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amcas essay prompts 2021

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The 2021 Ultimate Guide to the AMCAS

Benjamin Kogos

A student using a laptop to male an AMCAS application

Applying to medical school can seem like navigating a maze, and can undoubtedly intimidate a lot of students. From a primary application, to a secondary, to an interview, it is difficult to feel fully informed about the process. This guide will take you through the process of the primary application, breaking it down by components, and helping you avoid pitfalls along the way.

What is AMCAS and the Primary Application 

The primary application to medical school is managed by the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS). This application includes all your identifying information, college courses, MCAT scores , essays, and more. Although the entire application cycle proceeds over the course of the year, the primary application has very specific, and sometimes finicky timing. Generally, the AMCAS application opens the first week of May (the application cycle for 2021-2022, opened May 3, 2021 at 9:30 EST). Although the application is open from this time until the deadline – which varies between schools – you will only be able to submit your application beginning May 27 th 2021 at 9:30 EST. The general consensus for adhering to submission deadlines is: the earlier, the better . The reasoning is verification. AMCAS has to process and verify your application before it will send it out to participating and selected medical schools. According to the AAMC, verifying your AMCAS application can take 6-8 weeks, in addition to transcript processing. Since medical schools generally operate on a first-come, first-served basis, the later you submit, the lower your chances are of receiving interview invitations and acceptances. 

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Starting with AMCAS

To start an AMCAS application, head over to https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school-amcas/applying-medical-school-amcas and hit the AMCAS Sign In button. If you have account, you can log in with your credentials. If not, go ahead and create one. Once you have signed in, you will see which AMCAS applications are open. Select the application cycle you wish to apply to, i.e. if you want to attend medical school in 2022, start the 2022 application. After starting the application, there will be an overview of the sections. Each of these sections has to be filled out before continuing to the next. Also displayed will be your AAMC ID number. This number is a very crucial component of your application and will be used in logging into secondary application portals for individual schools, and sending things like letters of intent or updates to medical schools. The first section of the application will ask a variety of identifying information from you, things like your birthday, residence, legal and preferred names.

In the coursework section you will input your educational background. As part of this, you will be tasked with entering every course that is in your transcript. This part is a bit tricky, and it is important to adhere to the AMCAS rules- most importantly to enter your course information exactly as it is written in your transcript. If not, when your application is being verified, it may take longer or even be returned to you for corrections. This section tends to be the biggest issue for students that are applying. Take extra care to follow all AMCAS rules regarding course input. 

A few things to note: make sure to enter the course number with all letters and numbers (BIO 101), and add the phrase “and Lab” if the course included lab credit. Another important AMCAS rule to be aware of while inputting courses is the year or semester the course took place. The academic year for the AMCAS begins in the summer and ends in the spring. This means that a course that was taken in the summer of 2019, would be part of your 2019-2020 academic year, regardless of your schools designation of it in their transcript. 

AMCAS also will calculate both your cumulative GPA and Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics (BCPM) GPA. To do so, you will need to designate a “course classification” to each course. If you aren’t sure whether your course falls under a certain BCPM classification, check the AMCAS Course Classification Guide here: https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school-amcas/amcas-course-classification-guide . 

Although you have just written out every course you have ever taken at any institution you attended, AMCAS will also require a transcript from each of these institutions. This is where your AAMC ID, mentioned earlier, will be necessary – you need it to match your transcript to your application. Whether your transcript is electronic or paper, make sure do submit it as early as you can. Submitting your transcript should preferably be done before AMCAS is open for submission, as it may take some time to verify your transcript and courses. To minimize delay, doing so during the approximately one month space between the opening and submission of the AMCAS will lessen the time needed to verify your application. This means it is in your best interest to send in transcripts as early as you can, even though your college may not release grades until late May (possibly with a higher GPA). You should consider this when choosing when to send in a transcript. If you wish to send in an updated transcript with spring grades on it, possibly raising your GPA, you will not be able to do so. This is because once your transcript is received and verified, AMCAS will not consider another one for the primary application. One way around this is to send this updated transcript with your secondary applications or send update letters individually to each medical school. This is a very time and energy consuming process however and may not be worth your time. 

