UC San Francisco School of Medicine Secondary Essay Prompts

1. If you wish to update or expand upon your activities, you may provide additional information below. (500 words)

This is a difficult question because the key is to answer effectively while not repeating what was stated in the primary app. Choose an experience or experiences you feel strongly about and then try to think about how you could explain their importance from a fresh angle. Perhaps there was a deeper or different lesson it taught you than what you previously described. Tie the experience to a tangible skill you gained or lesson you learned which will help you impact the medical profession. If there are experiences or components of your background which were not covered in the primary app, it makes sense to expand upon them here. This may be a more effective approach. Considering choosing something non-medical which helped you grow as a person and future doctor.

2. If you are 2019 or earlier college graduate, please use the space below to tell us what you have done since completing your undergraduate degree. (350 words)

If you had a gap year at any point, describe the experiences you had during that time. 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 admissions committee’s eyes. If the gap year was earlier and for another reason, be forthright and explain the situation. Try to list a lesson you learned from the experience.

Prime-US (Optional):
3. Please describe your commitment to working with the urban underserved, highlighting experiences with underserved communities and community-based work. Be sure to mention any leadership and/or team-member roles you’ve played. (500 words)

4. PRIME-US requires a commitment above and beyond the regular medical school curriculum. You will be expected to spend time participating in small group activities and engaging with underserved communities in the Bay Area. Please answer the following questions: How will you balance PRIME-US with your academic responsibilities and personal life? (250 words)

5. What will you bring to PRIME-US? (250 words)

6. What do you hope to get out of PRIME-US? (250 words)