UCSD Secondary Application Essay Prompts by Year
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The UC San Diego secondary application is notorious for being tough because it has the notorious autobiography! Does UC San Diego School of Medicine send a secondary application to all medical school applicants? Unfortunately, no. The UCSD School of Medicine is selective in who it sends a secondary to. So, if you receive a secondary from the UCSD admissions committee, that means they are interested in you! Start on the UCSD secondary sooner rather than later, and do not put this off until the last secondary essay. UCSD typically has a one-month deadline from the date you receive the secondary application.
Dr. Rachel Rizal and Dr. Rishi Mediratta team has a track record of helping our mentees receive acceptances to UC San Diego School of Medicine year after year. We have several students who are currently attending medical school there right now! Get our help with submitting a strong UCSD secondary application with our secondary essay editing.
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UC San Diego Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2023 – 2024
UC San Diego School of Medicine MD Essays
- Autobiographical Sketch: This should be a true autobiographical statement. Topics to be included are family, childhood, primary and secondary school years, undergraduate years, and, if applicable, what you’ve done since completing your bachelor’s degree. You should also discuss the motivational factors which led you to a career in medicine, including any disadvantages or obstacles which might put your accomplishments into context. A repeat of your AMCAS statement will not be acceptable. (6,000 characters max)
Please note: If you are applying to the MD/PhD program, please include why you are specifically interested in seeking MD/PhD training at UCSD. - Possible Career Pathway: Some medical school applicants are already focused on pursuing a particular career pathway in medicine. While many students will change from this pathway during medical school, knowing of your potential interests does help us to assign interviewers. Your choice below does not influence how the Admissions Committee selects students to interview. (400 characters max)
Please select from one of career pathways listed below. In addition to this selection, please provide a brief description of your future career goals:- Academic Medicine (Working as a faculty member at a School of Medicine either as a clinician, a clinician-educator, or a clinician investigator. This could be in any field of medicine)
- Primary Care and/or work in underserved communities (Working as a general internist, a pediatrician, or a family medicine physician and/or spending the majority of your time working in a community currently underserved by the medical profession)
- Public Health, administrative leadership in medicine (Pursuing an MPH and/or working for a public health department or organization; working in health care policy; working as a hospital administrator)
- Specialist in private practice (Working in a private practice or managed care setting as a sub-specialist. Examples include cardiologist, infectious disease specialist, obstetrician, orthopedic surgeon, general surgeon, anesthesiologist, radiologist)
- Other/undecided
- Optional: On your AMCAS Application, you were asked to identify your three “most meaningful” experiences. These activities have been auto-filled in your secondary application. In addition to the information you provided on the AMCAS application, we would like to know if there are any additional activities you would consider among your most meaningful. This may include activities that you’ve already completed but couldn’t include as you were limited to three selections on the AMCAS application, or it may include a new activity that began after your initial AMCAS application was submitted. Use the “Add” button below to enter a new activity. We would also like to know if a letter of recommendation has been submitted on your behalf by somebody you worked with through this experience. If you do not have a letter from this experience, simply type N/A. This information allows Admissions Committee members reviewing your application to more readily match your letters to your experiences and thus facilitates the review of your application. DO NOT LIST ANY ACTIVITY MORE THAN ONCE. (100 character description for each activity you add)
- Optional: Please describe how educational disparity, health disparity and/or marginalization has impacted you and your community? (4,800 characters max)
UC San Diego School of Medicine PRIME-HEq Essays
- Please describe your interest in the PRIME-HEq program. Topics to include are longitudinal experiences that you’ve had with underserved communities, including the type of community that you’ve worked with and your level of involvement. Additionally, you should discuss the length of time that you’ve spent working in these communities. (4,800 characters max)
- Please describe your interest in the PRIME-HEq program. Topics to include are longitudinal experiences that you’ve had with underserved communities, including the type of community that you’ve worked with and your level of involvement. Additionally, you should discuss the length of time that you’ve spent working in these communities. (4,800 characters max)
UC San Diego School of Medicine Global Health Academic Concentration Essays
- Please describe your interest in Global Health. The term Global Health can have many meanings; for our purposes, we find the definition provided by Koplan et. al. in their 2009 Lancet publication useful: “the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide”. In your essay, be sure to describe any personal or professional experiences that have shaped your interests, and how Global Health issues have influenced your decision to pursue a career in medicine. (4,800 characters max)
UC San Diego School of Medicine Global Health Academic Concentration Essays
- Please describe your experiences with American Indian and Alaskan Native communities, including the type of community and your level of involvement. Please provide the length of time you spent working in or exposed to these communities. Be sure to detail any personal or professional experiences that have shaped your interests, and how American Indian and Alaskan Native issues have influenced your decision to pursue a career in medicine. Finally, please delineate how completion of the PRIME-TIDE program will help you obtain your medical education goals. (4,800 characters max)
UC San Diego School of Medicine PRIME TIDE (Transforming Indigenous Doctor Education)
- Please describe your experiences with American Indian and Alaskan Native communities, including the type of community and your level of involvement. Please provide the length of time you spent working in or exposed to these communities. Be sure to detail any personal or professional experiences that have shaped your interests, and how American Indian and Alaskan Native issues have influenced your decision to pursue a career in medicine. Finally, please delineate how completion of the PRIME-TIDE program will help you obtain your medical education goals. (4,800 characters max)
Tips to Answer UCSD Secondary Essays
UCSD Secondaries Pre-Writing Guidance: We would not pre-write your UCSD secondaries because not every applicant receives a UCSD secondary. However, once you receive the UCSD secondary application, time is ticking, as there is usually a 1-month deadline. This is also a hard secondary to stand out so contact us if you have questions or want us to help you edit your UCSD secondary.
