Every medical school student and alumnus we have met from Rush Medical College has absolutely loved his or her experience there! Rush Medical College is a very popular medical school students both from the Midwest and California apply to. It is important to convey why you would be a great fit for the Rush Medical School community on your Rush Medical College secondary application. Rush is a community-oriented school, and it is important to talk about how you have been involved with your local community. Read our other Rush Medical College secondary application tips below for advice on how to answer each question.
There have been a lot of changes in the Rush Medical College secondary recently. This would NOT be a secondary application we would suggest pre-writing before the official prompts are released by the medical school admissions office.
Our Cracking Med School Admissions team has a strong track record of helping our mentees receive acceptances to Rush Medical College for the past several years. Make sure to ask us any questions you have about what to emphasize on your Rush secondary application. We can also help you personalize your secondary through our secondary essay editing packages.
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- We study your application strengths to see what unique attributes we’ll bring to the medical school
Rush Medical College Secondary Essay Prompts: 2024 – 2025
- RUSH Medical College is located on Chicago’s Near West Side and serves a diverse patient population. We seek to train physicians who can connect with diverse patient populations with whom they may not share a similar background. Tell us about a life experience that has broadened your own world view or enhanced your ability to understand those unlike yourself and what you learned from this experience. (1,000 characters max)
- “Distance traveled” is the metaphorical distance that represents the journey an applicant undertakes throughout their life, encompassing achievements, personal identity, and the competencies developed along the way. The Committee on Admissions seeks and values the skills and competencies that applicants develop as a result of their individual experiences, and recognizes them as desired and essential attributes of a future physician.
Based on your experiences and your distance traveled, please describe any adversities, challenges, and/or marginalized experiences that you have encountered. (1,000 characters max)
Please describe the effect of these adversities, challenges, and/or marginalized experiences on you as an individual. Explain how you overcame them, what skills you built, what lessons you learned, and how these experiences motivated you to be a doctor. (1,000 characters max) - Do you have direct patient care/contact experience beyond shadowing/observing? Answering “yes” demonstrates you have had active interactions with patients and/or clinical participation in their continuum of care. (no specified character limit for each experience description) (1,000 characters max)
(If Yes) List and describe, in detail, each experience below. While activities can parallel those listed on the AMCAS application, the narratives should not. Instead, focus on detailing the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities you learned and applied during these experiences. Additionally, estimate the proportion of each role that was spent interfacing with patients.
When listing the start and end date of each experience, please use the calendar button to the right of each respective text box. - (Optional) If applicable, describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your application to and/or preparation for medical school. (1,000 characters max)
- (Optional) Use this space to provide additional information, that is non-COVID related, you would like the Committee on Admissions to be aware of when reviewing your application.(1,000 characters max)
- Have you ever been involved in an institutional action related to academic dishonesty/integrity? Have you ever been convicted of a crime, or pleaded guilty and been placed on probation, court supervision or another reconviction program for an incident other than a minor traffic ticket? (If Yes) Please explain in detail. (1000 characters max)
One Rush Medical College secondary application essay removed from last year.
Tips to Answer Rush Secondaries
Rush Medical College Secondary Pre-Writing Guidance: There have been a lot of changes to the Rush Medical College secondary recently. We would not pre-write the Rush secondaries early in the application process. This would NOT be a secondary application we would suggest pre-writing before the official prompts are released by the medical school admissions office.
Rush Medical College Secondary Application Tip #1: Rush Medical College greatly values community health. Medical students at Rush are extremely engaged in the surrounding community, participating in both patient care and non-patient care in the community. There is less of an emphasis on research when the Rush medical school admissions committee picks students to interview. In fact, many of our Cracking Med School Admissions mentees who receive interview invites at Rush Medical College do not necessarily have strong research backgrounds. Strong applicants will be able to convey their non-clinical and clinical work in the community. After reading your entire Rush Medical College secondary application, the reader should understand: how are you committed to improving your community?
Rush Medical College Secondary Application Tip #2: Answer the optional questions. Our Cracking Med School Admissions team does not view optional questions as optional, because it is a waste opportunity to discuss other aspects about your background and motivations to pursue medicine.
- For the COVID-19 question, incorporate your personal experiences as well as healthcare current issues you noticed throughout the COVID pandemic. We have an entire healthcare current events blog post here, where you can read more about healthcare disparities and COVID-19.
- For the “additional information” question, we would prioritizing a story or experience that reflects your passion for Chicago, urban health, and community health.
