diversity essay for medical school

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How to write the perfect diversity essay for medical school.

Reviewed by:

Akhil Katakam

Third-Year Medical Student, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University

Reviewed: 5/19/23

Wondering how to write the perfect diversity essay for medical school? Stick around to find out our top tips!

The medical school admissions process is becoming increasingly holistic. Admissions committees look at more than just your GPA and extracurricular activities to decide your candidacy.

There is a significant need to diversify the medical field, so various other selection factors play an important role in your success. Many medical schools require secondary essays as part of their application materials to help them assess candidates’ strengths, desirable qualities, experiences, and insights. 

Some schools require the medical school diversity essay, so it’s essential to understand the ins and outs of what makes a compelling essay stand out. This blog will review the definition of diversity in the context of medical school applications and provide examples of prompts from top schools. 

You will also learn how to write a diversity essay, including tips on what to include and the proper format to follow. Lastly, we’ll provide an example that tells an interesting story and connects a candidate’s diversity with a medical school’s mission and vision.

Get The Ultimate Guide on Writing an Unforgettable Personal Statement

What is a Diversity Essay for Medical School?

A diversity essay is required or recommended for many medical school secondary applications . In the cases that the diversity essay is recommended, you should still consider it as a requirement, as submitting additional, strong materials maximize your chances of acceptance. 

Admissions committees matriculate well-rounded, diverse, and experienced candidates , so sending more materials will help them gain a better overview of your unique background. 

If you look at medical school websites, there is a common theme among mission and vision statements: diversity. This is because the medical field needs to diversify health care practitioners who can empathize with and effectively treat various types of patient populations.

Some schools even have separate diversity statements that show their ongoing commitment to matriculate a diverse student body, representing every race, religion, sexual orientation, identity, educational/professional background, and more. 

In fact, admissions committees are even seriously considering and matriculating non-traditional applicants from non-science backgrounds to further serve the benefits of diversity in medicine. 

What Counts as Diversity?

If you’re worried that you don’t count as a diverse candidate because you don’t belong to a historically underrepresented group, cast your concerns aside. Diversity in the context of diversity essays for medical school is not a code word to only matriculate ethnic or racial minorities. 

Yes, candidates from minority groups are diverse and are encouraged to apply to medical school, but diversity doesn’t end there. Rather, diversity is broadly defined to include many categories. Everyone is diverse because everyone has their own unique experiences and backgrounds to draw from, which is valuable in healthcare.

There are many distinguishing factors and characteristics that can make candidates diverse:

• Non-traditional applicants (2 or more gap years before med school)
• Candidates who are non-science majors
• Career changers
• Candidates with a disability
• Historically underrepresented groups (racial, ethnic, gender and gender identity, linguistic, sexual orientation, religion, and more)
• Older returning students
• Applicants with military service
• Parents returning to the workforce
• Candidates who overcome extreme challenges and adversity
• Applicants with a difficult socioeconomic background

If you broaden your understanding of diversity to include your unique learning experiences and worldviews, you will have a plethora of examples to choose from to write a powerful diversity essay. 

Examples of Diversity Essay Prompts

The following are previous diversity essay prompts from top medical schools to give you an idea of what a diversity essay prompt looks like . You’ll notice there is a similar thread in all of these prompts: medical schools want to know about your diversity in broadly defined terms, and most importantly, how it will enhance the school’s mission, vision, and student body.

Prompt: Stanford University School of Medicine

“ The Committee on Admissions regards the diversity (broadly defined) of an entering class as an important factor in serving the educational mission of the school. The Committee on Admissions strongly encourages you to share unique, personally important and/or challenging factors in your background which may include such discussions as the quality of your early education, gender, sexual orientation, any physical challenges, and life or work experiences. Please describe how these factors have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine and may help you to uniquely contribute to the Stanford learning environment.”

Prompt: Wake Forest School of Medicine

“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.”

Prompt: Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont

 “The Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont recognizes that diversity extends beyond chosen and unchosen identities and encompasses the entirety of an individual’s experiences. Reflect on a time you learned something from someone or a group of people who are unlike yourself.”

Prompt: Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

 “Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons values diversity in all its forms. How will your background and experiences contribute to this important focus of our institution and inform your future role as a physician?”

