Essay Topics (2024 - 2025)

1. RUSH Medical College is located on Chicago’s Near West Side and serves a diverse patient population. We seek to train physicians who can connect with diverse patient populations with whom they may not share a similar background. Tell us about a life experience that has broadened your own world view or enhanced your ability to understand those unlike yourself and what you learned from this experience. (1000 characters)

2. "Distance traveled" is the metaphorical distance that represents the journey an applicant undertakes throughout their life, encompassing achievements, personal identity, and the competencies developed along the way. The Committee on Admissions seeks and values the skills and competencies that applicants develop as a result of their individual experiences, and recognizes them as desired and essential attributes of a future physician.

Based on your experiences and your distance traveled, please describe any adversities, challenges, and/or marginalized experiences that you have encountered. (1000 characters)

2a. Please describe the effect of these adversities, challenges, and/or marginalized experiences on you as an individual. Explain how you overcame them, what skills you built, what lessons you learned, and how these experiences motivated you to be a doctor. (1000 characters)

7. Do you have direct patient care/contact experience beyond shadowing/observing? Answering "yes" demonstrates you have had active interactions with patients and/or clinical participation in their continuum of care. (no specified character limit for each experience description)

(If you choose Yes): List and describe, in detail, each experience below. While activities can parallel those listed on the AMCAS application, the narratives should not. Instead, focus on detailing the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities you learned and applied during these experiences. Additionally, estimate the proportion of each role that was spent interfacing with patients. When listing the start and end date of each experience, please use the calendar button to the right of each respective text box.

8. If applicable, describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your application to and/or preparation for medical school. (Optional) (1000 characters)

9. Use this space to provide additional information, that is non-COVID related, you would like the Committee on Admissions to be aware of when reviewing your application. (Optional) (1000 characters)

10. Have you ever been involved in an institutional action related to academic dishonesty/integrity? Have you ever been convicted of a crime, or pleaded guilty and been placed on probation, court supervision or another reconviction program for an incident other than a minor traffic ticket? (If Yes): Please explain in detail. (1000 characters)

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Essay Topics ('23 - '24)

1. Rush Medical College is located on Chicago’s near west side and serves a diverse patient population. We seek to train physicians who can connect with diverse patient populations with whom they may not share a similar background. Tell us about a life experience that has broadened your own world view or enhanced your ability to understand those unlike yourself and what you learned from this experience. (1000 characters)

2. As an anchor institution, Rush is embedded in its strategies to improve the societal and structural determinants of health which improve the economic vitality of Chicago’s west side neighborhoods and help residents achieve better health. Using your own experiences, describe how you have impacted and/or changed a person or community. (1000 characters)

3. (Optional) If applicable, describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your application to and/or preparation for medical school. (1000 characters)

4. (Optional) Use this space to provide additional information, which is non-COVID related, you would like the Committee on Admissions to be aware of when reviewing your application. (1000 characters)

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Essay Topics ('22 - '23)

1. Rush Medical College is located on Chicago’s near west side and serves a diverse patient population. We seek to train physicians who can connect with diverse patient populations with whom they may not share a similar background. Tell us about a life experience that has broadened your own world view or enhanced your ability to understand those unlike yourself and what you learned from this experience. (1000 characters)

2. As an anchor institution, Rush is embedded in its strategies to improve the societal and structural determinants of health, which improve the economic vitality of Chicago’s west side neighborhoods and help residents achieve better health. Using your own experiences, describe how you have impacted and/or changed a person or community. (1000 characters)

3. Do you have direct patient care/contact experience beyond shadowing/observing? Answering "yes" demonstrates you have had active interactions with patients and/or clinical participation in their continuum of care. (if yes you fill out a 400 char description of activities for EACH experience)

4. If applicable, describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your application to and/or preparation for medical school. (1000 characters)

5. (Optional) Use this space to provide additional information, which is non-COVID related, you would like the Committee on Admissions to be aware of when reviewing your application (1000 characters)

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Essay Topics ('21 - '22)

1. Describe personal attributes you possess or life experiences you have had that will enable you to better understand patients with a culture different from your own. Please include your self-reflection on how this experience has changed your insights, beliefs, and/or values. (1000 characters)

2. Describe a challenging situation in which you did not agree with a directive/rule and how you handled this. (1000 characters)

3. Reflect on a time in which you personally gained more from an experience than what was expected. (1000 characters)

4. What do you hope to gain from your Rush Medical College experience that will make you a better/different physician? (1000 characters)

5. If applicable, describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your application to and/or preparation for medical school. (1000 characters)

OPTIONAL ESSAY(S)

