Getting accepted to UCLA is hard. Very hard. Submitting an OUTSTANDING UCLA medical school secondary application is vital to receiving an interview invite, which ultimately can lead to an acceptance. We LOVE the UCLA secondary essay prompts and we LOVE helping medical school applicants edit them so that they stand out! It’s exciting to help students craft a vision of how they want to change medicine 🙂
The UCLA Geffen Admissions Committee is looking for students who have a vision to improve healthcare and medicine – whether it’s through public service, advocacy, innovative patient care approaches, medical technology, or research. That is why its first question starts with, “At the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, students are provided with curriculum and experiences enabling them to become an “Outstanding Physician, AND…,” dedicating themselves to important societal missions.“
Dr. Rishi Mediratta and Dr. Rachel Rizal have a track record of helping our mentees receive acceptances to the Geffen UCLA School of Medicine year after year. We can help you edit your UCLA secondaries.
Although residing or having lived in California gives you an advantage for receiving an interview invitation and acceptance at UCLA Geffen School of Medicine, we have had more of our out-of-state premedical student mentees receive interview invites and acceptances the past few years.
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UCLA Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2023 – 2024
UCLA Secondary Essays – All MD Applicants
- At the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, students are provided with curriculum and experiences enabling them to become an “Outstanding Physician, AND…,” dedicating themselves to important societal missions. What missions do you want to embrace? What have you done toward your missions? (800 characters max)
- Respond to the following and indicate how these areas of experience have impacted your progress toward your future career goals in relation to becoming an “Outstanding Physician, AND…”.
- A. Describe your most unique leadership, entrepreneurial, or creative activity. (800 characters max)
- B. Describe your most important volunteer work and why it was meaningful. (800 characters max)
- C. Describe your most scholarly project (thesis, research or field of study in basic or clinical science or in the humanities) and provide the total number of hours, dates and advisor. (800 characters max)
- Describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your pathway to medical school. Include any academic, personal, financial or professional barriers, as well as other relevant information. (800 characters max)
- Did you experience or are you anticipating time between graduating from college and matriculating into medical school? If yes, describe the activities in which you participated or are planning to participate. Examples include additional schooling, employment, or caring for a loved one.
- Do you identify as being part of a group that has been marginalized (examples include, but are not limited to, LGBTQIA, disabilities, federally recognized tribe) in terms of access to education or healthcare? If so, describe how this inequity has impacted you or your community and how educational disparity, health disparity and/or marginalization has impacted you and your community. (800 characters max)
UCLA Secondary Essays – PRIME-LA Applicants
- What is the most important social issue confronting the health of marginalized and under-resourced communities? Describe the first steps you would take to address this issue. (2,000 characters max)
- In what way will graduating from PRIME-LA and obtaining a master’s degree enhance your career in health care or health services for marginalized and under-resourced communities? (If you are considering a specific master’s degree (e.g., MPP, MPH, MBA, etc.), please incorporate your graduate degree plans or aspirations into your answer) (2,000 characters max)
- Describe how your experiences demonstrate your understanding of, and commitment to, marginalized and under-resourced communities. (2,000 characters max)
- What are your greatest strengths and your greatest challenges as you approach medical school? (2,000 characters max)
- Describe your most memorable experience as it relates to working with marginalized and under-resourced populations. (2,000 characters max)
Tips to Answer UCLA Secondaries
UCLA Secondaries Pre-Writing Guidance: UCLA has not changed its secondary in the past few years. We would not pre-write your UCLA secondaries unless you are a decently strong in-state California applicant because not all student receive a UCLA secondary application. However, once you receive the application, there is usually a two-week turnaround time. Keep reading our tips below in order to get insights on how to STAND OUT on your UCLA secondaries. We have noticed that more of our out-of-state premed advisees have received UCLA secondaries and UCLA interviews.
- Download our Cracking Med Secondary Essay Workbook and Examples to get all our secondary essay tips!
UCLA Secondary Essays Tip #1: UCLA medical school has become increasingly prestigious, and it has been recruiting more visionaries in healthcare. In fact, many of our students who receive interview invites also receive interview invites at schools like Stanford. So how do you get into UCLA medical school? You have to have a vision to improve healthcare and medicine! Simply wanting to be a great clinician will not be enough for UCLA.
For the UCLA secondary question, “At the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, students are provided with curriculum and experiences enabling them to become an “Outstanding Physician, AND…,” dedicating themselves to important societal missions. What missions do you want to embrace? What have you done toward your missions?” make sure you give your vision to change healthcare. Many applicants do not have a chance to articulate their vision to change healthcare on their primary application. So, on your UCLA secondary – Be Bold. Highlight your leadership, passion to change healthcare, and impact on society.
