Getting accepted to Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania is hard. Very hard. Submitting an OUTSTANDING UPenn secondary application is vital to receiving an interview invite, which ultimately can lead to an acceptance. Perelman School of Medicine loves to recruit the best of the best. Although the UPenn secondary essays are short, you have to convey your leadership and vision to advance medicine. Read more of our UPenn secondaries tips below! Your AMCAS primary application and UPenn medical school secondary application must show strong research and strong academics.
The UPenn secondary application is rather short, so if you receive a secondary from the admissions committee, make sure to fill it out right away.
Our Cracking Med School Admissions team has a track record of helping our mentees receive acceptances to UPenn Medical School year after year. We are successful in helping students receive acceptances to both MD, MD/MBA, and MSTP (MD/PhD). Contact us if you want help or have questions about your UPenn secondary essays.
UPenn Medical School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2025 – 2026
- Were there changes to your academic professional and/or personal circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic that you would like to share with the committee? (Y/N) (If yes, 500 characters max)
- During the Covid-19 pandemic, if you were offered an option to continue courses with a standard grading system or switch to Pass/Fail, and you elected Pass/Fail, please describe the reason(s) for your decision here. (500 characters max)
- Have you taken or are you planning to take time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation? (Y/N) (If yes, 500 characters max)
- Have you participated in any global activities outside of the U.S. prior to submitting your AMCAS application? (Y/N) (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- (New) How would your life experiences contribute to Perelman? (Y/N) (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- We are all navigating through challenging times at home and abroad, and physicians and physician-scientists must contend with many instances of uncertainty. Please describe a time when you faced a situation that was ambiguous, confusing, or uncertain, and how you navigated making a decision without complete information. (3,000 characters max)
- Have you or your family experienced economic hardships, regardless of current income status? (Y/N) (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Please share your reasons for applying to the Perelman School of Medicine. (1,000 characters max)
Tips to Answer
UPenn Secondary Essays
UPenn Secondaries Pre-Writing Guidance: The UPenn secondary application is rather short with fewer essays and a low character limit. Many of the questions are yes/no. So if you receive a secondary from the admissions committee, make sure to fill it out right away.
- Read all our secondary essay tips – Cracking Med Secondary Essay Workbook and Examples
UPenn Secondary Essays Tip #1: Highlight your leadership, passion to change healthcare, and impact on society. What is your vision to advance medicine? How will you pursue that vision throughout your career in medicine?
What will make you stand out is if you can convey your desire to be innovative and improve healthcare through interdisciplinary approaches. The undergraduate and graduate schools of University of Pennsylvania are extremely collaborative, and there is a lot of cross-school / cross-department projects. If you like interdisciplinary approaches to improve healthcare, then this school is for you.
UPenn Secondary Essays Tip #2: Other than leadership & innovation, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania values research and clinical experiences. Make sure to include research + patient care in your UPenn secondaries.
UPenn Secondary Essays Tip #3: Don’t forget to add awards, even if you included them in your primary application / AMCAS work & activities section.
Common awards mentioned for in UPenn secondaries: Marshall Scholar, Rhodes Scholar, Fulbright Scholar, Gates Scholar, Truman Scholar, national research grants
UPenn Secondary Essays Tip #4: Be very specific about why you want to go to UPenn School of Medicine. Talk about projects and research you want to do at UPenn. UPenn is a very interdisciplinary institution, so don’t hold back if you have ideas to work with a leader in the business school professor, a nursing in the School of Nursing, or a professor in the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering. Read an example of how to write a strong “why this medical school” essay. For this UPenn secondary, you don’t have much space! Be very specific in opportunities you want to take advantage of at UPenn.
UPenn Secondary Essays Tip #5: For the UPenn secondaries question, “The Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) is deeply committed to recruiting a diverse class to enrich an inclusive team-based learning experience. How would you and your life experiences contribute to the diversity of the student body and/or how would you contribute to an inclusive atmosphere at PSOM?” For the diversity essays, remember that diversity is all encompassing. We recommend our students to talk about their strengths and skills they will bring to the Perelman School of Medicine. It is important to convey to UPenn that you have made a big impact on the world through your activities.