Work and Activities

Here is where you can list up to 15 activities in which you participated or experiences you had that are relevant. Up to three of these can be designated as “most meaningful”. Each activity will have a title, category, supervisor with contact info, and a description. This description will have a 700 character limit, so you will only have space for 3-4 sentences to squeeze in a description of your experience. However, each of the three most meaningful experiences will have an extra 1350 characters for you to describe its significance. Generally, most students use this space to describe a particular scenario of importance, to discuss a patient encounter, or to talk about their passion for the experience. 

Applicants often wonder about how many experiences they should have, or what counts as an experience. Listing a small amount of work/activities will not reflect to a medical school that you do not have enough experience. If anything, having more, less significant experiences (i.e. volunteering in multiple different places for short amounts of time) rather than a few of note, may even signify to an admissions committee that you are not dedicated, or willing to stay and progress with a company or group. As for what counts as work or an activity, the generally considered ones are shadowing, clinical and non-clinical volunteering, research, and employment. In addition to this there are awards or honors, like publications, presentations and posters, scholarships or Dean’s List designations. Some people even opt to put in their hobbies or achievements in non-academic/non-medical fields. For example, I read a forum post from a student who was passionate about exercising and participated in local competitions. This made him a unique applicant and he even said this experience was discussed during an interview.  

When considering which of these experiences to choose as your “most meaningful”, try to chose an experience that contributed to your desire to pursue a career in medicine, or an experience that you believe shaped you as a person or your values. The most important part of designating experiences as “most meaningful”, is making sure that you accurately reflect why you did so in the 1350 character space provided within AMCAS. It has been said that certain admissions committees assess only the three most meaningful experience essays, and not the rest of the work and activities section. For this reason, this section and your careful selection and description of these activities is considered one of the more important parts of the the application. After the personal statement, these three short essays may help give your application that extra kick or advantage over someone else’s.  

Letters of Recommendation

Now that you have documented your work and activities, you need to have letters that attest to this. This section, like most others, has its own tricks to know, and pitfalls to avoid. AMCAS allows you to add up to 10 “Letter of Recommendation” entries, with each entry having one of the following three designations: Committee Letter, Letter Packet, or Individual Letter. If you are planning on using a committee letter or letter packet, you need only create one entry, even if the committee letter or letter packet themselves contain multiple letters. If you are instead going to be using individual letters as opposed to a committee letter or letter packet, you will need a separate entry for each letter. In each entry, you will need to enter the contact information for the author of the letter. 

Once you do this, you will be presented with a Letter Request form. This form can be sent to your letter writers, and it will contain instructions for their submission of the letter. This will be done using the AMCAS letter service. However, if you wish to have these letters in a confidential portfolio for your personal storage and use (for current or future applications), I recommend Interfolio. Interfolio is a website where you can confidentially store recommendation letters and release them to AMCAS or other applications (you can even use it with AACOMAS!). All you need to be able to send these letters to AMCAS is that AAMC ID that was mentioned earlier. An important AMCAS quirk to remember is that, once you finally submit your AMCAS application, you will be able to add or assign letters to individual schools, but you will not be able to delete or edit the letters already on your AMCAS. This means you should carefully select your recommenders and letter writers prior to submitting. 

A common pitfall I have seen among forums and from friends, is sending letters of recommendation that do not fulfill a medical schools particular requirements. For example, some schools have a hard requirement of having two science letter writers, in addition to a non-science letter writer. Another example is a school having a minimum and maximum amount of acceptable letters, e.g. a minimum of two is required, but if more than six letters are sent to the school, they will choose at their discretion which to read. Issues with recommendations can easily be avoided by researching each particular school’s Letter of Recommendation requirements, which are generally displayed with their admissions information. In addition, if you are applying to MD PhD programs or other relevant programs, make sure to read the MD PhD admissions sections, as they may require more letters (i.e. from research supervisors) or have other requirement changes. 