Here are examples for the UCLA outstanding physician and ______ question:
- Create a new, integrated liver transplant center
- Use artificial intelligence to improve cancer genomic diagnoses
- Improve disability access both online and throughout Los Angeles
- Increase healthcare access among immigrant populations and underserved communities
Contact Drs. Rizal and Mediratta if you have questions or want to share your “outstanding physician and ____” ideas.
UCLA Secondary Essays Tip #2: For the second UCLA secondary question, “indicate how these areas of experience have impacted your progress toward your future career goals in relation to becoming an “Outstanding Physician, AND…” you have to be strategic about what activity, research, entrepreneurial endeavor, or clinical experience you write about. Think about it like this: what activity best highlights your strengths and supports your vision to change medicine? What activity has had the most impact and can you explain the impact clearly to the Admissions Committee?
UCLA Secondary Essays Tip #3: For the UCLA secondary prompt, “Did you experience or are you anticipating time between graduating from college and matriculating into medical school” there is only 800 characters! So, you have to priroitize and be strategic about what to write. The activities to prioritize are: patient care experiences, activities that highlight your impact, activities that highlight your vision to change medicine, as you described in essay #1. We can help you edit your UCLA secondaries!
UCLA Secondary Essays Tip #4: 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.
UCLA Secondary Essays Tip #5: It is tricky, but doable. If you can incorporate “Why UCLA” and what you will do as a medical student at UCLA somewhere in this secondary, that would be ideal!
UCLA Secondary Essays Tip #6: Have questions about how you can stand out? Contact us below. Need editing help on your secondary? We can help you through our secondary essay packages.
[Read More Secondary Essay Tips: Stanford; University of Southern California (USC); University of California – San Diego (UCSD); University of California – San Francisco (UCSF) ]
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UCLA Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2022 – 2023
UCLA Secondary Essays – All MD Applicants
- At the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, students are provided with curriculum and experiences enabling them to become an “Outstanding Physician, AND…,” dedicating themselves to important societal missions. What missions do you want to embrace? What have you done toward your missions? (800 characters max)
- Respond to the following and indicate how these areas of experience have impacted your progress toward your future career goals in relation to becoming an “Outstanding Physician, AND…”.
- A. Describe your most unique leadership, entrepreneurial, or creative activity. (800 characters max)
- B. Describe your most important volunteer work and why it was meaningful. (800 characters max)
- C. Describe your most scholarly project (thesis, research or field of study in basic or clinical science or in the humanities) and provide the total number of hours, dates and advisor. (800 characters max)
- Describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your pathway to medical school. Include any academic, personal, financial or professional barriers, as well as other relevant information. (800 characters max)
- Did you experience or are you anticipating time between graduating from college and matriculating into medical school? If yes, describe the activities in which you participated or are planning to participate. Examples include additional schooling, employment, or caring for a loved one.
- Do you identify as being part of a group that has been marginalized (examples include, but are not limited to, LGBTQIA, disabilities, federally recognized tribe) in terms of access to education or healthcare? If so, describe how this inequity has impacted you or your community and how educational disparity, health disparity and/or marginalization has impacted you and your community. (800 characters max)
UCLA Secondary Essays – PRIME-LA Applicants
- What is the most important social issue confronting the health of marginalized and under-resourced communities? Describe the first steps you would take to address this issue. (2,000 characters max)
- In what way will graduating from PRIME-LA and obtaining a master’s degree enhance your career in health care or health services for marginalized and under-resourced communities? (If you are considering a specific master’s degree (e.g., MPP, MPH, MBA, etc.), please incorporate your graduate degree plans or aspirations into your answer) (2,000 characters max)
- Describe how your experiences demonstrate your understanding of, and commitment to, marginalized and under-resourced communities. (2,000 characters max)
- What are your greatest strengths and your greatest challenges as you approach medical school? (2,000 characters max)
- Describe your most memorable experience as it relates to working with marginalized and under-resourced populations. (2,000 characters max)
UCLA Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2021 – 2022
UCLA Secondary Essays – All MD Applicants
- At the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, students are provided with curriculum and experiences enabling them to become an “Outstanding Physician, AND…,” dedicating themselves to important societal missions. What missions do you want to embrace? What have you done toward your missions? (800 characters max)
- Respond to the following and indicate how these areas of experience have impacted your progress toward your future career goals in relation to becoming an “Outstanding Physician, AND…”.