- Read more tips for diversity essays: Medical School Diversity Essay Examples and Tips
- Examples from our past successful students: Innovations through research; Founding a public health organization; Working with the World Health Organization; Leading a global health initiative
UPenn Secondary Essays Tip #6: It is super important that you have guidance from advisors from top medical schools and who repeatedly have helped medical school applicants get accepted to UPenn Perelman School of Medicine. Contact us below. Need editing help on your secondary? We can help you edit and strategize your UPenn secondaries through our secondary essay packages.
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Rachel Rizal, M.D.
Changing the trajectory of people’s lives
Undergraduate
Princeton University, cum laude
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Stanford School of Medicine
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Harvard, Emergency Medicine
Awards & Scholarships
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Rishi Mediratta, M.D., M.Sc., M.A.
Advising students to attend their dream schools
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Johns Hopkins University, Phi Beta Kappa
Medical School
Stanford School of Medicine
Residency
Stanford, Pediatrics
Awards & Scholarships
Marshall Scholar
Tylenol Scholarship
Global Health Scholar
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Use this essay guide and workbook to write standout secondaries.

UPenn Medical School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2024 – 2025
- Were there changes to your academic professional and/or personal circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic that you would like to share with the committee? (Y/N) (If yes, 500 characters max)
- During the Covid-19 pandemic, if you were offered an option to continue courses with a standard grading system or switch to Pass/Fail, and you elected Pass/Fail, please describe the reason(s) for your decision here. (500 characters max)
- Independently of the Covid-19 pandemic, have you taken any online courses for credit? (Y/N) (Simply list If yes)
- Have you been nominated for or received an award from any state, regional or national organization? (Y/N) (Simply list If yes)
- Have you taken or are you planning to take time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation? (Y/N) (If yes, 500 characters max)
- Have you participated in any global activities outside of the U.S. prior to submitting your AMCAS application? (Y/N) (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Did you participate in a pre-medical enrichment or pathway program during your undergraduate studies? (Y/N) (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- The Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) is deeply committed to recruiting a class inclusive of diverse perspectives and experiences; this enriches the instruction we provide, enhances team-based learning, and ensures our students’ preparation to address the health needs of a pluralistic society. How would your life experiences contribute to the student body and how would you contribute to an inclusive atmosphere at PSOM? (1,000 characters max)
- We are all navigating through challenging times at home and abroad, and physicians and physician-scientists must contend with many instances of uncertainty. Please describe a time when you faced a situation that was ambiguous, confusing, or uncertain, and how you navigated making a decision without complete information. (3,000 characters max)
- Do you identify as a first-generation college graduate and/or having a low-income background?
We recognize that the definition of “low income” can vary based on geographic location, zip code, and size of your household, but there are some factors typically associated with being low-income, such as qualifying for free/reduced lunch in middle/high school, receiving Pell grants or work-study aid during college, qualifying for Medicaid/Social Security benefits, or attending a high school with low per capita funding, Title 1 designation and/or a low percentage of seniors receiving a high school diploma. (Y/N) - Have you or your family experienced economic hardships, regardless of current income status? (Y/N) (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Have you ever been employed at the University of Pennsylvania Health System or Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and worked with a University of Pennsylvania faculty mentor(s)? If yes, please indicate name, department, phone number of faculty member(s), and start/end dates (Y/N) (List only, No essay)
- Please share your reasons for applying to the Perelman School of Medicine. (1,000 characters max)
Additional MSTP prompts:
- Please use keywords or phrases, separated by commas, to identify your research interests more specifically. Do not use tabs or add lines by hitting the enter key. (500 characters max)
- List you research experience chronologically, starting with the most recent, and including your anticipated experience for the remainder of this academic year. For each experience, please provide clear information about the time commitment. (For instance, if you worked continuously in one lab for a year, putting in full time hours during the summer, and part time hours during the school year, you might state: “full time (about 50 hours a week) from mid May until the end of August, continuing part time (about 10 hours a week) from September to April”. Note that if you worked two summers in the same lab, but did *not* work in that lab at all during the school year, these should be listed as two separate research experiences.)
