Medical Penn State College of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Tips

Penn State College of Medicine offers accelerated programs for students interested in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Orthopedics, Emergency Medicine and Neurosurgery to complete their training in three years. It provides an interdisciplinary training environment for students from their medical school, physician assistant program and nursing school to train together. Through its Global Exchange Program, students can train at international sites in India, Ghana, Taiwan and other countries. Their school is currently unranked by U.S. News & World Report. The secondary application consists of four required essays.

Penn State College of Medicine 2018-19 Secondary Application Essay Questions:
Penn State College of Medicine Essay #1
Is there a unique aspect of your application that should be considered by the admissions committee? (Maximum 75 words)

This type of question can be difficult to answer, if you’re not sure what is unique about you or your application. Review your primary application and make a list. Take some time to identify anything unusual about your upbringing, life, hobbies, skills or other areas that would explain why you would be an excellent physician. If possible, it would be best to find something that you have not already covered extensively in your application. If that is not possible, cover this information from a different angle than you did in the primary. If you are stumped, you are welcome to contact me or one of my colleagues at Accepted for more help.

Penn State College of Medicine Essay #2
Explain why you decided to apply to the Penn State College of Medicine. (Maximum 75 words)

Take some time to review Penn State’s website, mission statement and values:

“Mission: Penn State College of Medicine is committed to enhancing the quality of life through improved health, the professional preparation of those who will serve the health needs of others, and the discovery of knowledge that will benefit all.”

“Values: Respect, Integrity, Teamwork and Excellence”

Make a list of reasons as you review their curriculum and quick facts. Rank your list, based on the level of your interest. Use this list as an outline to answer the prompt, starting with the least important reasons and ending with the most important reason. Be honest.

Penn State College of Medicine Essay #3
Please write a short paragraph describing a significant experience you have had working in a team setting. (Maximum 250 words)

Use a recent experience that has a clearly positive outcome as a direct result of your teamwork. You can use anything from team sport accomplishments to research publications. Many different situations could potentially work as a response for this essay as long as you focus on the team aspects of your success.

Penn State College of Medicine Essay #4
Briefly describe an experience where you had to navigate a complex system (e.g. personal experience, group activity, or development of a project) to achieve an end. Reflect on the qualities and attributes required by you to achieve success in this experience. (Maximum 250 words)

There are many possible ways to approach this essay. Start by making a list of all the times that you have successfully navigated a large and complex system. For example, you could write about any experience you have learning to use computer systems. Medical scribes have to learn how to add information to an electronic medical record system. Writing about learning to use this system and the expertise you gained would work well. After choosing a situation that best fits the prompt, make a list of the qualities and attributes that you relied on to be successful. To write a compelling essay, demonstrate each of these characteristics by showing, not telling.

If you would like professional guidance with your Penn State College of Medicine application materials, check out Accepted’s Medical School Admissions Consulting and Editing Services, which include advising, editing, and interview coaching for PSCOM’s application materials.

Penn State College of Medicine 2018-19 Application Timeline

AMCAS Application Due October 15 (11:59pm EDT)
Secondary Application Due November 15 (11:59pm EST)
Interview Invitations Sent August – January
Admissions Decisions Released March

***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.***

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Alicia McNease Nimonkar is an Accepted advisor and editor specializing in healthcare admissions. Prior to joining Accepted, Alicia worked for five years as Student Advisor at UC Davis’ postbac program where she both evaluated applications and advised students applying successfully to med school and related programs. Want Alicia to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

• The Ultimate Guide to Secondary Essay Questions from Top Medical Schools, a free guide
• Secondary Strategy: Why Do You Want To Go Here?
• How to Write Succinct Secondary Essays
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This article was originally posted on blog.accepted.com.
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