Diversity Secondary Essay Prompts
90 medical schools ask about diversity (103 prompts in all). Each one is below word for word, with its limit, so you can see how the same question changes from school to school.
76 verified for the 2026-2027 cycle; the rest are from an earlier cycle and marked.
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How to answer Diversity prompts
Tell one specific story from your background or a group you have been part of, then say what it lets you notice or do that classmates might not. Show it through what happened rather than adjectives about yourself.
Most common limits: 1500 characters (11), 1000 characters (8), 250 words (8). Write the longest version once, then cut it to each school's limit.
Every Diversity prompt, by school
Collected from public applicant reports. Prompts occasionally change mid cycle, so confirm against your own secondary portal before you submit.
Please describe your personal experiences with the structural and social determinants of health in your life and community, how they shaped your engagement with medicine and your future ideas for doctoring.
1000 charactersTell us about a community with which you identify and how you are involved with it.
1000 charactersWhat unique life experiences, personal attributes and/or perspectives will you bring as part of the incoming class? Are there particular challenges or successes that you have encountered? If you do not wish to write anything, please write "NA."
3000 charactersOptionalThe Admissions Committee evaluates a range of student qualities, characteristics, and life experiences that complement demonstrated academic excellence. What unique qualities or individual lived experiences do you possess that make you uniquely suited to become a physician?
1500 charactersTrust and rapport are essential in your day-to-day interactions with people. How do you cultivate a relationship with a person who may be very different from you?
1500 charactersDescribe an experience where you interacted with a person or people from a different background than you (ability, religion, gender, race, age, socioeconomic status, citizenship/ nationality, sexual orientation).
No stated limitCan you describe any interactions or experiences you've had with individuals from rural communities? In what ways have these experiences influenced your understanding of the unique challenges and needs they face?
250 wordsReflect on a previous experience where you interacted with individuals from a different background than your own. What challenges did this present, if any? How did you demonstrate openness to their perspective? How will the experience influence your approach to patient care in the future?
300 wordsDiversity comes in many forms. How do you think you might contribute to the diversity of the class?
150 wordsDescribe a specific instance in which you experienced or witnessed discrimination. What was the impact on you or others involved? How did this experience shape your understanding of equity, and how will it inform your practice as a physician?
No stated limitThe Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons values a wide array of experiences and perspectives. How will you contribute to this important value of our institution, and how will it inform your future role as a physician?
300 wordsPlease share with us something unique about your pathway to medical school, including any obstacles you may have faced.
1500 charactersOptionalTrust and rapport are essential in your day-to-day interactions with people. How do you build a relationship with a person who may be very different from you?
400 wordsVHS-EVMS at ODU is dedicated to inclusivity and supporting patients and students from diverse backgrounds. Feel free to share your personal experience or ties to communities from diverse backgrounds. If you wish to respond, please explain in detail. Some examples include but are not limited to race/ethnicity, culture, LGBTQ+, differently-abled/disabled, etc.
2000 charactersOptionalIf you would like to discuss how your individual background, perspective, or experience, including any societal or other barriers, have affected your life, through discrimination, inspiration or otherwise, feel free to share your experiences, obstacles overcome, and how this impacted your education and road to applying to medical school.
3000 charactersOptionalDescribe how your experiences and background have influenced the way you approach patient care and communication.
1200 charactersPlease describe the geographic, economic, and social environment in which you were raised. How did these aspects of your upbringing shape who you are today or influence your goals?
500 wordsThe FSU College of Medicine has 6 regional campus locations and 2 rural training sites across the state of Florida, serving multifaceted populations. Describe a time when you engaged with people from backgrounds different from your own. What did you learn from that experience, and how has it influenced the way you interact with populations that have differing values, customs, and life histories?
No stated limitOptionalAt Netter SOM, we value service to each other and others in the community. Please share how you have made efforts to work with people from a different background than you. What did you learn from these efforts?
400 wordsDartmouth values a culture of inquiry and respect and encourages dialogues that harness diversity and openness of thought. Reflect on a situation where you felt different from those around you, or one where your perspective differed from others.
250 wordsWhat makes you a unique individual? What challenges have you faced? What have you learned from your experiences?