For each experience, indicate whether your mentor will provide a letter of recommendation. If you do not select a letter from an individual with whom you had an extensive research experience, please provide an explanation in the comments section. - If you are out of undergrad and are currently doing research, please list your primary institution for the coming year below. (This will also be included in the summary above, but is helpful to us to have as a separate data field)
- How many months of FT research effort do you expect to have had by August of next year when you would join our program? We are asked to report this data to NIH for matriculants.
Calculation Instructions: For many individuals, this value will reflect months of summer research experience or full-time research experience following college. Part-time research, for example during the school year, should be converted to full time – e.g., 15 hrs/week for 8 months = 3 months. (Here’s how the calculation works. When converting part time to full time, we use a standard 40 hour work week. So, we take 15 and divide by 40 = .375 (aka ~37.5% of full time). 8 months times .375 gives you 3 months). If you worked full time in a lab for 6 months and you averaged a lot more than 40 hours a week, it still only counts as 6 months full time – don’t adjust for that. We only use the 40 hour standard when converting part time experiences. Labs associated with a course, such as an organic chemistry course lab, should NOT be included. - If you have publications as the result of your research, please provide the full citations here. It would be helpful to distinguish them using the following categories: Published/peer reviewed, published/not peer reviewed, submitted and under revision. Please note that manuscripts “in prep” should not be included. You may add other descriptors or information if helpful. If you do not have any publications at this time, please indicate that (eg by typing “no publications yet”).
UPenn Medical School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2023 – 2024
- If you were offered an option to continue courses with a standard grading system or switch to Pass/Fail, and you chose Pass/Fail, please describe the reason(s) for your decision here. (500 characters max)
- Have you taken any online courses for credit? (Not due to the COVID-19 pandemic)
- Have you been nominated for or received an award from any state, regional or national organization?
- Have you taken or are you planning to take time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation? (500 characters max)
- Have you participated in any global activities outside of the U.S. prior to submitting your AMCAS application? (1,000 characters max)
- Are there any special, unique, personal, or challenging aspects of your personal background or circumstances that you would like to share with the Committee on Admissions, not addressed elsewhere (siblings/relatives at Penn, applying as a couple, educational environment, culture, ethnicity, etc.) (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Have you or your family experienced economic hardships? (1,000 characters max)
- Have you been employed at the University of Pennsylvania Health System or Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and worked with a Penn faculty mentor? If yes, please indicate name, department, phone number of faculty, and start/end dates.
- The Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) is deeply committed to recruiting a diverse class to enrich an inclusive team-based learning experience. How would you and your life experiences contribute to the diversity of the student body and/or how would you contribute to an inclusive atmosphere at PSOM? (1,000 characters max)
- Please explain your reasons for applying to the Perelman School of Medicine. (1,000 characters max)
UPenn Medical School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2022 – 2023
- Were there changes to your academic work and/or personal circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic that you would like to share with the committee? Yes or No?
If yes, please describe these changes during this time. (500 characters max) - If you were offered an option to continue courses with a standard grading system or switch to Pass/Fail, and you chose Pass/Fail, please describe the reason(s) for your decision here. (500 characters max)
- Have you taken any online courses for credit? (Not due to the COVID-19 pandemic)
- Have you been nominated for or received an award from any state, regional or national organization?
- Have you taken or are you planning to take time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation? (500 characters max)
- Have you participated in any global activities outside of the U.S. prior to submitting your AMCAS application? (1,000 characters max)
- Are there any special, unique, personal, or challenging aspects of your personal background or circumstances that you would like to share with the Committee on Admissions, not addressed elsewhere (siblings/relatives at Penn, applying as a couple, educational environment, culture, ethnicity, etc.) (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Have you or your family experienced economic hardships? (1,000 characters max)
- Have you been employed at the University of Pennsylvania Health System or Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and worked with a Penn faculty mentor? If yes, please indicate name, department, phone number of faculty, and start/end dates.
