Secondary Essay Prompts Database

Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center (Chicago, IL)

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Program Overview

Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center (Chicago, IL)

Secondary Deadline
November 13, 2026
Secondary Fee
$100
FAP Waiver
Yes
Casper Required
Yes
Screens Applications
No
Accepts Application Updates
Yes
Mission
Through a supportive and dynamic learning community, Rush Medical College nurtures the development of empathic, proficient physicians dedicated to continuous learning, innovation, and excellence in clinical practice, education, research and service.

Vision
Rush Medical College will be the global leader in student-centered, future-oriented medical education.

Values

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.

Application Cycles
2026-2027
Application Cycle
All questions have a 250-word limit.

All 1000 characters

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.

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. (Optional)

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. (Optional)

2b. Can you describe a time when you recognized your privilege and used it to promote health equity? Please share specific initiatives, projects, or actions in which you were involved in and the impact they had. (Optional)

2025-2026
Application Cycle
All questions have a 250-word limit.

All 1000 characters

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.

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. (Optional)

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. (Optional)

2b. Can you describe a time when you recognized your privilege and used it to promote health equity? Please share specific initiatives, projects, or actions in which you were involved in and the impact they had. (Optional)

2024-2025
Application Cycle
All questions have a 250-word limit.

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 travelled” 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)

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. (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.

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

5. 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)

6. 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)

2023-2024
Application Cycle
All questions have a 250-word limit.

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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