Prompt :University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine

“At the University of Chicago, in an atmosphere of interdisciplinary scholarship and discovery, the Pritzker School of Medicine is dedicated to inspiring diverse students of exceptional promise to become leaders and innovators in science and medicine for the betterment of humanity. Our mission statement is an expression of our core purpose and educational philosophy. In particular, it highlights the value we place on diversity since we regard the diversity of entering class as essential for educational excellence. Please write an essay on how you would enhance diversity at Pritzker and advance the Pritzker mission.”

 Use our tool to discover every U.S. medical school’s secondary essay prompts! 

How to Write a Diversity Essay

If you’re having trouble figuring out how to write a diversity essay, take the following steps:

1. Identify What Makes You Unique

First, before you even begin to write, brainstorm the things in your background that make you unique. In particular, think about your education, work experience, extracurricular activities, upbringing, family life, and other aspects of your journey to medical school.

Brainstorming ideas is meant to get your creative juices flowing. At this point, don’t worry about grammar, spelling, or sentence structure. Your goal is to get as many ideas on paper as possible so that you can begin to craft a story that uses one to three examples for your diversity essay.

You can ask yourself the following questions to get started:

• Who are you at your core, at your best self?
• What experiences have defined you?
• How do you identify yourself, and how does this differ from society’s expectations of your identity?
• How have you overcome challenges, adversity, or rejection?
• Where did you grow up, and what was it like to live there? How do your geographic roots inform your worldview?
• What was your family life like?
• Have you faced a disability, injury, or illness? What did you learn, and how did you overcome these challenges?
• Are you a part of any teams, groups, or organizations? How have they contributed to your interpersonal skills?

Remember, admissions committees are interested in your story. You should never falsify information in your essays. Write what you know!

2. Pick 1-3 Meaningful Experiences to Potentially Write About

A compelling diversity essay consists of one or a few meaningful experiences instead of overloading the essay with brief mentions of too many examples. You should prioritize quality over quantity and weave a story that’s memorable to the admissions committee.

You should also be mindful of character limits. Every school has different requirements, so be sure you achieve the minimum character count and stay within the upper limits. 

3. Outline the Structure of Your Diversity Essay

No matter the length of your secondary essays , you should always structure it with the following: 

• An introduction that hooks the reader. 
• A body that details your experience(s). 
• A conclusion that concisely ties everything together with the school’s mission.

The introduction should begin to tell your main story. It should introduce your main talking points so that the reader knows what to expect in the essay. Strong introductions often have a hook, which can appear as the beginning of an interesting and evocative anecdote.

The body of your diversity essay should delve into your unique experience through reflective storytelling . Here is where you will go into compelling details about your examples. The body will also demonstrate how your diversity will be an asset to the school and your peers and colleagues. 

It’s also important to show rather than tell. For example, rather than list all of the personal characteristics that make you diverse, use imagery and storytelling to show these personal characteristics in action. 

Finally, the conclusion should neatly tie in your meaningful and diverse experiences to the pursuit of medicine. Your last sentences should leave the reader with a strong impression of why your diversity will be an asset to the school.

4. Write the First Draft

Draw from your notes and outlines to write the first draft. Excellent writing involves an evolution of multiple drafts, so don’t be discouraged if the first draft isn’t perfect. 

You’re not striving for perfection here—you’re still in the beginning stages, so you should prioritize fully addressing the essay prompt with strong examples from your diverse background. Polishing your first draft can come later.

5. Revise and Edit Your Diversity Essay

Go over your draft with a critical eye. Ensure that all prompt components are thoroughly answered, check for spelling and grammatical mistakes, and proofread for proper syntax and sentence structure. 

Look at the flow of your essay. The transitions from introduction, to the body, to the conclusion should be seamless and make sense. If you’re writing about a few experiences, ensure that they make sequential and logical sense. The transitions should feel natural, not jarring or out of place.

Have someone else look at your essay to offer objective feedback. This can be a trusted friend, family member, instructor, employer, peer, or mentor. Be open to constructive criticism and revise any areas that need improvement or further clarification/elaboration. 

Diversity Essay Examples

The following diversity essay examples both tell compelling and memorable stories. As you read, consider how the essay transports you to another location and invites you to view medicine and health care from a unique perspective. 

Note how the essay ties into the school’s mission, vision, and goals for diversifying health care. Finally, consider the overall structure of the essay: there is a tangible introduction, body, and conclusion.

