Getting accepted to McGovern Medical School at UT Health (Texas Medical Center in Houston) is extremely difficult. The medical school boasts a small class size that encourages innovation and leadership among its students. Submitting an OUTSTANDING McGovern Medical School secondary application is imperative to receiving an interview invite, which ultimately can lead to an acceptance. The McGovern secondary essays are fairly short, and the essay prompts don’t change year after year. Therefore, this is a great secondary application to pre-write after you submit your TMDSAS primary application.
Dr. Rachel Rizal and Dr. Rishi Mediratta a track record of helping several of our mentees receive acceptances to McGovern Medical School year after year. We are extremely familiar with the mission of the school and know faculty from McGovern who are healthcare leaders. Get started and read our McGovern Medical School secondary application tips below. To learn more about student life, read our Cracking McGovern Medical School Admissions: How to Get Accepted.
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University of Texas McGovern Secondary Application Questions: 2023 – 2024
- Please discuss one of the below bullet points and answer: Why was it challenging? How did you handle it? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently? What did you learn? (2,500 characters max)
- A challenging situation or obstacle you have faced in the past
- Any academic road bumps in your academic career (low academic performance, failing course, dropping/retaking of courses)
- Describe a time or situation where you have been unsuccessful or failed. What did you learn from this experience and how have you applied this learning to your work and/or life? (2,500 characters max)
- What would you like to contribute and be remembered for in medicine? (2,500 characters max)
8 Tips to Answer UT Health McGovern Secondary Essays
McGovern Secondary Application Pre-Writing Guidance: There are only a few additional essays for University of Houston – McGovern Medical School. The McGovern secondary essay prompts don’t change year after year. Therefore, this is a great secondary application to pre-write after you submit your TMDSAS primary application.
- Download all our HIGH-YIELD tips for secondary essays: Cracking Med School Admissions Secondary Essay Guide
- Read our school profile with University of Texas – Houston (McGovern) medical school admissions statistics: McGovern Medical School Profile: Admissions Stats + Curriculum Details
McGovern Secondary Application Tip #1: UT Houston Medical School (McGovern) is an innovative school. Our med students who get accepted discuss ways they have been innovative in their endeavors. They also have a strong vision on how to improve healthcare. You can discuss innovation in essay #1, such as discussing an innovative approach to tackle a challenge. Or, you can discuss innovation in essay #3. Additionally, you can use a topic like research or community advocacy for the “failure” essay and link that with your vision to improve healthcare.
The Mcgovern Medical School website emphasizes that it looks at medical school applicants holistically:
McGovern Medical School carefully reviews applications by applying the concepts of the AAMC holistic review initiative. Holistic review is a flexible, individualized way of assessing an applicant’s capabilities by which balanced consideration is given to experiences, attributes, and academic metrics and, when considered in combination, how the individual might contribute value as a medical student and physician.
There is no discrimination on the basis of race, sex, creed, national origin, age, or disability.
McGovern Secondary Application Tip #2: If you answer the McGovern secondary essay prompt about “a challenging situation” or “any academic road bumps,” make sure to explain the following:
- How did you overcome the challenge or academic road bump?
- What did you learn from this experience?
- What will you do differently in the future?
McGovern Secondary Application Tip #3: Be strategic with the life experiences and stories that you choose in McGovern’s additional essays. Although McGovern values a well-rounded individual, Drs. Rizal and Mediratta would suggest having at least 1 patient story or 1 clinical experience throughout the McGovern secondaries. For example, you can discuss a challenge you faced while helping a patient in on of your clinical experiences. Or, you can include a patient in essay #3 that encapsulates how you want to be remembered in medicine.
McGovern Secondary Application Tip #4: For essay #2, make sure that you write about a different situation than essay #1. Do not write about getting a C in one of your science classes. That’s not really a failure! As with essay #1, remember to discuss the following:
- What did you learn from this experience?
- What will you do differently in the future?
We often get asked, what’s the difference between discussing a challenge and discussing a failure? With the failure, the admissions committee wants to see your resilience, especially when you are at a low point. They want to see your grit – medical school and residency is tough!
McGovern Secondary Application Tip #5: Highlight your leadership, passion to change healthcare, and impact on society. The questions are geared towards learning more about what you did in gap years and your extra-curricular activities. 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.
