Beginning in the 2016-2017 admissions cycle, SUNY Upstate Medical University began to have essay for its secondary application. Since then, the SUNY Upstate secondary has gotten longer! This is a long and tough secondary to do well, so start early. We would definitely recommend pre-writing you SUNY Upstate secondaries!
It is very important to tailor your answers towards SUNY Upstate by convincing the admissions committee that you have substantial, quality clinical experiences and academic strength. Get our tips on how to answer SUNY Upstate secondary essays below! Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or if you want to work Dr. Mediratta and Dr. Rizal through our secondary essay editing packages.
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SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Questions:
2025 – 2026
- Which medical specialty do you currently plan to pursue? (1,800 characters max)
- Are there any areas of weakness in your application that you would like to clarify for the Admissions Committee? If yes, Please describe: (1,800 characters max)
- What experiences have you had with underserved communities/populations? What have you learned from these experiences?(1,800 characters max)
- Describe any ties or meaningful experiences you have had related to Central New York or SUNY Upstate Medical University. (1,800 characters max)
- How will you contribute to the diversity of your medical school class and The Norton College of Medicine? (1,800 characters max)
- The Norton College of Medicine is committed to improving the healthcare of Central New York. How do your career plans advance this mission?(1,800 characters max)
Tips to Answer SUNY Upstate Medical University Secondary Application Essays
SUNY Upstate Secondaries Pre-Writing Guidance: The SUNY Upstate Medical University secondary application essay questions don’t change year to year. Therefore, we would strongly encourage you to pre-write these using the previous years’ prompts. Because this is a state school, we think you should try to submit this by late July of the application cycle
- Download our Cracking Med Secondary Essay Workbook and Examples to get all our tips about secondary application essays.
SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Tip #1: SUNY Upstate Medical School cares about your commitment to upstate New York. Please state your experiences and connections to Upstate New York throughout your USNY Upstate secondaries. If you do not have any ties to Upstate New York, then discuss your experiences in New York state, the Northeastern United States, and rural health.
SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Tip #2: 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 word space.
Here are aspects you should highlight in the gap year essay:
- Clinical experiences you are pursuing. This is very important. Add any insights and reflections, tying it to what you want to do as in your future medical career.
- Any volunteer work, patient care, travel, or community service in Upstate New York. If you are not in Upstate New York, and discuss your ties to New York or rural populations.
- Include a patient story and what you learned.
- If space, you can include a story about an individual you helped in your community service activities.
SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Tip #3: Because the SUNY Upstate Medical University secondary application specifically asks about deficiencies and disruptions during COVID-19, you should not mention what activities you did during the pandemic.
Topics our students have discussed include:
- Difficulties and disruptions in academic coursework, including transitioning to a home situation
- Taking care of family members who were sick
- Planned clinical, research, volunteering, and other activities that could not occur because of COVID-19
- Responsibilities of taking care of younger siblings
SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Tip #4: To answer the SUNY Upstate secondary application question, “As a potential partner in this effort, please describe your commitment to eliminating health inequities, discrimination, or other forms of social injustice” discuss how you have already tried to decrease social injustices and how you plan to tackle these issues in medical school & beyond.
- Tell stories. This is one of our two biggest pieces of advice we tell medical school applicants throughout the entire application cycle.
SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Tip #5: To answer the SUNY Upstate secondary application question, “Upstate Medical University is strongly committed to providing a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for the patients we serve and all who work at, study at, or visit our campus. In 500 words or less, please answer the following question:
As a potential partner in this effort, please describe your commitment to eliminating health inequities, discrimination, or other forms of social injustice”
- Write existing stories and experiences in both clinical and non-clinical settings where you have been committed to eliminating health inequities.
- Link this to rural health inequities if you can, because SUNY Upstate serves a large number or rural patients.