1. Use this space to provide additional information you would like the Committee on Admissions to be aware of when reviewing your application (Optional,also 1000 characters)

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Essay Topics (’20 – ’21)

1. Describe personal attributes you possess or life experiences you have had that will enable you to better understand patients with a culture different from your own. Please include your self-reflection on how this experience has changed your insights, beliefs, and/or values. (1000 characters)

2. Describe a challenging situation in which you did not agree with a directive/rule and how you handled this. (1000 characters)

3. Reflect on a time in which you personally gained more from an experience than what was expected. (1000 characters)

4. What do you hope to gain from your Rush Medical College experience that will make you a better/different physician? (1000 characters)

7. If applicable, describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your application to and/or preparation for medical school. (1000 characters)

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Essay Topics ('19 - '20)

1. Describe personal attributes you possess or life experiences you have had that will enable you to better understand patients with a culture different from your own. Please include your self-reflection on how this experience has changed your insights, beliefs, and/or values. (1000 characters)

2. Describe a challenging situation in which you did not agree with a directive/rule and how you handled this. (1000 characters)

3. Reflect on a time in which you personally gained more from an experience than what was expected. (1000 characters)

4. What do you hope to gain from your Rush Medical College experience that will make you a better/different physician? (1000 characters)

5. Were you employed during the time you were enrolled in your undergraduate studies? (if so, selection of hours per week, and for how long)

6. Have you ever been involved in an institutional action related to academic dishonesty/integrity? Been convicted of a crime, or pleaded guilty and been placed on probation, court supervision or another reconviction program for an incident other than a minor traffic ticket?

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Essay Topics ('18 - '19)

1. Describe personal attributes you possess or life experiences you have had that will enable you to better understand patients with a culture different from your own. Please include your self-reflection on how this experience has changed your insights, beliefs, and/or values. (1000 characters)

2. Describe a challenging situation in which you did not agree with a directive/rule and how you handled this. (1000 characters)

3. Reflect on a time in which you personally gained more from an experience than what was expected. (1000 characters)

4. What do you hope to gain from your Rush Medical College experience that will make you a better/different physician? (1000 characters)

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Essay Topics ('17 - '18)

1. Describe personal attributes you possess or life experiences you have had that will enable you to better understand patients with a culture different from your own. Please include your self-reflection on how this experience has changed your insights, beliefs, and/or values. (1000 characters)

2. Describe a challenging situation in which you did not agree with a directive/rule and how you handled this. (1000 characters)

3. Reflect on a time in which you personally gained more from an experience than what was expected. (1000 characters)

4. What do you hope to gain from your Rush Medical College experience that will make you a better/different physician? (1000 characters)

‍Essay Topics ('16 - '17)

1. Describe personal attributes you possess or life experiences you have had that will enable you to better understand patients with a culture different from your own. Please include your self-reflection on how this experience has changed your insights, beliefs, and/or values. (1000 characters)

2. Describe a challenging situation in which you did not agree with a directive/rule and how you handled this. (1000 characters)

3. Reflect on a time in which you personally gained more from an experience than what was expected. (1000 characters)

4. What do you hope to gain from your Rush Medical College experience that will make you a better/different physician? (1000 characters)

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Essay Topics ('15 - '16)

1. Describe personal attributes you possess or life experiences you have had that will enable you to better understand patients with a culture different from your own. Please include your self-reflection on how this experience has changed insights, beliefs, and/or values. (1000 characters)

2. (Regarding community service activities) Based on these experiences, please describe what you have learned through your involvement, the attributes you would bring to Rush Medical College, and the impact you would have on the greater Rush Community. (2000 characters)

3. Please describe your most significant achievement outside the classroom. (750 characters)

4. Describe your specific interest in Rush Medical College and what campus opportunities you would most look forward to as a student. (1000 characters)

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Essay Topics ('14 - '15)

1. Describe personal attributes you possess or life experiences you have had that will enable you to better understand patients with a culture different from your own. Please include your self-reflection on how this experience has changed insights, beliefs, and/or values. (1000 characters)

2a. Identify community service activities in which you have participated in during the last five years .

Medical Activities AND Non-medical Activities

Medical Activities

Non-medical Activities

No Community Service

3. Please describe your most significant achievement outside the classroom (750 characters).

4. Describe your specific interest in Rush Medical College and what campus opportunities you would most look forward to as a student. (1000 characters)

Essay Topics ('13 - '14)

1. Describe personal attributes you possess or life experiences you have had that will enable you to better understand patients with a culture different from your own. Please include your self-reflection on how this experience has changed insights, beliefs, and/or values. (1000 characters)