The University of Utah secondary application reflects on the medical school’s values. The admissions committee wants to recruit a diverse group of medical school students with varied backgrounds and experiences. Through our Cracking Med School Admissions experiences, we’ve seen that the University of Utah favors students who have or have had affiliations with Utah state. You need a compelling “Why University of Utah.” Read more of our University of Utah secondary application tips below.
The prompts for the University of Utah secondary application change each year, so we would not recommend you to pre-write this. However, please note that there is a two-week deadline once your receive the official University of Utah Medical School secondary application.
Our Cracking Med School Admissions team can help you submit strong University of Utah School of Medicine secondary essays through our secondary essay editing.
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University of Utah Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2024 – 2025
University of Utah Secondary Application: MD Application Essays
Note: The essay prompts changed from last year’s application
- What motivates you to pursue and complete your medical education at the SFESOM mission-driven, medical doctor program? (300 words max)
Describe how access to healthcare has impacted you, your community, and/or communities you have served? What might be some viable solutions? (300 words max)
There is an additional essay if you’ve participated in any of the Utah Pathways programs
Please share more about your experience in the pathway program(s) and how these experience(s) have helped you prepare for medical school. (300 words max)
Please note that AFTER YOU SUBMIT YOUR SECONDARY, no further updates are accepted to your application.
University of Utah Secondary Application: RUUTE Scholars Essay Prompts
- According to your experiences, what does rural and underserved mean to you? (200 words max)
- How would participation in RUUTE help you fulfill your career aspirations? (150 words max)
- Why do you believe this program will be a good fit for you? (150 words max)
University of Utah Secondary Application: Population Health Program Essay Prompts
- Please share your interest in the Population Health Program (no word count limit)
- What are your career interests and future professional goals? (no word count limit)
- Please describe how you have demonstrated commitment to Population Health concepts during your academic and professional experiences: (no word count limit)
- What does Population Health mean to you and how do you plan on implementing it into your future education and professional career? (no word count limit)
Tips to Answer University of Utah Medical School Secondaries
University of Utah Medical School Secondary Application Tip #1: It is extremely important to convey University of Utah School of Medicine in your secondary application. That’s why it’s the University of Utah Medical School secondary application’s essay #1!
- Read our HIGH-YIELD blog post Why this Medical School? Secondary Essay Example for more tips on how to answer “Why University of Utah School of Medicine.”
- Read more about the University of Utah Medical School pathways here.
University of Utah Medical School Secondary Application Tip #2: The strongest University of Utah medical school secondary applications we have read are ones in which the applicant tells stories. We think you can write stories about patient care or community work in all of the MD essays.
University of Utah Medical School Secondary Application Tip #3: RUUTE scholars are part of the Rural & Underserved Utah Training Experience curriculum. It is important to discuss your interests in rural medicine and the underserved. To answer the University of Utah RUUTE Scholars essays strongly, you should write about your experience with working in rural areas and with underserved communities. As stated in our other tips, it is important to tell stories. In this case, we would tell at least one story of a clinical experience in a rural setting. Additionally, if you want to discuss other individuals or personal experiences living in rural areas, that would make you a strong candidate. Finally, you should convey your aspirations and vision to work in rural Utah or underserved areas of Utah.
University of Utah Medical School Secondary Application Tip #4: If you are a re-applicant, it’s very important to discuss the following in the re-applicant essay:
- Reflections about why your application was not as strong last cycle.
- How you addressed the weaknesses.
- Clinical opportunities you’ve improved. Reflect on what you learned about patient care.
- Any activities (clinical experiences, extracurricular activities, volunteering) that you have completed in Utah since the time of your previous application.
University of Utah Medical School Secondary Application Tip #5: Get our help to edit your University of Utah secondary application essays. We can help you through our secondary essay packages. Have questions about how you can stand out? Contact us below.