Adding Medical Schools

Here is where you will be choosing to which medical schools you wish to apply. You can sort medical schools in a variety of ways, or just simply choose a school from the entire list. Upon selecting a school, you will be presented with program options (i.e. MD PhD, Early Decision etc.) and which letters of recommendation you wish to send to these schools. As was mentioned in the “Letters of Recommendation” section, make sure you send the correct letters, and acceptable number of letters to each school, as each school may have different requirements. Not fulfilling these requirements may result in application delays or rejections. You will also be asked if you applied to this school in previous years, and will be told whether the school participates in a background check. An important thing to note is that you can always apply to more medical schools after submitting your application by adding more schools to your list and resubmitting the section. This resubmission is instant, unlike the first submission; your application will not need to be reverified. 

This section is where you will submit your personal statement, and other essay(s) if applicable. You should consider what you write in your personal statement carefully. The personal statement is one of the most important things about your application, following your academic performance and MCAT scores. Think and write carefully; make sure to use the space to explain why medicine or why you wish to go to medical school . A lot of applicants are not sure what to write here, but there are various lines of thinking. Some recommend recounting your journey through college and describing your experiences. Others recommend using a vignette that ties in to your decision to pursue a career as a physician. The important part is that it resonates with and stands out to medical admissions committees, and most importantly talks about you and your growth. I recommend sitting down and writing everything you feel and know about your desire to becoming a physician, and editing it down from there. This is a daunting task, but is important as a good personal statement is what can make or break your application. 

In addition, if you applied at least to one MD PhD program, you will have to submit the MD PhD essay, which will ask you your reasons for wishing to pursue an MD PhD. I recommend doing your best to tie in how pursuing research, as well as a clinical career is part of your goals. An MD PhD is the intersection of the applied clinical sciences and the theoretical research ones. It is your job to explain why you wish to combine them in your career through a 3000 character essay. After this, you will be asked your significant research hours, and what your significant research experiences are. This essay has a 10,000 character limit. Here you should expound on what your research was, what you learned in the experience(s), publications and contributions to fields that you were in, and most importantly, its significance in both the scientific field and to you as a future clinical researcher. 

In the standardized test section you will see your MCAT scores if you have taken and MCAT exam, and the score has been released . Most medical schools have a 3 year limit on the oldest MCAT they will accept, but be sure to research the specific schools in which you are interested if this is a concern. You will also be asked if you expect a future MCAT score to be released, i.e. if you plan on taking the MCAT again or for the first time following your application. In addition you can enter other tests that you wish to include, like the LSAT or GRE, if you believe they would support your application. Your MCAT score is considered to be one of the most critical parts of your application and good performance on this exam can open the doors to a broader selection of medical schools.

There are a few things to note before you submit your application. Following submission, you will be able to do the following: add letters of recommendation, change personal information in your account settings, add schools, or update MCAT scores. However , you will not be able to change anything else . After submission, your application will go through a verification process, which can take from 6-8 weeks or longer depending on how much time has passed since the submission opened (May 27 th ). AMCAS has a few rules for what you need in your application for it to be verified. As some sections are not needed for verification, leaving some incomplete can be advantageous.

Having an MCAT score or even taking the MCAT is not necessary for verification and you can submit your application to schools without one. Some applicants do so on purpose, because, in the 6-8 weeks that go by before the application is verified, they will receive their MCAT scores. This means that during or after verification, their application will be updated with an MCAT score, and will be complete. 

Having all of your letters of recommendation in is also something that is not required for verification. As you can always submit letters of recommendation afterwards, some applicants submit their AMCAS application to be verified, and submit their letters of recommendation whenever they receive them. This may give your letter writers more time without jeopardizing the timing of your verification.

The most important thing that is not required for verification is having a school list. AMCAS only requires one school to be selected in your school list for you to be able to submit your application for verification. Therefore, it possible to select a random school and have your application be submitted and verified while you are waiting on something like MCAT scores or other things that will define which schools to which you will apply. After received something like an MCAT score, you select which schools to which you wish to apply on the AMCAS application, and they will be added without any issue. 