“Being South Asian, I have firsthand knowledge of what it means not to access basic health care. As a child, my mother took me to Pakistan every year, where I spent summers with my grandfather, a top pediatrician in the nation. He had a free clinic attached to his home in Faisalabad, and his practice was so renowned and respected that people from all over the country would travel great distances to have my grandfather treat their children.  Pakistan is a third-world country where a significant part of the population remains illiterate and uneducated due to the lack of resources and opportunities. This population is the most vulnerable, with extremely high numbers of infectious disease and mortality rates. Yet, it is entirely underserved. With the lack of hospitals, clinics, and doctor’s offices in rural Pakistan, parents of ailing children must travel great distances and wait in long lines to receive proper health care.  Every summer at my grandfather’s clinic, from ages five to 17, my job was to open the doors to long lines of tired, hungry, and thirsty parents with their sick children. I would pass out bottled water and pieces of fruit. I would record names, where the patients came from, and the reasons for their visits. I would scurry back inside with the information for my grandfather to assess, and then he’d send me running back out again to let the next family inside. I learned in my formative years how to communicate with diverse patient populations with special needs and a lack of basic necessities. I learned to listen to every family’s unique reasons for their visit, and some of their desperation and pleading for the lives of their children will stay with me forever. When I get into medical school, I hope to share the story of how Gulzarah carried her dehydrated daughter for 12 miles in the Pakistani summer heat without rest (thanks to my grandfather, she later made a full recovery). I want to tell my peers that doctors like my grandfather are not only healers in biology but healers in the spirit by the way he made up heroic songs for the children and sang the fear out of their hearts. I want to show my peers that patients are unique individuals who have suffered and sacrificed to trust us with their health care, so we must honor their trust by providing quality treatment and empathy. My formative experiences in pediatrics contributed to my globally conscious mindset, and I look forward to sharing these diverse insights in my medical career.”

Example 2: University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

“‘911 operator, what’s your emergency?’ ‘My friend has just been shot and he is not moving!’ ‘Is he breathing?’ ‘I don't think so!’ ‘Are you hurt?’ ‘No.’ ‘Stay there, the paramedics are on their way.’  ‍ On April 10th 2003, at approximately 11pm, my best friend Kevin and I, intending to see a movie, headed out my front door. We never made it to see a horror movie; but our night was nothing close to mundane, when we became innocent victims to gang crossfire. As we descended my front door stairs two gunshots were fired and one person fell to the floor. Kevin was shot! I vividly recall holding him in my arms, and while he lost blood I almost lost my mind. All I wanted was to help, but there was nothing I could do. At 1am that morning Kevin's family and I sat in the emergency waiting room at Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn, hoping and praying that the chief surgeon would bring us good news. While this event started me on my quest to become a medical doctor, at that moment all I could envision was a life of despondency.  ‍ According to author Jennifer Holloway, ‘tragedy is a substance which can ignite the soul.’ When Kevin’s surgeon walked through the door of the emergency waiting room he did not have to say a word. Kevin’s family cried hysterically. I, on the other hand, could not cry. As fast as despondency had filled my heart, it was now gone; I was consumed by anger, frustration and motivation to change my life’s direction. The death of my best friend compelled me to pursue a career in medicine. This, I hope, will enable me to help save the lives that others try to take.  ‍ In the fall of this event, I took my first biology and chemistry courses. By the end of the year I excelled as the top student in biology, received the Inorganic Chemistry Achievement Award and was encouraged to become a tutor in general biology and chemistry.  ‍ Tutoring was a captivating experience for me. Questions raised by students challenged my understanding of scientific concepts and their application in patient care. To further develop my knowledge of medicine, I volunteered in the emergency department at Albert Einstein Hospital, in Bronx, NY. While shadowing doctors, I was introduced to triaging, patient diet monitoring and transitioning from diagnosis to treatment. This exposed me to some of the immense responsibilities of a doctor, but my 5 experience helping in the cancer ward was where I learned the necessity of humanity in a physician and how it can be used to treat patients. Peering through a window I saw Cynthia, a seven-year-old girl diagnosed with terminal cancer, laughing uncontrollably after watching her doctor make funny faces. For a moment not only did Cynthia forget that she was dying, but her smile expressed joy and the beauty of being alive. This taught me that a physician, in addition to being knowledgeable and courageous, should show compassion to patients. It also became clear to me that a patient’s emotional comfort is as important as their physical health, and are both factors that a physician considers while providing patient care.  ‍ Although focused on medicine, I was introduced to research through the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation in Science. Here, I learned organic synthesis techniques, while working on a project to elucidate the chemical mechanisms of oxygen protein binding and its relationships to anemia. I also received the United Negro College Fund/Merck Science Initiative Research Scholarship that allowed me to experience cutting edge research in Medicinal Chemistry, with a number of world-class scientists. At Merck Research Labs, I learned the fundamentals of synthesizing novel compounds for drug discovery, and we focused on treatments for cardiac atrial fibrillation. This internship changed my view of medication and their origins, and left me with a deep appreciation of the challenges of medicinal research. I also now understand that medical doctors and research scientists have similar responsibilities: to solve current and future health issues that we face.  ‍ Despite the tragedy that brought me to the hospital on April 10th 2003, the smells, the residents and the organized chaos of the emergency room have become an integral part of a new chapter in my life. On the day that my friend lost his life I found my soul in medicine. Today as I move forward on the journey to become a physician I never lose sight of the ultimate goal; to turn the dying face of a best friend into the smiling glow of a patient, just like Cynthia’s. A patient’s sickness can be a result of many things. But with the right medications, a physician’s compassion and some luck, sickness can be overcome, and the patient helped. In time and with hard work it will be my privilege to possess the responsibilities of a physician in caring for life.”

