Each year, Vanderbilt School of Medicine increases in popularity, rankings, and acceptance difficulty. Therefore, it is imperative to submit an OUTSTANDING Vanderbilt School of Medicine secondary application is vital to receiving an interview invite, which ultimately can lead to an acceptance. The Vanderbilt secondary application is among the notoriously difficult medical school applications. Why? the Vandy secondary essays take an extremely long time to write well with the large word limit. Vanderbilt has a popular autobiography prompt – keep reading our Vanderbilt secondary tips down below.
Drs. Rachel Rizal and Rishi Mediratta have a track record of helping our mentees receive acceptances to Vanderbilt School of Medicine year after year. We definitely know what it takes for students to get an interview invite from the Vanderbilt School of Medicine Admissions Committee! If you need help with your essays, contact our Cracking Med School Admissions team!
Finally, learn more details about Vanderbilt’s social life and curriculum in our Vanderbilt Medical School Profile. We did all the research for you!
Vanderbilt School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2024 – 2025
- Please reflect on the upbringing, background, and experiences in your life that have shaped who you are as a person and will help define the person you want to be in the future. In other words, what makes you who you are? (800 words max)
- Tell us about a time when you interacted with someone who is different than you. What did you learn? What would you do differently? (600 words max)
- Everyone needs help at various times in their lives. Describe a time you asked for help and what you gained from that experience that has influenced your approach to asking for help. (600 words max)
- (If Applicable – Gap Year) If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (200 words max)
- . Why are you interested in Vanderbilt University School of Medicine? (200 words max)
Tips to Answer Vanderbilt Medical School Secondary Essays
Vanderbilt Secondary Essays Pre-Writing Guidance: The Vanderbilt School of Medicine secondary application has not changed its prompts in the past couple of years. Therefore, we think this is a great secondary to pre-write! However, Vanderbilt is not a super time-sensitive school, so you don’t have to submit this early. We tell our students to typically submit their Vanderbilt secondary by end of August.
- Download all our HIGH-YIELD tips for secondary essays: Cracking Med School Admissions Secondary Essay Guide
- Read more information about the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine admissions statistics here.
Vanderbilt Secondary Application Tip #1: First, you have to know what Vanderbilt is looking for. The Admissions Committee wants to recruit a student body of passionate medical students who are going to be leaders in medicine and will pioneer medical advances.
Our successful applicants have included the following elements in their Vanderbilt secondaries:
- Creativity and innovation in advancing healthcare
- Appreciation towards broader healthcare issues. They discuss the intersection between healthcare and society.
- Patient stories and ample clinical experience.
- Many, many stories throughout their Vanderbilt University School of Medicine secondary essays.
- Leadership
- Your ideas to improve healthcare in the future. Again, bonus points for innovation, creativity, and broad implications of what you will do to positively impact society.
Contact Drs. Rachel Rizal & Rishi Mediratta below if you have questions about your Vanderbilt secondary application.
Vanderbilt Secondary Application Tip #2: Answer as many questions as possible. Our Cracking Med School Admissions team does not view Vanderbilt School of Medicine secondary questions as optional – unless you haven’t graduated, then you don’t need to answer the first optional question. Therefore, you should discuss something in the COVID-19 pandemic essay. You can discuss both negative and positive aspects of how the pandemic affected you. And, you can discuss your insights about health & society (which we mentioned is important in tip #1)!
Vanderbilt Secondary Application Tip #3: The Vanderbilt autobiography secondary was notorious, and many med school applicants dreaded working on this. Recently, Vanderbilt split its autobiography secondary essay prompt into several questions. Needless to say, Vanderbilt cares deeply about your background and how its influenced your interests in medicine.
- Read our important blog post: How To Write An Autobiography For Medical School.
Vanderbilt Secondary Application Tip #4: Don’t forget to incorporate a little bit about “Why Vanderbilt School of Medicine” throughout the essay(s) you respond to.
- For examples and tips on how to research and write “Why Vanderbilt University School of Medicine,”read our How to Answer “Why this medical school”
- Vandy Med has a rather flexible curriculum and the med students are innovative, creative, and big picture-thinking individuals. Learn more about Vandy’s awesome curriculum and culture in our Vanderbilt Medical School Stats and Profile page.
Vanderbilt Secondary Application Tip #5: Many premedical students ask us for help with editing their Vanderbilt School of Medicine secondary application essays. We can help you through our secondary essay packages. If you have other questions, contact us down below. We’re happy to help! 🙂
[Read Other Secondary Essay Tips: Yale School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Duke University School of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine]
Your medical school application Coaches, Mentors, & Cheerleaders
We Personally Advise Every Student We Work With.

Rachel Rizal, M.D.