- The Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) is deeply committed to recruiting a diverse class to enrich an inclusive team-based learning experience. How would you and your life experiences contribute to the diversity of the student body and/or how would you contribute to an inclusive atmosphere at PSOM? (1,000 characters max)
- Please explain your reasons for applying to the Perelman School of Medicine. (1,000 characters max)
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UPenn Medical School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2021 – 2022
- Were there changes to your academic work and/or personal circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic that you would like to share with the committee? Yes or No?
If yes, please describe these changes during this time. (500 characters max) - If you were offered an option to continue courses with a standard grading system or switch to Pass/Fail, and you chose Pass/Fail, please describe the reason(s) for your decision here. (500 characters max)
- Have you taken any online courses for credit? (Not due to the COVID-19 pandemic)
- Have you been nominated for or received an award from any state, regional or national organization?
- Have you taken or are you planning to take time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation? (500 characters max)
- Have you participated in any global activities outside of the U.S. prior to submitting your AMCAS application? (1,000 characters max)
- Are there any special, unique, personal, or challenging aspects of your personal background or circumstances that you would like to share with the Committee on Admissions, not addressed elsewhere (siblings/relatives at Penn, applying as a couple, educational environment, culture, ethnicity, etc.) (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Have you or your family experienced economic hardships? (1,000 characters max)
- Have you been employed at the University of Pennsylvania Health System or Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and worked with a Penn faculty mentor? If yes, please indicate name, department, phone number of faculty, and start/end dates.
- The Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) is deeply committed to recruiting a diverse class to enrich an inclusive team-based learning experience. How would you and your life experiences contribute to the diversity of the student body and/or how would you contribute to an inclusive atmosphere at PSOM? (1,000 characters max)
- Please explain your reasons for applying to the Perelman School of Medicine. (1,000 characters max)
UPenn Medical School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2020 – 2021
- Were there changes to your academic work and/or personal circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic that you would like to share with the committee? Yes or No?
If yes, please describe these changes during this time. (500 characters max) - If you were offered an option to continue courses with a standard grading system or switch to Pass/Fail, and you chose Pass/Fail, please describe the reason(s) for your decision here. (500 characters max)
- Have you taken any online courses for credit? (Not due to the COVID-19 pandemic)
- Have you been nominated for or received an award from any state, regional or national organization?
- Have you taken or are you planning to take time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation? (500 characters max)
- Have you participated in any global activities outside of the U.S. prior to submitting your AMCAS application? (1,000 characters max)
- Are there any special, unique, personal, or challenging aspects of your personal background or circumstances that you would like to share with the Committee on Admissions, not addressed elsewhere (siblings/relatives at Penn, applying as a couple, educational environment, culture, ethnicity, etc.) (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Have you or your family experienced economic hardships? (1,000 characters max)
- Have you been employed at the University of Pennsylvania Health System or Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and worked with a Penn faculty mentor? If yes, please indicate name, department, phone number of faculty, and start/end dates.
- Please explain your reasons for applying to the Perelman School of Medicine. (1,000 characters max)
UPenn Medical School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2019 – 2020
- Have you taken any online courses for credit? Yes or No?
- Have you been nominated for or received an award from any state, regional or national organization? Yes or No? List all awards received.
- Have you taken or are you planning to take time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation? (500 characters max)
- Have you participated in any global activities outside of the U.S. prior to submitting your AMCAS application? (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Are there any special, unique, personal, or challenging aspects of your personal background or circumstances that you would like to share with the Committee on Admissions, not addressed elsewhere (siblings/relatives at Penn, applying as a couple, educational environment, culture, ethnicity, etc.) (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Have you or your family experienced economic hardships? (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Have you been employed at the University of Pennsylvania Health System or Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and worked with a Penn faculty mentor? If yes, please indicate name, department, phone number of faculty, and start/end dates.
- Please explain your reasons for applying to the Perelman School of Medicine. (1,000 characters max)
UPenn Medical School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2018 – 2019
- Have you taken any online courses for credit? Yes or No?