FAQs: Med School Diversity Essays

Here are our answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about how to write a diversity essay for medical school. 

1. I’m Not an Underrepresented Minority, so How Can I Write a Diversity Essay for Medical School?

Diversity in the context of medical school secondary essays is not limited to race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or other historically underrepresented groups. Think of diversity in broader terms that include your unique experiences and insights, and write about how your diverse skill sets will enhance the school and the student body.

2. How Can I Write a Diversity Essay that Stands Out from Other Candidates?

Brainstorm unique experiences that you have had and narrow down one or two main experiences to weave compelling stories with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. You should prioritize the quality of your experiences and elaborate upon them rather than pack too many bullet points in a limited space.

3. I’m Not a Strong Writer, How Can I Improve My Diversity Essay for Medical School?

Writing is not a linear process, and even bestselling authors need skilled editors. Start small with outlines and notes, then flesh out the essay with details. Write multiple drafts. When you’re happy with a draft, ask friends, family, peers, colleagues, instructors, or mentors for objective feedback. You can also consult with our team of experts to help you. 

4. Why Do Some Medical Schools Require Diversity Essays?

Medical schools want to diversify the field and accept candidates with unique backgrounds and skill sets. These students will go on to be leaders in health care, so a holistic admissions process ensures that the world’s future doctors represent diverse groups, perspectives, talents, and skill sets. 

5. Where Can I Find More Prompts and Examples of Diversity Essays?

Browse the medical school’s website and read their application procedures. You can also contact the school’s admissions committee helpline for more information.

6. What Should I Avoid in my Medical School Diversity Essay?

Avoid spelling and grammar errors, an unprofessional or casual tone/language, controversial or offensive statements, embellishing stories, and negative outlooks. If your diversity essay addresses facing adversity, make sure to focus on a growth mindset, what you learned, and the positive outcomes of that experience.

7. How Long Should a Diversity Essay Be?

Every school has its own character limits and requirements for secondary essays. Be sure to follow the recommended application guidelines and secondary essay requirements, including the school’s specific diversity prompt. You can use the same stories for each diversity essay but repurpose them to answer different prompts. 

8. How Important is a Diversity Essay for Med Schools?

Essays are generally considered a highly important piece of your med school application as they allow you the most room to express who you are and stand out from others. So, writing a thoughtful, compelling diversity essay can seriously improve your chances of acceptance - making them an important piece of your overall application.

Final Thoughts

The diversity essay for medical school is an important component of many secondary applications. Medical schools are increasingly relying on a holistic review of candidates to diversify medicine to better serve global patient populations.

To write an effective diversity essay, think about the unique characteristics and experiences that make you unique. Remember that diversity is broadly defined, so don’t limit yourself to only certain categories.

Pick one to three of the strongest examples that showcase your diversity in the best light. Answer the prompt fully and include every aspect of the prompt. Remember to tell a great story and tie in your experiences to the school’s goals of diversifying health care.

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How to Write the Medical School Secondary Diversity Essay

• By Med School Insiders
• June 13, 2022
• Secondary Application

The medical school secondary diversity essay exists because admissions committees want to ensure their campus is as diverse as possible. Medical schools want to attract applicants from all walks of life so that each student contributes something unique to the student body. The diversity essay is an opportunity for applicants to discuss their minority background or otherwise unique history or identity and how their uniqueness will contribute to the college community.

In this post, we’ll break down why this prompt is asked, what admissions committees are looking for, and how to best answer it.

