Secondary Essay Prompts for the University of Illinois College of Medicine
Below are the secondary essay prompts for the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago, IL.
2018 – 2019
- In addition to training as a competent physician please select up to two additional areas of interest from the items below that you may want to pursue during your medical studies. Your responses will have no bearing on applications to joint degrees or special programs to which you might also apply.
- Simulation
- Research in healthcare delivery
- Basic science research
- Interdisciplinary collaboration
- Healthcare disparities
- Academic medicine
- Global Health
- Community Health (urban)
- Community Health (rural)
- Innovation Medicine
- Provide a short, 300-500 words, statement on your interest and how you see it influencing your learning.
- Please begin your statement with the letter(s) representing the area(s) of interest enclosed in parentheses as a programmatic queue. Separate multiple areas of interest with a comma. For example, your essay would begin as follows, if you chose Simulation and Research in healthcare delivery: (A,B) …
- If you choose just one additional area of interest: (A) …
- Describe any advantages and/or complications you encountered during your progression in education. Please include any noteworthy achievements and/or obstacles. (Examples: Acute or chronic illnesses, employment, financial difficulty, managerial role in household, etc.) (Don’t exceed 150 words)
- If you did not experience an advantage and/or complication during your education please indicate ‘Not Applicable’
Below are the secondary essay prompts for the University of Illinois College of Medicine
2017 – 2018
- (if not enrolled in school) Please state your current activities and/or employment status (limited to 3500 characters in length)
- Describe a stressful situation that you have experienced. Please detail your reaction, how you managed the situation, and what you learned that will help you handle a similar circumstance in the future.
- In addition to training as a competent physician please select up to two additional areas of interest from the items below that you may want to pursue during your medical studies. Your responses will have no bearing on applications to joint degrees or special programs to which you might also apply.
- Simulation
- Research in healthcare delivery
- Basic science research
- Interdisciplinary collaboration
- Healthcare disparities
- Academic medicine
- Global Health
- Community Health (urban/rural)
- Provide a short, 300-500 words, statement on your interest and how you see it influencing your learning.
- Please begin your statement with the letter(s) representing the area(s) of interest enclosed in parentheses as a programmatic cue. Separate multiple areas of interest with a comma.
- For example, your essay would begin as follows, if you chose Simulation and Research in healthcare delivery: (A,B) …
- If you choose just one additional area of interest: (A) …
- Describe any advantages and/or complications you encountered during your progression in education. Please include any noteworthy achievements and/or obstacles. (Examples: Acute or chronic illnesses, employment, financial difficulty, managerial role in household, etc.) (Don’t exceed 150 words)
- If you did not experience an advantage and/or complication during your education please indicate ‘Not Applicable’
- For the second essay prompt there is another option (I) Innovation.
2016 – 2017
MedEdits advises against using outdated prompts for the current season.
- If you select that you are not currently enrolled in a college/university it asks: “Please state your current activities and/or employment status.” Please limit to 3500 characters.
- Describe a situation in which you were really stressed. Tell us how you dealt with it. Please detail your reaction(s), and how it affected you. If this situation, or a similar one, were to happen again, how would you handle it? Please limit to 250 words.
- Describe a hobby or activity other than something in medicine, in which you have a keen interest. Why? Please limit to 250 words.

University of Illinois College of Medicine
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Secondary Essay Prompts By School
University of Arizona College of Medicine (Phoenix)
A.T. Still University–School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA), Mesa
Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University (AZCOM), Glendale
University of South Alabama College of Medicine, Mobile
Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM), Dothan
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine–Auburn Campus (VCOM-Auburn), Auburn
Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine (ARCOM), Fort Smith
Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda
Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford
University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, Sacramento
University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles
University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine, Riverside
University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla
University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, San Francisco
Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine–California (TUCOM-CA), Vallejo
Western University of Health Sciences/ College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific (Western U/COMP), Pomona
Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVUCOM), Parker
University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington
Yale School of Medicine, New Haven
George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington
Howard University College of Medicine, Washington
Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Miami
Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee
University of Central Florida College of Medicine, Orlando
University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville
University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami
USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Bradenton Campus (LECOM Bradenton), Bradenton
Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-KPCOM), Fort Lauderdale
Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University, Augusta
Mercer University School of Medicine, Macon
Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta
Georgia Campus–Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (GA-PCOM), Suwanee
Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood
Northwestern University The Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago
Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center, Chicago
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield
University of Chicago Division of the Biological Sciences The Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago
University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago
Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University (CCOM), Downers Grove
University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City
Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MU-COM), Indianapolis
University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville
University of Pikeville–Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine (UP-KYCOM), Pikeville
Louisiana State University School of Medicine in Shreveport, Shreveport
Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, Bethesda
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore
Harvard Medical School, Boston
Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester
Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, East Lansing
Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester
University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor
Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit
Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine, Kalamazoo
Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MSUCOM), East Lansing
William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine (WCUCOM), Hattiesburg
University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine, Columbia
University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis
A.T. Still University–Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM), Kirksville
Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences College of Osteopathic Medicine (KCU-COM), Kansas City
University of Nebraska College of Medicine, Omaha
Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine (TUNCOM), Henderson
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark
Rutgers, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway
Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine (RowanSOM), Stratford
Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine (BCOM), Las Cruces
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx
City University of New York School of Medicine, New York
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York
Hofstra North Shore – Northwell School of Medicine, Hempstead
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo
New York Medical College, Valhalla
New York University School of Medicine, New York
State University of New York Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine, Brooklyn
State University of New York Upstate Medical University, Syracuse
Stony Brook University School of Medicine, Stony Brook
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester
Weill Cornell Medicine, New York
New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM), Old Westbury
Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine–New York (TouroCOM-NY), New York City
The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill
Wake Forest School of Medicine of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, WinstonSalem
Campbell University Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine (CUSOM), Lillington
Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown
Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus
The University of Toledo College of Medicine, Toledo
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati
Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Dayton
Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-HCOM), Athens
Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine (OSU-COM), Tulsa
Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey
Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia
The Commonwealth Medical College, Scranton
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM), Erie
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), Philadelphia
San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas
Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine, Bayamon
University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, San Juan
University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia
University of South Carolina School of Medicine – Greenville, Greenville
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine–Carolinas Campus (VCOM-Carolinas), Spartanburg
Meharry Medical College, Nashville
University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, Memphis
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville
Lincoln Memorial University–DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (LMU-DCOM), Harrogate
Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, Bryan
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, El Paso
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, Lubbock
The University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio, San Antonio
University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin
University of Texas Medical Branch School of Medicine, Galveston
University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine, Harlingen
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas Southwestern Medical
University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine (UIWSOM), San Antonio
University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth/Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNTHSC/TCOM), Ft. Worth
University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Roanoke
Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM), Lynchburg
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine–Virginia Campus (VCOM-Virginia), Blacksburg
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences College of Osteopathic Medicine (PNWU-COM), Yakima
*Data collected from MSAR 2022-2023, 2022 Osteopathic Medical College Information Book, and institution website.
Disclaimer: The information on this page was shared by students and/or can be found on each medical school’s website. MedEdits does not guarantee it’s accuracy or authenticity.
*Data collected from MSAR 2016-2017 and institution website.
Disclaimer: The information on this page was shared by students and/or can be found on each medical school’s website. MedEdits does not guarantee it’s accuracy or authenticity.