Vanderbilt School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts

Vanderbilt Secondary Essays: Essay Prompts & Tips

Vanderbilt University Secondary Application Essay Prompts by Year
    Add a header to begin generating the table of contents

    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

    1. 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)
    2. 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)
    3. 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)
    4. (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)
    5. . 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. 

    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.

    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.

    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.

    Dr. Rachel Rizal

    Rachel Rizal, M.D.

    Changing the trajectory of people’s lives

    Undergraduate
    Princeton University, cum laude

    Medical School
    Stanford School of Medicine

    Residency
    Harvard, Emergency Medicine

    Awards & Scholarships
    Fulbright Scholar
    USA Today Academic First Team
    Tylenol Scholarship

    Dr. Rishi Mediratta

    Rishi Mediratta, M.D., M.Sc., M.A.

    Advising students to attend their dream schools

    Undergraduate
    Johns Hopkins University, Phi Beta Kappa

    Medical School
    Stanford School of Medicine

    Residency
    Stanford, Pediatrics

    Awards & Scholarships
    Marshall Scholar
    Tylenol Scholarship
    Global Health Scholar

    stand out from other applicants with our secondary essay edit packages

    download your secondary Essay Guide

    Use this essay guide and workbook to write standout secondaries.

    Secondary Essay Guide
    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    Vanderbilt School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2023 – 2024

    1. 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)
    2. 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)
    3. 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)
    4. (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)
    5. (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

    1. 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)
    2. 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)
    3. 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)
    4. (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)
    5. (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.

    Stand Out From Other Applicants

    Why Choose Us?

    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

    1. 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)
    2. 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)
    3. 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)
    4. (Optional) If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (200 words max)
    5. (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

    1. 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)
    2. 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

    1. 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)
    2. 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)
    3. An additional section for MD-PhD applicants to list pubs, presentations, and abstracts.

    Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2018 – 2019

    1. 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)
    2. 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

    1. 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)
    2. 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

    1. 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)
    2. 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)
    We'll answer any and all your questions about medical school! We typically respond within 1 business day.
    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
    Scroll to Top