The University of Nebraska Medical Center secondary application tries to understand the challenges and clinical opportunities students have pursued. Make sure your primary AMCAS application contains all your extra-curricular activities, because there is not too much space to write about your experiences on the UNMC secondary application! Read our University of Nebraska Lincoln Medical School secondary essay tips below to see our advice on how to answer each essay on this secondary application.
Get our Cracking Med School Admissions team’s help on all your secondary applications through our secondary essay editing packages.
University of Nebraska Secondary Application Questions: 2025 – 2026
University of Nebraska – Lincoln Secondary Essay Prompts: MD Applicants
- Are you the first person in your immediate family to pursue a career in healthcare? If not, what medical professions are your immediate family members a part of? Write “N/A” if not applicable (100 characters)
- If you have been away from full-time academics for more than two years, please explain. (N/A if not applicable) (750 characters max)
- What is your personal rationale for applying to the UNMC College of Medicine? (1,000 characters max)
- Have you had a personal interaction with UNMC faculty or advisors that prompted your application to UNMC College of Medicine (N/A if not applicable) (750 characters)
- What are you most proud of in your life? (1,500 characters max)
- Tell us about a time when you had to overcome adversity. (1,500 characters max)
- How do you know that you want to be a physician? (1,500 characters max)
- Tell us something about yourself that will enhance the UNMC College of Medicine. (1,500 characters max)
- What have you learned from working with people whose background is different from yours? (1,500 characters max)
University of Nebraska – Lincoln Secondary Essay Prompts: Re-Applicant Essays
- If you are a re-applicant to the UNMC College of Medicine, how is your application different this year? (N/A if not applicable) (750 characters)
- If this is your first application to UNMC, but not your first application to medical school, what is your rationale for applying to UNMC this cycle? (N/A if not applicable) (750 characters)
Tips to Answer UNMC Secondaries
UNMC Secondaries Pre-Writing Guidance: The UNMC secondary essay prompts have not changed too much in recent years, so we would definitely pre-write this secondary application. The essays are also short to medium length, so the UNMC secondaries would be great first essays to write because they are not too overwhleming!
- Download our Cracking Med Secondary Essay Workbook and Examples to get all our tips about secondary application essays.
UNMC Secondary Application Tip #1: To answer the University of Nebraska Medical Center secondary application essay prompt, “Tell us about a time when you had to overcome adversity,” make sure you explain the following:
- How did you overcome the challenge or the adversity?
- What did you learn from this experience?
- What will you do differently in the future?
UNMC Secondary Application Tip #2: We often get asked, what should I write for this UNMC secondary essay question? “What are you most proud of in your life?“
Here are some sample topics students have written about:
- An award from a volunteer organization.
- Success in athletics, whether it’s completing a marathon, winning a collegiate athletic award, or reaching a personal best time in a race.
- Mending a relationship with a family member.
- Overcoming a disease.
- Finding significant results in a research study.
UNMC Secondary Application Tip #3: We think your response for the UNMC secondary question, “what is your personal rational for applying to the UNMC College of Medicine” is extremely important. Here are some tips to answer it.
- Step 1: Read our high-yield blog post Why this Medical School? Secondary Essay Example
- Step 2: Give very specific aspects about Emory School of Medicine’s curriculum, opportunities in Nebraska.
- Step 3: If you have any affiliations or experiences in Nebraska (i.e. have lived in Nebraska in the past or volunteered in Nebraska), incorporate this in your response.
- Step 4: If you plan on practicing medicine in Nebraska in the future, definitely mention this!
UNMC Secondary Application Tip #4: If you are a re-applicant, it is important to discuss how your application has changed from the first time you applied to this current time you are applying. First, identify weaknesses in your previous application. Make sure to discuss how you have improved on those weaknesses. Then, if you have other significant extra-curricular activities or new work experiences, you should mention them. Finally, you can discuss how you will thrive at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
UNMC Secondary Application Tip #5: Ask us for help with tailoring and personalizing your UNMC College of Medicine secondary application essays. Contact us below if you have questions or want our editing help through our secondary essay packages.
[Read More Secondary Essay Tips: University of Arizona – Tucson & Phoenix; University of California – San Diego; University of Nevada – Reno ]
Your medical school application Coaches, Mentors, & Cheerleaders
We Personally Advise Every Student We Work With.
Rachel Rizal, M.D.
Changing the trajectory of people’s lives
Undergraduate
Princeton University, cum laude
Medical School
Stanford School of Medicine
Residency
Harvard, Emergency Medicine
Awards & Scholarships
Fulbright Scholar
USA Today Academic First Team
Tylenol Scholarship
Rishi Mediratta, M.D., M.Sc., M.A.
Advising students to attend their dream schools
Undergraduate
Johns Hopkins University, Phi Beta Kappa
Medical School
Stanford School of Medicine
Residency
Stanford, Pediatrics
Awards & Scholarships
Marshall Scholar
Tylenol Scholarship
Global Health Scholar
stand out from other applicants with our secondary essay edit packages
download your secondary Essay Guide
Use this essay guide and workbook to write standout secondaries.
