Pursuing a career in medicine and healthcare is a noble profession. You not only get to make money but also earn respect from all walks of life and serve a purpose to the community. However, the path to becoming a doctor is filled with many challenges and obstacles. For instance, you need to score exceptional grades in school and then pass a couple of tests and write a couple of essays and applications before you are even in the race. And yet, this is just the beginning!
Once your primary application is accepted, you need to work on the secondary application to make sure that you have covered all the bases. In this blog, we will go through the purpose behind secondary applications, their types, and how to write a compelling secondary essay to seal the deal!
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What Is Medical School Secondary Essay?
As mentioned in the previous section, once you have written the primary application essay, you get in the game. But you need to write another essay, a better and more focused one, to win candidature in a medical college. This is called a secondary essay and it is directed toward the issues and problems that students face or embrace in the professional world.
Normally, students are asked essay questions in the brief that they need to answer in the text. depending on the school that you apply to and other factors, many schools only ask those students to write secondary essays when they want to proceed further. However, it is best to be prepared for them. Again, the whole process can be different depending on the situation.
Purpose Behind Writing Medical School Secondary Essays Examples
There is one main purpose behind getting students to write secondary medical school essays: to get to know about aspirants and find the most suitable for the positions available. If you go through the most common essay questions and prompts, you will see that they ask questions about issues and problems that can induce debate and more questions. Gauging the intellect of the students through their answers and thoughts, they finalize the selection process.
Types of Sample Medical School Secondary Application Essays
Many students ask about the type of questions that they should expect in these secondary essays for medical schools. There are no hard and fast rules that dictate college admission committees to ask certain types of questions. But, our editorial team has spent quite some time with previous essays from years back and has come up with some of the “areas” that applicants should cover.
Here are the most common themes or areas that are frequently asked in medical school secondary essays:
- Essays about challenges in medicine practice
- Issues of poor diversity representation in medicine
- Justifying gap years in your schooling
- Additional things that make a student more eligible for the scholarship
- “Why Us?” types of questions
Keep in mind that these are based on research from previous years’ essays and papers. It is best to keep an eye on the current trends and issues that the medical community faces as those issues are likely to come in the essay questions.
Medical School Diversity Essay Examples
Perhaps the most common topic in medical school essays is diversity. We know that there are many schools and colleges that not only respect diversity but foster it inside and outside the campus. When they ask aspirants to write essays on diversity, they want to understand their thinking and make them see the differences as a virtue.
The medical profession is a social vocation. Doctors need to see hundreds of clients every day. At least a portion of those clients will be from other backgrounds. It is necessary for the doctor to not only respect the cultural gaps but make sure that they do not affect the treatment in any shape or form.
Since this is a sensitive issue, we can understand that students can be extra cautious to reflect on these matters. Many of them ask about how to write such essays. Two things must be clear in the essay:
- The answer to the essay question
- Showcasing your cultural compatibility
These are the things that members of the admissions committee want to know about applicants. As for the ideas and topics to excel in these essays, here are some of the pointers to keep in mind:
- Medical practitioners should keep in mind that patients come from all cultural backgrounds, needs, beliefs, and more
- They must be willing and show effort to accept this and add value to the services
- They need to keep these differences in mind while providing healthcare services to patients
- Above all, there is a constant need to be considerate and professional with patients across the board
These are some of the things that applicants must remember while writing their essays. However, if they are not up for the challenge, our writers would be happy to oblige.
Secondary Application Medical School Examples Of Adversity & Challenges
Another common type of question that comes in secondary essays for medical school admissions revolves around challenges, dilemmas, and adversity that prospective students have faced in life. This is not about some made-up scenario as a doctor. They want you to explore your life and come up with instances when you faced a challenge and then resolved it with sheer will. Again, the focus should not be on the contents of the challenge but rather on how you did not back down and saw it to the end.
Doctors need to be resilient and mature enough to see the big picture in any case. It is because being calm and resourceful will not only help students in medical college but also the practical field.
When you receive the essay prompt, the first thing to do is read it in its entirety and answer the essay question, and then set up the stage for the challenge and how you did not succumb to the pressure.
Here is a breakdown of some ways you can tackle this question:
- The challenges you faced
- The way you reacted to the challenge
- Stress and anxiety management
- How do you manage challenges later on
- Using lessons from the past and incorporating them into the future
Secondary Essays Medical Schools Examples On “Why Us?”
Here is another type of essay that seems easy but can derail your application. When students hear about “Why Us?” essays, they think it will be an easy write-up that can be done in one sitting. They would tell the members of the admissions committee about their grades, the compatibility location, and other things about the college that anyone can access from the website.
In addition to this, they know that you will be applying to more than one college so there is no point in singing absolute praises for that one school. So, how can you make your “Why Us?” essay stand out from hundreds of others?
To do that, you need to dig into the surface and delve down into the core. There are two plausible angles that you can explore here:
- Find and present information about the healthcare profession from trusted websites
- Learn all about the school’s values and mission so that you can align with them in essays and interviews
These two can help you accelerate your secondary essay for medical school and ensure that you have a prominent place in the minds of the readers.
A Simple Guide To Write Secondary Essays For Medical Schools
Writing a secondary essay can be a tough nut to crack but there is nothing in this world that cannot be conquered once it is divided. We have put together a simple guide for you to write secondary essays for medical schools.
Understand the Purpose & Type of Essay
The first thing that you need to understand before writing the essay is that its purpose and type are clear to you. The former is to get admission to the school and become a healthcare professional and show all of that to the members of the admissions committee. The latter, however, requires some introspection. Depending on the essay question, you can make out the type of the essay which can be descriptive, narrative, argumentative, or even expository.
Conduct In-Depth Research
There is no question about the importance of in-depth research for your essay. Even though you know what you want, you need to find the right words and phrases to make it stick.
Create An Outline
Creating an outline is a great idea since it will help you anticipate the problems accordingly and then move forward with full force. Many believe that it makes your essay stale but that’s not true in any case.
Use Relevant Examples
Instead of rambling on about your things and ideas, you can quote examples from other people and make sure that they add value to your original idea. This is a fairly common practice in essays for admissions but you need to strike the right balance.
Proofread & Edit Before Submitting
Last but not least, editing and proofreading your secondary essay before submitting it is a must. No matter how careful you were during the phase of writing, there will always be errors and inconsistencies in the text. You can use online tools to quickly identify errors and improve them.
Closing Remarks
Writing a secondary essay for medical school may seem like an overwhelming task as there are many angles to explore. However, once you get the gist of the task, you know what to do and can move forward in confidence. In this blog, we have shared some ideas on the types of essays as well as a simple guide on how to write a stand-out essay. So, make sure to follow these tips. If you cannot write your essay, let us help you with the writing and editing. Place your order now and get a custom essay in a matter of hours!