University of Hawaii, John A. Burns 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

   Reflect on a recent instance where you were given personal feedback that was unfavorable or difficult to receive. How did you respond? Elaborate on how this experience has shaped the way in which you interact with others.

   600 words
2. 02

   How are you currently serving your community? Describe the impact that you are making and how this has improved your community.

   500 words
3. 03

   Professionalism in medicine often requires balancing personal beliefs with the duty of care, or navigating conflicts within a healthcare team. Describe a specific instance where your professional integrity or boundaries were challenged. How did you handle it, what was the outcome and how did this experience shape your definition of what it means to be a professional physician?

   500 words
4. 04

   Describe why you have chosen to apply to JABSOM and if you have any personal connections to the school, Hawaii or the Pacific Basin. If you do not have a personal connection, elaborate on your motivations for applying to JABSOM.

   500 words
5. 05

   If you are a re-applicant to JABSOM, please complete the following additional essay. Elaborate on the specific steps you have taken to enhance your candidacy for the MD program and why you chose to take these steps.

   500 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.