George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences Secondary Essay Prompts

The 2026-2027 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

   If you selected regional medical campus preferred or regional medical campus only in question 6, please explain in detail your interest in regional medical campus and how it will be a good fit for your clinical education.

   1750 characters
2. 02

   Please provide the Admissions Committee with a brief summary of your activities, academics, employment, or other occupations to account for full-time activity (approx. 30-40 hours/week) from the point of application through matriculation in 2027.

   750 characters
3. 03

   The MD Program includes substantial content in Clinical Public Health (population health, health systems science, health policy, and community health) to prepare GW graduates for an expanded scope of practice required to be successful 21st century physicians. What are your specific interests and experiences related to that aspect of the MD Program?

   350 characters
4. 04

   What makes you a unique individual? What challenges have you faced? What have you learned from your experiences?

   750 characters
5. 05

   What is your specific interest in the MD Program at GW? What opportunities would you take advantage of as a student here? Why?

   1750 characters
6. 06

   Have you previously interacted directly with the MD Admissions Office through events, tours, fairs, webinars, or interviews? If yes, please explain:

   250 characters

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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