Medical School Secondaries

The AMCAS application opens for the following year’s medical school class around the first week of May. Submissions open around the end of May to early June, so you have a month to prepare your primary application. Therefore, if you hope to begin medical school in the fall of 2023, you must apply in the spring of 2022.

Your secondary applications will take about two to four weeks to arrive after you submit your primary application. Secondaries must be completed as soon as possible without compromising quality. We recommend taking no longer than 7-14 days to submit each secondary you receive.

This is especially true because, at Med School Insiders, we recommend applicants apply to around 20 different medical schools . This could mean receiving 20 different secondaries, all within the same general time frame.

For more information about ideal scheduling, read our Medical School Application Timeline Guide .

Why Do Schools Include a Diversity Essay?

Colleges, and not just medical schools, believe their college culture, community, and campus learning experience can be enriched by including a wide array of different backgrounds, perspectives, identities, and beliefs. Therefore, many admissions committees assign a diversity essay so that each applicant can explain in their own words how their identity and background will help enhance the student body at large.

Diversity essays are an opportunity for applicants with minority backgrounds, unique family histories, an unconventional education, or otherwise distinctive experiences to explain how their uniqueness will add to the campus community.

How to Answer the Medical School Secondary Diversity Essay

1 | diversity comes in many forms.

This is an extremely important point, as many applicants who don’t come from a specific socioeconomic or ethnocultural background believe they are unable to add diversity to a prospective medical school class. This is a common misconception. Diversity isn’t limited to the color of your skin or which religion your family belongs to.

Did you experience a non-traditional upbringing growing up? This could include losing a family member, having a sibling or family member with a health concern or disability, growing up in a single parent home, needing to work at a young age, or much more. There are many, many factors that could contribute to your diversity.

Focus on your story. Which personal qualities make you unique? What aspect of your personal identity, upbringing, or family has separated you from your peers?

2 | What is Your Personal Identity?

If you’re stuck on what direction to take this essay, take time to look inward and consider your own identity. Who are you? What kind of person are you? What makes you, well, you? What makes you unique from other candidates?

Your identity is made up of a number of different factors, including your ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and health.

You might also consider any non-traditional experiences you’ve had or a non-traditional upbringing.

• What was your home life like?
• What was your financial situation growing up?
• What is your family’s education level?
• How much did you have to work when you were younger?
• Do you come from a multicultural background?
• Have you experienced a personal health scare?
• Do you have family members who have significant health concerns?
• Have you lost close family members?
• Did you lose a parent at a young age?
• Did you grow up in a single parent home?
• Have you experienced any kind of traumatic event that has informed your values and identity?

3 | Get Personal

Don’t hold back when sharing your experiences. Surface-level stories or bland anecdotes will not stand out. What personal details can you add that will better illustrate your points?

Describe in detail how the experience made you feel. What did you learn? What qualities have you developed as a result of the experience? How will you apply what you learned and the qualities you earned to your medical education and eventual career?

At the same time, remember that your experience may be brought up during your interview. Anything you mention in your application is fair game to be asked about on the interview trail. Do not write about any experience you will be unable to speak about in person. It’s good to be open and show vulnerability, but it’s also vital that you maintain your composure during your interview.

If you don’t think you can speak about the experience face-to-face with an interviewer, leave it out of your essay.

4 | Don’t Repeat Yourself

You may have been asked a diversity question in your primary application, or you may have chosen to focus on this aspect of your life in your personal statement.

Do not repeat yourself in your secondary. Admissions committees already have access to your primary application. Repeating the same stories won’t provide adcoms with any additional insight into who you are. The secondaries are an opportunity to add something new to your story.

If you’re going to touch on an experience, moment, or lesson you’ve already mentioned, ensure that you are adding to it. You must provide a notable amount of additional context if you utilize the same examples in your secondaries.

5 | Continue Crafting Your Narrative

An essential piece of a successful primary application is the cohesive narrative you build throughout it about who you are and why you want to be a doctor. The secondary application is no different. The diversity essay is an opportunity to continue the narrative you established in your primary application.

It’s important that the diversity essay fits well with the rest of your secondary application. Each piece of the application should add to your story and provide additional context about how you’ve arrived at where you are today.

Learn How to Develop a Cohesive Narrative for Medical School Applications .

Medical School Secondary Diversity Essay Examples

There are a number of different directions you can take your diversity essay.