[Read Other Secondary Essay Tips: University of Colorado, University of Vermont, University of Washington]
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University of Utah Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2023 – 2024
University of Utah Secondary Application: MD Application Essays
Note: The essay prompts changed from last year’s application
- Tell us why you are interested in pursuing a career in medicine at the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine. How does our program align with your personal and professional goals? What can you contribute to our exceptional learning experience? (300 words max)
- Describe how health disparities have impacted you, your community, and/or the communities you have served? What lessons have you learned and how do you plan to use this knowledge to address health equity as a medical student at our program and as a future physician? (300 words max)
- (If applicable – re-applicants) Upon reflection and self-assessment, please share with us your areas of demonstrated growth since your previous application. Please highlight examples of your continued commitment to medicine. (300 words max)
University of Utah Secondary Application: RUUTE Scholars Essay Prompts
- According to your experiences, what does rural and underserved mean to you? (200 words max)
- How would participation in RUUTE help you fulfill your career aspirations? (150 words max)
- Why do you believe this program will be a good fit for you? (150 words max)
University of Utah Secondary Application: Population Health Program Essay Prompts
- Please share your interest in the Population Health Program (no word count limit)
- What are your career interests and future professional goals? (no word count limit)
- Please describe how you have demonstrated commitment to Population Health concepts during your academic and professional experiences: (no word count limit)
- What does Population Health mean to you and how do you plan on implementing it into your future education and professional career? (no word count limit)
University of Utah Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2022 – 2023
University of Utah Secondary Application: MD Application Essays
Note: The essay prompts changed from last year’s application
- n 2019 the UUSOM began a strategic transformation process to emphasize community, relationships, and professionalism in the learning culture. How does our program align with your career goals? How will you contribute to this learning culture? (150 words max)
- The School of Medicine aims to create a culture of inclusion and anti-racism in health education and healthcare delivery. How have you promoted or advocated for health equity in your experiences? How do you envision contributing to the UUSOM and the communities we serve? (150 words max)
- Reflecting on the past few years of the pandemic, what has the impact of COVID-19 been on you and/or your community? What lessons have you learned about yourself? (150 words max)
University of Utah Secondary Application: RUUTE Scholars Essay Prompts
- According to your experiences, what does rural and underserved mean to you? (200 words max)
- How would participation in RUUTE help you fulfill your career aspirations? (150 words max)
- Why do you believe this program will be a good fit for you? (150 words max)
University of Utah Secondary Application: Population Health Program Essay Prompts
- Please share your interest in the Population Health Program (no word count limit)
- What are your career interests and future professional goals? (no word count limit)
- Please describe how you have demonstrated commitment to Population Health concepts during your academic and professional experiences: (no word count limit)
- What does Population Health mean to you and how do you plan on implementing it into your future education and professional career? (no word count limit)
University of Utah Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2021 – 2022
- Explain why you are choosing to apply to the University of Utah School of Medicine. (200 words max)
- Please use the space below for anything you wish to discuss related to the COVID-19 public health crisis (200 words max). Possible topics might include:
- Share any disruptions in your academic, volunteer, work, and/or personal life related to COVID-19 that you would like the Admissions Committee to consider.
- What was one of your biggest lessons learned about yourself and how this lesson effected your outlook on the role of medicine?
- Share creative ways in which you were able to serve your community during the crisis.
- What hardships have you faced as a result of the global pandemic
- What does health equity mean to you? Please comment on your personal commitment and attributes towards your definition of health equity and how it will impact the future of medicine. (200 words max)
RUUTE Scholars
- According to your experiences, what does rural and underserved mean to you? (200 words max)
- How would participation in RUUTE help you fulfill your career aspirations? (150 words max)
- Why do you believe this program will be a good fit for you? (150 words max)
University of Utah Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2020 - 2021
- For non-Utah residents: Explain why you chose to apply to the University of Utah School of Medicine. Please indicate if you have a connection to the state of Utah. (1,000 characters max)
- If you are interested in becoming a RUUTE Scholar: What does rural and underserved mean to you? (3,300 characters max)
- (Optional) Explain how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted you. You may use this space to reflect upon your experiences during this time period. (1,500 characters max)
- If you are a reapplicant: Explain what you have done to strengthen your application. (500 characters max)
- If you marked that you will not be enrolled in courses from 2020-2021, explain your activities. (1,000 characters max)
University of Utah Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2019 – 2020
- The Admissions Committee will evaluate your application based on your participation in the activities listed below. Describe your involvement in each of the recommended activities. (300 characters max for each prompt)
Recommended Activities- Community/Volunteer Service
- Leadership
- Research
- Physician Shadowing
- Patient Exposure
University of Utah Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2018 – 2019
There were no essay prompts for the 2018-2019 cycle.
University of Utah Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2017 – 2018
There were no essay prompts for the 2017-2018 cycle.
University of Utah Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2016 – 2017
There were no essay prompts for the 2016-2017 cycle.
University of Utah Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2015 – 2016
- The essay question is an opportunity for you to present yourself and your motivations for pursuing a career in medicine to the Admissions Committee. Please describe the concept of professionalism. (2,000 characters max)
University of Utah Medical School
Secondary Application Questions: 2014 – 2015
- Tell us about a difficult or challenging situation that you have encountered and how you dealt with it. In your response, identify both the coping skills that you called upon to resolve the dilemma and the support person(s) from whom you sought advice.
- At the University of Utah School of Medicine, we are committed to building a superb educational community with students of diverse talents, experiences, and opinions. What would you as an individual bring to our medical school community?