McGovern Secondary Application Tip #6: The biggest mistake medical school applicants make for the McGovern Medical School secondary application prompt, “What would you like to contribute and be remembered for in medicine” is that they mention something broad. For example, don’t say something like “I want to be remembered for making innovations in medicine.” Your answer has to be more specific and it can be something like, “I want to innovate new cancer therapies applying artificial intelligence.” Make sure your vision is specific and clear.
Additionally, make sure to discuss how McGovern Medical School and Texas Medical Center will help you reach this goal.
- Learn about what makes McGovern Medical School unique by reading our blog post: Cracking McGovern Medical School Admissions | School Profile
McGovern Secondary Application Tip #7: Each essay has a fairly large character limit – you should utilize the space. Include 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.
McGovern Secondary Application Tip #8: Get our help to edit your McGovern secondary application essays. Several of our students have been successful in receiving acceptances in the past few years! We can help you through our secondary essay packages. Have questions about how you can stand out? Contact us below.
[Read Essay Tips From Other Innovative Medical Schools: Yale School of Medicine; Stanford School of Medicine; Duke School of Medicine; Mount Sinai Icahn Medical School ]
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University of Texas McGovern Secondary Application Questions: 2022 – 2023
- Please discuss one of the below bullet points and answer: Why was it challenging? How did you handle it? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently? What did you learn? (2,500 characters max)
- A challenging situation or obstacle you have faced in the past
- Any academic road bumps in your academic career (low academic performance, failing course, dropping/retaking of courses)
- Describe a time or situation where you have been unsuccessful or failed. What did you learn from this experience and how have you applied this learning to your work and/or life? (2,500 characters max)
- What would you like to contribute and be remembered for in medicine? (2,500 characters max)
University of Texas McGovern Secondary Application Questions: 2021 – 2022
- Please discuss one of the below bullet points and answer: Why was it challenging? How did you handle it? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently? What did you learn? (2,500 characters max)
- A challenging situation or obstacle you have faced in the past
- Any academic road bumps in your academic career (low academic performance, failing course, dropping/retaking of courses)
- Describe a time or situation where you have been unsuccessful or failed. What did you learn from this experience and how have you applied this learning to your work and/or life? (2,500 characters max)
- What would you like to contribute and be remembered for in medicine? (2,500 characters max)
University of Texas McGovern Secondary Application Questions: 2020 - 2021
- Please discuss one of the below bullet points and answer: Why was it challenging? How did you handle it? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently? What did you learn? (2,500 characters max)
- A challenging situation or obstacle you have faced in the past
- Any academic road bumps in your academic career (low academic performance, failing course, dropping/retaking of courses)
- Describe a time or situation where you have been unsuccessful or failed. What did you learn from this experience and how have you applied this learning to your work and/or life? (2,500 characters max)
- What would you like to contribute and be remembered for in medicine? (2,500 characters max)
University of Texas McGovern Secondary Application Questions: 2019 – 2020
- How have your experiences prepared you to be a physician? (2,500 characters max)
- Describe a time or situation where you have been unsuccessful or failed. What did you learn from this experience and how have you applied this learning to your work and/or life? (2,500 characters max)
- What would you like to contribute and be remembered for in medicine? (2,500 characters max)
University of Texas McGovern Secondary Application Questions: 2018 – 2019
- How have your experiences prepared you to be a physician? (2,500 characters max)
- Describe a time or situation where you have been unsuccessful or failed. What did you learn from this experience and how have you applied this learning to your work and/or life? (2,500 characters max)
- What would you like to contribute and be remembered for in medicine? (2,500 characters max)
University of Texas McGovern Secondary Application Questions: 2017 – 2018
There were no essay prompts in the secondary application for the 2017-2018 cycle.
University of Texas McGovern Secondary Application Questions: 2016 – 2017
There were no essay prompts in the secondary application for the 2016-2017 cycle.
University of Texas McGovern Secondary Application Questions: 2015 – 2016
There were no essay prompts in the secondary application for the 2015-2016 cycle.
University of Texas McGovern Secondary Application Questions: 2014 – 2015
There were no essay prompts in the secondary application for the 2014-2015 cycle.