You might discuss a time when you or someone you care about experienced prejudice. How did that experience make you feel? What did you learn? How did it shape who you are? If you took action in response to this, what action did you take? Did you try to support others who are experiencing prejudice?

You might discuss the difficulties you’ve had growing up with parents who have different values than your own. How did these differences change your relationship with your family? How did that conflict in your life shape who you are today? Were you able to resolve your differences with your family, or did you need to prioritize your own needs and identity?

You might discuss how your cultural background has been a positive influence on your life. How has learning another language and participating in cultural values distinct from those of the US shaped who you are? What have you learned from the traditional values of your family? How can you apply what you’ve learned to interacting with people who come from other ethnic or socioeconomic backgrounds?

You might discuss how from a very young age you needed to help support your family financially. How did taking on that burden when you were young shape you? How were you able to help and support your family? Was it financially or with your time? What did you learn from that experience growing up, and how has it informed your priorities and outlook on life?

Other Common Secondary Questions

The diversity essay is only one of the common medical school secondary prompts you can expect to see in one form or another. Knowing which questions are likely to appear on secondaries will help you prepare your answers in advance.

Some of the most common secondary questions include:

• Why are you a good fit for our school?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Why do you want to be a doctor?
• Why us? / Why do you want to join this program?
• Describe a moral or ethical dilemma you faced. What did you learn from the experience?
• Describe a time when you failed and what you learned.
• Did you take time off after undergrad? What did you achieve during this time?
• Where do you see yourself in ten years?

With these questions in mind, start writing your responses to common secondary questions long before you actually receive your secondaries. Once you do receive a secondary, deeply research the program and tailor your answers to suit their values and offerings.

Learn more about the complete secondary process and how to plan ahead in our Medical School Secondary Application Guide .

Secondary Application Editing With Med School Insiders

We get it. We understand how long you’ve already been working on the application process,  but now is not the time to give up. It’s time to knuckle down and drive this thing home.

Med School Insiders can help. Our Medical School Secondary Application Editing services will help you write the kind of singular secondary applications that will get you noticed by your top choice medical schools. Our doctor advisors have served on medical school admissions committees, and they’ve read hundreds of secondary essays. Our team will help you craft a stellar secondary application tailored to each school you apply to.

Med School Insiders

2024-2025 Medical School Application Timeline and Monthly Schedule

This is the medical school application timeline you should follow, including key dates and an ideal month-by-month preparation schedule.

Medical School Secondary Application FAQ (9 Questions Answered)

We compiled a list of medical school secondary application FAQs to answer the questions we hear most often, including costs, due dates, and what to expect.

2024 Medical School Secondary Application Guide

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Medical School Diversity Essay: Complete Guide

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Admissions committees want to ensure their campus is as varied as possible, so they require additional diversity essays for medical schools. 

Medical schools strive to draw candidates from diverse backgrounds so that each student can bring something unique to the school.

The diversity essay allows you to talk about your ethnicity or other distinctive characteristics and how those characteristics will benefit the campus community.

This article will give you a thorough understanding of a medical school diversity essay and the best tips on making a compelling one.

What is a Diversity Essay for Medical School? 

Many secondary admissions require a diversity essay. If a diversity essay is suggested, you should still view it as a requirement because contributing additional, compelling materials increases your chances of getting accepted.

Sending extra resources will enable the admissions committees to understand your distinctive background better since they matriculate well-rounded, diversified, and experienced individuals. A recurrent element across purpose and vision statements on medical school websites is diversity.

This is due to the necessity for healthcare professionals who can relate to and treat a variety of patient populations in the medical industry. 

Some institutions even have unique diversity declarations demonstrating their unwavering dedication to enrolling a diverse student body, including students of every color, religion, sexual orientation, identity, and experience in education and the workforce.

To further promote the advantages of diversity in medicine, admissions committees give unconventional applicants with non-science backgrounds substantial consideration and admit them.

What Counts as Diversity?

Put your worries aside if you are concerned that because you do not identify with a historically underrepresented group, you do not qualify as a diverse applicant. 

Diversity in the context of med school applications does not mean that only members of racial or ethnic minorities should be admitted. 

Yes, minority applicants are diverse and are urged to submit applications to medical school, but diversity does not stop there. 

Instead, diversity is viewed broadly to embrace a variety of areas. In addition, everyone is diverse because each person may draw on their own particular experiences and backgrounds, which is advantageous in the healthcare industry.

