UC Irvine School of Medicine Secondary Essay Prompts

1. What personal accomplishment are you most proud of and why? (1500 char)

Brainstorm your personal accomplishments which were most formative. Ideally you do not want to just describe a simple victory or triumph, but something which helped you grow and taught you a lesson. Think of a scenario in which you overcame particular adversity (do not overlap with question 2 though, see below). Succeeding over personal challenge will be more poignant than beating a foe. Tie the experience to what lesson it taught you and what skill or trait you gained that makes you a stronger person. Be humble; do not emphasize our tout your personal excellence.

2. Please describe to the Admissions Committee a challenge you have overcome and what you learned about yourself from that experience. (1500 char)

There is the opportunity for overlap with the above question so be sure to brainstorm different experiences for both before writing. Consider again a scenario when you had a personal struggle which you overcame. What were times in your life you almost quit but did not? Which accomplishments required particular perseverance? Once you have chosen the experiences, make sure there is a lesson you learned that you can explain. Most important to the prompt, how did you grow as a person. Consider focusing on the following traits for growth: dedication, perseverance, discipline, interpersonal skills, leadership.

3. Do you have a baccalaureate degree? (Y/N)

4. This essay is only for applicants that have already received their baccalaureate degree. Please clarify for the Admissions Committee your activities (school, work, and/or volunteer, travel, etc.) since receiving your undergraduate degree. You may list them in chronological order or you may incorporate them into an essay, stating why you chose particular activities. (1500 char)

Either an essay or a list is a reasonable approach to this questions, but essays tend to be more elegant and allow you to show off your writing skills more. Lists read more like a CV. For each experience, explain how this helped you grow and become a better medical school candidate, which should be the goal of the gap year in the adcom’s eyes.

PRIME-LC program essays:

5. Do you wish to be considered for the Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community? (Y/N)

6. Please describe how you have served your community (school, neighborhood, city, etc.) and how these experiences have prepared you for PRIME-LC. (1500 char)

A good answer necessitates strong community service work. If you are interested in applying for this, you have likely done this work. Recall your prior volunteer work with homeless or underserved populations in the past. The experience need not be medical, as helping the community in any capacity shows a dedication to serving the underserved.

7. Please describe the reason for your interest to be trained as a physician leader for the Latino community. In addition, explain how you intend to utilize the PRIME-LC specialized training to impact community health and health services for the Latino community. (1500 char)

This is a very personal question, the answer to which will vary for each applicant. Many may have cultural or family experiences which are informative. Others will have different reasons. Be yourself and let your ideals shine in this question. For the second component, research the training provided by the PRIME-Lc program at UCI and give specifics on how this will help you achieve your goals. This will show you have thought intelligently about this decision and how you fit well with the program.