Rush Medical College Secondary Application Tip #4: It is important to do your research on the Rush Medical College. Reference specific aspects the curriculum, projects, and community organizations you want to be involved with.
- Read our HIGH-YIELD blog post about how to answer “Why this Medical School:” Why this Medical School? Secondary Essay Example
Rush Medical College Secondary Application Tip #5: What should you write about for the Rush Medical School secondary application question, “Use this space to provide additional information you would like the Committee on Admissions to be aware of when reviewing your application?” Literally anything!
Topics our students who work with us through our application packages discuss:
- Community projects and community volunteering
- Leadership roles
- Interesting community-based classes and class projects
- Poor grades or Institutional Actions
- Non-traditional background
- Affiliations with Rush University, Rush University Medical Center, and Chicago
- Solving healthcare challenges with a team, because Rush emphasizes a diverse and dynamic learning community.
In general, we advise students to discuss their involvement in the community, unless there are important challenges about personal challenges or academic blemishes.
Rush Medical College Secondary Application Tip #6: Get our help to edit your Rush Medical College secondary application essays and all your other secondary application materials. We can help you through our secondary essay packages.
[Read more secondary essay tips: New York Medical College, Northwestern (Feinberg), Temple (Lewis Katz)]
We Personally Advise Every Student We Work With.
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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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USA Today Academic First Team
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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
download your secondary Essay Guide
Use this essay guide and workbook to write standout secondaries.
Rush Medical College Secondary Essay Prompts: 2023 – 2024
- Rush Medical College is located on Chicago’s near west side and serves a diverse patient population. We seek to train physicians who can connect with diverse patient populations with whom they may not share a similar background. Tell us about a life experience that has broadened your own world view or enhanced your ability to understand those unlike yourself and what you learned from this experience. (1,000 characters max)
- As an anchor institution, Rush is embedded in its strategies to improve the societal and structural determinants of health, which improve the economic vitality of Chicago’s west side neighborhoods and help residents achieve better health. Using your own experiences, describe how you have impacted and/or changed a person or community. (1,000 characters max)
- (Optional) If applicable, describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your application to and/or preparation for medical school. (1,000 characters max)
- (Optional) Use this space to provide additional information, which is non-COVID related, you would like the Committee on Admissions to be aware of when reviewing your application. (1,000 characters max)
One Rush Medical College secondary application essay removed from last year.
Rush Medical College Secondary Essay Prompts: 2022 – 2023
- Rush Medical College is located on Chicago’s near west side and serves a diverse patient population. We seek to train physicians who can connect with diverse patient populations with whom they may not share a similar background. Tell us about a life experience that has broadened your own world view or enhanced your ability to understand those unlike yourself and what you learned from this experience. (1,000 characters max)
- Do you have direct patient care/contact experience beyond shadowing/observing? Answering “yes” demonstrates you have had active interactions with patients and/or clinical participation in their continuum of care. List and describe, in detail, each experience below. While activities can parallel those listed on the AMCAS application, the narratives should not. Instead, focus on detailing the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities you learned and applied during these experiences. Additionally, estimate the proportion of each role that was spent interfacing with patients. (400 characters each)
- As an anchor institution, Rush is embedded in its strategies to improve the societal and structural determinants of health, which improve the economic vitality of Chicago’s west side neighborhoods and help residents achieve better health. Using your own experiences, describe how you have impacted and/or changed a person or community. (1,000 characters max)
- (Optional) If applicable, describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your application to and/or preparation for medical school. (1,000 characters max)
- (Optional) Use this space to provide additional information, which is non-COVID related, you would like the Committee on Admissions to be aware of when reviewing your application. (1,000 characters max)
Rush Medical College Secondary Essay Prompts: 2021 – 2022
- Describe personal attributes you possess or life experiences you have had that will enable you to better understand patients with a culture different from your own. Please include your self-reflection on how this experience has changed your insights, beliefs, and/or values. (1,000 characters max)
- Describe a challenging situation in which you did not agree with a directive/rule and how you handled this. (1,000 characters max)
- Reflect on a time in which you personally gained more from an experience than what was expected. (1,000 characters max)
- What do you hope to gain from your Rush Medical College experience that will make you a better/different physician? (1,000 characters max)
- (Optional) If applicable, describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your application to and/or preparation for medical school. (1,000 characters max)