Candidates might be diverse due to a variety of distinct qualities and traits:

• Career switchers
• Returning older students
• Non-traditional candidates
• Returning parents to the workforce
• Candidates with military experience
• Candidates who did not major in science
• Candidates from challenging socioeconomic backgrounds
• Candidates who persevere in the face of enormous difficulties
• Historically underrepresented groups (including those based on race, ethnicity, gender, and gender identity as well as language, sexual orientation, and more )

You will have many examples to pick from if you widen your idea of diversity to include your learning experiences and worldviews.

8 Tips for Answering Medical School Diversity Essays

Diversity essays for medical schools give candidates with diverse backgrounds, unusual families, unorthodox educations, or other different experiences a chance to describe how their distinctiveness would enrich the campus community.

Your diversity essay is your chance to show the medical school you are applying to what you have to offer. Hence, it is a must that you ensure that you stand out among the other candidates. 

Below are the best tips when writing your diversity essay for medical school.  

Decide What Makes You Unique

Before you even start writing, develop a list of the characteristics in your background that set you apart. 

Consider your schooling, employment history, extracurricular activities, upbringing, family life, and other facets of your path to medical school.

The purpose of brainstorming is to stimulate your creative thinking. 

Do not worry about spelling, grammar, or sentence structure at this time. Your objective is to write down as many thoughts as you can so that you can start to develop a narrative for your diversity essay using one to three examples.

Focus on Your Story

This is a crucial aspect since many applicants who do not belong to a particular socioeconomic or ethnic group feel they cannot bring variety to a potential medical school class. 

Unfortunately, this is a typical misunderstanding. Diversity is not only about your skin tone or the religion your ancestors practiced.

Did you grow up in a non-traditional environment? 

This could involve losing a family member, having a brother or other family member who is ill or disabled, growing up in a home with only one parent, starting work at an early age, or many other things. There are a ton of different things that could be a part of your variety.

Do not Hold Back

Do not be reluctant to share your experiences. Simple or uninteresting anecdotes will not stand out. What specific information about yourself can you include to support your arguments?

Clearly state how the encounter affected you. 

What did you discover? 

How has the experience helped you grow in terms of your character? 

How did you utilize what you learned and acquired skills to further your medical education and, ultimately, your career?

In addition, keep in mind that your experience can come up during the interview. Therefore, any information you include in your application is fair for questioning throughout the interview process. 

Never write about an experience that you will not be able to discuss in person. It is beneficial to be honest and vulnerable. Still, it is equally important that you keep your cool throughout the interview.

Make Sure Your Story Has a Potential Contribution to the Community

Occasionally, candidates focus so much on their differences that they lose sight that being unique is a means, not an end, to an objective. 

These distinctions and distinctive traits/experiences must have a purpose. They must assist in demonstrating your merit for a place at the roundtable discussion for medical schools.

Being a two-time offender or a habitual absence from school are two examples of unusual qualities and experiences for a medical school applicant . Will they aid you in entering? 

Most likely not, and for apparent motives. Concentrating on another subject for your medical school diversity essay might be best.

The idea is straightforward. Once you have determined your unique traits, your primary responsibility is to explain how that distinctiveness will enable you to offer something extraordinary both in and outside school.

Enter your text here...

Keep Developing Your Narrative

The coherent story you weave throughout your primary application about who you are and why you want to be a doctor is crucial to a successful application. 

Nothing different applies to the second application. The diversity essay allows you to develop the story you started in your main application.

The diversity essay must flow naturally with the remainder of your secondary application. Each application component should support your narrative and offer further background information on how you came to be where you are.

Do Not Repeat Yourself

Make sure you are expanding on any experiences, moments, or lessons you have already addressed if you will bring them up again. You must include more background if you use the same examples in your secondaries.

Do not say the same thing twice in your secondary. Your initial application is already available to the admissions committee. Repeating the same tales will not give the admission committee any new information about you. The secondary chapters offer you the chance to develop your plot further.

Have Enough Evidence of What You Are Writing

Even if diversity may be an elusive idea or characteristic, it needs concrete proof. Therefore, diversity essays for med school are not comprehensive without a clear explanation of how your "diversity" relates to your experiences.

You cannot, for instance, blatantly claim that your history as an immigrant son or daughter and first-generation college student gives you some important insight into the concerns of immigrant populations. 

You still need to provide evidence, even though it makes sense that you would be more knowledgeable than people from wealthy, non-immigrant families. Clearly state the links.

Therefore, the ideal strategy is not to overemphasize how significant your minority identity is if you do choose to focus on ethnic, cultural, or religious diversity.

