Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine Secondary Essay Prompts

These are the secondary application essay prompts for Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine. To put your best foot forward and maximize your chance of an interview invitation, visit our secondary application editing page.

about Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine

Secondary Deadline: November 1, 2023
Secondary Fee: $110
FAP Waiver: Full Fee Waived
CASPer Required: No
Screens Applications:
Accepts Application Updates:

Vision

At the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, we are dramatically advancing the art and science of medical care through an atmosphere of intense collaborative learning, social concern, and scholarly inquiry.

2023-2024

1. If you are currently not a full time student, please briefly describe the activities you are participating in this academic year. (100 words)

2. If you are committed to a particular community or if there is an important aspect of your identity not addressed elsewhere in the application, we invite you to do so here. Briefly also explain how such factors may have influenced your motivation for a career in medicine. Completing this section is optional.(150 words)

3. What is the toughest feedback you ever received? How did you handle it and what did you learn from it? (250 words)

4. Describe a situation that you have thought to be unfair or unjust, whether towards yourself or towards others. How did you address the situation, if at all? (200 words)

For MSTP applicants (note that question #4 above does not have to be completed and the 3 bolded prompts are additional essays):
1. If you are currently not a full time student, please briefly describe the activities you are participating in this academic year. (100 words)
2. Were there any adverse circumstances in your premedical preparatory journey including but not limited to recent impact from COVID-19? If yes, please explain. (100-word count)
3. If there is an important aspect of your personal background or identity or a commitment to a particular community, not addressed elsewhere in the application, that you would like to share with the Committee, we invite you to do so here. Aspects might include, but are not limited to significant challenges in or circumstances associated with access to education, living with a disability, socioeconomic factors, immigration status, or identification with a culture, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. Briefly explain how such factors have influenced your motivation for a career in medicine. Completing this section is optional. (150 words)
4. What is the toughest feedback you ever received? How did you handle it and what did you learn from it? (250 words)
5. Describe a time when you needed to ask for help. (200 words)
6. What are your career goals? Describe which features of the MD/PhD Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai you will leverage to achieve them? (200 words)
7.Provide a one to three sentence summary of your current research interest. Limit your response to 100 words or less

2022-2023

1. If you are currently not a full time student, please briefly describe the activities you are participating in this academic year. (100 words)

2. If there is an important aspect of your personal background or identity or a commitment to a particular community, not addressed elsewhere in the application, that you would like to share with the Committee, we invite you to do so here. Aspects might include, but are not limited to significant challenges in or circumstances associated with access to education, living with a disability, socioeconomic factors, immigration status, or identification with a culture, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. Briefly explain how such factors have influenced your motivation for a career in medicine. Completing this section is optional. (150 words)

3. What is the toughest feedback you ever received? How did you handle it and what did you learn from it? (250 words)

4. Describe a situation that you have thought to be unfair or unjust, whether towards yourself or towards others. How did you address the situation, if at all? (200 words)

2021-2022

1. What is the toughest feedback you ever received? How did you handle it and what did you learn from it? (250 words)

2. Describe a situation that you have thought to be unfair or unjust, whether towards yourself or towards others. How did you address the situation, if at all? (200 words)

3. If you are currently not a full time student, please briefly describe the activities you are participating in this academic year. (100 words)

4. If there is an important aspect of your personal background or identity or a commitment to a particular community, not addressed elsewhere in the application, that you would like to share with the Committee, we invite you to do so here. Aspects might include, but are not limited to significant challenges in or circumstances associated with access to education, living with a disability, socioeconomic factors, immigration status, or identification with a culture, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. Briefly explain how such factors have influenced your motivation for a career in medicine. Completing this section is optional. (100 words)

MD/PhD Secondary Prompts:

(1) Same as MD above

(2) Please tell us about a time when an experiment didn’t go as planned or yielded an unexpected result. How did you approach this challenge and what did you learn? (200 words)

(3) What are your career goals? Describe which features of the MD/PhD Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai you will leverage to achieve them?

2020-2021

1. Have you previously applied to the MD or MD/PhD Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai/Mount Sinai School of Medicine (including an Early Assurance Program such as FlexMed)?