750 charactersThe Georgetown University School of Medicine (GUSOM) strives to ensure that its students become respectful physicians, with cultural humility, who embrace all dimensions of caring for the whole person. With our Jesuit values of Cura Personalis, being Men and Women for Others, and Unity in Community, we are steadfast in our commitment to provide care for all. Please describe how your perspectives, values, and individual life experiences will contribute to these GUSOM priorities.
1000 charactersDescribe a time when you engaged with a perspective, culture, or experience different from your own. What did you learn, and how did it influence your personal or professional development?
500 wordsIf there is an important aspect of your experience not addressed elsewhere in the application that may illuminate how you could contribute to the medical school and that you would like to share with the Committee, we invite you to do so here. Examples might include significant challenges in access to education, unusual socioeconomic factors, ideological perspectives, or other experiences that help place your prior academic achievements in context or provide further insight into your motivation for a career in medicine or the perspective you might bring to the medical school community.
No stated limitOptionalIf you are committed to a particular community or if there is an important aspect of your background not addressed elsewhere in the application, we invite you to do so here. Briefly explain how such factors have influenced your motivation for a career in medicine.
150 wordsReflect on an experience from your education or personal background that shaped your understanding of how individual identities, lived experiences, and cultural perspectives influence healthcare. How did this experience shape your perspective, and how might it guide your contributions to IllinoisCOM and the communities you serve and your engagement with the principles and practice of osteopathic medicine?
500 wordsIn 300 words or less, please describe a time when you observed someone being marginalized whether through a subtle remark, a dismissive comment or their perspective being overlooked. How did you respond in the moment and what informed your decision-making? How has this experience influenced your commitment to an inclusive learning environment in medical school?
300 wordsDescribe an interaction that required you to understand or engage with a perspective different from your own. How did you respond and what was the outcome?
250 wordsThe Admissions Committee would like to know more about you. Katz seeks an engaged student body with a wide variety of experiences, perspectives, and interests to enhance the medical school experience for everyone. Please use the space below to describe what makes you unique as an applicant, an obstacle that you had to overcome, or how you will contribute to the Katz community.
2000 charactersReflect on how your professional and lived experiences have shaped your identity. Tell us how these experiences will help you contribute to a collaborative learning environment, support your patients and colleagues, and advance Mayo Clinic's commitment to excellence.
500 wordsExplain to the Admissions Committee experiences, attributes, or qualifications you believe are unique to you that will strengthen the educational environment at MUSM.
230 wordsHighlight any experiences or attributes not covered above that would help the Admissions Committee better understand how your distance traveled to medical school and will contribute to our program or the practice of medicine in Georgia.
230 wordsHow have your personal experiences with, or observations of, systemic inequities shaped your perspective? Moving beyond generalities, describe how this perspective will uniquely influence your approach to patient care and your role in addressing health disparities as a future physician. (Please limit your response to 400 words or less.)
400 wordsConflicts arise daily from differences in perspectives, priorities, worldviews and traditions. How do you define respect? Describe a situation in which you found it challenging to remain respectful while facing differences?
2500 charactersOptionalThe Feinberg School of Medicine values the totality of our students' experiences. As everyone has their own narrative, please describe how your experiences have shaped your interests, preparation for medicine, or perspective on patient care, and how they may contribute to your development with the Northwestern community.
200 wordsAt the NSU MD program, we value the unique perspective that each applicant brings. Identify any traits, life experiences, or interests that a professor or advisor would not normally know about you.
4000 charactersDescribe a time when you stepped outside of your comfort zone to engage with individuals, communities, patient populations, or environments that were unfamiliar to you. What challenges did you encounter and what did you learn about yourself and others?
400 wordsBased on your own experiences or the experiences of family and friends, do you believe that the area in which you grew up was adequately served by the available health care professionals? Were there enough physicians, nurses, hospitals, clinics, and other health care service providers and how did that affect your experience and relationship with health care? Please explain.
4000 charactersIs there a unique aspect of your application that should be considered by the admissions committee?
75 wordsHow would your life experiences contribute to the Perelman and Penn community, and how do they inform your decision to pursue a medical education?