Apart from those listed above, every other section is required to be complete. 

The AMCAS application is a daunting task to start and there are a lot of things to keep track of and remember. But once you hit that submit button, you can rest assured you have officially started on your path to becoming a medical student and clinician. Once submitted and verified, AMCAS will transmit your application and information to your designated medical schools around July 2-3 of your application year, and you will soon move on to the next step in the process: secondary applications. 

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University of Washington School of Medicine Secondary Essay Prompts

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

About University of Washington School of Medicine.

Secondary Deadline : December 1, 2023 Secondary Fee : $35 FAP Waiver : Full Fee Waived CASPer Required : No Screens Applications : Yes Accepts Application Updates : No

The University of Washington School of Medicine is dedicated to improving the general health and well-being of the public. In pursuit of its goals, the School is committed to excellence in biomedical education, research and healthcare. The School is also dedicated to ethical conduct in all activities. As the pre-eminent academic medical center in our region and as a national leader in biomedical research, we place special emphasis on educating and training physicians, scientists and allied health professionals dedicated to three distinct goals:​ Meeting the healthcare needs of our region, especially by recognizing the importance of primary care and providing service to underserved populations Advancing knowledge Assuming leadership in the biomedical sciences and in academic medicine The School works with public and private agencies to improve healthcare and advance knowledge in medicine and related fields of inquiry. It acknowledges a special responsibility to the people in the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho, who have joined with it in a unique regional partnership. The School is committed to building and sustaining a diverse academic community of faculty, staff, fellows, residents and students and to assuring that access to education and training is open to learners from all segments of society, acknowledging a particular responsibility to the diverse populations within our region.
The School values diversity and inclusion and is committed to building and sustaining an academic community in which teachers, researchers and learners achieve the knowledge, skills and attitudes that value and embrace inclusiveness, equity and awareness as a way to unleash creativity and innovation. ​​​

1. We recognize that the world has changed significantly due to the global pandemic. Please share how COVID-19 has impacted you, your family, your community, and/or the patients that you would like to serve.

2. How have societal inequities in the U.S. affected you or patients you’ve worked with?

3. What perspectives or experiences do you bring that would enrich the class?

4. What obstacles have you experienced and how have you overcome them?

5. Demonstrated competency – Social sciences, Humanities or “Human Condition”

  • Entering medical students should understand the social forces that shape the health of the individuals and communities they will serve. This includes understanding how social contextual factors and policy operate at the community and national level to impact the health of individuals. Students should be familiar with disparities in health currently present in society and their underlying etiologies. Candidates seeking acceptance to UWSOM can establish competency in this area through course work in the social sciences, humanities or related interdisciplinary fields such as public health or ethnic and gender studies, clinical and/or population health research, service learning, lived experience or a combination thereof. Examples of social science/humanities coursework to consider: Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science, Economics, Psychology, Religion, History, Philosophy, Literature.
  • Describe your competency by explaining how you’ve explored and come to understand issues in the social sciences and humanities related to the “human condition”. Updated information on their more specific assessment of residency and connections to WA or WWAMI States: Applicants whose AMCAS legal state of residence is not within WWAMI or whose residency is denied by one of the WWAMI residency certifying offices will be considered for the MD program if they meet the following specific components of our mission ( Mission & Values | UW Medicine ):
  • Tie(s) to one or more of the WWAMI states
  • Service record with underserved communities
  • From a disadvantaged background (including those inadequately represented in medicine)

Out-of-region applicants must have one of the following WWAMI ties in order to be eligible for consideration:

  • Member of a federally recognized tribe whose traditional and customary tribal boundaries include portions of the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and/or Idaho
  • Born in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, or Idaho
  • Graduated from high school in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, or Idaho
  • Have a parent who currently lives in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and/or Idaho
  • Currently live and/or have lived in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and/or Idaho FOR AT LEAST ONE YEAR
  • Active military member who is stationed in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, or Idaho

All prompts have a 250-word limit.