2. Have you, in the past years, applied to any other medical school?

3. Are there significant gaps in time that are unaccounted for in your application? Y/N

4. If you are currently not a full time student, please briefly describe the activities you are participating in this academic year. (100 words)

5. Were there any adverse circumstances in your premedical preparatory journey including but not limited to recent impact from COVID-19? 100 words to explain if yes

6. Are you submitting your application with a future MCAT date that was rescheduled because of COVID19? Y/N

7. If there is an important aspect of your personal background or identity or a commitment to a particular community, not addressed elsewhere in the application, that you would like to share with the Committee, we invite you to do so here. Aspects might include, but are not limited to significant challenges in or circumstances associated with access to education, living with a disability, socioeconomic factors, immigration status, or identification with a culture, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. Briefly explain how such factors have influenced your motivation for a career in medicine. Completing this section is optional. (100 words)

8. What is the toughest feedback you ever received? How did you handle it and what did you learn from it? (250 words)

9. Describe a situation that you have thought to be unfair or unjust, whether towards yourself or towards others. How did you address the situation, if at all? (200 words)

2019-2020

1. If you are currently not a full time student, please briefly describe the activities you are participating in this academic year (100 words).

2. If there is an important aspect of your personal background or identity or a commitment to a particular community, not addressed elsewhere in the application, that you would like to share with the Committee, we invite you to do so here. Aspects might include, but are not limited to significant challenges in or circumstances associated with access to education, living with a disability, socioeconomic factors, immigration status, or identification with a culture, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. Briefly explain how such factors have influenced your motivation for a career in medicine. Completing this section is optional(100 words).

3. What is the toughest feedback you ever received? How did you handle it and what did you learn from it (250 words)?

4. Please tell us about a situation in which working collaboratively on a team was challenging. What did you do? What did you learn (200 words)?

MD/PhD

All prompts have a 200-word limit.

5. Please describe an influential experience that motivated your decision to become a physician-scientist.

6. What is the toughest feedback you ever received? How did you handle it and what did you learn from it?

7. Please tell us about a time when an experiment didn’t go as planned or yielded an unexpected result. How did you approach this challenge and what did you learn?

8. What are your career goals? Which characteristics of the MD/PhD Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai do you believe will help you to achieve them?

2018-2019

1.If you are currently not a full time student, please briefly describe the activities you are participating in this academic year. (100 words)

2.If there is an important aspect of your personal background or identity or a commitment to a particular community, not addressed elsewhere in the application, that you would like to share with the Committee, we invite you to do so here. Aspects might include, but are not limited to significant challenges in or circumstances associated with access to education, living with a disability, socioeconomic factors, immigration status, or identification with a culture, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. Briefly explain how such factors have influenced your motivation for a career in medicine. Completing this section is optional. (100 words)

3.What is the toughest feedback you ever received? How did you handle it and what did you learn from it? (250 words)

4.Please tell us about a situation in which working collaboratively on a team was challenging. What did you do? What did you learn? (200 words)

MD/PhD:

  • Please describe an influential experience that motivated your decision to become a physician-scientist.
  • What is the toughest feedback you ever received? How did you handle it and what did you learn from it?
  • Please tell us about a time when an experiment didn’t go as planned or yielded an unexpected result. How did you approach this challenge and what did you learn?
  • What are your career goals? Which characteristics of the MD/PhD Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai do you believe will help you to achieve them?

2017-2018

1. If you are currently not a full time student, please briefly describe the activities you are participating in this academic year. (100 words)

2. Please tell us about a passion (professional or personal) you have had thus far in your life. (250 words)

3. Please tell us about a situation in which working collaboratively with others was challenging (250 words)

4. Optional: If there is an important aspect of your personal background or identity or a commitment to a particular community, not addressed elsewhere in the application, that you would like to share with the Committee, we invite you to do so here. Aspects might include, but are not limited to significant challenges in or circumstances associated with access to education, living with a disability, socioeconomic factors, immigration status, or identification with a culture, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. Briefly explain how such factors have influenced your motivation for a career in medicine. Completing this section is optional.

2016-2017

1. Please tell us about a passion (professional or personal) you have had thus far in your life. (250 words)

2. Please tell us about a situation in which working with others has been challenging. (200 words)

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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