1000 charactersThe Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont recognizes that diversity extends beyond chosen and unchosen identities and encompasses an individual's entire experiences. Diverse environments can promote growth and provide an opportunity for reflection. Reflect on a time you learned something from someone or a group of people who are unlike yourself and how that challenged your preconceptions or biases. How will this experience influence your behavior in the future?
400 wordsWe seek to train physicians who can connect with diverse patient populations with whom they may not share a similar background. Tell us about an experience that has broadened your own worldview or enhanced your ability to understand those unlike yourself and what you learned from it.
No stated limitRush Medical College is located on Chicago's near west side and serves a diverse patient population. We seek to train physicians who can connect with diverse patient populations with whom they may not share a similar background. Tell us about a life experience that has broadened your own world view or enhanced your ability to understand those unlike yourself and what you learned from this experience.
1000 charactersDescribe a meaningful interaction or experience with someone whose background, perspective, or life experiences differed from your own. What did you learn from this experience, and how has it influenced the way you engage with others?
1500 charactersWe value the experiences and perspectives that shape how individuals understand the world and their role in it. Are there aspects of your background, upbringing, or experiences that have influenced your values, perspective, goals, or interest in medicine? If so, please share them here:
1500 charactersOptionalRWJMS strives to matriculate a student body that supports and enriches each other and the learning environment. Please share a life experience, personal attribute, and/or perspective that will help contribute to this learning environment.
250 wordsDescribe a meaningful experience that expanded your viewpoint or deepened your understanding of individuals whose backgrounds, circumstances, or life journeys differ from your own.
1000 charactersHow has your community and/or hometown shaped your values and your pursuit of medicine?
800 charactersSidney Kimmel Medical College defines diversity as the richness in human differences. How will your own experiences allow you to contribute to the diversity of the student body and to provide equitable and inclusive care to your future patients?
2500 charactersTell us about your lived experiences that will make you a better physician? Please limit your response to 300 words or less.
300 wordsDescribe in a short paragraph your educational and family background. E.g., I grew up in New York City, as the 3rd child of a supermarket cashier and a high school principal. I attended Mann High School where my major interests were boxing and drama.
600 characters including spacesHow have your life experiences shaped your perspective on medicine, health, or patient care, and how do you anticipate bringing that perspective into our learning community?
2000 characters including spacesWhat is your experience with diversity, health equity and social justice?
300 wordsHow will you contribute to the diversity of your medical school class and The Norton College of Medicine?
1800 charactersDescribe any personal qualities and/or lived experiences that add context to your application that shape who you are as an individual and aspiring healthcare leader.
250 to 300 wordsAs a physician, you never know what type of patient you will serve. From your past experiences, please describe or highlight factors or situations that demonstrate your ability to work with individuals from multicultural communities.
3500 charactersHow will your unique attributes, life experiences, and interests add to The Warren Alpert Medical School community?
2000 charactersPlease tell us about your journey to medical school and how your background and experiences will positively impact your future as a medical student and physician. If you have experienced personal circumstances or hardships that have helped you develop qualities that you believe will allow you to better serve your future patients and the medical community as a whole, please share those experiences in your response.
1000 charactersDo you identify as being part of a group that has been marginalized (examples include, but are not limited to, LGBTQIA, disabilities, federally recognized tribe) in terms of access to education or healthcare? If you answered "Yes" to question 5, describe how this inequity has impacted you or your community and how educational disparity, health disparity and/or marginalization has impacted you and your community.
800 charactersOptionalTell us about something that is integral to understanding who you are as a person that we would not automatically know from reading your application. These may be things like qualities, characteristics, or events you feel are unique to your life experience. You could address personally important and/or challenging experiences in your background that have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine and service to others. These may include experiences such as the quality of your early educational environment, socioeconomic status, cultural background, or other significant events or circumstances that you feel have shaped your character and defined you as an individual.
4000 charactersPlease describe how your experiences have shaped your approach to creating welcoming, respectful, and collaborative environments for all your future patients.
