California University of Science and Medicine-School of Medicine Secondary Essay Prompts

The 2025-2026 prompts

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Collected from public applicant reports. Prompts occasionally change mid cycle, so confirm against your own secondary portal before you submit.

1. 01

   Diversity comes in many forms. How do you think you might contribute to the diversity of the class?

   150 words
2. 02

   Describe the last time you were criticized by a peer or supervisor. How did you handle it?

   150 words
3. 03

   Give an example of when you had to work with someone who was difficult to get along with. Why was this person difficult? How did you handle that person?

   150 words
4. 04

   What would be the best example that shows you are a person of integrity?

   150 words
5. 05

   If given the opportunity to attend medical school, where would you see yourself in ten years?

   150 words
6. 06

   If you were enrolled in fewer than 12 units/credits for more than 1 semester/2 quarters during your undergraduate education, please provide a brief explanation below. (If not applicable, please enter N/A in the box below)

   150 wordsOptional

How to write these well

• Turn secondaries around within 7 to 14 days of receiving them. Schools read speed as interest, and slow essays land in a bigger pile.
• Pre-write the universal question types (diversity, challenge, why us) once, then adapt per school. Adapting is rewriting the school specific half, not swapping the name.
• Name real programs. A why us answer that cites a specific clinic, track, or community partnership reads ten times stronger than praise for reputation or location.
• Stay under the limit without padding to reach it. Readers are working through thousands of these; a tight answer is a kindness they remember.
• Heads up: this school also requires CASPer, so build that into your timeline alongside the essays.

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