Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University – otherwise known as Stony Brook University School of Medicine – cares deeply about serving its community in Long Island, New York. Based on our students who have been accepted to Stony Brook Medicine, the admissions committee accepts a premed students with diverse applicants and who also care deeply about their communities. It is important to emphasize how you have impacted your community throughout your Stony Brook secondary application. Read our Stony Brook secondary tips below to learn how to stand out on each question.
The Stony Brook Medical School secondary application is long – if you take a look at the prompts below, there are 3 500-word essays. That’s like 3 new personal statements to write! Given that there have not been recent changes to the Stony Brook secondary essay questions, we strongly suggest students to pre-write this secondary!
Our Cracking Med School Admissions team has a track record of helping our mentees receive acceptances to Stony Brook University School of Medicine. We can help you get accepted through our secondary application essays editing packages. Contact us with any questions.
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Stony Brook Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2025 – 2026
Stony Brook Secondary Application MD Prompts:
- Will your education be continuous between college and medical school matriculation?
If NO, please explain. (500 words max)
If YES, please tell us about your proudest accomplishment to date. (500 words max) - Tell us how your past experiences and/or challenges have defined you. (500 words max)
- Respond to one of the following two questions: (500 words max):
- (New) Please tell us about your career goals, and how you plan to achieve them.
- (New) Can you describe a time you faced an ethical/professional dilemma and how you managed it?
Stony Brook Secondary Application MSTP (MD/PhD) Prompts:
- Please describe the basic and/or clinical research fields that you think you might like to explore and/or develop expertise in during your MSTP training. To the extent that you have defined potential specific future clinical interests, please describe the type(s) of medicine that you might be interested in pursuing once you have completed the MSTP. (500 words max)
Tips to Answer Stony Brook Secondaries
Stony Brook Secondary Pre-Writing Guidance: The Stony Brook Medical School secondary application is long – if you take a look at the prompts below, there are 3 500-word essays. That’s like 3 new personal statements to write! Given that there have not been recent changes to the Stony Brook secondary essay prompts, we strongly suggest students to pre-write this secondary!
Stony Brook Secondary Application Tip #1: If you have taken a gap year or will take a gap year, then you must answer question #1. Many students write a scant amount about what they have been doing in their gap years. We advise our mentees through our medical school secondary essay edits to take advantage of the 500 word space. Highlight your leadership, passion to change healthcare, and impact on society. Tell stories to convey your impact and leadership. For example, if you conducted research over a gap year, tell a story about a challenge you faced or a patient you met while conducting a clinical trial.
Stony Brook Secondary Application Tip #2: This is a secondary with a large word limit. Utilize the space and tell lots of stories. We strongly encourage medical applicants to write at least 1 patient care story. Why are stories important? Because rather than saying that you helped a patient and possessed empathy, you can show compassionate care through your patient stories.
Stony Brook Secondary Application Tip #3: For the Stony Brook secondaries question about a challenge, “Tell us how your past experiences and/or challenges have defined you,” make sure to explain the following:
- What was the challenge. Make sure to give clear, concise context of the situation.
- How did you overcome the challenge?
- What did you learn from this experience? And how did the obstacle define you?
- What will you do differently in the future?
As we stated in Stony Brook Secondary Application tip #2, tell a story about a specific experience and don’t talk in generalities. For example, if you want to talk about having a stutter growing up, don’t talk about your stutter in general throughout elementary school. Tell a story about a specific time you worked on your stutter or a specific time when a stutter impeded you from normal development / interactions.
Stony Brook Secondary Application Tip #4: For the question about social determinants of health and systemic racism, incorporate your personal experiences as well as healthcare current issues. We have an entire healthcare current events blog post, where you can read more about healthcare disparities. Additionally, link your previous experiences with how you aspire to promote social equality in the future. You can definitely talk about how you will promote social equality as a clinical physician with your patients, but if you are interested in community health, mention these aspirations as well!
- Read & Download our Healthcare Current Events: Top 10 Current Events You Need To Know For Your Medical Interview
Stony Brook Secondary Application Tip #5: Don’t forget to incorporate a little bit about “Why Stony Brook School of Medicine” throughout the Stony Brook secondaries. Talk about projects and research you want to do at Stony Brook. Convey if you want to do any projects in the local community surrounding Stony Brook University in New York.
- Read our high-yield blog post with an example response: Why this Medical School? Secondary Essay Example
Stony Brook Secondary Application Tip #6: Ask us for help with tailoring and personalizing your Stony Brook Medical School secondary application essays. Our students have been successfully accepted to Stony Brook School of Medicine. Contact us below if you have questions or want our editing help through our secondary essay packages.
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Stony Brook Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2024 – 2025
Stony Brook Secondary Application MD Prompts:
- Will your education be continuous between college and medical school matriculation? If no, please explain. (500 words max)
- Describe an obstacle you’ve overcome and how it defined you. (500 words max)
- Respond to one of the following two questions: (500 words max):
- Please describe how you, as a future physician, plan to address the social determinants of health.
OR - What, in your opinion, is the role of a physician in addressing systemic racism and societal injustices?
- Please describe how you, as a future physician, plan to address the social determinants of health.
