background (500 words)
- Please provide a description of your family. (Optional)
- Please provide a description of where you grew up (i.e. rural area, large city, etc.) (Optional)
- Indicate what you do for fun and diversion (hobbies, special interests, etc.). (Optional)
- What is a unique trait, experience, or interest that we would not normally learn about you? (Optional)
- If there is an important aspect of your personal background or identity, not addressed elsewhere in the application, that you are comfortable voluntarily sharing with the Committee, we invite you to do so here. Many applicants will not need to answer this question. Examples might include significant challenges in access to education, unusual socioeconomic factors, identification with a minority culture, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. Briefly explain how such factors have influenced your motivation for a career in medicine. (Optional)
B. Academic Background and Pre-Medical Course Requirements
Choose the appropriate response for each required prerequisite. As a reminder: All prerequisites must be completed with a “C” or better and BEFORE matriculating at the FSU COM. (This section includes a list of questions about prerequisites and whether you attended or applied to FSU during undergrad. For each prerequisite, the answer choices are “Completed with a grade of ‘C’ or better” and “In progress.”)
C. Self Critical Analysis (500 words)
- Why are you choosing to apply to the FSU College of Medicine? Please be specific describing what is particularly attractive about FSU COM.
- What do you feel are your personal and scholastic qualifications for the study of medicine? (Optional)
- If you have previously interviewed or applied to the College of Medicine, what steps have you taken to improve your application? (Optional)
D. Additional Questions
- In what field/specialty of medicine do you envision yourself working ten years from now? Please list no more than three (3) specialties. (500-character limit)
- Write a short statement describing how you envision using the specialty/ies you listed above to advance our unique mission and contribute to the success of the FSU College of Medicine. (9999-character limit)
Questions 1 to 4 are required, and questions 5 to 9 are optional if applicable.
- Please provide an example that indicates your ability to function effectively as a productive member of a team working toward a common objective. Elaborate on leadership roles you held in this capacity and how you solved problems that arose. Indicate highlights learned from this experience. (4000 characters)
- Please share some personal examples of problem-solving in a team environment and/or leadership experience that would lead to your success in a Problem Based Learning environment. (4000 characters)
- At NSU M.D., we value the unique perspective that each applicant brings. Identify any traits, life experiences, or interests that a professor or advisor would not normally know about you. (4000 characters)
- How has your academic work beyond the “traditional” pre-medical school requirements (i.e., introductory biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and introductory physics) prepared you for medical school and for a career in medicine? Please highlight any service learning activities that align with humanism in medicine. (4000 characters)
- Do you have any gaps or inconsistencies in either academic or standardized test performances throughout your undergraduate, graduate, or post-graduate career? If you answered yes to the previous question, please explain. (4000 characters)
- Is there a time gap between earning your last degree (baccalaureate or other) and the expected time of your medical school matriculation? If yes, please explain. (4000 characters)
- Were you employed full-time (or part-time) during your undergraduate or graduate years? If yes, please explain. (4000 characters)
- Have you previously applied to any medical school (M.D., D.O., international)? If yes, please explain what steps you have taken to improve your overall application profile for this admissions cycle. (if applicable) (4000 characters)
- Do you believe that you are an individual or a member of a group that faced adversity, which influenced your goals for a career in medicine and service to others? If you answered yes to the previous question, then please explain the impact it had on your future life events. These may include, but are not limited to, challenges due to the quality of your early educational environment, socioeconomic status, cultural background, access to resources, or other significant circumstances. (9999 chars for this one only) (If applicable)
- How did you learn about osteopathic medicine? (1000 characters)
- List and briefly describe your significant healthcare-related volunteer activities since graduation from high school. (2000 characters)
- If you have ever matriculated into an M.D. or a D.O. program, please explain the reason(s) for leaving. Please use the following format: date, institution, status. If non applicable, please type "none" (For 2023—2024, this question had a 1000-character limit but it is unknown what the limit is for 2024—2025.)
- If you were employed during the regular school year (excluding summers) while in undergraduate or graduate school, please list dates of employment beginning with your current position along with title or job description, level of responsibility, and number of hours per week. (2000 character )
- List of Y/N questions with room to explain if necessary, no limit for any
- Are you currently enrolled in an academic program? (Y/N) If you do not expect to spend the academic year enrolled in an academic program, please explain how you will use this time.
- Have you experienced academic difficulties, had any grades below "B minus," or any course withdrawals while in college? (Y/N)
- Are you currently or have you ever been subject to disciplinary action at a college or professional school that did NOT result in academic probation or dismissal? (Y/N)
- Have you ever been placed on academic probation, dismissed, or withdrawn from a college or professional program? (Y/N)
- Do you have any criminal charges pending or expected to be brought against you? (Y/N)
Med School Secondary Essay Premium Example Library (1,500+ Sample Essays)
Every month
Every 2 months
Gain instant access to med school secondary essay examples for every single prompt required by every medical school in the United States and Canada. Subscribe today to lock in the current investments, which will be increasing in the future for new subscribers.
