Vanderbilt University Secondary Essay Prompts
(If you have updated prompts, please submit them at updatesecondaries.com)
Prompts have been updated June 2023. (Older essays, if available are below)
Prompts:
- If applicable, please describe how the COVID-19 pandemic affected your pathway to medical school. You may discuss any academic, personal, financial, or professional alterations to your plans. NOTE: Disclosing certain hardships or obstacles that have been faced during this time will not negatively affect an application. (500 words)
- If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (200 words)
- Please reflect on the upbringing, background, and experiences in your life that have shaped who you are as a person and will help define the person you want to be in the future. In other words, what makes you who you are? (800 words)
- Tell us about a time when you interacted with someone who is different than you. What did you learn? What would you do differently? (600 words)
- Everyone needs help at various times in their lives. Describe a time you asked for help and what you gained from that experience that has influenced your approach to asking for help. (600 words)
Primary Deadline: Usually around Nov 1st
Secondary Deadline: Usually around Nov 21st
Secondary Fee: $95
FAP Waiver: Full Fee Waived
Casper Required: No
PREview Required: No
Screens Applications: Yes
Accepts Application Updates: Yes/Email
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Mission:
The mission of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine is to improve human health. To achieve this goal, we will:
- Prepare physicians, scientists and educators for positions of worldwide leadership.
- Discover and disseminate new knowledge that advances understanding of health and disease.
- Provide compassionate, personalized patient care of the highest quality in service to our local, national and global communities.
- Embrace a culture of lifelong learning, innovation and continuous improvement.
- Create a diverse and broadly inclusive community of faculty, staff and students that enriches our learning environment and ensures excellence in research and patient care.
- Nurture and protect Vanderbilt’s unique legacy of cooperation, collegiality, and mutual respect.
- Foster the personal and professional growth of all members of the Vanderbilt community, as we continuously strive to realize full potential.