Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine 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

   Briefly describe a specific challenge you faced and how you overcame it. What was your approach, what did you learn from the process, and how do you see those skills translating to a career in medicine?

   250 words
2. 02

   Describe an interaction that required you to understand or engage with a perspective different from your own. How did you respond and what was the outcome?

   250 words
3. 03

   Please review the Johns Hopkins Medicine Website. Is there an area of medicine or a particular medical specialty at Johns Hopkins that interests you and why?

   250 words
4. 04

   Every future physician has a story. What's yours? Share the experience, insight, or connection that first made you see yourself in medicine, and how it continues to shape your path.

   300 words
5. 05

   What draws you to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine? Reflect on how our mission, culture, and academic community align with your values, experiences, and aspirations as a future physician. In your response, please highlight specific aspects of both the Hopkins community (academic, research, and/or extracurricular opportunities) and the Baltimore community, particularly the patients and families that we serve. Elaborate on how you intend to actively engage with and contribute to both of these communities as you pursue your medical education.

   300 words
6. 06

   Would you like to share any additional information with the Admissions Committee about yourself that cannot be found elsewhere in your application? This space can also address any extenuating circumstances (e.g., unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, inconsistent or questionable academic performance, areas of weakness, etc.) that you would like the Admissions Committee to consider.

   300 wordsOptional
7. 07

   Please describe what you have been doing since graduation and your plans for the upcoming year.

   300 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.

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