Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson 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

   During your career as a physician, you will likely encounter obstacles, and be required to overcome challenges. Please describe your experience with a situation that had an unfavorable outcome, including your reaction, how you might have responded differently, and what you learned about yourself.

   250 words
2. 02

   Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine is dedicated to graduating courageous leaders who lead change through inquiry and innovation in medical education, the profession, and the healthcare system. How do your values align with this mission?

   250 words
3. 03

   Lifelong learning is an essential process for continued professional development. This includes reflection and being open and responsive to constructive feedback. Please tell us about an area of intellectual exploration you're passionate about, and your approach to exploring this area.

   250 words
4. 04

   Drawing from your lived experiences, how do you think knowledge of the social drivers of health can be leveraged to engage in community health advocacy?

   250 words
5. 05

   Have you previously applied to medical school? If yes, please describe your accomplishments since you last applied that would promote your acceptance?

   250 wordsOptional
6. 06

   Please Select Yes or No if you would like to self-nominate for the KPSOM Impact Scholarship?

   Yes/NoOptional
7. 07

   Which components of your application best demonstrate your alignment with KPSOM's mission?

   No stated limitOptional

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.

1. 01

   Please list publications and papers submitted. Include one or two sentences describing your role on each publication.

   No stated limit
2. 02

   Please provide the names of faculty at Caltech with whom you'd like to meet. Briefly state why you'd like to meet with this person:

   Up to ten people

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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