UCSD Secondary Tip #1: Fill your UCSD autobiographical sketch with stories. Choose times in your life that are important to YOU. Writing the UCSD autobiographical sketch is similar to writing a personal statement.
- Read out HIGH-YIELD blog post that we created to help students answer the UCSD autobiography: How To Write An Autobiography For Medical School
UCSD Secondary Tip #2: Read our blog post on “How to Get Into UCSD Medical School” to learn more about UCSD’s curriculum and opportunities. From our experiences, UCSD medical students typically have some commonalities in their backgrounds: 1) Strong research background 2) Strong academics (had high GPAs and/or MCAT scores) 3) Many applicants are from California, but UC San Diego School of Medicine is increasingly recruiting top out-of-state applicants 4) Medical students interested in health disparities, particularly among Mexican immigrant populations (since UCSD is right at the United States-Mexico border!) 5) Medical students with computer science / innovation / artificial intelligence backgrounds 6) Students with ample clinical experiences related to the field of medicine, practice setting, and type of physician they want to be in their future careers.
- Learn more about UCSD Medical School’s curriculum and culture in our researched UCSD Medical School Profile.
UCSD Secondary Tip #3: Make sure to convey “why medicine” in your UCSD autobiographical sketch. This essay should complement your personal statement – it is OKAY to have similar themes and interests in your AMCAS personal statement and UCSD autobiographical sketch.
UCSD Secondary Tip #4: A strong UCSD autobiographical sketch includes “Why UCSD” at the end. You should be able to tie your experiences together in a cohesive narrative, and then write how UCSD will help you become the physician you want to be by the end of the autobiographical sketch.
UCSD Secondary Tip #5: For the UCSD secondaries question about your career goals, choose a specialty that relates to your previous extra-curricular activities. For example, if you’ve done a lot of public health or community health, don’t be shy to pick public health.
UCSD Secondary Tip #6: We know the autobiography is super long, and the last thing you want to do is write more essays. HOWEVER, if the additional essays pertain to you, you should write them! Many students do live around healthcare disparities and about 50% of the students we’ve coached through our application packages have added 1-2 more most meaningful activities.
UCSD Secondary Tip #7: As we stressed above, don’t wait last minute to work on the UC San Diego secondary application. We can help you with these tough secondary essays through our secondary essay packages.
[Read More Secondary Essay Tips: University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA); University of Southern California (USC); University of California – Irvine (UCI); University of California – San Francisco (UCSF) ]
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UC San Diego Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2022 – 2023
UC San Diego School of Medicine MD Essays
- Autobiographical Sketch: This should be a true autobiographical statement. Topics to be included are family, childhood, primary and secondary school years, undergraduate years, and, if applicable, what you’ve done since completing your bachelor’s degree. You should also discuss the motivational factors which led you to a career in medicine including any disadvantages or obstacles which might put your accomplishments into context. A repeat of your AMCAS primary application statement will not be acceptable. (6,000 characters max)
Please note: If you are applying to the MD/PhD program, please include why you are specifically interested in seeking MD/PhD training at UCSD. - Possible Career Pathway: Some medical school applicants are already focused on pursuing a particular career pathway in medicine. While many students will change from this pathway during medical school, knowing of your potential interests does help us to assign interviewers. Your choice below does not influence how the Admissions Committee selects students to interview.
