Essay Topics (2024 - 2025)

Questions 2, 3, 4, 5 REQUIRED, Questions 1 + 6 IF Applicable

1. If you will not be enrolled as a full-time student, how will you be spending/intend to spend your time during your application year?If you are a re-applicant, please address steps taken to improve your application for medical school. (200 words)

2. Why is it important to you to go into medicine and become a physician? (200 words)

3. Tell us about your lived experiences that will enable you to provide quality care to all patients. (200 words)

4. As medical students and future physicians, you are faced with many uncertain situations. Please describe a situation when you were asked to do something that you felt unprepared for. How did you handle it? (400 words)

5. Netter SOM is a diverse and inclusive community, and we believe that each person brings their own unique experiences and attributes. Our students also serve and interact with diverse patient populations and communities. Please share how you have made efforts to work with people from a different background than you. What did you learn from these efforts? (400 words)

6. If applicable, please address any withdrawals, repeated courses, leaves of absence or breaks in your undergraduate education that are not explained in your application. (250 words)

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Essay Topics ('23 - '24)

1. If you will not be enrolled as a full-time student, how will you be spending/intend to spend your time during your application year? If you are a re-applicant, please address steps taken to improve your application for medical school. (200 words)

2. Why is it important to you to go into medicine and become a physician? (200 words)

3. What quality or attribute do you think is most important in being a physician? Please explain. (200 words)

4. As a medical student and future physician, you will be faced with many uncertain situations. Please describe a situation when you were asked to do something that was beyond your capabilities. How did you handle the situation? Please provide a specific example. (400 words)

5. Netter SOM is a diverse and inclusive community, and we believe that each person brings their own unique experiences and attributes. How have your experiences, personal/family background or personal identity impacted your values and attitudes in working with others who will be both similar and different from you? (400 words)

6. If applicable, please address any withdrawals, repeated courses, leaves of absence or breaks in your undergraduate education that are not explained in your application. (250 words)

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Essay Topics ('22 - '23)

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1) If you will not be enrolled as a full-time student, how will you be spending/intend to spend your time during your application year? (150 words)

2) What quality or attribute do you think is most important in being a physician? Please explain. (150 words)

3) Please provide an experience when you have encountered and addressed a conflict. How did you work through the conflict? How would you apply what you learned from this experience as a medical student and future physician? (400 words)

4) Netter SOM is a diverse and inclusive student body. What do you feel that you will bring to enrich the incoming SOM class and community? (200 words)

5) In your experience through the COVID-19 Pandemic, how do you see your role as a frontline provider in future public health emergencies? (250 words)

6) Please address any withdrawals, repeated courses, leaves of absence or breaks in your undergraduate education that are not explained in your application. (Optional) (250 words)

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Essay Topics ('21 - '22)

1. What non-academic advice would you give to your younger self? (150 words)

2. Describe a situation in which you did not get something you felt you deserved and how you handled it. (150 words)

3. What is the toughest feedback you have ever received; how did you respond to it and what did you learn from it? (150 words)

4. Other than work/life balance, what do you believe the biggest challenge you will face as a practicing physician will be and how do you anticipate responding to it? (150 words)

5. If you will not be enrolled as a full-time student, how will you be spending/intend to spend your time during your application year? (150 words)

6. What area of medicine do you envision yourself working in at the end of your training? What is shaping your vision? (100 words)

OPTIONAL ESSAY(S)

1. If you were to have a theme song, what would it be and why? (150 words)

2. Is there anything not captured in your application that you would like to share? (150 words)

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‍Essay Topics (’20 – ’21)

If you will not be enrolled as a full-time student, how will you be spending/intend to spend your time during your application year? (Limit 150 Words)

What area of medicine do you envision yourself working in at the end of your training? What is shaping your vision? (Limit 100 Words)

Is there anything not captured in your application that you would like to share? (Limit 150 Words)

What non-academic advice would you give to your younger self? (150 words)

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, what adjustments would you see as necessary and beneficial to the delivery of health care? (150 words)

Physicians are often called upon to play a leadership role within a healthcare team. Give an example of how you have developed your leadership skills. (150 words)

Discuss an experience you have undertaken outside your comfort zone and detail why you sought out this particular experience. (150 words)

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Essay Topics ('19- '20)

If you will not be enrolled as a full-time student, how will you be spending/intend to spend your time during your application year? (150 words)

What area of medicine do you envision yourself working in at the end of your training? What is shaping your vision? (100 words)

OPTIONAL: is there anything not captured in your application that you would like to share? (150 words)

REQUIRED: 150 words each

What non-academic advice would you give to your younger self?