- (Optional) Use this space to provide additional information you would like the Committee on Admissions to be aware of when reviewing your application. (1,000 characters max)
Rush Medical College Secondary Essay Prompts: 2020 - 2021
- Describe personal attributes you possess or life experiences you have had that will enable you to better understand patients with a culture different from your own. Please include your self-reflection on how this experience has changed your insights, beliefs, and/or values. (1,000 characters max)
- Describe a challenging situation in which you did not agree with a directive/rule and how you handled this. (1,000 characters max)
- Reflect on a time in which you personally gained more from an experience than what was expected. (1,000 characters max)
- What do you hope to gain from your Rush Medical College experience that will make you a better/different physician? (1,000 characters max)
- If applicable, describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your application to and/or preparation for medical school. (1,000 characters max)
Rush Medical College Secondary Essay Prompts: 2019 – 2020
- Describe personal attributes you possess or life experiences you have had that will enable you to better understand patients with a culture different from your own. Please include your self-reflection on how this experience has changed your insights, beliefs, and/or values. (1,000 characters max)
- Describe a challenging situation in which you did not agree with a directive/rule and how you handled this. (1,000 characters max)
- Reflect on a time in which you personally gained more from an experience than what was expected. (1,000 characters max)
- What do you hope to gain from your Rush Medical College experience that will make you a better/different physician? (1,000 characters max)
- Were you employed during the time you were enrolled in your undergraduate studies? (If Yes, selection of hours per week, and for how long)
- Have you ever been involved in an institutional action related to academic dishonesty/integrity? Been convicted of a crime, or pleaded guilty and been placed on probation, court supervision or another reconviction program for an incident other than a minor traffic ticket?
Rush Medical College Secondary Essay Prompts: 2018 – 2019
- Describe personal attributes you possess or life experiences you have had that will enable you to better understand patients with a culture different from your own. Please include your self-reflection on how this experience has changed your insights, beliefs, and/or values. (1,000 characters max)
- Describe a challenging situation in which you did not agree with a directive/rule and how you handled this. (1,000 characters max)
- Reflect on a time in which you personally gained more from an experience than what was expected. (1,000 characters max)
- What do you hope to gain from your Rush Medical College experience that will make you a better/different physician? (1,000 characters max)
Rush Medical College Secondary Essay Prompts: 2017 – 2018
- Describe personal attributes you possess or life experiences you have had that will enable you to better understand patients with a culture different from your own. Please include your self-reflection on how this experience has changed your insights, beliefs, and/or values. (1,000 characters max)
- Describe a challenging situation in which you did not agree with a directive/rule and how you handled this. (1,000 characters max)
- Reflect on a time in which you personally gained more from an experience than what was expected. (1,000 characters max)
- What do you hope to gain from your Rush Medical College experience that will make you a better/different physician? (1,000 characters max)
Rush Medical College Secondary Essay Prompts: 2016 – 2017
- Describe personal attributes you possess or life experiences you have had that will enable you to better understand patients with a culture different from your own. Please include your self-reflection on how this experience has changed your insights, beliefs, and/or values. (1,000 characters max)
- Describe a challenging situation in which you did not agree with a directive/rule and how you handled this. (1,000 characters max)
- Reflect on a time in which you personally gained more from an experience than what was expected. (1,000 characters max)
- What do you hope to gain from your Rush Medical College experience that will make you a better/different physician? (1,000 characters max)
Rush Medical College Secondary Essay Prompts: 2015 – 2016
- Describe personal attributes you possess or life experiences you have had that will enable you to better understand patients with a culture different from your own. Please include your self-reflection on how this experience has changed your insights, beliefs, and/or values. (1,000 characters max)
- (Community Service Activities) Based on these experiences, please describe what you have learned through your involvement, the attributes you would bring to Rush Medical College, and the impact you would have on the greater Rush Community. (2,000 characters max)
- Please describe your most significant achievement outside the classroom. (750 characters max)
- Describe your specific interest in Rush Medical College and what campus opportunities you would most look forward to as a student. (1,000 characters max)
Rush Medical College Secondary Essay Prompts: 2014 – 2015
- Describe personal attributes you possess or life experiences you have had that will enable you to better understand patients with a culture different from your own. Please include your self-reflection on how this experience has changed your insights, beliefs, and/or values. (1,000 characters max)
- (Community Service Activities) Based on these experiences, please describe what you have learned through your involvement, the attributes you would bring to Rush Medical College, and the impact you would have on the greater Rush Community. (2,000 characters max)
- Please describe your most significant achievement outside the classroom. (750 characters max)
- Describe your specific interest in Rush Medical College and what campus opportunities you would most look forward to as a student. (1,000 characters max)