1. How have your experiences prepared you to be a physician?

2. What perspectives or experiences do you bring that would enrich the class?

3. What obstacles have you experienced and how have you overcome them?

4. How have societal inequities in the U.S. affected you or patients you have worked with?

5. Please share how COVID-19 has impacted you, your family, your community, and/or the patients that you would like to serve. (NEW for the Fall 2022 cycle)

6. For re-applicants: From your most recent application until now, how have you strengthened your application?

7. For re-applicants not offered an interview, read more.

1. Autobiographical Statement Addendum

  • Your AMCAS personal statement and experiences are already on file with our office. If your primary AMCAS application hasn’t discussed the origin and development of your motivation to be a physician including insights you’ve gained from exploring a career in medicine, and how your personal attributes would make you a good physician, please discuss those here. If you’ve already written about these items, don’t repeat what you wrote. Instead, use this autobiographical statement addendum to let us know more about who you are in addition to being someone who wants to be a physician. This is another opportunity for you to express what you want the Admissions Committee to know about you. 2. How have societal inequities in the U.S. affected you or patients you’ve worked with?

3. How have your experiences prepared you to be a physician?

4. What perspectives or experiences do you bring that would enrich the class?

5. What obstacles have you experienced and how have you overcome them?

1. An autobiographical statement which should include (250 word limit)

  • the origin and development of your motivation to be a physician
  • your prior experiences in health care
  • steps taken to explore a career in medicine
  • your eventual goals as a physician
  • personal attributes that would make you a good physician

2. Please do not repeat what you wrote in your AMCAS Personal Comments (this will already be on file with our office). If you have already covered all of the above topics in your AMCAS application, use this space to let the Admissions Committee know who you are in addition to being someone who wants to be a physician.

This is one of the more unique secondary prompts and not an easy one to answer. It is always tough to write about yourself. The key here is to not repeat the personal statement or primary application. The prompt asks for specific components of your desire to become a physician. Expand on these as appropriate. If already thoroughly described in the primary application and personal statement, consider describing the major parts of your life from beginning until present time that have made you who you are today. What events truly influenced your character and development.

If having trouble answering this question, start with an outline. Focus on medically related experiences as well as non-medical significant events. Make it creative and true to yourself. Let your voice come out in the writing. In the end, if you can tie things together to create a theme as to why you are a good fit to become a doctor, that would be a great outcome. Remember not to repeat your primary application.

3. Four additional short essays (250 word limit each)

  • How have your experiences prepared you to be a physician?

This is a difficult question because the key is to answer effectively while not repeating what was stated in the primary application. Choose a few 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 experiences to a tangible skill you gained or lesson you learned which will help you impact the medical profession. How does that skill allow you to be an effective physician? Introspect about your true reasons for becoming a physician and be honest and genuine in your answer.

  • What perspectives or experiences do you bring that would enrich the class?

Start by brainstorming what is unique about your background. Is it your place of birth, your family, your culture, or your path to medicine? Also consider prior adversity you have had to overcome and how that has shaped your values. Consider 1-2 of these experiences and weave a story about them which show your unique characteristics. Specifically answer how this can contribute to your medical school class; consider the effect you might have on your peers, professors and patients.

  • What obstacles have you experienced and how have you overcome them?

Think back to scenarios when you had a personal struggle which you overcame. What were times in your life that 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 areas of growth: dedication, perseverance, discipline, interpersonal skills, leadership.

  • How have societal inequities in the U.S. affected you or patients you have worked with?

A good answer necessitates some introspection. What experiences have you had with social, economic, healthcare or other inequities? Were they personal experiences or those with peers, friends, or patients? How do these experiences inform your views of social equality and justice. What do you feel is the physician’s role in combating these issues? Consider these concepts when answering this question. Let your values shine in the question and show that you care about social equality in general and as it pertains to the practice of medicine.

