Secondary Essay Prompts – Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science

2017 – 2018

• The Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science strives to ensure that its students become respectful physicians who embrace all dimensions of caring for the whole person. Please describe how your personal characteristics or life experiences will contribute to the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science community and bring educational benefits to our student body. (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 Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science and how do you think your education at Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science will prepare you to become a physician for the future? (1 page, formatted at your discretion, upload as PDF)
• In the space provided, please discuss challenges in your journey to applying to medical school. (100 words)

• • Think about life. Think about situations or events that popped up and derailed or deterred you along your journey to this point and how you handled or managed these events and ultimately incorporated that change or growth into the person you are today. This response is about “resilience” as medical educators have found that resilient students are better equipped to handle the training and the difficulties inherent in it. 
  • It is completely appropriate to talk about difficult family circumstances, financial circumstances, academic issues, tough decisions, and forks in the road. Admissions committees are open to hearing about your own experience of illness, including depression and anxiety, and how you have become healthy. Depending on who reads your application, there may be some risk to detailing this so we recommend that you discuss this with an advisor or mentor and disclose only if you are now healthy and functioning well (and there is evidence of this) and if you are willing to openly discuss this during an interview – and have it as part of your file should be matriculate there.

In the space provided, please include a statement that specifically address how, if admitted to our program, your admission would contribute to the diversity of the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science community. (100 words)

• Given the word count here, choose a few strengths or interpersonal characteristics or attributes that sum up your background – your highlight reel, if you will. Diversity covers so much territory, you can decide! Since they ask for a “statement” use action words that convey decisiveness.

• 1. • That you know about the school (and whether you have family members, mentors, etc who have recommended you apply there because of their own experience). If you do not have a personal connection, talk about what attracts you to the curriculum, student body, environment/location, or clinical/research opportunities. I always encourage students to look at a map. What is close by? Any interesting companies or head quarters? Near to more rural opportunities ? Adjacent to urban areas? Who lives near the campus?
     • Optional: We encourage you to submit an optional diversity statement that specifically addresses how, if admitted to our program, your admission would contribute to the diversity of the Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science Community. This optional statement may be considered for admission and/or scholarship purposes. Please limit your response to 100 words or fewer.

Topics covered in this presentation:

• When should I submit my secondary essays?
• Pay attention to the word/character limits.

• Can I recycle secondary essay prompts for multiple schools?
• Identify topics that you left out of your primary application.
• And, much more.