University of Nebraska Secondary Application Questions: 2024 – 2025
University of Nebraska – Lincoln Secondary Essay Prompts: MD Applicants
- Are you the first person in your immediate family to pursue a career in healthcare? If not, what medical professions are your immediate family members a part of? Write “N/A” if not applicable (100 characters)
- If you have been away from full-time academics for more than two years, please explain. (N/A if not applicable) (750 characters max)
- What is your personal rationale for applying to the UNMC College of Medicine? (1,000 characters max)
- Have you had a personal interaction with UNMC faculty or advisors that prompted your application to UNMC College of Medicine (N/A if not applicable) (750 characters)
- What are you most proud of in your life? (1,500 characters max)
- Tell us about a time when you had to overcome adversity. (1,500 characters max)
- How do you know that you want to be a physician? (1,500 characters max)
- Tell us something about yourself that will enhance the UNMC College of Medicine. (1,500 characters max)
- What have you learned from working with people whose background is different from yours? (1,500 characters max)
University of Nebraska – Lincoln Secondary Essay Prompts: Re-Applicant Essays
- If you are a re-applicant to the UNMC College of Medicine, how is your application different this year? (N/A if not applicable) (750 characters)
- If this is your first application to UNMC, but not your first application to medical school, what is your rationale for applying to UNMC this cycle? (N/A if not applicable) (750 characters)
University of Nebraska Secondary Application Questions: 2023 – 2024
University of Nebraska – Lincoln Secondary Essay Prompts: MD Applicants
- Are you the first person in your immediate family to pursue a career in healthcare? If not, what medical professions are your immediate family members a part of? Write “N/A” if not applicable (100 characters)
- If you have been away from full-time academics for more than two years, please explain. (N/A if not applicable) (750 characters max)
- What is your personal rationale for applying to the UNMC College of Medicine? (1,000 characters max)
- How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected you professionally and personally? (1,000 characters max)
- What are you most proud of in your life? (1,500 characters max)
- Tell us about a time when you had to overcome adversity. (1,500 characters max)
- Given the potential impact on shadowing opportunities since 2020, how do you know that you want to be a physician and what the career entails? (1,500 characters max)
University of Nebraska – Lincoln Secondary Essay Prompts: Re-Applicant Essays
- If you are a re-applicant to the UNMC College of Medicine, how is your application different this year? (N/A if not applicable) (750 characters)
- If this is your first application to UNMC, but not your first application to medical school, what is your rationale for applying to UNMC this cycle? (N/A if not applicable) (750 characters)
University of Nebraska Secondary Application Questions: 2022 – 2023
University of Nebraska – Lincoln Secondary Essay Prompts: MD Applicants
- If you have been away from full-time academics for more than two years, please explain. (N/A if not applicable) (750 characters max)
- What is your personal rationale for applying to the UNMC College of Medicine? (1,000 characters max)
- How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected you professionally and personally? (1,000 characters max)
- What are you most proud of in your life? (1,500 characters max)
- Tell us about a time when you had to overcome adversity. (1,500 characters max)
- Given the lack of shadowing opportunities over the last 18 months, how do you know that you want to be a physician and what the career entails? (1,500 characters max)
University of Nebraska – Lincoln Secondary Essay Prompts: Re-Applicant Essays
- If you are a re-applicant to the UNMC College of Medicine, how is your application different this year? (N/A if not applicable) (750 characters)
- If this is your first application to UNMC, but not your first application to medical school, what is your rationale for applying to UNMC this cycle? (N/A if not applicable) (750 characters)
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Why Choose Us?
- Personally Tailored Essays
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- We study your application strengths to see what unique attributes we’ll bring to the medical school
Your acceptance can be just one essay away…
Our students successfully receive interviews at their reach schools.
University of Nebraska Secondary Application Questions: 2021 – 2022
University of Nebraska – Lincoln Secondary Essay Prompts: MD Applicants
- If you have been away from full-time academics for more than two years, please explain. (N/A if not applicable) (750 characters max)
- What is your personal rationale for applying to the UNMC College of Medicine? (1,000 characters max)
- How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected you professionally and personally? (1,000 characters max)
- What are you most proud of in your life? (1,500 characters max)
- Tell us about a time when you had to overcome adversity. (1,500 characters max)
- Given the lack of shadowing opportunities over the last 18 months, how do you know that you want to be a physician and what the career entails? (1,500 characters max)
University of Nebraska – Lincoln Secondary Essay Prompts: Re-Applicant Essays
- If you are a re-applicant to the UNMC College of Medicine, how is your application different this year? (N/A if not applicable) (750 characters)
- If this is your first application to UNMC, but not your first application to medical school, what is your rationale for applying to UNMC this cycle? (N/A if not applicable) (750 characters)
University of Nebraska Secondary Application Questions: 2020 - 2021
- What is your personal rationale for applying to the UNMC College of Medicine? (1,000 characters max)
- How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected you professionally and personally? (1,000 characters max)
University of Nebraska Secondary Application Questions: 2019 – 2020
- Why do you want to attend the University of Nebraska College of Medicine? (1,000 characters max)
University of Nebraska Secondary Application Questions: 2018 – 2019
- Why do you want to attend the University of Nebraska College of Medicine? (1,000 characters max)
University of Nebraska Secondary Application Questions: 2017 – 2018
- Why do you want to attend the University of Nebraska College of Medicine? (1,000 characters max)
University of Nebraska Secondary Application Questions: 2016 – 2017
There were no essay prompts in the secondary application for the 2016-2017 cycle.

