Getting accepted to University of Virginia School of Medicine is hard. Very hard. Submitting an OUTSTANDING UVA Med School secondary application is vital to receiving an interview invite, which ultimately can lead to an acceptance.
UVA gives applicants early interview invitations and they give a batch of acceptances earlier in the application process too. We would strongly recommend that applicants pre-write their UVA secondaries and also submit them early!
Our Cracking Med School Admissions team has a track record of helping our mentees receive acceptances to UVA School of Medicine. Read our UVA secondary essay tips below to learn how to stand out in your UVA secondary application!
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UVA Med School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2023 – 2024
- Please briefly describe how the pandemic impacted your ability to pursue experiences like clinical work, shadowing, research, or community service.
- Please list any and all future activities in clinical work, shadowing, research, or community service that you plan to pursue in the upcoming year.
- Why are you interested in attending the University of Virginia School of Medicine? What factors will be most important to you in choosing a medical school? (350 words max)
- How will you contribute to the diversity of your medical school class and the University of Virginia School of Medicine? (350 words max)
- Describe a situation which you found challenging. How did you manage it? (350 words max)
Tips to Answer UVA Secondary Essays
UVA Secondaries Pre-Writing Guidance: Several of our students received acceptances to University of Virginia School of Medicine in the 2023-2024 application cycle, and we have a strong record of acceptances for the past several years! UVA School of Medicine has not changed its secondary essays for years! UVA gives applicants early interview invitations and they give a batch of acceptances earlier in the application process too. We would strongly recommend that applicants pre-write their UVA secondaries and also submit them early!
This should be one of the first secondaries that you write.
- Download all our HIGH-YIELD tips for secondary essays: Cracking Med School Admissions Secondary Essay Guide
UVA Secondary Essays Tip #1: The University of Virginia is a top medical school and it wants to recruit strong medical students. In order to stand out and get accepted, here are aspects that you should emphasize in your UVA secondaries:
- Abundant clinical experiences
- Desire to be a strong clinician
- Interest in research, specifically that you have experience as an independent researcher who has led a research project or a large aspect of a research project
UVA Secondary Essays Tip #2: Tell stories throughout your UVA secondary application. If applicable, write stories about patient care. You can add a story in every single UVA secondary question.
UVA Secondary Essays Tip #3: For the UVA secondary diversity prompt, diversity does not necessarily mean your ethnic diversity. We recommend students write about their strengths, including exceptional extracurricular activity endeavors.
Many of our students write about research and patients they have helped. Make sure to link the essay to what you want to do in the future.
UVA Secondary Essays Tip #4: For the UVA secondary application 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. UVA is particularly interested in how you will help the Virginia community, so make sure to tie your response to thoughts about how to improve Virginia’s health.
UVA Secondary Essays #5: UVA favors students who have lived or had experiences in the state of Virginia. Write about your affiliations with Virginia! If you have not lived in the state of Virginia, then you can talk about family who live in the vicinity or any visits you made to Virginia. Similar to our last tip, make sure to discuss healthcare current events in Virginia and your aspirations to improve the health of Virginia residents.
UVA Secondary Essays #6: On a related note, the UVA secondaries question “Why are you interested in attending the University of Virginia School of Medicine?” is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. You must convince the admissions committee that you would be a great fit and love to attend the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Be specific in your reasons for wanting to attend UVA School of Medicine. These factors can include: the UVA medical school curriculum, research opportunities, and the location.
Additionally, talk about why studying in Virginia is important for your career. If you have lived in Virginia, discuss ways in which you have already been involved with the Virginia community. Finally, if you plan on staying in Virginia in the long-term, definitely mention it!
- Read our HIGH-YIELD blog post Why this Medical School? Secondary Essay Example for more tips on how to answer “Why University of Virginia School of Medicine.”
UVA Secondary Essays #7: Start early and get our help. UVA secondaries are not too long and should be submitted as early as possible. 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. Several of our students received acceptances to University of Virginia School of Medicine in the 2023-2024 application cycle, and we have a strong record of acceptances for the past several years!
[Read more secondary essay tips: Tufts University School of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, Columbia University Vagelos, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine]
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download your secondary Essay Guide
Use this essay guide and workbook to write standout secondaries.
UVA Med School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2021 – 2022
- Please briefly describe how the pandemic impacted your ability to pursue experiences like clinical work, shadowing, research, or community service.
- Please list any and all future activities in clinical work, shadowing, research, or community service that you plan to pursue in the upcoming year.
- Why are you interested in attending the University of Virginia School of Medicine? What factors will be most important to you in choosing a medical school? (350 words max)
- How will you contribute to the diversity of your medical school class and the University of Virginia School of Medicine? (350 words max)
- Describe a situation which you found challenging. How did you manage it? (350 words max)
UVA Med School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2021 – 2022
- Please briefly describe how the pandemic impacted your ability to pursue experiences like clinical work, shadowing, research, or community service.
- Please list any and all future activities in clinical work, shadowing, research, or community service that you plan to pursue in the upcoming year.
- Why are you interested in attending the University of Virginia School of Medicine? What factors will be most important to you in choosing a medical school? (350 words max)
- How will you contribute to the diversity of your medical school class and the University of Virginia School of Medicine? (350 words max)
- Describe a situation which you found challenging. How did you manage it? (350 words max)
UVA Med School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2020 – 2021
- Why are you interested in attending the University of Virginia School of Medicine? What factors will be most important to you in choosing a medical school? (350 words max)
- How will you contribute to the diversity of your medical school class and the University of Virginia School of Medicine? (350 words max)
- Describe a situation which you found challenging. How did you manage it? (350 words max)
UVA Med School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2019 – 2020
- Why are you interested in attending the University of Virginia School of Medicine? What factors will be most important to you in choosing a medical school? (350 words max)
- How will you contribute to the diversity of your medical school class and the University of Virginia School of Medicine? (350 words max)
- Describe a situation which you found challenging. How did you manage it? (350 words max)
UVA Med School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2018 – 2019
- Why are you interested in attending the University of Virginia School of Medicine? What factors will be most important to you in choosing a medical school? (350 words max)
- How will you contribute to the diversity of your medical school class and the University of Virginia School of Medicine? (350 words max)
- Describe a situation which you found challenging. How did you manage it? (350 words max)
UVA Med School Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2017 – 2018
- Why are you interested in attending the University of Virginia School of Medicine? What factors will be most important to you in choosing a medical school? (350 words max)
- How will you contribute to the diversity of your medical school class and the University of Virginia School of Medicine? (350 words max)
- Describe a situation which you found challenging. How did you manage it? (350 words max)