300 wordsThe Univeristy of Connecticut School Of Medicine realizes that each applicant brings a unique perspective from a broad range of experiences that have been influential in leading to a career in medicine. How will your own life experiences and unique identity enhance the UConn SoM classroom and community?
1800 charactersUI COM thrives when students bring a variety of perspectives, values, and ways of thinking to the learning environment. Describe an aspect of your perspective, value system, or experience that is especially meaningful to you. How would this shape your contribution to a collaborative and enriching learning environment at our medical school?
No stated limitDescribe a personal characteristic, challenge, or experience that makes you unique. How will this influence your contribution to a dynamic healthcare system that advocates for all peoples?
1500 charactersYour combination of life experiences make you uniquely you. Talk about one such experience and how it has helped you prepare to be a physician.
No stated limitPlease share unique, personally important, and/or challenging facts in your life and/or work experiences. Please discuss how such factors have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine.
No stated limitDescribe a situation where you were not in the majority.
No stated limitPlease share any relevant characteristic about your background and/or experiences not already described in AMCAS you feel may positively impact how you practice medicine in the future.
400 charactersOptionalHow will your lived experiences, your background, your identity or that which makes you unique contribute to the diverse community and learning environment at UMass Chan?
200 wordsPlease describe an example of your personal and/or professional experience with and understanding of systemic inequity, exclusion, or lack of representation in health care in the United States. How did you arrive at this understanding?
200 wordsIn the space below, please discuss any experiences you may have had serving, working, living, and/or learning in broadly diverse environments that you believe would enable you to thrive in and contribute to our Miller SOM and Greater Miami community.
5000 charactersPlease describe the impact of your identity and experiences on your growth and development, and how it may impact your career as a physician.
1500 charactersHow would you contribute to a learning environment that respects and supports individuals with a wide range of identities, perspectives, and life experiences? Please share specific examples from your professional and/or personal background that demonstrate your ability to work effectively with people from varied communities.
1500 charactersAt the UNM School of Medicine, we are committed to building a community of inclusive learners that will go on to enrich the medical field. Are there any aspects of your experience that you are most proud of or that you feel you have been unable to highlight with your application materials already submitted? If so, please explain how this will contribute to an inclusive learning community and your future medical community.
2000 charactersHow will your life experiences foster a positive educational environment and benefit your future patients?
250 wordsDescribe and reflect on a specific experience you have had with people of a different socioeconomic, ethnic, racial, cultural or religious/spiritual background than yourself. What preconceived notions did you have prior to the experience? How did the experience challenge your preconceived notions?
1200 charactersRespect for others and the ability to empathize with people from different backgrounds are integral to the successful practice of medicine. Describe a situation you observed that illustrates the impact of respect and empathy. What did you learn from this experience, and how has it influenced the type of physician you aspire to become?
250 wordsThe Whiddon College of Medicine is dedicated to training resilient, adaptable physicians who provide exceptional, patient-centered care to individuals from all walks of life. Please share a significant life experience or aspect of your background that has shaped your ability to effectively communicate with, empathize with, and care for patients with varied healthcare needs, including those in underserved or rural communities.
No stated limitPlease consider sharing experiences, challenges, family or personal circumstances, interests, etc. that you believe would bring added value and unique lived experience to the learning community at USC School of Medicine Greenville.
No stated limitDescribe an experience that deepened your understanding of people whose backgrounds or life experiences differ from your own. How did this experience shape your perspective?
2500 charactersPlease 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 wordsTell us about a time when you interacted with someone who is different than you. What did you learn? Would you do anything differently and if so, what?
600 wordsLearning from others is enhanced in educational settings that include individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Please describe your personal characteristics or experiences that would add to the learning environment of your classmates.
300 wordsThe Wayne State University School of Medicine aims to provide a rich, varied, and inclusive educational experience for all members of the class. How would you advance belonging and contribute to the educational experience of fellow medical students?
1250 charactersDescribe a time when your perspective was challenged by someone with a different viewpoint. How did you engage with that difference, and what did you take away from the experience?
1525 charactersWhat unique values, skills, talents, and/or life experiences will you bring to WMed and the practice of medicine?
2000 charactersYale School of Medicine is committed to improving the health of all people. How have your experiences prepared you to care for all individuals regardless of background, education, or viewpoint?
