University of Colorado Secondary Essay Prompts
(If you have updated prompts, please submit them at updatesecondaries.com)
Prompts have been updated November 2023. (Older essays, if available are below)
- The pillars of our curriculum are Leadership, Curiosity, and Commitment. Tell us about how you have embodied one or more of these attributes in your path to medicine thus far. In which of these areas do you see the most opportunity for personal growth and why? Limit this response to 500 words
- Please describe how your background and/or your unique lived experiences contribute to our culture of inclusive excellence. Limit the response to 300 words.
- (For reapplicants) Please explain how you and your application has changed since your previous submission. Limit this response to 1500 Characters.
- Fort Collins Track: Please tell us why you are interested in being a part of the 4-year CUSOM at CSU (Fort Collins Branch campus)? With the background that FCB’s smaller class sizes and unique structure lead to a highly interactive curriculum, please tell us how this campus matches your learning style and personal philosophy. Limit your statement to 1500 characters, including spaces (approximately 300 words).
- Rural Track: Describe your personal and professional goals in becoming a rural physician. In particular, describe your interest and ability to spend your clinical year in a rural community. You may also include how past experiences living and/or working in a rural area and your ties to or interest in rural Colorado communities aligns with your goals. Limit your statement to 1500 characters, including spaces (approximately 300 words).
- Colorado Springs Branch:
Please submit a short statement regarding your interest in the Colorado Springs Branch. You may address characteristics of the Branch that would be a fit for your strengths, experiences, and/or career plans. You may also note your ties to or interest in Colorado Springs or other similar communities. Limit the essay to 1500 characters, including spaces (approximately 300 words).
- In the Colorado Springs Branch LIC, students work in multiple health systems across Southern Colorado (e.g. Colorado Springs, Cañon City, Pueblo) to understand the interface between academic and community medicine and participate in a curriculum focused on how physician leadership in quality improvement and community engagement can impact health equity. Please describe how participation in the Colorado Springs Branch LIC would advance your career goals, and how your life experiences have led you to an interest in our program. You may also note any ties to Colorado Springs or the Southern Colorado community, if applicable. Please limit your statement to 300 words
Primary Deadline: Usually around Oct 15th
Secondary Deadline: Usually around Nov 30th
Secondary Fee: $100
FAP Waiver: Full Fee Waived
Casper Required: Yes, Snapshot and Duet
PREview Required: No
Screens Applications: Yes
Accepts Application Updates: No
University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine Mission:
The mission of the University of Colorado School of Medicine is to provide Colorado, the nation and the world with programs of excellence in:
- Education – through the provision of educational programs to medical students, allied health students, graduate students and housestaff, practicing health professionals and the public at large;
- Research – through the development of new knowledge in the basic and clinical sciences, as well as in health policy and health care education;
- Patient Care – through state-of-the-art clinical programs which reflect the unique educational environment of the University, as well as the needs of the patients it serves; and,
- Community Service – through sharing the School’s expertise and knowledge to enhance the broader community, including our affliated institutions, other healthcare professionals, alumni and other colleagues, and citizens of the state.
Older Essays:
Application:
- Part A. The School of Medicine regards the diversity of an entering class as an important factor in serving the educational mission of the school. Please write about things in your background that have been important to your development or that have been challenging to you on your path to a career in medicine. These could include your socioeconomic status, culture, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, sexual identity, and work or life experiences. Explain how these have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine. Part B. Please write about the “fit” between your experiences and goals and the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Limit the essay to 1500 characters, including spaces (approximately 300 words).
How to Write About Diversity in Your Secondary Essays - If you are a re-applicant, please explain how you and your application has changed since your previous submission. Limit this response to 1500 Characters.
How to Write About Being a Reapplicant in Secondary Essays
Urban Track: Optional
- Describe the type of urban community health project that would be of greatest interest to you. Try to be as specific as possible regarding a particular culture or population of patients you are interested in and a topic you would like to study. Reasons for your interest in the CU-UNITE Urban Underserved track. If you have had a prior experience in an urban underserved community either volunteer, work-related, and/or personal, describe how this has impacted your decision to apply to this track.
- Describe how you plan to incorporate urban underserved health care into your career following completion of your schooling.
How To Answer Secondary Prompts About Current Challenges in Health Care - You are a student spending your first summer working in an urban-underserved, uninsured community in Denver. You are on a field visit and notice a car that appears to be abandoned, but then on closer observation you notice that there are small children asleep in the back seat wearing dirty clothes with left over fast food on the floor boards. You notice a strong odor of urine and feces coming from the car. A woman is sitting under a tree nearby and is also poorly dressed and unkempt and appears to be in her last trimester of pregnancy. She has visible lesions on her legs and arms. Identify the needs that you see in this family from the perspective of a student working with urban underserved uninsured populations. Please describe how you would attempt to address the needs of this family both in context of their potential health issues and social situation.
Rural Track: Optional
- Describe your experience in and commitment to rural Colorado and your vision of working as a primary care physician in rural Colorado. Please limit your rural track essay to 1500 characters or less (about 300 words).
Required
- The pillars of our curriculum are Leadership, Curiosity, and Commitment. Tell us about how you have embodied one or more of these attributes in your path to medicine thus far. In which of these areas do you see the most opportunity for personal growth and why? (500 words)
Reapplicant to Colorado:
- Please explain how you and your application has changed since your previous submission. (1500 characters)
Fort Collins Track:
- Please tell us why you are interested in being a part of the 4-year CUSOM at CSU (Fort Collins Branch campus)? With the background that FCB’s smaller class sizes and unique structure lead to a highly interactive curriculum, please tell us how this campus matches your learning style and personal philosophy. (1500 characters)
Rural Track:
- Describe your personal and professional goals in becoming a rural physician. In particular, describe your interest and ability to spend your clinical year in a rural community. You may also include how past experiences living and/or working in a rural area and your ties to or interest in rural Colorado communities aligns with your goals. (1500 characters)
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