- We have several curated informational and opinion articles about healthcare disparities & other healthcare current events: Top 10 Current Events You Need To Know For Your Medical Interview
SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Tip #6: Definitely say “yes” to the primary care question if you are considering it. Remember that primary care does not mean only family medicine or internal medicine. Primary care also encompasses pediatrics, emergency medicine, and OB/GYN.
SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Tip #7: Start early and get our help. The SUNY Upstate secondary not only has several essay, but the essays overall also have large word limits. Have questions about how you can stand out? Contact us below. Need editing help on your secondary? Dr. Mediratta and Dr. Rizal can personally help you through our secondary essay packages.
[Read more: Medical Schools in New York: How to Get Accepted & School Profiles ]
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download your secondary Essay Guide
Use this essay guide and workbook to write standout secondaries.
SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Questions:
2024 – 2025
- If you earned your baccalaureate degree prior to this past June, please indicate your plans for the upcoming academic year. (1,800 characters max)
- Which medical specialty are you thinking about pursuing at this point? (1,800 characters max)
- We understand that the COVID-19 crisis in Spring 2020 disrupted many aspects of our lives. Please share if you had any curricular impacts during this time, for example, change to pass/fail courses or to online coursework or if you anticipate any deficiencies in experiences as a result of COVID-19. (1,800 characters max)
- Are there any areas of weakness in your application that you would like to clarify for the Admissions Committee? If yes, please describe. (1,800 characters max)
- Upstate Medical University is strongly committed to providing a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for the patients we serve and all who work at, study at, or visit our campus. As a potential partner in this effort, please describe your commitment to eliminating health inequities, discrimination, or other forms of social injustice. (500 words max)
SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Questions: 2023 – 2024
- If you earned your baccalaureate degree prior to this past June, please indicate your plans for the upcoming academic year. (1,800 characters max)
- Which medical specialty are you thinking about pursuing at this point? (1,800 characters max)
- We understand that the COVID-19 crisis in Spring 2020 disrupted many aspects of our lives. Please share if you had any curricular impacts during this time, for example, change to pass/fail courses or to online coursework or if you anticipate any deficiencies in experiences as a result of COVID-19. (1,800 characters max)
- Are there any areas of weakness in your application that you would like to clarify for the Admissions Committee? If yes, please describe. (1,800 characters max)
- Upstate Medical University is strongly committed to providing a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for the patients we serve and all who work at, study at, or visit our campus. As a potential partner in this effort, please describe your commitment to eliminating health inequities, discrimination, or other forms of social injustice. (500 words max)
SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Questions: 2022 – 2023
- If you earned your baccalaureate degree prior to this past June, please indicate your plans for the upcoming academic year. (1,800 characters max)
- Which medical specialty are you thinking about pursuing at this point? (1,800 characters max)
- We understand that the COVID-19 crisis in Spring 2020 disrupted many aspects of our lives. Please share if you had any curricular impacts during this time, for example, change to pass/fail courses or to online coursework or if you anticipate any deficiencies in experiences as a result of COVID-19. (1,800 characters max)
- You might consider yourself disadvantaged if you grew up in an area that was medically or underserved or had insufficient access to educational opportunities. Do you consider yourself within this description? If you answer Yes please explain your particular circumstances regarding why you consider yourself a disadvantaged applicant. (1,800 characters max)
- Upstate Medical University is strongly committed to providing a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for the patients we serve and all who work at, study at, or visit our campus. As a potential partner in this effort, please describe your commitment to eliminating health inequities, discrimination, or other forms of social injustice. (500 words max)
- If you are interested in Primary Care, are you interested in receiving more information about potential scholarship opportunities? (Yes/Now)
SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Questions: 2021 – 2022
- If you earned your baccalaureate degree prior to this past June, please indicate your plans for the upcoming academic year. (1,800 characters max)
- Which medical specialty are you thinking about pursuing at this point? (1,800 characters max)
