Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine-Utah Campus Secondary Essay Prompts

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.

1. 01

   If not currently in school, what have you been doing since you were a full-time student?

   No stated limitOptional
2. 02

   Were you employed during the regular school year (excluding summers) while in undergraduate school? If so, please state number of hours worked per week and type of work.

   No stated limitOptional
3. 03

   Why do you want to become an Osteopathic Physician?

   No stated limit
4. 04

   Why do you want to attend RVUCOM?

   No stated limit
5. 05

   What unique characteristics, abilities, or skills will you bring to RVUCOM and the Osteopathic Profession?

   No stated limit
6. 06

   Have you ever been convicted with a criminal offense? Failure to disclose could result in the revocation of your acceptance to RVU. Further, any incidences occurring after acceptance and prior to matriculation must also be brought immediately to the attention of the Executive Director of Enrollment Management, Marketing, and External Relations. Any incident occurring while you are a student at RVU must be reported immediately to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs. An additional background check will be run prior to starting clinical rotations at the end of your second year. Any blemish on the background check may result in dismissal from RVU, failure to be accepted for clinical rotations, not being considered for a residency program, or failure to receive a license to practice medicine. RVU reserves the right to request additional information as needed regarding anything appearing on the background check and is not responsible for consequences occurring as a result of any information contained on any background check. If yes, explain completely.

   No stated limit
7. 07

   Add any additional information that you consider pertinent or that you feel will be of benefit as a student or as an osteopathic physician.

   No stated limitOptional

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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