Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College 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

   At FCoM, our mission, vision, and values shape our purpose, set our aspirations, and inform our decisions. Please select which value you find most energizing and why. Discuss how this value has impacted your life. We love learning, Lead by serving, Live with integrity, Heal together in humility, and Welcome difference.

   2000 characters
2. 02

   Our curriculum centers around a whole-person approach to healing in a community of service learning, inspired by the love and grace of Christ. Discuss how your spiritual experiences, faith, or personal beliefs have influenced your life and your decision to pursue medicine as a career.

   2000 characters
3. 03

   As a newer medical school, our students will help shape a new culture and build lasting community. Reflect on a time when you embraced ambiguity, sharing specific examples where you contributed to creating a culture of growth, collaboration, and adaptability.

   2000 characters
4. 04

   Reapplicants only – Describe the changes to your application from previous cycles - include developments to your academics, experiences, and/or personal attributes. You are welcome to submit this essay if you consider yourself a medical school reapplicant.

   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.

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