Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons Secondary Essay Prompts
Avg GPA
3.95
Avg MCAT
522
Class size
138
SJT required
None
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.
- 01
Did you work for compensation during college (either during the school year or summers)? If so, what did you do? How many hours a week did you work?
300 words - 02
If you have graduated from college, please briefly summarize what you have done in the interim.
300 words - 03
Please describe your most meaningful leadership positions.
300 words - 04
Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons values diversity in all its forms. How will your experiences contribute to this important focus of our institution and inform your future role as a physician?
300 words - 05
Is there anything else you would like us to know?
400 words
MD/PhD applicants
MD/PhD (MSTP) prompts
Separate dual-degree prompts for this school. Answer these in addition to the MD secondary set when you apply MD/PhD.
- 01
What academic honors have you received (e.g., prizes, scholarships, fellowships, honor societies)?
1000 words - 02
What are your major research interests?
20 words - 03
What are your PhD Goals at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons?
1000 words - 04
Is there any other information you would like to include to the admissions committee?
1000 words
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.
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