Becoming a physician means dedicating yourself to a career of service. Discuss how you have cultivated a service mentality.

Physicians are often called upon to play a leadership role within a healthcare team. Give an example of how you have developed your leadership skills.

Discuss an experience you have undertaken outside your comfort zone and detail why you sought out this particular experience.

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Essay Topics ('18 - '19)

Instructions: All applicants must complete questions 1 and 2. From the remaining five questions, select three additional questions and respond. Your responses to each questions cannot exceed 150 words. Type directly in the field or prepare your response with a word processing program and cut and paste it into fields.

Both questions 1 and 2 are required of all applicants.

1. What area of medicine do you envision yourself working in at the end of your training? What is shaping your vision?

2. Please tell us something about yourself that is not captured in your application.

Please answer only three of the questions below.

— Discuss a personal role model (someone you know; not a historical or public figure). What attributes does this person possess that you admire and strive to emulate?

— Which extracurricular activity is most important to you and why?

— What non-academic advice would you give to your younger self?

— Detail something about yourself (quality or non-academic accomplishment) that makes you extremely proud.

— Describe your most humbling non-academic experience, and how that experience will affect your interactions with your peers and patients.

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Essay Topics ('17 - '18)

a) If you will not be enrolled as a full-time student, how will you be spending/intend to spend your time during your application year? (Limit 250 Words)

All applicants must complete questions 1 and 2. From the remaining five questions, select three additional questions and respond. Your responses to each questions cannot exceed 150 words. Type directly in the field or prepare your response with a word processing program and cut and paste it into fields.

1. What area of medicine do you envision yourself working in at the end of your training? What is shaping your vision?

2. Please tell us something about yourself that is not captured in your application.

(choose three out of the next five)

3. Discuss a personal role model (someone you know; not a historical or public figure). What attributes does this person possess that you admire and strive to emulate?

4. Which extracurricular activity is most important to you and why?

5. What non-academic advice would you give to your younger self?

6. Detail something about yourself (quality or non-academic accomplishment) that makes you extremely proud.

7. Describe your most humbling non-academic experience, and how that experience will affect your interactions with your peers and patients.

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Essay Topics ('16 - '17)

(250 WORDS each)

Required:

If you will not be enrolled as a full-time student, how will you be spending/intend to spend your time during your application year?

What area of medicine do you envision yourself working in at the end of your training? What is shaping your vision?

Please describe how your experiences and personal attributes will contribute to the "vision, mission and values" of the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine.

Answer two of the following:

What advice (non-academic) would you give to your younger self?

As a physician, how can you impact social change?

Detail something about yourself (quality or non-academic accomplishment) that makes you extremely proud.

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Essay Topics ('15 - '16)

(250 WORDS each)

Required:

What area of medicine do you envision yourself working in at the end of your training? What is shaping your vision?

Please describe how your experiences and personal attributes will contribute to the "vision, mission and values" of the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine.

Answer two of the following:

What advice (non-academic) would you give to your younger self?

As a physician, how can you impact social change?

Detail something about yourself (quality or non-academic accomplishment) that makes you extremely proud.

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Essay Topics ('14 - '15)

All 250 words:

What area of medicine do you envision yourself working in at the end of your training? What is shaping your vision?

What in your life experience or philosophy will help you work effectively in health care with patients and colleagues whose life experiences have been different from your own?

Answer only 2 of the following:

Detail something about yourself (quality or accomplishment) that makes you extremely proud.

If you couldn't work in health care or the sciences, what career would you choose and why?

Give an example of when you have changed or altered your practice or behavior because of working with a diverse group.

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Essay Topics ('13 - '14)

What medical specialty are you considering? What factors have influenced your decision? (250 words) (required)

How do you see yourself contributing to the learning environment at the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine? (250 words) (required)

Answer only 2 of the questions below:

Describe an experience outside your level of comfort and what lesson(s) you gained from the experience. (250 words)

Describe an occasion when you inspired others. (250 words)

Discuss how you have coped with a setback. (250 words)