500 words- CUNY School of Medicine2025-2026 cycle
Please describe how your personal characteristics or life experiences will contribute to the City University of New York School of Medicine community and bring educational benefits to our student body.
1000 characters Choose one of the following: a. As a physician, you will have the unique opportunity to foster positive change within your patients and community. Reflect on how your life experiences have shaped your values and attitudes towards others, especially those from different backgrounds or with differing values. How have these experiences prepared you to treat all patients with respect, care, compassion, and dignity, even when their beliefs differ from your own b. Describe a specific initiative or project you have undertaken to improve your community. What motivated you to get involved, and what impact did your efforts have? In your response, please highlight any challenges you faced, how you overcame them, and what you learned from the experience c. Use this space to tell the committee anything else about yourself that you have not had the opportunity to present elsewhere in your application.
1500 characters- Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine2025-2026 cycle
We desire to train students and physicians to effectively work with and care for individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds, experiences, etc. Please share any important experiences that have shaped how you connect with individuals from wide-ranging communities and patient populations.
3000 characters Selected Essay (choose one): I. Describe the community in which you were nurtured or spent the majority of your early development. What core values did you receive and how will these translate into the contributions you hope to make to your community as a medical student and later as a physician? II. There are multiple paths that lead to medical school and many obstacles along the way. Please describe the unique path that has led you to medicine as well as any obstacle or adversity that you had to overcome in achieving this goal. How will this experience affect your career as a physician? III. What has been your most meaningful life experience (i.e., family situation, clinical or shadowing experience, volunteer experience, etc.) that influenced your decision to pursue medicine?
No stated limitSelected Essay (choose one): I. Describe the community in which you were nurtured or spent the majority of your early development. What core values did you receive and how will these translate into the contributions you hope to make to your community as a medical student and later as a physician? II. There are multiple paths that lead to medical school and many obstacles along the way. Please describe the unique path that has led you to medicine as well as any obstacle or adversity that you had to overcome in achieving this goal. How will this experience affect your career as a physician? III. What has been your most meaningful life experience (i.e., family situation, clinical or shadowing experience, volunteer experience, etc.) that influenced your decision to pursue medicine?
No stated limitWhat unique characteristics, abilities, or skills will you bring to RVUCOM and the Osteopathic Profession?
No stated limit- Roseman University of Health Sciences2025-2026 cycle
Describe your interactions with someone from a different cultural background or life experience and what you learned from that interaction.
500 to 1000 words - Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Sewell Campus2025-2026 cycle
We seek to train physicians who can connect with diverse patient populations with whom they may not share a similar background. Tell us about an experience that has broadened your own worldview or enhanced your ability to understand those unlike yourself and what you learned from it.
1000 words - San Juan Bautista School of Medicine2019-2020 cycle
Describe yourself. How do your unique personal characteristics and background contribute to the school's educational mission of creating a diverse entering class?
600 charactersWhile there is great emphasis on the physician-patient relationship, San Juan Bautista School of Medicine also emphasizes the importance of training culturally and linguistical diverse generation of physicians to care for underserved communities. Describe how your experiences would contribute to this aspect of the mission of the school.
600 characters - University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine2025-2026 cycle
We educate physicians/healthcare providers to provide care for individuals with various identities, backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Describe any interests, abilities and/or experiences that prepare you to participate in and contribute to that learning environment.
1000 words - University of Nebraska College of Medicine2025-2026 cycle
What have you learned from working with people whose background is different from yours?
1500 characters - University of South Dakota, Sanford School of Medicine2024-2025 cycle
Given the diversity statement of the school, explain how your background and experiences with diversity will bring value to the school.
1500 characters - University of Washington School of Medicine2025-2026 cycle
The UWSOM aims to build a diverse class of students to enrich the field of medicine. What perspectives, identities, and/or qualities would you bring?
250 wordsHow have societal inequities in the U.S. affected you or people you have worked with?
250 words - West Virginia University School of Medicine2024-2025 cycle
Describe a time when you advocated for someone, other than a relative or friend, who had a different background from your own.
150 words
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