University of Kentucky Secondary Application

University of Kentucky Secondary Essay Prompts

(If you have updated prompts, please submit them at updatesecondaries.com)

Prompts have been updated May 2023. (Older essays, if available are below)

Prompts:

  • Please elaborate on why this is your preferred campus.
  • What competencies and qualities do you feel a physician should possess?
  • Describe a personal activity involving advocacy, social justice, and/or civic engagement that has impacted your personal values about delivering equitable patient care.
  • Describe an experience or situation which made you feel grateful?
  • In providing patient care, should physicians maintain emotional distance or empathize with patients’ emotional state?
  • It is impossible to have predicted the drastic impact caused by the novel coronavirus identified as COVID-19. Describe the impact you have witnessed of this pandemic on those around you.
  • Please share unique, personally important,and/or challenging facts in your background, such as the quality of your early educational environment, socioeconomic status, culture, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, or life/work experiences. Please discuss how such factors have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine.

Primary Deadline: Usually around Nov 1st
Secondary Deadline
: Usually around Nov 30th
Secondary Fee: $50
FAP Waiver: Full Fee Waived
CASPer Required: No
VITA Required: No
Screens Applications: No for Residents/Yes for Out of State Residents
Accepts Application Updates:


University of Kentucky College of Medicine Mission:

The College of Medicine promotes a diverse and inclusive environment that provides excellence in education, equitable health care, and transformative research to improve the health and wellness of Kentuckians and beyond.

University of Kentucky College of Medicine Vision:

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine is a national leader in solving the challenges in health care through transdisciplinary and transformational research, education, and advanced clinical care.

University of Kentucky College of Medicine Values:

  • Diversity – We welcome and embrace diversity as a quality improvement strategy that will positively impact all functional areas of the college.
  • Innovation – We will use creative initiatives to produce tangible outcomes in college processes and actions resulting in a critical mass of students, faculty and executives.
  • Respect – We will encourage personal and group differences and use them to provide optimal solutions to health care disparities and to foster social justice in the educational and work environments.
  • Compassion – We will practice self-reflection and be empathetic to the thoughts, needs and feelings of others.
  • Teamwork – We will foster a climate of partnership and collaboration to create positive outcomes for all those engaged in teaching and learning.

Older Essays:

  • Why have you chosen to apply to the University of Kentucky College of Medicine? (Optional 1000 characters)
    How to Answer Secondary Prompts about “Why Us”
  • Please elaborate on personal characteristics and any accomplishments and experiences that you feel help to demonstrate your potential to contribute to the college and to the profession of medicine. (Optional 1000 characters)
    How to Answer “Why Should We Accept You?” in Your Secondaries
  • Please elaborate on any Kentucky ties: personal, familial, etc. (Optional 1000 characters)
  • What competencies and qualities do you feel a physician should possess? (1500 characters)
  • Describe the most significant community service activity in which you have participated. What did you learn from that experience? (2000 characters)
  • Describe an experience or situation which made you feel grateful? (1500 characters)
  • In providing patient care, should physicians maintain emotional distance or empathize with patients’ emotional states? (1500 characters)
  • Describe a situation in your undergraduate education when you felt alive and engaged in learning. (1500 characters)
  • Please share unique, personally important, and/or challenging facts in your background, such as the quality of your early educational environment, socioeconomic status, culture, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, or life or work experiences. Please discuss how such factors have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine. (2500 characters)
    How to Write About Diversity in Your Secondary Essays
    How to Write About Your Obstacles, Challenges, and Problems in your Secondary Essays

Former Prompts (before 23-24 cycle)

For OOS only:

This is an opportunity to describe more about yourself to the Admissions Committee. The Personal Comments section of the AMCAS application is not an acceptable substitute. In the essay, please address the following points:

  • Reasons for selecting a medical career;
  • Things you have done to prepare yourself for a medical education and career;
  • Personal characteristics and other accomplishments and experiences that you feel help qualify you for the practice of medicine;
  • Why you chose to apply to the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. | How to Answer Secondary Prompts about “Why Us”
  • Please elaborate on any Kentucky ties: personal, familial, etc.

For everybody:

  • How would you describe your ability to use unscheduled time during the day for learning?
  • What competencies and qualities should a physician possess for practice in the 21st century?
  • Describe the most significant community service activity in which you have participated. How did it affect you?
  • Describe an experience or situation which made you feel grateful.
  • In providing patient care, should physicians maintain emotional distance or empathize with patients’ emotional states? As a physician, how would you deal with your own emotions?
  • Describe a situation in your undergraduate education when you felt alive and engaged in learning.