Please select from one of career pathways listed below. In addition to this selection, please provide a brief description of your future career goals:- Academic Medicine (Working as a faculty member at a School of Medicine either as a clinician, a clinician-educator, or a clinician investigator. This could be in any field of medicine)
- Primary Care and/or work in underserved communities (Working as a general internist, a pediatrician, or a family medicine physician and/or spending the majority of your time working in a community currently underserved by the medical profession)
- Public Health, administrative leadership in medicine (Pursuing an MPH and/or working for a public health department or organization; working in health care policy; working as a hospital administrator)
- Specialist in private practice (Working in a private practice or managed care setting as a sub-specialist. Examples include cardiologist, infectious disease specialist, obstetrician, orthopedic surgeon, general surgeon, anesthesiologist, radiologist)
- Other/undecided
- (If applicable) If you are an out-of-state applicant, please let us know if there are specific reasons for your interest in the UCSD School of Medicine (1000 characters)
- Do you consider yourself to be a member of a group that is marginalized in a way that systemically affects access to quality education or healthcare?(Y/N) if Yes, Please describe how educational disparity, health disparity and/or marginalization has impacted you and your community? (4,800 characters max)
UC San Diego School of Medicine PRIME-HEq Essays
- Please describe your interest in the PRIME-HEq program. Topics to include are longitudinal experiences that you’ve had with underserved communities, including the type of community that you’ve worked with and your level of involvement. Additionally, you should discuss the length of time that you’ve spent working in these communities. (4,800 characters max)
- Please describe your interest in the PRIME-HEq program. Topics to include are longitudinal experiences that you’ve had with underserved communities, including the type of community that you’ve worked with and your level of involvement. Additionally, you should discuss the length of time that you’ve spent working in these communities. (4,800 characters max)
UC San Diego School of Medicine Global Health Academic Concentration Essays
- Please describe your interest in Global Health. The term Global Health can have many meanings; for our purposes, we find the definition provided by Koplan et. al. in their 2009 Lancet publication useful: “the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide”. In your essay, be sure to describe any personal or professional experiences that have shaped your interests, and how Global Health issues have influenced your decision to pursue a career in medicine. (4,800 characters max)
UC San Diego School of Medicine Global Health Academic Concentration Essays
- Please describe your experiences with American Indian and Alaskan Native communities, including the type of community and your level of involvement. Please provide the length of time you spent working in or exposed to these communities. Be sure to detail any personal or professional experiences that have shaped your interests, and how American Indian and Alaskan Native issues have influenced your decision to pursue a career in medicine. Finally, please delineate how completion of the PRIME-TIDE program will help you obtain your medical education goals. (4,800 characters max)
UC San Diego School of Medicine PRIME TIDE (Transforming Indigenous Doctor Education)
- Please describe your experiences with American Indian and Alaskan Native communities, including the type of community and your level of involvement. Please provide the length of time you spent working in or exposed to these communities. Be sure to detail any personal or professional experiences that have shaped your interests, and how American Indian and Alaskan Native issues have influenced your decision to pursue a career in medicine. Finally, please delineate how completion of the PRIME-TIDE program will help you obtain your medical education goals. (4,800 characters max)
UC San Diego Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2021 – 2022
- Autobiographical Sketch: This should be a true autobiographical statement. Topics to be included are family, childhood, primary and secondary school years, undergraduate years, and, if applicable, what you’ve done since completing your bachelor’s degree. You should also discuss the motivational factors which led you to a career in medicine including any disadvantages or obstacles which might put your accomplishments into context. A repeat of your AMCAS primary application personal statement will not be acceptable. (6,000 characters max)
Please note: If you are applying to the MD/PhD program, please include why you are specifically interested in seeking MD/PhD training at UCSD. - Possible Career Pathway: Some medical school applicants are already focused on pursuing a particular career pathway in medicine. While many students will change from this pathway during medical school, knowing of your potential interests does help us to assign interviewers. Your choice below does not influence how the Admissions Committee selects students to interview.