Stony Brook Secondary Application MSTP (MD/PhD) Prompts:
- Please describe the basic and/or clinical research fields that you think you might like to explore and/or develop expertise in during your MSTP training. To the extent that you have defined potential specific future clinical interests, please describe the type(s) of medicine that you might be interested in pursuing once you have completed the MSTP. (500 words max)
Stony Brook Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2023 – 2024
Stony Brook Secondary Application MD Prompts:
- Will your education be continuous between college and medical school matriculation? If no, please explain. (500 words max)
- Describe an obstacle you’ve overcome and how it defined you. (500 words max)
- Respond to one of the following two questions: (500 words max):
- Please describe how you, as a future physician, plan to address the social determinants of health.
OR - What, in your opinion, is the role of a physician in addressing systemic racism and societal injustices?
- Please describe how you, as a future physician, plan to address the social determinants of health.
Stony Brook Secondary Application MSTP (MD/PhD) Prompts:
- Please describe the basic and/or clinical research fields that you think you might like to explore and/or develop expertise in during your MSTP training. To the extent that you have defined potential specific future clinical interests, please describe the type(s) of medicine that you might be interested in pursuing once you have completed the MSTP. (500 words max)
Stony Brook Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2022 – 2023
Stony Brook Secondary Application MD Prompts:
- Will your education be continuous between college and medical school matriculation? If no, please explain. (500 words max)
- Describe an obstacle you’ve overcome and how it defined you. (500 words max)
- Respond to one (500 words max):
- Please describe how you, as a future physician, plan to address the social determinants of health.
OR - What, in your opinion, is the role of a physician in addressing systemic racism and societal injustices?
- Please describe how you, as a future physician, plan to address the social determinants of health.
Stony Brook Secondary Application MSTP (MD/PhD) Prompts:
- Please describe the basic and/or clinical research fields that you think you might like to explore and/or develop expertise in during your MSTP training. To the extent that you have defined potential specific future clinical interests, please describe the type(s) of medicine that you might be interested in pursuing once you have completed the MSTP. (500 words max)
Stony Brook Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2021 – 2022
Stony Brook Secondary Application MD Prompts:
- Will your education be continuous between college and medical school matriculation? If no, please explain. (500 words max)
- Describe an obstacle you’ve overcome and how it defined you. (500 words max)
- Respond to one (500 words max):
- Please describe how you, as a future physician, plan to address the social determinants of health.
OR - What, in your opinion, is the role of a physician in addressing systemic racism and societal injustices?
- Please describe how you, as a future physician, plan to address the social determinants of health.
Stony Brook Secondary Application MSTP (MD/PhD) Prompts:
- Please describe the basic and/or clinical research fields that you think you might like to explore and/or develop expertise in during your MSTP training. To the extent that you have defined potential specific future clinical interests, please describe the type(s) of medicine that you might be interested in pursuing once you have completed the MSTP. (500 words max)
Stony Brook Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2020 - 2021
Stony Brook Medical School Secondary Application MD Prompts:
- Will your education be continuous between college and medical school matriculation? (500 words max)
If NO, please explain what you have done or plan to do during the gap period and why.
If YES, please tell us about your proudest accomplishment to date. - Describe an obstacle you’ve overcome and how it has defined you. (500 words max)
Stony Brook Medical School Secondary Application MSTP Prompts:
- Please describe the basic and/or clinical research fields that you think you might like to explore and/or develop expertise in during your MSTP training. To the extent that you have defined potential specific future clinical interests, please describe the type(s) of medicine that you might be interested in pursuing once you have completed the MSTP. (500 words max)
Stony Brook Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2019 – 2020
Stony Brook Medical School Secondary Application MD Prompts:
- Will your education be continuous between college and medical school matriculation? (500 words max)
If NO, please explain what you have done or plan to do during the gap period and why.
If YES, please tell us about your proudest accomplishment to date. - Describe an obstacle you’ve overcome and how it has defined you. (500 words max)
Stony Brook Medical School Secondary Application MSTP Prompts:
- Please describe the basic and/or clinical research fields that you think you might like to explore and/or develop expertise in during your MSTP training. To the extent that you have defined potential specific future clinical interests, please describe the type(s) of medicine that you might be interested in pursuing once you have completed the MSTP. (500 words max)
Stony Brook Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2018 – 2019
Stony Brook Medical School Secondary Application MD Prompts:
- Will your education be continuous between college and medical school matriculation? (500 words max)
If NO, please explain what you have done or plan to do during the gap period and why.
If YES, please tell us about your proudest accomplishment to date. - Describe an obstacle you’ve overcome and how it has defined you. (500 words max)
Stony Brook Medical School Secondary Application MSTP Prompts:
- Please describe the basic and/or clinical research fields that you think you might like to explore and/or develop expertise in during your MSTP training. To the extent that you have defined potential specific future clinical interests, please describe the type(s) of medicine that you might be interested in pursuing once you have completed the MSTP. (500 words max)
Stony Brook Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2017 – 2018
- Will your education be continuous between college and medical school matriculation? (500 words max)
If NO, please explain what you have done or plan to do during the gap period and why.
If YES, please tell us about your proudest accomplishment to date. - Describe an obstacle you’ve overcome and how it has defined you. (500 words max)
Stony Brook Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2016 – 2017
- Will your education be continuous between college and medical school matriculation? (1 page)
If NO, please explain what you have done or plan to do during the gap period and why.
If YES, please tell us about your proudest accomplishment to date. - Describe an obstacle you’ve overcome and how it has defined you. (1 page)