Cleveland Clinic Lerner Secondary Essay Prompts
These are the secondary application essay prompts for Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. To put your best foot forward and maximize your chance of an interview invitation, visit our secondary application editing page.
About Cleveland Lerner College of Medicine
Secondary Deadline: December 1, 2024
Secondary Fee: $95
FAP Waiver: Full Fee Waived
CASPer Required: No
Screens Applications: Yes
Accepts Application Updates: Yes Only if Invited for Interview/Portal
Mission
The mission of the CCLCM is “to educate a limited number of highly qualified persons who seek to become physician investigators and scientists committed to the advancement of biomedical research and clinical practice.”
2024-2025
1. Greatest Challenge Essay: The admissions committee is interested in gaining more insight into you as a person. Please describe a significant personal challenge you have faced, one which you feel has helped to shape you as a person. Examples may include a moral or ethical dilemma, a situation of personal adversity, or a hurdle in your life that you worked hard to overcome. Please include how you got through the experience and what you learned about yourself as a result. (2,000 character limit)
2. Research Essay: Please tell us about ONE research project to which you made a significant contribution. In your essay, describe your role on the project, the hypothesis of your research and whether you contributed to hypothesis generation, why the methods were selected to answer that hypothesis, your results, and interpretation of your results with respect to future findings. In addition, please briefly share your motivation for pursuing this research project and reflect on how this experience affected your future career goals. (3,500 character limit)
3. Personal Growth: Based on your current maturity and wisdom, reflect upon an experience from the past few years that you would handle differently today. (1,000 character limit)
4. Cultural Awareness: Many have been reckoning with the impact of systemic injustices on social environments and healthcare equity. Describe a personal experience that has deepened your cultural awareness and humility, and the impact of that learning on how you look at health and healthcare. (1,500 character limit)
5. Career Essay: What does your ideal career entail fifteen years after medical school graduation? (1,000 character limit)
6. Gap Year(s) if applicable: If you are taking time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation, please tell us why you made this decision and what you will be doing or have done during this gap. (1,000 character limit)
Optional Responses:
Additional Information Response: Is there any further information that you wish to share with the Admissions Committee that may not be captured in the rest of your application? (2,000 character limit)
2023-2024
The admissions committee is interested in gaining more insight into you as a person. Please describe a significant personal challenge you have faced, one which you feel has helped to shape you as a person. Examples may include a moral or ethical dilemma, a situation of personal adversity, or a hurdle in your life that you worked hard to overcome. Please include how you got through the experience and what you learned about yourself as a result. (2,000 character limit)
2.Research Essay:
Please tell us about ONE research project to which you made a significant contribution. In your essay, describe your role on the project, the hypothesis of your research and whether you contributed to hypothesis generation, why the methods were selected to answer that hypothesis, your results, and interpretation of your results with respect to future findings. In addition, please briefly share your motivation for pursuing this research project and reflect on how this experience affected your future career goals. (3,500 character limit)
3.Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Directed Learning:
The most successful medical students at our school are generally those who are intrinsically motivated, self-directed learners. Think of a time when you had to pursue a goal without clear external direction. Describe your approach and any new knowledge, perspectives, or skills that you acquired. (1,000 character limit)
4.Career Essay:
What does your ideal career entail fifteen years after medical school graduation? (1,000 character limit)
5.Gap Year(s) if applicable: If you are taking time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation, please tell us why you made this decision and what you will be doing or have done during this gap time. (1,000 character limit)
Optional Responses:
Additional Information Response:
Is there any further information that you wish to share with the Admissions Committee that may not be captured in the rest of your application? (2,000 character limit)
2022-2023
1. At Cleveland Clinic and CCLCM we are deeply committed to anti-racism and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in education, healthcare, and our communities. We invite you to share a specific life or work experience that aligns with and will allow you to uniquely contribute to the DEI initiatives at CCLCM. Please limit your response to 1000 characters and leave a blank line between paragraphs.
