After submitting your primary application through AMCAS® or AACOMAS®, most medical schools send you a secondary application containing additional essay prompts. These secondary essays are school-specific, and each school asks different questions. The volume of secondaries can be overwhelming: if you apply to 20 schools, you may need to write 40 to 60 individual essays within a 2 to 4 week window after receiving each school’s prompts. This page provides a database of the most commonly asked secondary essay types, strategies for pre-writing before you receive your prompts, and guidance on how to produce thoughtful, school-specific essays under intense time pressure.
Why Secondary Essays Matter
Secondary essays serve two purposes. First, they generate additional revenue for schools (secondary fees typically range from $50 to $100 per school). Second, and more importantly, they allow schools to assess qualities and experiences that the primary application does not capture, and to evaluate your genuine interest in and knowledge of their specific program. A strong secondary essay demonstrates that you have researched the school, understand its mission and values, and can articulate why you and the school are a good fit. A generic essay that could apply to any school signals low interest and minimal effort, which is exactly the impression you want to avoid.
The Most Common Secondary Essay Types
“Why Our School” Essays: Nearly every school asks some version of “Why do you want to attend our medical school?” This is the most important secondary essay to get right. Your answer must be school-specific. Research the school’s curriculum (integrated vs. traditional, problem-based learning, early clinical exposure), unique programs (global health tracks, research institutes, community partnerships), clinical training sites (which hospitals, underserved clinics, or specialty centers are affiliated), and geographic location. Connect specific features of the school to your own interests, experiences, and career goals. A strong “Why Our School” essay names specific programs, faculty interests, or curricular features that align with your demonstrated interests.
Diversity and Background Essays: Many schools ask how you will contribute to the diversity of their class. Diversity encompasses far more than race and ethnicity. Reflect on all dimensions of your identity and experience: socioeconomic background, geographic origin, family structure, cultural heritage, language abilities, career history, personal challenges overcome, and perspectives gained from your life experiences. The most effective diversity essays describe specific experiences that shaped your worldview and explain how that perspective will enrich classroom discussions, clinical interactions, and the school community. See our special populations section for related content.
Challenge and Adversity Essays: These prompts ask you to describe a significant challenge, setback, or failure and what you learned from it. Choose a genuine challenge (not a disguised accomplishment) and focus your essay on the growth that resulted. Schools want to see resilience, self-awareness, and the capacity to learn from difficulty. If you have a gap in your application (a low grade, a gap year for personal reasons, a career change), this essay type is often the appropriate place to address it honestly and constructively.
Community and Service Essays: Some schools ask about your involvement in community service, leadership, or advocacy. Choose an experience where you made a meaningful contribution and where the experience changed you in some way. Describe what you did, who you served, what you learned, and how the experience connects to your goals in medicine. The most compelling service essays demonstrate sustained engagement rather than one-time events, and they show genuine reciprocity (you gave something and you received something in return).
Research Essays: Research-oriented schools may ask about your research experience, including your role, methodology, findings, and what you learned about the scientific process. Focus on your intellectual contribution (what questions you asked, what problems you solved, how you interpreted results) rather than just describing your tasks. If your research is ongoing or was inconclusive, that is fine. Schools want to see that you can think scientifically and that you are genuinely curious about discovery.
Ethical Dilemma and Situational Essays: Some schools present ethical scenarios and ask how you would respond. Approach these the same way you would approach MMI stations: identify the ethical principles at stake, consider multiple perspectives, explain your reasoning, and describe what action you would take and why. See our interview question bank for additional practice with ethical reasoning.
Pre-Writing Strategy
The key to surviving secondary season is pre-writing. Before you receive any secondary applications, draft template essays for the most common prompt types (Why Our School, Diversity, Challenge, Service, Research). When secondaries arrive, customize each template for the specific school rather than writing from scratch. This approach saves enormous time and reduces stress during the most intense phase of the application cycle.
For “Why Our School” essays, research your top 10 to 15 schools in advance and create a spreadsheet with columns for school name, unique programs, mission themes, clinical sites, research opportunities, and personal connections. When the secondary arrives, pull from this spreadsheet to craft a specific, personalized essay quickly.
Quality Standards for Secondary Essays
Every secondary essay should be school-specific (never send the same generic essay to multiple schools), well-organized (clear introduction, body, conclusion), honest (do not fabricate or exaggerate experiences), proofread (zero typos, correct school name, no leftover text from another school’s essay), and submitted promptly (aim to return secondaries within 2 weeks of receiving them, as many schools review applications on a rolling basis and earlier submission is advantageous).
For related application guidance, see our AMCAS® application guide, AACOMAS® application guide, secondary applications guide, personal statement guide, and interview question bank.
“Tell Us About Yourself” Essays: Some schools use broad prompts like “Is there anything else you would like the admissions committee to know?” or “Tell us about yourself.” These open-ended prompts are opportunities to share something meaningful that does not fit elsewhere in your application. You might discuss a formative life experience, a passion outside of medicine, a family or cultural tradition that shapes your values, or a perspective that would not be apparent from your transcripts and activities list. Do not waste this space by repeating information already in your primary application. Use it to add a new dimension to your candidacy.
Gap Year and Non-Traditional Path Essays: If you took a gap year, changed careers, or have a non-linear path to medicine, some schools will ask you to explain your trajectory. Frame your path as intentional and growth-oriented rather than apologetic. Explain what you did during each period, what you learned, and how those experiences strengthened your preparation for medical school. Non-traditional applicants often bring maturity, diverse perspectives, and real-world experience that traditional applicants lack. See our non-traditional students page.
Timing and Submission Strategy: Many medical schools review applications on a rolling basis, which means earlier submission is advantageous. Aim to submit each secondary within 2 weeks of receiving it. To make this possible, begin pre-writing template essays in May (before secondaries arrive in late June and July). When a secondary arrives, customize your template for that specific school, proofread carefully (check that you have the correct school name in every reference), and submit. Students who return secondaries promptly are often among the first to receive interview invitations, which can be a meaningful advantage at schools that fill interview slots on a rolling basis.
References
Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). “Secondary Applications.” AAMC, 2025. https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school-amcas. Accessed March 2026.