- If you are not a full-time student during this application cycle, in particular at any time between August 2023 and July 2024, please detail your current and planned activities below. (250-500 words)
- The medical profession is frequently described as being both a science and an art. One could summarize this by saying that patients must “be well cared for” (science) but they must also “feel well cared for” (art). We work to teach our students not only the scientific principles of medicine, but also the core values of medicine, often called “professionalism”. Toward this end we keep patients at the center of our education and often reflect on their stories with our students.
The exciting advances in our understanding of the biological basis for disease have led to the emergence of a host of targeted therapies and amazing technologies improving the duration and quality of our patients’ lives. The better a physician knows his/her patient, the better decisions they will make together as they approach important healthcare related questions. This so-called shared decision-making model is one key feature of patient centered care. Practicing the art of medicine in this way yields a physician patient relationship (PPR) that is both therapeutic and mutually enriching. However, many of these same technologies have the unintended consequence of separating us from our patients, both literally and figuratively. In addition, the industrialization of medicine and use of electronic health records have led to a decrease in the time physicians spend with their patients further eroding the strength of the PPR.
At the UFCOM, we have many strategies to equip our students to preserve their own humanity and that of their patients. One of the most important is the ability to make connections with and get to know their patients. Frequently such connections become the student’s first taste of the joy of medical practice. In fact, the UFCOM version of the Hippocratic Oath includes the following affirmation. “I will remember with gratitude and humility those whose illness or injury provided examples from which I learned, and, in their honor, I will continue the pursuit of knowledge.”
In our polarized society, the importance of such virtues as humility and gratitude have perhaps never been greater. Over the last two decades, the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California Berkeley has offered strong scientific support for the importance of such virtues as gratitude and humility in human well-being. But it should also be remembered that philosophers and theologians have cherished these virtues for centuries. For example, when mounting a legal defense for a friend, Cicero observed, “while I wish to be adorned with every virtue, yet there is nothing which I can esteem more highly than the being and appearing grateful. For this one virtue is not only the greatest, but is also the parent of all the other virtues.” Offering a similar endorsement for the virtue of humility, Augustine of Hippo observed, “Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance.” Students at UFCOM regularly write about and discuss encounters with patients that shape their professional identity in important ways. In so doing, we all learn to become better physicians and human beings.
Here are two such reflections, by our students, one a poem and the other an essay. Read and reflect on both and then choose one and describe how the writer grew from the experience. Consider the affirmation from the Hippocratic Oath in your response. (250-500 words)
- “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
- “If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death, human life cannot be complete.”
- “A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the 'why' for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any 'how.'”
- “Being human always points, and is directed, to something or someone, other than oneself - be it a meaning to fulfill or another human being to encounter. “
Additional questions:
- *REQUIRED If you are not a legal resident of Florida according to your AMCAS application, write a statement describing your association with the State of Florida below. This statement is required even if you have no ties to the State of Florida.
- (optional) Reflect upon your life experiences, values and/or personal background. Do any or all of these help frame how you envision your future contributions to the health and well-being of others as a physician and if so, how? (500 words max)
- There is a page for selecting introversion and extroversion traits/statements but no essay associated with it.
Time-sensitive considerations: "We ask that you submit your secondary within two weeks after you are invited to complete the application."
- If you have applied to the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine before (through the regular application process or via an early assurance/early matriculation program) we invite you to use this space to provide additional information about your previous application. This can include year(s) applied, outcome of application, and ways you have strengthened your application since your last application. (1000 characters)
- Why are you applying to the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine? In your essay, please provide a response that clearly articulates how you believe our program specifically will enhance your education/training, what you feel you will uniquely contribute to our learning community, and/or what features of our medical school prompted you to apply. (5000 characters)
- In the space below, please discuss any experiences you may have had serving, working, living, and/or learning in broadly diverse environments that you believe would enable you to thrive in and contribute to our Miller SOM and Greater Miami community. (5000 characters)
- In the space below, we invite you to choose one of our #MedCanes values and discuss how you exemplify that value.
- Integrity: Demonstrating honesty and fairness in our words and actions.
- Collaboration: Working together in teams to achieve common goals.
- Accountability: Taking ownership and responsibility for our actions and outcomes.
- Respect: Treating others with dignity and compassion.
- Excellence: Giving of ourselves in a way that exceeds expectations. (5000 characters)
- Use the space below if you would like to briefly discuss anything else that you want the Admissions Committee to know that you feel has not been covered in your primary and secondary applications. (2500 characters)