Medical College of Wisconsin 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

   At MCW, we are guided by the values of acting in caring ways, engaging in collaborative efforts, approaching our world with curiosity, advancing inclusive practices, demonstrating integrity in all that we do, and treating everyone with respect. Describe how your unique experiences, interests, and talents have embodied one or more of these values, and how they will shape the way you plan to contribute to the MCW learning community.

   1000 characters
2. 02

   How will MCW uniquely prepare you for your future goals?

   1000 characters
3. 03

   Recount a time when you made a decision you regret. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

   2000 characters
4. 04

   MCW is committed to its missions of community engagement and improving health for all. MCW medical students play an important role in advancing these missions by working with and within various communities throughout Wisconsin which requires adaptability and a willingness to learn from new experiences. Describe a time where you entered a new environment or situation, how you adapted, what you learned, and how that experience helped you grow in your ability to serve others and contribute to MCW's missions during your education.

   2000 characters
5. 05

   Please explain how your application has changed since your last application to MCW Medical School. How have you enhanced your preparation for medical school and your future career as a physician (e.g., additional academic work, employment, volunteer experience, etc.)? You may wish to elaborate on the process you employed to critique your application's strengths and weaknesses or share life changes or circumstances that have impacted your application.

   2000 charactersOptional
6. 06

   Describe the experiences that have contributed to your motivation to pursue a primary care focused, community-based medical education program.

   2000 charactersOptional
7. 07

   Describe the community in which you envision yourself living and practicing medicine. Address the benefits and challenges of life in your specified community.

   2000 charactersOptional

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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