- We understand that the COVID-19 crisis in Spring 2020 disrupted many aspects of our lives. Please share if you had any curricular impacts during this time, for example, change to pass/fail courses or to online coursework or if you anticipate any deficiencies in experiences as a result of COVID-19. (1,800 characters max)
- Are there any areas of weakness in your application that you would like to clarify for the Admissions Committee? If yes, please describe. (1,800 characters max)
- Upstate Medical University is strongly committed to providing a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for the patients we serve and all who work at, study at, or visit our campus. As a potential partner in this effort, please describe your commitment to eliminating health inequities, discrimination, or other forms of social injustice. (500 words max)
SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Questions: 2020 - 2021
- We understand that the COVID-19 crisis in Spring 2020 disrupted many aspects of our lives. Please share if you had any curricular impacts during this time, for example, change to pass/fail courses or to online coursework or if you anticipate any deficiencies in experiences as a result of COVID-19. (No character limit)
- Are there any areas of weakness in your application that you would like to clarify for the Admissions Committee? If yes, please describe. (No character limit)
- If you earned your baccalaureate degree prior to this past June, please indicate your plans for the upcoming academic year. (1,800 characters max)
- Which medical specialty are you thinking about pursuing at this point? (1,800 characters max)
SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Questions: 2019 – 2020
- Has anyone in your family graduated from the College of Medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University? (1,500 characters max)
- Please indicate the last MCAT exam you have taken and/or are you planning to take any upcoming MCAT exams and if so, when? Please remember that the deadline for completing your application is December 1. (1,500 characters max)
- Have you completed your baccalaureate degree? If you earned your baccalaureate degree prior to this past June, please indicate your plans for the upcoming academic year. If you haven’t completed your baccalaureate degree yet, will you be doing so this academic year? (1,500 characters max)
- Which medical specialty are you thinking about pursuing at this point? (1,500 characters max)
SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Questions: 2018 – 2019
- Has anyone in your family graduated from the College of Medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University? (1,500 characters max)
- Please indicate the last MCAT exam you have taken and/or are you planning to take any upcoming MCAT exams and if so, when? Please remember that the deadline for completing your application is December. (1,500 characters max)
- Have you completed your baccalaureate degree? If you earned your baccalaureate degree prior to this past June, please indicate your plans for the upcoming academic year. (1,500 characters max)
- If you haven’t completed your baccalaureate degree yet, will you be doing so this academic year? (1,500 characters max)
- Which medical specialty are you thinking about pursuing at this point? (1,500 characters max)
SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Questions: 2017 – 2018
- If you earned your baccalaureate degree prior to this past June, please indicate your plans for the upcoming academic year. (1,800 characters max)
- Which medical specialty are you thinking about pursuing at this point? (1,800 characters max)
- Are there any areas of weakness in your application that you would like to clarify for the Admissions Committee? Yes or No? If yes, please describe. (1,800 characters max)
SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Questions: 2016 – 2017
SUNY Upstate Medical University Secondary Application – Regular MD Prompts
- If you earned your baccalaureate degree prior to this past June, please indicate your plans for the upcoming academic year. (1,800 characters max)
- Which medical specialty are you thinking about pursuing at this point? (1,800 characters max)
- Are there any areas of weakness in your application that you would like to clarify for the Admissions Committee? Yes or No? If yes, please describe. (1,800 characters max)
SUNY Upstate Medical University Secondary Application – Rural Medicine Prompts
- Why do you consider yourself suited to rural medical practice? (No character limit stated)
- If you have lived in a rural community, please describe it and indicate how long you have lived there. (No character limit stated)
- Describe your understanding of an issue or challenge facing rural communities now or in the future. (No character limit stated)
- Describe any relevant medical encounters that either you or your family has experienced. How has this influenced your desire to practice rural medicine? (No character limit stated)
- What are your future career goals? (No character limit stated)
SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Questions: 2015 – 2016
There were no essay prompts in the secondary application for the 2015-2016 cycle.
SUNY Upstate Secondary Application Questions: 2014 – 2015
There were no essay prompts in the secondary application for the 2014-2015 cycle.