- Have you been nominated for or received an award from any state, regional or national organization? Yes or No? List all awards received.
- Have you taken or are you planning to take time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation? (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Have you participated in any global activities outside of the U.S. prior to submitting your AMCAS application? (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Are there any special, unique, personal, or challenging aspects of your personal background or circumstances that you would like to share with the Committee on Admissions, not addressed elsewhere (siblings/relatives at Penn, applying as a couple, educational environment, culture, ethnicity, etc.) (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Have you or your family experienced economic hardships? (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Have you been employed at the University of Pennsylvania Health System or Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and worked with a Penn faculty mentor? If yes, please indicate name, department, phone number of faculty, and start/end dates.
- Please explain your reasons for applying to the Perelman School of Medicine. (1,000 characters max)
UPenn Medical School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2017 – 2018
- Have you been nominated for or received an award from any state, regional or national organization? Yes or No? List all awards received.
- Have you taken or are you planning to take time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation? (500 characters max)
- Have you participated in any global activities outside of the U.S. prior to submitting your AMCAS application? (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Are there any special, unique, personal, or challenging aspects of your personal background or circumstances that you would like to share with the Committee on Admissions, not addressed elsewhere (siblings/relatives at Penn, applying as a couple, educational environment, culture, ethnicity, etc.) (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Have you or your family experienced economic hardships? (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Have you been employed at the University of Pennsylvania Health System or Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and worked with a Penn faculty mentor? If yes, please indicate name, department, phone number of faculty, and start/end dates.
- Please explain your reasons for applying to the Perelman School of Medicine. (1,000 characters max)
UPenn Medical School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2016 – 2017
- Have you been nominated for or received an award from any state, regional or national organization? Yes or No? List all awards received.
- Have you taken or are you planning to take time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation? (500 characters max)
- Have you participated in any global activities outside of the U.S. prior to submitting your AMCAS application? (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Are there any special, unique, personal, or challenging aspects of your personal background or circumstances that you would like to share with the Committee on Admissions, not addressed elsewhere (siblings/relatives at Penn, applying as a couple, educational environment, culture, ethnicity, etc.) (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Have you or your family experienced economic hardships? (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Please explain your reasons for applying to the Perelman School of Medicine. (1,000 characters max)
UPenn Medical School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2015 – 2016
- Have you been nominated for or received an award from any state, regional or national organization? If so, please describe. (Each line, 100 characters max)
- Have you taken or are you planning to take time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation? (If yes, 500 characters max)
- Have you participated in any global activities outside of the U.S. prior to submitting your AMCAS application? (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- Are there any special, unique, personal, or challenging aspects of your personal background or circumstances that you would like to share with the Committee on Admissions, not addressed elsewhere (siblings/relatives at Penn, applying as a couple, educational environment, culture, ethnicity, etc.) (If yes, 1,000 characters max)
- If you are traveling outside of the U.S. during the application year, will you need special scheduling if invited for an interview? If so, please describe and indicate dates that you are in the U.S. (255 characters max)
- Have you or your family experienced economic hardships? (1,000 characters max)
- Have you been employed at the University of Pennsylvania Health System or Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and worked with a Penn faculty mentor? If yes, please indicate name, department, phone number of faculty, and start/end dates.
- Please explain your reasons for applying to the Perelman School of Medicine. (1,000 characters max)
UPenn Medical School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2014 – 2015
- Have you been nominated for or received an award from any state, regional or national organization? If so, please describe. (Each line, 100 characters max)
- Have you taken or are you planning to take time off between college graduation and medical school matriculation? (If yes, 250 characters max)
- Have you participated in any global activities outside of the U.S. prior to submitting your AMCAS application?
- Are there any special, unique, personal, or challenging circumstances that you would like to share with the Committee on Admissions (siblings/relatives at Penn, applying as a couple, educational environment, culture, ethnicity, etc.)
- Please explain your reasons for applying to the Perelman School of Medicine. (1,000 characters max)