Please select from one of career pathways listed below. In addition to this selection, please provide a brief description of your future career goals:- Academic Medicine (Working as a faculty member at a School of Medicine either as a clinician, a clinician-educator, or a clinician investigator. This could be in any field of medicine)
- Primary Care and/or work in underserved communities (Working as a general internist, a pediatrician, or a family medicine physician and/or spending the majority of your time working in a community currently underserved by the medical profession)
- Public Health, administrative leadership in medicine (Pursuing an MPH and/or working for a public health department or organization; working in health care policy; working as a hospital administrator)
- Specialist in private practice (Working in a private practice or managed care setting as a sub-specialist. Examples include cardiologist, infectious disease specialist, obstetrician, orthopedic surgeon, general surgeon, anesthesiologist, radiologist)
- Other/undecided
UC San Diego Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2020 – 2021
- Autobiographical Sketch: This should be a true autobiographical statement. Topics to be included are family, childhood, primary and secondary school years, undergraduate years, and, if applicable, what you’ve done since completing your bachelor’s degree. You should also discuss the motivational factors which led you to a career in medicine, including any disadvantages or obstacles which might put your accomplishments into context. A repeat of your AMCAS statement will not be acceptable. (6,000 characters max)
- Experiences: The three experiences you identified as “most meaningful” on your AMCAS Application are listed below.
We would also like to know if you have had any NEW experiences that you would consider among your “most meaningful” (i.e. experiences you’ve had in the time between submitting your application to AMCAS and working on the secondary application).
Adding new experiences is optional. You can add new activities using the fields below. A corresponding letter of recommendation for the new experience is not required.
Please enter “N/A” in the “Author of corresponding letter of recommendation” field if you do not have a letter. If you do not have any new activities to add, you can simply click “Save and Continue” at the bottom of the page and this section of the application will be marked as complete. (100 characters max) - Possible Career Pathway: Some medical school applicants are already focused on pursuing a particular career pathway in medicine. While many students will change from this pathway during medical school, knowing of your potential interests does help us to assign interviewers. Your choice below does not influence how the Admissions Committee selects students to interview.
Please select from one of career pathways listed below. In addition to this selection, please provide a brief description of your future career goals (400 characters max):- Academic Medicine (Working as a faculty member at a School of Medicine either as a clinician, a clinician-educator, or a clinician investigator. This could be in any field of medicine)
- Primary Care and/or work in underserved communities (Working as a general internist, a pediatrician, or a family medicine physician and/or spending the majority of your time working in a community currently underserved by the medical profession)
- Public Health, administrative leadership in medicine (Pursuing an MPH and/or working for a public health department or organization; working in health care policy; working as a hospital administrator)
- Specialist in private practice (Working in a private practice or managed care setting as a sub-specialist. Examples include cardiologist, infectious disease specialist, obstetrician, orthopedic surgeon, general surgeon, anesthesiologist, radiologist)
- Other/undecided
UC San Diego Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2019 – 2020
- Autobiographical Sketch: This should be a true autobiographical statement. Topics to be included are family, childhood, primary and secondary school years, undergraduate years, and, if applicable, what you’ve done since completing your bachelor’s degree. You should also discuss the motivational factors which led you to a career in medicine, including any disadvantages or obstacles which might put your accomplishments into context. A repeat of your AMCAS statement will not be acceptable. (6,000 characters max)
- (Optional) Prime-HEq: Please describe your interest in the PRIME-HEq program. Topics to include are longitudinal experiences that you’ve had with underserved communities, including the type of community that you’ve worked with and your level of involvement. Additionally, you should discuss the length of time that you’ve spent working in these communities. (4,800 characters max)
- (Optional) Global Health Academic Concentration: Please describe your interest in Global Health. The term Global Health can have many meanings; for our purposes, we find the definition provided by Koplan et. al. in their 2009 Lancet publication useful: “the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide”. In your essay, be sure to describe any personal or professional experiences that have shaped your interests, and how Global Health issues have influenced your decision to pursue a career in medicine. (4,800 characters max)
- (Optional) MAS in Clinical Research: Please describe your interest in the MAS-Clinical Research program. Topics to include are your previous experience with clinical and/or translational research, your role within the research group, and what you envision for a career that includes clinical and/or translational research. A letter of recommendation from the individual supervising your previous experience is helpful but not required. (4,800 characters max)
- Possible Career Pathway: Please select from one of career pathways listed below. In addition to this selection, please provide a brief description of your future career goals (400 characters max):
- Primary Care and/or work in underserved communities (Working as a general internist, a pediatrician, or a family medicine physician and/or spending the majority of your time working in a community currently underserved by the medical profession)
- Public Health, administrative leadership in medicine (Pursuing an MPH and/or working for a public health department or organization; working in health care policy; working as a hospital administrator)
- Specialist in private practice (Working in a private practice or managed care setting as a sub-specialist. Examples include cardiologist, infectious disease specialist, obstetrician, orthopedic surgeon, general surgeon, anesthesiologist, radiologist)
- Other/undecided
UC San Diego Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2018 – 2019
- Autobiographical Sketch: This should be a true autobiographical statement. Topics to be included are family, childhood, primary and secondary school years, undergraduate years, and, if applicable, what you’ve done since completing your bachelor’s degree. You should also discuss the motivational factors which led you to a career in medicine including any disadvantages or obstacles which might put your accomplishments into context. A repeat of your AMCAS statement will not be acceptable.
