Secondary Essay Prompts Database

Explain your understanding of osteopathic philosophy and how you will apply it.

Describe your commitment to serving rural or underserved populations.

How would you contribute to the diverse, urban community our school serves?

Describe a research or scholarly experience and what it taught you about inquiry.

Why are you interested in attending this college of medicine?

Describe a meaningful clinical or volunteer experience with an underserved population.

What personal attribute will most contribute to your success as a physician?

Explain how your background will help you serve a diverse urban patient population.

What draws you to our mission of health equity and community-based care?

Why is our school a good fit for the kind of physician you want to become?

Describe an activity that demonstrates your commitment to your community.

What experience has most shaped your understanding of health disparities in underserved communities?

Describe a leadership role you have held and the outcome of your leadership.

How do you plan to use your medical education to reach your long-term career goals?

Describe an activity outside of academics that has been important to your development.

Tell us about a time you advocated for someone else in a health care setting.

Describe the community you come from and how it shaped your perspective.

Duke's third year is dedicated to scholarly work. What would you explore and why?

Discuss a situation in which you had to resolve conflict within a team.

What unique perspective or lived experience would you contribute to our entering class?

Describe a time you worked as part of a team that struggled. What was your role in the outcome?

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect your preparation for medical school?

What about practicing medicine in an urban, policy-focused setting appeals to you?

Describe an experience that tested your resilience during your premedical path.

How does the Jesuit value of cura personalis — care of the whole person — shape your approach to medicine?

Describe your most meaningful service commitment and its impact on you.

Describe how you have served a community and what that service taught you about health care needs.

Discuss a research, scholarly, or creative project that changed the way you think.

Is there anything else you would like the admissions committee to know about you?

Briefly describe your single most rewarding experience and why it mattered to you.

Tell us how you have contributed to a community and what you hope to contribute here.

Describe a scholarly or research project and your specific role in it.

What led you to osteopathic medicine and to our program in particular?

Describe a setback in your academic record and the steps you took to improve.

Which of our learning pathways fits you best and why?

Describe how you manage competing responsibilities and stress.

Describe how you have served an underserved community and what you learned.

Why are you interested in our school specifically?

How does our mission of social justice and service to others align with your values?

Describe a time you cared for someone in a vulnerable situation.

Mayo's primary value is that the needs of the patient come first. Describe a time you lived that value.

Tell us about a team accomplishment and your specific contribution to it.

What attributes will you bring to our learning community, and why this campus?

Describe a situation where you demonstrated professionalism under pressure.

What draws you to an urban academic medical center, and how would you use its resources?

Describe a leadership role and the outcome of your involvement.

How have your experiences prepared you to care for patients unlike yourself?

Why osteopathic medicine, and what experiences confirmed that choice?

Describe your involvement with a diverse community in South Florida or elsewhere.

Why have you chosen osteopathic medicine, and what exposure have you had to it?

Describe an experience providing hands-on care or comfort to another person.

What personal experiences drew you to osteopathic medicine and to our region?

Describe a time you worked as part of an interprofessional health care team.

Describe your experience working with people from backgrounds different from your own.

What events or people most influenced your decision to pursue medicine?

The Stanford curriculum emphasizes scholarly discovery. How do your interests align with that mission?

Describe a personal or professional challenge and how you responded to it.

How will you contribute to a diverse and inclusive learning environment?

Why are you interested in training in Central New York, and what are your practice goals?

Describe a meaningful patient interaction and what it taught you.

Describe a failure or setback and what you changed as a result of it.

What specialty or area of medicine currently interests you and why?

Is there any additional information you would like to share with the committee?

Why have you chosen to apply to our school, and what will you take advantage of here?

Describe how you spent your gap time and how it prepared you for medical training.

How do your background and goals fit our mission to serve rural and underserved California?

Describe a hardship you have overcome and the resources that helped you.

Describe your experience serving communities that face barriers to care.

What experiences have prepared you for a career addressing health equity?

Describe a time you advocated for someone who could not advocate for themselves.

How have your experiences prepared you to care for rural or mountain communities?

Tell us about a time you worked with people whose background or beliefs differed from your own. What did you learn?

What aspects of our curriculum, community, or mission make you a strong fit for this school?

Describe a significant obstacle you have faced and how it shaped your path to medicine.

What experiences prepared you to care for patients from rural or underserved communities?

Describe a time you received difficult feedback and what you did with it.

Describe your most meaningful research experience and your specific contribution to it.

What personal quality has been most tested during your journey toward medicine?

Tell us something about yourself that is not captured elsewhere in your application.

Describe an experience working with a person or group whose views differed from yours.

How does our combined medicine and public health mission align with your goals?

Describe a population health problem you care about and what you have done about it.

Describe any significant challenges you faced in obtaining your education.

What unique perspective or experience would you bring to our entering class?

Describe your most meaningful leadership experience.

Describe a situation in which you faced an ethical dilemma. How did you decide what to do?

Why are you specifically interested in our program and our city?

Tell us how you plan to spend the time between your undergraduate studies and matriculation.

Tell us about an experience that tested your integrity and what it revealed about your values.

Describe an activity outside of academics that has been important to your development.

Why are you applying to this school, and what specific programs interest you?

Describe an experience that expanded your understanding of health inequities.

Tell us about a time you failed and what you changed afterward.