University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health 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

   The Admissions Committee is committed to comprehensive, mission-aligned evaluation of all applicants. Review our institution's mission. Using specific examples, discuss how and why you believe you are a good fit for the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

   500 words
2. 02

   UW SMPH uses the AAMC's Premed Competencies for Entering Medical Students as an applicant evaluation framework. Choose one of the professional competencies from the drop-down list where you have experienced growth. Using specific examples, describe your development in this competency.

   250 words
3. 03

   Reflect on a time when a failure, or an apparent failure, set you up for later success. Do you have a favorite failure that you now see as a pivotal moment in your personal or professional growth?

   250 words
4. 04

   Individual and population health flow from the intersections between healthcare outcomes, sociopolitical factors, economic, historical and other systemic factors. Choose a broader issue or policy that impacts health outcomes where you believe change is needed. Discuss the role you hope to play as a physician in addressing this issue.

   250 words
5. 05

   Individuals reapplying are required to submit a statement indicating what has changed since the previous application to the UW School of Medicine and Public Health MD or MD/PhD program (e.g., additional academic work, new letters of recommendation, work and volunteer experience, life changes, etc.). If switching application pathway (e.g. to WARM from regular MD or from regular MD to MD/PhD), please explain the decision/change.

   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.

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