Please note: if you are applying to the MD/PhD program, please include why you are specifically interested in seeking MD/PhD training at UCSD. - (Optional) Please describe your interest in the PRIME-HEq program. Topics to include are longitudinal experiences that you’ve had with underserved communities, including the type of community that you’ve worked with and your level of involvement. Additionally, you should discuss the length of time that you’ve spent working in these communities.
- (Optional) Global Health Academic Concentration: Please describe your interest in Global Health. The term Global Health can have many meanings; for our purposes, we find the definition provided by Koplan et. al. in their 2009 Lancet publication useful: “the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide”. In your essay, be sure to describe any personal or professional experiences that have shaped your interests, and how Global Health issues have influenced your decision to pursue a career in medicine.
- (Optional) Please describe your interest in the MAS-Clinical Research program. Topics to include are your previous experience with clinical and/or translational research, your role within the research group, and what you envision for a career that includes clinical and/or translational research. A letter of recommendation from the individual supervising your previous experience is helpful but not required.
UC San Diego Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2017 – 2018
- Autobiographical Sketch: This should be a true autobiographical statement. Topics to be included are family, childhood, primary and secondary school years, undergraduate years, and, if applicable, what you’ve done since completing your bachelor’s degree. You should also discuss the motivational factors which led you to a career in medicine, including any disadvantages or obstacles which might put your accomplishments into context. A repeat of your AMCAS statement will not be acceptable. (6,000 characters max)
- (If Applicable) Please describe your interest in the PRIME-HEq program. Topics to include are longitudinal experiences that you’ve had with underserved communities, including the type of community that you’ve worked with and your level of involvement. Additionally, you should discuss the length of time that you’ve spent working in these communities. (4,800 characters max)
- (If Applicable) Please describe your interest in Global Health. The term Global Health can have many meanings; for our purposes, we find the definition provided by Koplan et. al. in their 2009 Lancet publication useful: “the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide”. In your essay, be sure to describe any personal or professional experiences that have shaped your interests, and how Global Health issues have influenced your decision to pursue a career in medicine. (4,800 characters max)
- (If Applicable) Please describe your interest in the MAS-Clinical Research program. Topics to include are your previous experience with clinical and/or translational research, your role within the research group, and what you envision for a career that includes clinical and/or translational research. A letter of recommendation from the individual supervising your previous experience is helpful but not required. (4,800 characters max)
- (If Applicable) Have you been convicted of a crime/arrested? If yes, provide details concerning the date and place of arrest, the nature of the offense and the sentence and/or fine imposed. (500 characters max)
UC San Diego Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2016 – 2017
- Autobiographical Sketch: This should be a true autobiographical statement. Topics to be included are family, childhood, primary and secondary school years, undergraduate years, and, if applicable, what you’ve done since completing your bachelor’s degree. You should also discuss the motivational factors which led you to a career in medicine, including any disadvantages or obstacles which might put your accomplishments into context. A repeat of your AMCAS statement will not be acceptable. (6,000 characters max)
UC San Diego Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2015 – 2016
- Autobiographical Sketch: This should be a true autobiographical statement. Topics to be included are family, childhood, primary and secondary school years, undergraduate years, and, if applicable, what you’ve done since completing your bachelor’s degree. You should also discuss the motivational factors which led you to a career in medicine, including any disadvantages or obstacles which might put your accomplishments into context. A repeat of your AMCAS statement will not be acceptable. (6,000 characters max)
UC San Diego Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2014 – 2015
- Autobiographical Sketch: This should be a true autobiographical statement. Topics to be included are family, childhood, primary and secondary school years, undergraduate years, and, if applicable, what you’ve done since completing your bachelor’s degree. You should also discuss the motivational factors which led you to a career in medicine, including any disadvantages or obstacles which might put your accomplishments into context. A repeat of your AMCAS statement will not be acceptable. (6,000 characters max)