2. We all have targeted areas for improvement (TAFIs) in our personal and professional lives. Please share a current TAFI you have identified that does not include the acquisition of medical/scientific knowledge. How did you recognize this TAFI, and what steps are you taking to address it? How are you measuring your progress and how will you know when you reached your goal? (1000 char)
3. Please tell us about a time when you prioritized the needs of others (excluding family) before your own. In addition, tell us about a time when you put your own needs first. For each, please explain your decision making process and the outcome. (2000 char)
4. What does your ideal career entail ten years after medical school graduation? (1000 char)
2021-2022
The Admissions Committee is interested in gaining more insight into you as a person. Please describe a significant personal challenge you have faced, one which you feel has helped to shape you as a person. Examples may include a moral or ethical dilemma, a situation of personal adversity, or a hurdle in your life that you worked hard to overcome. Please include how you got through the experience, how you handled the uncertainty or stress, and what you learned about yourself as a result. Please limit your response to 1 page (approx 3,500 characters), and leave a blank line between paragraphs.
Optional:
The past year has reflected an unprecedented time in world history, and we are aware that many have experienced significant disruptions in numerous aspects of their lives. Please use the text field below to share with us how you may have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including academic, financial, medical disruptions, etc. If medically-related or patient-based experiences were interrupted, tell us how you were able to explore these areas in alternate ways. Please limit your response to 1 page (about 3,500 characters), and leave a blank line between paragraphs.
Did you take a gap year(s)? Yes or No. If Yes: If you are taking time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation, please tell us what you are doing during this gap, and why. Please limit your response to no more than 1000 characters, and leave a blank line between paragraphs.
2020-2021
1. The admissions committee is interested in gaining more insight into you as a person. Please describe a significant personal challenge you have faced, one which you feel has helped to shape you as a person. Examples may include a moral or ethical dilemma, a situation of personal adversity, or a hurdle in your life that you worked hard to overcome. Please include how you got through the experience and what you learned about yourself as a result. Please limit your response to 1 page (about 3,500 characters), and leave a blank line between paragraphs.
2. If you were working on a small group project and you thought that another student wasn’t carrying his/her load, how would you handle it? Please limit your response to 300-1000 characters, and leave a blank line between paragraphs.
3. Each year our students target for themselves areas of improvement. Other than the acquisition of new knowledge, what personal area do you think you have that could use strengthening? Design a plan as to how you could improve it. Please limit your response to 500-1000 characters, and leave a blank line between paragraphs.
4. Tell us about a time when you received unexpected criticism or negative feedback. How did you react? What did you do? Please limit your response to 500-1000 characters, and leave a blank line between paragraphs.
5. How do you see your career ten years from now? Please limit your response to 500-1000 characters, and leave a blank line between paragraphs.
6. When were you challenged to teach, coach, or mentor others to learn a new skill or improve an old one? Please describe how it went and what you learned from the experience. Please limit your response to 500-1000 characters, and a blank line between paragraphs.
7. Please describe the hypothesis of your research, why the methods were selected to answer that hypothesis, your results and interpretation of your results with respect to future findings. If you have not participated in research or scholarly work, please indicate so in the text area below.
2019-2020
The secondary application essay prompts from this medical school application cycle are the same as above.
2018-2019
The secondary application essay prompts from this medical school application cycle are the same as above.
2017-2018
1. Required Essay: Greatest Challenge
The admissions committee is interested in gaining more insight into you as a person. Please describe a significant personal challenge you have faced, one which you feel has helped to shape you as a person. Examples may include a moral or ethical dilemma, a situation of personal adversity, or a hurdle in your life that you worked hard to overcome. Please include how you got through the experience and what you learned about yourself as a result.
Please limit your response to 1 page (about 3,500 characters), and leave a blank line between paragraphs. If the 3,500 character recommendation is exceeded, your essay WILL still be saved in its entirety.
2. Required Essay: Research
Please describe the hypothesis of your research, why the methods were selected to answer that hypothesis, your results and interpretation of your results with respect to future findings. If you have not participated in research or scholarly work, please indicate so in the text area below.
