University of Texas at Tyler 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

   Our mission is to improve the quality of life and reduce health disparities in our rural East Texas region. Please indicate (select one) your connection to East Texas as outlined in our county map and explain below: a) I have direct ties to the East Texas region (born, graduated high school, community college, undergraduate, etc.) b) I have indirect ties to the East Texas Region (family members, in-laws, visited East Texas frequently, attended summer camp in East Texas, etc.) c) I have ties to a rural region with similar characteristics to the East Texas region (size, demographics, health disparities, etc.) d) I do not have ties to the East Texas region; however, I'm interested in practicing in this area after graduation. e) I do not have ties to the East Texas region but am still interested in attending the UT Tyler School of Medicine. Explain.

   250 words
2. 02

   What have you done between the last application cycle to make your application stronger?

   No stated limit
3. 03

   The mission of the UT Tyler SOM is fourfold: Community: Embed the School of Medicine within East Texas, focusing on communication, responsiveness, inclusion, and community. The School of Medicine in East Texas, and everything we do will be in partnership with our communities. Education: Recruit, support and develop a representative healthcare and research workforce from East Texas, focused on reducing health disparities in East Texas. Research: Develop an array of biomedical, clinical, preventive, translational and population-based research programs focused on understanding and eliminating health disparities in East Texas. Clinical: Expand access to top-quality healthcare in the local communities of East Texas by developing and implementing innovative healthcare systems and leveraging existing infrastructure and programs. Why are you interested in applying to UT Tyler's SOM?

   500 words
4. 04

   Please describe a significant personal challenge you have faced, one which you feel has helped to shape you as a person. Please include how you got through the experience and what you learned about yourself as a result. Examples may include: moral or ethical dilemma, a situation of personal adversity; or a hurdle in your life that you worked hard to overcome.

   500 words
5. 05

   Please use this space to share with the committee any additional information that may help us evaluate your candidacy that is not addressed elsewhere in the application.

   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.
• Heads up: this school also requires Duet, so build that into your timeline alongside the essays.

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