Secondary Essay Prompts for the University of Massachusetts Medical School
Below are the secondary essay prompts for the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, MA.
2019 – 2020
- Highlight specific examples of how you developed and demonstrated core professionalism competencies that are required of entering medical students.
- Please respond to the first prompt (#1; Diversity).
- Then select three of the other six prompts (#2-#7). Each response should be 150-200 words. Use the text box below for your answer. Separate each of your four responses by writing the competency above/before your response (example: Teamwork – All teams have their struggles, but they can be overcome…).
- UMass Medical School strives to be a diverse academic community mindful of the fact that diversity makes our community stronger and benefits the patients we serve. Each person in our community brings a unique set of strengths, experiences and perspectives. Describe an example where you contributed to the diversity of a group, team or class. Connect this to how you will contribute to the diversity of the UMMS community. (Diversity)
- Describe a time when you have made a decision that was not popular and how you handled this. (Leadership competency)
- Describe a time when you were on a team that was dysfunctional in some regard. How did you address the situation? (Teamwork)
- Describe a meaningful interaction you have had with a person whom you have helped at work, school or another activity. (Empathy/Compassion)
- Have you ever been in the middle of a situation where there was poor communication? What did you do to improve it? (Communication)
- Describe a time when you have “thought outside the box” to solve a problem. (Inquiry)
- Describe a time when you suffered a setback. How did you respond to this challenge? (Persistence/Grit)
- Please discuss any part of your application that you feel requires further explanation – for example, grades or MCAT scores that do not reflect your true ability, a gap in time that is not explained elsewhere in your application. If you are reapplying to UMass SOM, highlight how you have strengthened your application. (250 word limit)
- If you have participated in UMass SOM or UMass Memorial Health Care, or UMMS Baystate sponsored programs (SEP, Summer Research Program, Worcester Pipeline Collaborative, AHEC, BaccMD, HSPP, Academic Internships, BSEP, Summer Scholars) please describe how these programs helped you decide to apply to UMass SOM. (200 word limit)
- Why are you interested in UMass SOM? What will you bring to your class and the SOM community? (200 word limit)
- If you are currently taking a gap year, in what activities are you engaged? (200 word limit)
- MD-PhD
Please describe why the UMMS MD/PhD program is your choice for training as a physician and a scientist. (200 word limit)
2018 – 2019
- Please respond to four of the following seven prompts related to competencies that are important for a physician to possess. (150 words/item, 600 words/total; please use the text box below for your answer, separate each of your four responses by writing the competency above/before your response; example: Teamwork – All teams have their struggles but they can be overcome…)
-
- 1) Describe a time when you have made a decision that was not popular and how you handled this. (Leadership competency)
- 2) Describe a time when you were on a team that was dysfunctional in some regard. How did you address the situation? (Teamwork)
- 3) Describe a meaningful interaction you have had with a person whom you have helped at work, school or another activity. (Empathy/Compassion)
- 4) Have you ever been in the middle of a situation where there was poor communication? What did you do to improve it? (Communication)
- 5) Describe a time when you have “thought outside the box” to solve a problem. (Inquiry)
- 6) Describe a time when you suffered a setback. How did you respond to this challenge? (Persistence/Grit)
- 7) Describe a challenging time when you advocated for someone. (Advocacy/Cultural Competence)
- Please discuss any part of your application that you feel requires further explanation – for example, grades or MCAT scores that do not reflect your true ability, a gap in time that is not explained elsewhere in your application. If you are reapplying to UMass SOM, highlight how you have strengthened your application. (250 word limit)
- If you have participated in UMass SOM or UMass Memorial Health Care, or UMMS Baystate sponsored programs (SEP, Summer Research Program, Worcester Pipeline Collaborative, AHEC, BaccMD, HSPP, Academic Internships, BSEP, Summer Scholars) please describe how these programs helped you decide to apply to UMass SOM. (200 word limit)
- Why are you interested in UMass SOM? What will you bring to your class and the SOM community? (200 word limit)
- If you are currently taking a gap year, in what activities are you engaged? (200 word limit)
Below are the secondary essay prompts for the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
2017 – 2018
- The University of Massachusetts Medical School 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 University of Massachusetts Medical School 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 University of Massachusetts Medical School and how do you think your education at University of Massachusetts Medical School will prepare you to become a physician for the future? (1 page, formatted at your discretion, upload as PDF)
2016 – 2017
1) If you are reapplying to UMMS, please describe how you have strengthened your credentials since your last application. Limit your response to 200 words.