Changing the trajectory of people’s lives
Undergraduate
Princeton University, cum laude
Medical School
Stanford School of Medicine
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Harvard, Emergency Medicine
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Rishi Mediratta, M.D., M.Sc., M.A.
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Johns Hopkins University, Phi Beta Kappa
Medical School
Stanford School of Medicine
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Stanford, Pediatrics
Awards & Scholarships
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Global Health Scholar
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Vanderbilt School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2023 – 2024
- Please reflect on the upbringing, background, and experiences in your life that have shaped who you are as a person and will help define the person you want to be in the future. In other words, what makes you who you are? (800 words max)
- Tell us about a time when you interacted with someone who is different than you. What did you learn? What would you do differently? (600 words max)
- Everyone needs help at various times in their lives. Describe a time you asked for help and what you gained from that experience that has influenced your approach to asking for help. (600 words max)
- (If Applicable – Gap Year) If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (200 words max)
- (Optional) If applicable, please describe how the COVID-19 outbreak affected your pathway to medical school. You may discuss any academic, personal, financial, or professional alterations to your plans. NOTE: Disclosing certain hardships or obstacles that have been faced during this time will not negatively affect an application. (200 words max)
Vanderbilt School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2022 – 2023
- Please reflect on the upbringing, background, and experiences in your life that have shaped who you are as a person and will help define the person you want to be in the future. In other words, what makes you who you are? (800 words max)
- Tell us about a time when you interacted with someone who is different than you. What did you learn? What would you do differently? (600 words max)
- Everyone needs help at various times in their lives. Describe a time you asked for help and what you gained from that experience that has influenced your approach to asking for help. (600 words max)
- (If Applicable – Gap Year) If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (200 words max)
- (Optional) If applicable, please describe how the COVID-19 outbreak affected your pathway to medical school. You may discuss any academic, personal, financial, or professional alterations to your plans. NOTE: Disclosing certain hardships or obstacles that have been faced during this time will not negatively affect an application. (200 words max)
Our students successfully receive interviews at their reach schools.
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Why Choose Us?
- Personally Tailored Essays
- Edits by Stanford & Harvard-trained Doctors
- We study your application strengths to see what unique attributes we’ll bring to the medical school
Your acceptance can be just one essay away…
Our students successfully receive interviews at their reach schools.
Vanderbilt School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2021 – 2022
- Please reflect on the upbringing, background, and experiences in your life that have shaped who you are as a person and will help define the person you want to be in the future. In other words, what makes you who you are? (800 words max)
- Tell us about a time when you interacted with someone who is different than you. What did you learn? What would you do differently? (600 words max)
- Everyone needs help at various times in their lives. Describe a time you asked for help and what you gained from that experience that has influenced your approach to asking for help. (600 words max)
- (Optional) If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (200 words max)
- (Optional) If applicable, please describe how the COVID-19 outbreak affected your pathway to medical school. You may discuss any academic, personal, financial, or professional alterations to your plans. NOTE: Disclosing certain hardships or obstacles that have been faced during this time will not negatively affect an application. (200 words max)
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2020 – 2021
- Please discuss a challenging situation or obstacle you have faced in the past. Why was it challenging? How did you handle it? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently? What did you learn? (500 words max)
- Write a brief autobiography. As completely and precisely as possible, give a picture of yourself, your family, and events you consider important to you. In doing so, identify the values that are of greatest importance to you. If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (1,200 words max)
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2019 – 2020
- Write a brief autobiography. As completely and precisely as possible, give a picture of yourself, your family, and events you consider important to you. In doing so, identify the values that are of greatest importance to you. If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (1,200 words max)
- Please discuss a challenging situation or obstacle you have faced in the past. Why was it challenging? How did you handle it? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently? What did you learn? (500 words max)
- An additional section for MD-PhD applicants to list pubs, presentations, and abstracts.
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2018 – 2019
- Write a brief autobiography. As completely and precisely as possible, give a picture of yourself, your family, and events you consider important to you. In doing so, identify the values that are of greatest importance to you. If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (1,200 words max)
- Please discuss a challenging situation or obstacle you have faced in the past. Why was it challenging? How did you handle it? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently? What did you learn? (500 words max)
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2017 – 2018
- Write a brief autobiography. As completely and precisely as possible, give a picture of yourself, your family, and events you consider important to you. In doing so, identify the values that are of greatest importance to you. If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (1,200 words max)
- Please discuss a challenging situation or obstacle you have faced in the past. Why was it challenging? How did you handle it? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently? What did you learn? (500 words max)
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2016 – 2017
- Write a brief autobiography. As completely and precisely as possible, give a picture of yourself, your family, and events you consider important to you. In doing so, identify the values that are of greatest importance to you. If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (1,200 words max)
- Please discuss a challenging situation or obstacle you have faced in the past. Why was it challenging? How did you handle it? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently? What did you learn? (500 words max)