Please limit your response to 1 page (about 3,500 characters), and leave a blank line between paragraphs. If the 3,500 character recommendation is exceeded, your essay WILL still be saved in its entirety.
3. Required Essay: Small Group Essay
If you were working on a small group project and you thought that another student wasn’t carrying his/her load, how would you handle it?Please limit your response to 300-1000 characters, and leave a blank line between paragraphs. If the 1000 character recommendation is exceeded your essay WILL still be saved in its entirety.
4. Optional: Additional Information Essay (University Program Only)
Is there any further information that you wish to share with the Admissions Committee? This optional response will only be considered by the University Program.
5. Required for College Program: Areas of Improvement Essay
Each year our students target for themselves areas of improvement. Other than the acquisition of new knowledge, what personal area do you think you have that could use strengthening? Design a plan as to how you could improve it. Please limit your response to 500-1000 characters, and leave a blank line between paragraphs. If the 1000 character recommendation is exceeded your essay WILL still be saved in its entirety.
6. Required for College Program: Criticism and Feedback Essay
Tell us about a time when you received unexpected criticism or negative feedback. How did you react? What did you do?
Please limit your response to 500-1000 characters, and leave a blank line between paragraphs. If the 1000 character recommendation is exceeded your essay WILL still be saved in its entirety.
7. Required for College Program: Career Essay
How do you see your career ten years from now?
Please limit your response to 500-1000 characters, and leave a blank line between paragraphs. If the 1000 character recommendation is exceeded your essay WILL still be saved in its entirety.
8. Required for College Program: Teaching Essay
When were you challenged to teach, coach, or mentor others to learn a new skill or improve an old one? Please describe how it went and what you learned from the experience.
Please limit your response to 500-1000 characters, and leave a blank line between paragraphs. If the 1000 character recommendation is exceeded your essay WILL still be saved in its entirety.
9. Required for College Program: Gap Year Essay
If you took a gap year, please describe how you spent that time. Please limit your response to 500 characters, and leave blank lines between paragraphs
2016-2017
1. The admissions committee is interested in gaining more insight into you as a person. Please describe a significant personal challenge you have faced, one which you feel has helped to shape you as a person. Examples may include a moral or ethical dilemma, a situation of personal adversity, or a hurdle in your life that you worked hard to overcome. Please include how you got through the experience and what you may have learned about yourself as a result. (3500 char)
2. One of the four pillars of the Western Reserve Curriculum is Research and Scholarship. Although research is not a pre-requisite requirement for the University Program, if you have participated in research or in another scholarly project please tell us about it. Describe your experience, including the question you pursued and how you approached it, your results and interpretation of the results, and most importantly, any thoughts about what this experience meant to you. Remember that the definition of research is broadly-based and can include such projects as a senior capstone or a thesis, and can include both medically and non-medically-related investigations. OPTIONAL (3500 char)
3. If you were working on a small group project and you thought that another student wasn’t carrying his/her load, how would you handle it? (300 – 1000 char)
4. Is there any further information that you wish to share with the Admissions Committee? This optional response will only be considered by the University Program. *OPTIONAL*
5. Each year our students target for themselves areas of improvement. Other than the acquisition of new knowledge, what personal area do you think you have that could use strengthening? Design a plan as to how you could improve it. (500-1000 char)
6. Tell us about a time when you received unexpected criticism or negative feedback. How did you react? What did you do? (500-1000 char)
7. How do you see your career ten years from now? (500-1000 char)
8.When were you challenged to teach, coach, or mentor others to learn a new skill or improve an old one? Please describe how it went and what you learned from the experience. (500-1000 char)
9. If you took a gap year, please describe how you spent that time. Please limit your response to 500 characters, and leave blank lines between paragraphs (500 char)
Disclaimer: The information on this page was shared by students and/or can be found on the medical school’s website. Med School Insiders does not guarantee the accuracy of the information on this page.
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