2) Have you ever worked/volunteered or otherwise participated in any UMASS Medical School or UMASS Memorial Health Care sponsored activities/programs (Example: Area Health Education Center (AHEC), Pipeline Program, Summer Enrichment Program (SEP), Research) If Yes, please describe. A letter of recommendation from your program supervisor is strongly encouraged. Limit your response to 200 words.
3) What are your future medical career plans? Please describe your hopes for your chosen medical specialty, type of practice, and size/type of practice community. Limit your answer to 200 words.
4) Please explain any grades: Lower than a ‘B’ in any prerequisite or science course. Any semester where you feel your academic performance was not representative of your true abilities. Limit your response to 200 words.
5) How did you study for the MCAT exam? Limit your response to 200 words.
6) Please provide a description of a personal dilemma relating to ONE of the nine following personal compentencies that are important to success in medical education and physician practice. Limit your response to 500 words. Any additional information beyond one page will not be evaluated.
Please check the competency of your choice:
Integrity & Ethics Competency
- Behaves in an honest and ethical manner; adheres to ethical principles and follows rules and procedures; resists peer pressure to engage in unethical behavior and encourages others to behave in honest and ethical ways.
Reliability & Dependability
- Consistently fulfills obligations in a timely and satisfactory manner; takes responsibility for personal actions and performance.
Service Orientation
- Demonstrates a desire to help others and sensitivity to others’ needs and feelings; demonstrates a desire to alleviate others’ distress.
Social & Interpersonal Skills
- Demonstrates an awareness of others’ needs, goals, feelings, and the ways that social and behavioral cues affect peoples’ interactions and behaviors; adjusts behaviors appropriately in response to these cues; and treats others with respect.
Capacity for Improvement
- Sets goals for continuous improvement and for learning new concepts and skills; engages in reflective practice for improvement; solicits and responds appropriately to feedback.
Resilience and Adaptability
- Demonstrates tolerance of stressful or changing environments or situations and adapts effectively to them; is persistent, even under difficult situations; recovers from setbacks.
Cultural Competence
- Demonstrates knowledge of social and cultural factors that affect interactions and behaviors; shows an appreciation and respect for multiple dimensions of diversity; recognizes and appropriately addresses bias in themselves and others; interacts effectively with people from diverse backgrounds.
Oral Communication
- Effectively conveys information to others using spoken words and sentences listens effectively; recognizes potential communication barriers and adjust approach or clarifies information as needed.
Teamwork
- Works collaboratively with others to achieve shared goals; shares information and knowledge with others and provides feedback; puts team goals ahead of individual goals.
The information below provides instructions on how you should write your description.
Step1: Review each competency Carefully read each competency definition to be sure you understand what is important. Carefully reflect on each competency and think about a dilemma you encountered in your activities, experiences, or accomplishments and relate that to it.
Step 2: Choose what you will write about for ONE competency Choose one dilemma that best describes your demonstration of your chosen competency. The dilemma may be specific, such as a challenging person, situation or assignment. Alternately, it may be an example of a dilemma you witnessed, in which case your relay what your response would have been.
Step 3: Provide a narrative description of the dilemma Carefully describe the dilemma you have selected. Your response should clearly reflect your individual experience or understanding of this dilemma related to that competency. Your description must reflect the quality of your understanding of the dilemma including how it relates to the specific competency and its scope and impact. Specifically, you should describe:
a) the situation in which the activity, experience or accomplishment occured;
b) actions you took and the resulting consequences of those actions;
c) what you learned from the experience
Secondary essay webcast with Dr. Jessica Freedman, founder and president of MedEdits Medical Admissions. Read more about Dr. Freedman.
University of Massachusetts Medical School
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.
University of Massachusetts Medical School Admissions Requirements
Learn more about this school:
School of Medicine
55 Lake Ave., North
Worcester, MA 01655 USA
Secondary Essay Prompts for Other Schools
Do you want to see secondary essay prompts for other medical schools?
Select a school below:
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.