4. For re-applicants: From your most recent application until now, how have you strengthened your application?

Focus on personal growth during the time since last application. Rather than avoiding the elephant in the room which is the failed application cycle, introspect on why you did not get accepted. Find something that is a weakness in your prior application which needed work, and then demonstrate how in your off year you were able to strengthen yourself in this regard. Examples include GPA (post bacc), research (additional research work or publications), clinical work (additional clinical hours).

If you applied and were not offered an interview .

Your AMCAS personal statement and experiences are already on file with our office.

If your primary AMCAS application hasn’t discussed the origin and development of your motivation to be a physician including insights you’ve gained from exploring a career in medicine, and how your personal attributes would make you a good physician, please discuss those here. (250 word count)

If you’ve already written about these items, don’t repeat what you wrote. Instead, use this autobiographical statement addendum to let us know more about who you are in addition to being someone who wants to be a physician. This is another opportunity for you to express what you want the Admissions Committee to know about you.

2. How do you see historical and structural inequities affecting the patients you have worked with and will work with, and how do you as a student and physician address these broader causes of health disparities? (250 word count)

3. How have your experiences prepared you to be a physician? (250 word count)

4. What perspectives or experiences do you bring that would enrich the class? (250 word count)

5. What obstacles have you experienced and how have you overcome them? (250 word count)

1. An autobiographical statement which should include:

the origin and development of your motivation to be a physician your prior experiences in health care steps taken to explore a career in medicine your eventual goals as a physician and other issues of importance

The Personal Comments section of the AMCAS application may be used to satisfy this requirement, or an additional autobiography may be submitted with your secondary materials. Your AMCAS personal statement will already be on file with our office. (250 words)

2. Three (3) additional short essays (250 word limit each)

How have your experiences prepared you to be a physician? How do your experiences match the mission and values of the University of Washington School of Medicine? What perspectives or experiences do you bring that would enrich the class? What obstacles to your goals have you experienced and how have you dealt with them? For re-applicants: From your most recent application until now, how have you strengthened your application?

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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  • Secondary Essay Prompts

Secondary Essay Prompts – University of Alabama School of Medicine

amcas essay prompts 2021

Secondary Essay Prompts for the University of Alabama School of Medicine

Below are the secondary essay prompts for the Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham, AL.

2019 – 2020

  • Non-Alabama Resident with Ties to Alabama: Describe any ties or meaningful experiences you have had related to the state of Alabama or UAB Medical Center (1500 char)
  • All Applicants: if the area you spent most of your life before college differs from where you currently consider your permanent address, please explain (1500 char)
  • Where do you see yourself in your medical career fifteen to twenty years from now? (750 char)
  • Please share any information you want us to know about you that is not included in your AMCAS application or in this secondary application: (750 char)
  • Briefly indicate how you would add diversity to our medical school class: (750 char)

2018 – 2019

  • *Where do you see yourself in your medical career fifteen to twenty years from now? (750 char)

Below are the secondary essay prompts for the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham, AL.

2017 – 2018.

  • The Alabama School of Medicine 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 Alabama School of Medicine 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 Alabama School of Medicine and how do you think your education at Alabama will prepare you to become a physician for the future? (1 page, formatted at your discretion, upload as PDF)

2016 – 2017

  • Do you consider yourself rural? If “yes”, describe life experiences that illustrate this.
  • If you are a reapplicant, describe how you have improved your overall credentials for the current application year, specifically addressing any concerns raised in feedback you received from the Admissions Committee.
  • Briefly indicate how you would add diversity to our medical school class.
  • Non-Alabama residents: Describe any experiences you have had related to the state of Alabama or UAB Medical Center.
  • All Applicants: If the area you spent most of your life before college differs from where you currently consider your permanent address, please explain.
  • Where do you see yourself in your medical career fifteen to twenty years from now
  • Please share any information you want us to know about you that is not included in your AMCAS application or in this secondary application.

Secondary essay webcast with Dr. Jessica Freedman, founder and president of MedEdits Medical Admissions.   Read more about Dr. Freedman.

