Case Western Reserve University Secondary Application Prompts

How to Write About Your Obstacles, Challenges, and Problems in your Secondary Essays

The past few years have reflected an unprecedented time in world history, and we are aware that many have experienced significant disruptions in numerous aspects of their lives. You may use the text field below to share with us how you may have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including academic, financial and medical disruptions, etc.If medically-related or patient-based experiences were interrupted, please tell us how you were able to explore these areas in alternate ways.Please limit your response to 1 page (about 3,500 characters), and leave a blank line between paragraphs.

How to Write About Your Gap Years in Secondary Essays

• Greatest Challenge Response: The Admissions Committee is interested in gaining more insight into you as a person. Please describe a significant personal challenge you have faced, one which you feel has helped to shape you as a person. Examples may include a moral or ethical dilemma, a situation of personal adversity, or a hurdle in your life that you worked hard to overcome. Please include how you got through the experience, how you handled the uncertainty or stress, and what you learned about yourself as a result. (3500 characters)
  Please limit your response to one page (about 3,500 characters), and leave a blank line between paragraphs.
• COVID-related Coursework Response: If you took coursework that was Pass/No Pass due to pandemic disruptions for for 2019-2020 and/or 2020-2021 academic years, please list the courses below.
• Gap Year Response: Did you take a gap year(s)? Yes or No. If Yes: If you are taking time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation, please tell us what you are doing during this gap, and why. Please limit your response to no more than 1000 characters, and leave a blank line between paragraphs. (1000 characters)

• COVID-related Disruptions Response: The past few years have reflected an unprecedented time in world history, and we are aware that many have experienced significant disruptions in numerous aspects of their lives. You may use the text field below to share with us how you may have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including academic, financial and medical disruptions, etc.If medically-related or patient-based experiences were interrupted, please tell us how you were able to explore these areas in alternate ways. Please limit your response to 1 page (about 3,500 characters), and leave a blank line between paragraphs. (3500 characters)

• Research Response: One of the four pillars of the Western Reserve2 Curriculum is Research and Scholarship. Although research is not a prerequisite requirement for the University Program, if you have participated in research or another scholarly project, please tell us about it. Describe your experience, including the question you pursued and how you approached it, your results and interpretation of the results, and most importantly, any thoughts about what this experience meant to you. Remember that research is broad-based and can include such projects as a senior capstone or a thesis and can include both medical and non-medically-related investigations. If you have not completed research, please indicate that in the text box below. (3500 characters)
  Please limit your response to one page (about 3,500 characters), and leave a blank line between paragraphs.
• Additional Information Response: Is there any further information that you wish to share with the Admissions Committee that may not be captured in the rest of your application? Please limit your response to 3,500 characters. (3500 characters)