- A. Describe your most unique leadership, entrepreneurial, or creative activity. (800 characters max)
- B. Describe your most important volunteer work and why it was meaningful. (800 characters max)
- C. Describe your most scholarly project (thesis, research or field of study in basic or clinical science or in the humanities) and provide the total number of hours, dates and advisor. (800 characters max)
- Describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your pathway to medical school. Include any academic, personal, financial or professional barriers, as well as other relevant information. (800 characters max)
- Did you experience or are you anticipating time between graduating from college and matriculating into medical school? If yes, describe the activities in which you participated or are planning to participate. Examples include additional schooling, employment, or caring for a loved one.
- Do you identify as being part of a group that has been marginalized (examples include, but are not limited to, LGBTQIA, disabilities, federally recognized tribe) in terms of access to education or healthcare? If so, describe how this inequity has impacted you or your community and how educational disparity, health disparity and/or marginalization has impacted you and your community. (800 characters max)
UCLA Secondary Essays – PRIME-LA Applicants
- What is the most important social issue confronting the health of marginalized and under-resourced communities? Describe the first steps you would take to address this issue. (2,000 characters max)
- In what way will graduating from PRIME-LA and obtaining a master’s degree enhance your career in health care or health services for marginalized and under-resourced communities? (If you are considering a specific master’s degree (e.g., MPP, MPH, MBA, etc.), please incorporate your graduate degree plans [additional schooling] or aspirations into your answer) (2,000 characters max)
- Describe how your experiences demonstrate your understanding of, and commitment to, marginalized and under-resourced communities. (2,000 characters max)
- What are your greatest strengths and your greatest challenges as you approach medical school? (2,000 characters max)
- Describe your most memorable experience as it relates to working with marginalized and under-resourced populations. (2,000 characters max)
UCLA Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2020 – 2021
- Describe your involvement in the one most important non-academic activity in your life. (800 characters max)
- What has been the one most unique leadership, entrepreneurial or creative activity in which you participated? (800 characters max)
- What has been the one most important volunteer work you have done and why was it meaningful? (800 characters max)
- Has there been or will there be a gap between achieving your last degree (baccalaureate or other degrees post baccalaureate) and the expected time of medical school matriculation? (If yes, 300 characters max)
- What is the one most important honor you have received? Why do you view this as important? (300 characters max)
- What has been your most scholarly project (thesis, research or field of study in basic or clinical science or in the humanities)? Describe one and give number of hours, dates and advisor. (300 characters max)
- Describe a problem in your life. Include how you dealt with it and how it influenced your growth. (500 characters max)
- Please list any major paid work experience during or since college to the Admissions Committee. (4,000 characters max per work experience)
- Is there any hardship to which you would like the committee to give special attention in evaluating your application? (500 characters max)
- Where do you see yourself post-graduate education? What experiences have led you to this goal? (500 characters max)
- Describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your pathway to medical school. Include any academic, personal, financial or professional barriers, as well as any other relevant information.
UCLA Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2019 – 2020
- Describe your involvement in the one most important non-academic activity in your life. (800 characters max)
- What has been the one most unique leadership, entrepreneurial or creative activity in which you participated? (800 characters max)
- What has been the one most important volunteer work you have done and why was it meaningful? (800 characters max)
- Has there been or will there be a gap between achieving your last degree (baccalaureate or other degrees post baccalaureate) and the expected time of medical school matriculation? (If yes, 300 characters max)
- What is the one most important honor you have received? Why do you view this as important? (300 characters max)
- What has been your most scholarly project (thesis, research or field of study in basic or clinical science or in the humanities)? Describe one and give number of hours, dates and advisor. (300 characters max)
- Describe a problem in your life. Include how you dealt with it and how it influenced your growth. (500 characters max)
- Please list any major paid work experience during or since college. (4,000 characters max per work experience)
- Is there any hardship to which you would like the committee to give special attention in evaluating your application? If yes, please explain. Include any geographic, language, economic, academic, physical, or mental factors. (500 characters max)
- Where do you see yourself post-graduate education? What experiences have led you to this goal? (500 characters max)
UCLA Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2018 – 2019
- Describe your involvement in the one most important non-academic activity in your life. (800 characters max)
- What has been the one most unique leadership, entrepreneurial or creative activity in which you participated? (800 characters max)
- What has been the one most important volunteer work you have done and why was it meaningful? (800 characters max)
- Has there been or will there be a gap between achieving your last degree (baccalaureate or other degrees post baccalaureate) and the expected time of medical school matriculation? (If yes, 300 characters max)
- What is the one most important honor you have received? Why do you view this as important? (300 characters max)
- What has been your most scholarly project (thesis, research or field of study in basic or clinical science or in the humanities)? Describe one and give number of hours, dates and advisor. (300 characters max)
- Describe a problem in your life. Include how you dealt with it and how it influenced your growth. (500 characters max)