University of Alabama School of Medicine Secondary Essay

University of Alabama School of Medicine Secondary Essay

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 Alabama School of Medicine Requirements

Learn more about this school:

Alabama-Birmingham Medical Student Services/Admissions VH 100 Birmingham, AL 35294-3412 USA (205) 934-2433 (205) 934-8740 email: [email protected] Medical School Website

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

*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.

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amcas essay prompts 2021

COMMENTS

  1. Section 8 of the AMCAS® Application: Essays

    The 2025 AMCAS application is now open. If you wish to start medical school in Fall 2025, please complete and submit the 2025 AMCAS application. As of May 16 AMCAS is: Marking transcripts as "Received" that were delivered on or before: Paper (mailed) - May 16. Parchment - May 15. National Student Clearinghouse - May 16

  2. 2024 Medical School Personal Statement Ultimate Guide (220+ Examples)

    The good news is that the AMCAS personal statement prompt—"Use the space provided to explain why you want to go to medical school"—is intentionally vague and gives you the opportunity to write about anything you want in up to 5,300 characters (including spaces). If you're wondering how many words 5,300 characters comes out to, it ...

  3. Personal Statement and Essay Prompts 2020: AMCAS, AACOMAS, and TMDSAS

    Key differences between AACOMAS and AMCAS experience descriptions: AACOMAS does not have Most Meaningful Remarks. AACOMAS gives you 100 fewer characters for your descriptions. AACOMAS breaks its "Supporting Information" into Experiences and Achievements - no limit on the total number of entries for either.

  4. AMCAS Personal Statement: Tips From Real MDs

    Tip #4: Address Setbacks; Don't Dwell on Them. Basically, your essay is meant to be an authentic expression of you as a person - and as the saying goes, bad things happen to good people. One student might lose their parents in their second year of university. Another might get injured in varsity sports.

  5. 2025 AMCAS Applicant Guide

    Your verified application will include your AMCAS GPAs, which you will be able to find on your printable application. • Letters of evaluation that the AMCAS program receives on your behalf will be sent to your designated medical schools as they are received. • You may submit your application before your letters of evaluation arrive at the ...

  6. PDF AMCAS 2021

    In this document, the personal statement / essay prompts from the standardized applications to different health professions have been collected. Additional updates will be made as applications for the ... school-amcas/ Go to 2021 AMCAS Applicant guide - pdf (p 54) 5300 characters . Use the Personal Comments essay as an opportunity to ...

  7. 6 Tips for Writing Your AMCAS® Personal Comments Essay

    The first essay asks your reasons for pursuing the combined degree and is relatively short. The second essay asks you to describe your research activities and is about three pages long. You can read more about these additional essays in the 2024 AMCAS® Applicant Guide (PDF) or get further guidance from your prehealth advisor or career counselor.

  8. The 2021 Ultimate Guide to the AMCAS

    Generally, the AMCAS application opens the first week of May (the application cycle for 2021-2022, opened May 3, 2021 at 9:30 EST). Although the application is open from this time until the deadline - which varies between schools - you will only be able to submit your application beginning May 27th 2021 at 9:30 EST.

  9. Medical School Personal Statement FAQs

    The question posed—or the essay prompt—will be surprisingly vague. The Association of American Medical Colleges' (AAMC) prompt from the AMCAS application is simply: "Use the space provided to explain why you want to go to medical school." This broad net can prove both a blessing and a curse, depending on how you look at it.

  10. Your Pathway to the White Coat: 7 Tips for Writing Your AMCAS® Personal

    Make sure your essay is interesting, follows a logical and orderly flow, and relates to your reasons for choosing medicine and why you believe you will be successful as a physician. 5. Don't be afraid of the editing process! Be sure to write more than one draft. Ask additional people to review and make edits to your essay.

  11. Baylor College of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts

    In the 2021-2022 medical school cycle, Baylor switched from using the AMCAS application to using the TMDSAS application. Then, in the 2022-2023 cycle, Baylor changed its essay prompts. The Baylor College of Medicine secondary application is short, BUT it's important to highlight your strengths as an application. Read below for our Cracking Med School Admissions tips to answer your Baylor ...

  12. University of Washington School of Medicine Secondary Essay Prompts

    About University of Washington School of Medicine. Secondary Deadline: December 1, 2023. Secondary Fee: $35. FAP Waiver: Full Fee Waived. CASPer Required: No. Screens Applications: Yes. Accepts Application Updates: No. Mission. The University of Washington School of Medicine is dedicated to improving the general health and well-being of the public.

  13. 2021-2022 AMCAS Deadlines

    Here are the current available CASPer test dates/times for participating MD and DO schools for the 2021-2022 cycle: ‍ January 12, 2021 - 8:00pm EST. February 18, 2021 - 8:00pm EST. March 23, 2021 - 8:00pm EST. April 13, 2021 - 8:00pm EST* ‍ *Although it's easy to miss on the CASPer website, more test dates will be released for May 2021 ...

  14. 2021-2022 Emory

    2021-2022 Emory Secondary Essay Prompts: 1. List your entire curriculum plan for the current academic year. If you are not currently in school, please briefly describe your plans for the coming year. (200 words). 2. Briefly describe your health-related experiences. Be sure to include important experiences that are in your AMCAS application, as ...

  15. 2024 TMDSAS Ultimate Guide (Essay Examples Included)

    The one exception is the Baylor College of Medicine which has a three-year limit on acceptable scores from September 2021 ... Number of essays: Beyond their respective activities sections, you're required to submit the following essays for AMCAS ... Let's take a look at the TMDSAS personal statement prompt and an example essay. Prompt ...

  16. Can't find essay prompts for AAMC application

    However, the only essay "prompt" found in the application is the prompt for the personal statement, which doesn't change from year to year. The prompt is simple: "What motivates you to pursue a career in medicine/why do you want to pursue a career in medicine?". The other essays are the activity essays, which don't come with ...

  17. American Medical College Application Service® (AMCAS®)

    Most U.S. medical schools use AMCAS as the primary application method for their entering classes. AMCAS is only available to the first-year entering classes at participating U.S. medical schools. Advanced standing and transfer applicants should contact the medical schools directly for assistance. AMCAS does not render any admission decisions ...

  18. Medical School Secondary Essay Prompts (2023-2024)

    There are no secondary essay prompts for the 2023-2024 cycle. Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine. 2023-2024. Do you have experience shadowing or working with a physician (DO or MD)? If so, describe the experience (name & location of hospital/clinic, name & specialty physician, and amount of time spent shadowing).

  19. Secondary Essay Prompts

    Up-to-date secondary essay prompts for University of Alabama School of Medicine. The most complete and reliable repository of secondary essay prompts to help with the medical school application process. ... Please share any information you want us to know about you that is not included in your AMCAS application or in this secondary application ...

  20. 2021-2022 Drexel

    2021-2022 Drexel Secondary Essay Prompts: 1. If you are a recent graduate, please tell us what you have been doing since graduation. If you have not yet graduated, please discuss your current activities and engagements. We understand that it may have been difficult to obtain clinical or volunteer service experiences during the pandemic ...

  21. 2025 AMCAS® Applicant Guide

    The AAMC and the American Medical College Application Service ® (AMCAS ®) are here to help you navigate this next step. The 2025 AMCAS applicant guide provides you with all the necessary information to complete the application process smoothly and successfully. This comprehensive resource outlines the current AMCAS application process ...

  22. amcas essay prompts 2021

    Section 8 of the AMCAS® Application: Essays. New section. Here you will upload your Personal Comments essay. AMCAS® Sign In; Every applicant is required to submit a Personal Com

  23. Navigating the 2024 AMCAS Application Cycle

    Application All MD granting schools in the United States with the exception of MD programs at Texas public schools. AMCAS Letters. 151 Schools/Programs. Criminal Background Checks. 126 Schools/Programs. 2024 AMCAS Application Fees: $175 processing fee (includes one school designation) $45 for each additional school.