- Please list any major paid work experience during or since college. (4,000 characters max per work experience)
- Is there any hardship to which you would like the committee to give special attention in evaluating your application? If yes, please explain. Include any geographic, language, economic, academic, physical, or mental factors. (500 characters max)
- Where do you see yourself post-graduate education? What experiences have led you to this goal? (500 characters max)
UCLA Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2017 – 2018
- Describe your involvement in the one most important non-academic activity in your life. (800 characters max)
- What has been the one most unique leadership, entrepreneurial or creative activity in which you participated? (800 characters max)
- What has been the one most important volunteer work you have done and why was it meaningful? (800 characters max)
- Has there been or will there be a gap between achieving your last degree (baccalaureate or other degrees post baccalaureate) and the expected time of medical school matriculation? (If yes, 300 characters max)
- What is the one most important honor you have received? Why do you view this as important? (300 characters max)
- What has been your most scholarly project (thesis, research or field of study in basic or clinical science or in the humanities)? Describe one and give number of hours, dates and advisor. (300 characters max)
- Describe a problem in your life. Include how you dealt with it and how it influenced your growth. (500 characters max)
- Please list any major paid work experience during or since college. (4,000 characters max per work experience)
- Is there any hardship to which you would like the committee to give special attention in evaluating your application? If yes, please explain. Include any geographic, language, economic, academic, physical, or mental factors. (500 characters max)
- Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What experiences have led you to this goal? (800 characters max)
UCLA Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2016 – 2017
- Describe your involvement in the one most important non-academic activity in your life. (800 characters max)
- What has been the one most unique leadership, entrepreneurial or creative activity in which you participated? (800 characters max)
- What has been the one most important volunteer work you have done and why was it meaningful? (800 characters max)
- Has there been or will there be a gap between achieving your last degree (baccalaureate or other degrees post baccalaureate) and the expected time of medical school matriculation? (If yes, 300 characters max)
- What is the one most important honor you have received? Why do you view this as important? (300 characters max)
- What has been your most scholarly project (thesis, research or field of study in basic or clinical science or in the humanities)? Describe one and give number of hours, dates and advisor. (300 characters max)
- Describe a problem in your life. Include how you dealt with it and how it influenced your growth. (500 characters max)
- Please list any major paid work experience during or since college. (4,000 characters max per work experience)
- Is there any hardship to which you would like the committee to give special attention in evaluating your application? If yes, please explain. Include any geographic, language, economic, academic, physical, or mental factors. (500 characters max)
- Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What experiences have led you to this goal? (800 characters max)
UCLA Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2015 – 2016
- Describe your involvement in the one most important non-academic activity in your life. (800 characters max)
- What has been the one most unique leadership, entrepreneurial or creative activity in which you participated? (800 characters max)
- What has been the one most important volunteer work you have done and why was it meaningful? (800 characters max)
- Has there been or will there be a gap between achieving your last degree (baccalaureate or other degrees post baccalaureate) and the expected time of medical school matriculation? (If yes, 300 characters max)
- What is the one most important honor you have received? Why do you view this as important? (300 characters max)
- What has been your most scholarly project (thesis, research or field of study in basic or clinical science or in the humanities)? Describe one and give number of hours, dates and advisor. (300 characters max)
- Describe a problem in your life. Include how you dealt with it and how it influenced your growth. (500 characters max)
- Please list any major paid work experience during or since college. (4,000 characters max per work experience)
- Is there any hardship to which you would like the committee to give special attention in evaluating your application? If yes, please explain. Include any geographic, language, economic, academic, physical, or mental factors. (500 characters max)
- Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What experiences have led you to this goal? (800 characters max)
UCLA Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2014 – 2015
- Describe your involvement in the one most important non-academic activity in your life. (800 characters max)
- What has been the one most unique leadership, entrepreneurial or creative activity in which you participated? (800 characters max)
- What has been the one most important volunteer work you have done and why was it meaningful? (800 characters max)
- Has there been or will there be a gap between achieving your last degree (baccalaureate or other degrees post baccalaureate) and the expected time of medical school matriculation? (If yes, 300 characters max)
- What is the one most important honor you have received? Why do you view this as important? (300 characters max)
- What has been your most scholarly project (thesis, research or field of study in basic or clinical science or in the humanities)? Describe one and give number of hours, dates and advisor. (300 characters max)
- Describe a problem in your life. Include how you dealt with it and how it influenced your growth. (500 characters max)
- Please list any major paid work experience during or since college. (4,000 characters max per work experience)
- Is there any hardship to which you would like the committee to give special attention in evaluating your application? If yes, please explain. Include any geographic, language, economic, academic, physical, or mental factors. (500 characters max)
- Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What experiences have led you to this goal? (800 characters max)