Instead, a compelling essay might concentrate on your commitment to diversity and social justice issues or your efforts to address the health disparities between minorities and non-minorities. It could also be your encounters that show a concrete proof of your cross-cultural competence in patient or client interactions. 

These three subjects are not exhaustive but could serve as an excellent starting point.

Proofread and Double-Check Your Diversity Essay

Spend some time going over a few crucial details in your article again. Ensure the element or elements you emphasize have real personal significance for you. Then, reread your essay one last time to ensure you genuinely respond to the question.

The diversity essay is multifaceted. For example, one school might require you only to list any noteworthy aspects of your background. 

At the same time, another would want you to explain how those aspects will improve their curriculum or influence your future line of work.

Additionally, make sure you relate your attributes to medicine, particularly to the institution you are applying to.

Medical School Diversity Essay Sample Prompts 

The leading schools' diversity essay prompts are provided below to give you an idea of what is anticipated. Remember that each of these prompts has a consistent theme. 

Specifically, medical schools are interested in your broad diversity and how it will benefit the institution's purpose, vision, and student body.

Larner College of Med – University of Vermont

The Larner College of Medicine understands that diversity embraces all of a person's experiences and goes beyond their self-identified or unidentified identities. Consider a period when you gained knowledge from a person or organization that is different from yourself.

Mayo Med School – Mayo Clinic

Our individual inflections, which make up our diversity, distinguish us from one another or bind us together. Describe how your personal and professional activities reflect your relationship to your own variety and the diversity of others.

Stanford University School of Medicine

The diversity of an entering class is viewed by the admissions committee as a crucial component in advancing the school's educational purpose. The Committee on Admissions encourages you to address any distinctive, personally significant, and/or challenging aspects of your background.

These aspects may include how well you were educated as a child, your gender, your sexual orientation, any physical disabilities, and life or employment experiences.

Please explain how these influences have shaped your aspirations and training for a future in medicine and how they might enable you to make a distinctive contribution to the Stanford learning environment.

University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine

The Pritzker Sch of Medicine at the University of Chicago is committed to encouraging diverse students with an extraordinary promise to become leaders and innovators in science and medicine for the benefit of humanity. This is done in an environment of multidisciplinary scholarship and discovery.

Our essential objective and educational ethos are expressed in our mission statement. In particular, it emphasizes how important diversity is to us since we believe that variety in the student body is vital to academic performance. Please submit an essay outlining how you would further Pritzker's goal and promote diversity there.

Wake Forest School of Medicine

We want to develop doctors who can relate to various patient populations, even though they may not have a common background. Tell us about a situation that helped you to see the world more broadly or to understand people who are different from you better and what you took away from it.

Medical School Diversity Essay Samples

The diversity essay questions you are given by various institutions may differ, meaning that the terminology and what is being asked of you will be unique to each institution. 

To prepare yourself, reading a few samples is a good idea.

While the general substance of each prompt will not fluctuate significantly depending on the school, you might want to change the organization or sequencing of the content for various prompts.

Here are some of the best samples of medical school diversity essays.

Prompt: Diversity can take many different shapes. How do you think you could add to the class's diversity?

I feel fortunate to have a solid sense of my roots. Being in Italy frequently throughout my life has allowed me to see how this culture's ideologies differ from those of the United States.

Italian society is frequently tarnished by the myth that its people are idle or unwilling to put forth the effort. People will, in my opinion, see a community where love and camaraderie are more critical than monetary possessions if they view the world objectively.

As a result, there is a considerable emphasis on other people's health and wellness. There is always time for family dinner, a coffee with a friend, or a mind-clearing walk in the evening.

Growing up, my family always ensured everyone had access to food and conversation. I adhere to this concept and see working in the healthcare industry as a chance to assist people in leading fulfilling lives and seeking their own happiness.

Healthcare experts have continuously allowed my loved ones to live independently and be there throughout my life. They have provided me with a service and a gift, and I want to spend the rest of my life sharing that gift with others. My passion for studying medicine and my holistic way of living have been influenced by my culture, background, and experiences in life.

In addition to being a physician in training, I will bring these qualities of empathy and holistic care to my role as a classmate who supports others through medical school challenges.

Prompt: Without restricting the discussion to your identity, please elaborate on how you see yourself supporting the fundamental principles of inclusion and diversity at our school of medicine and the medical field.

When I think about diversity, the first thing that springs to me is "a difference of opinion." As a member of the debate club and a student with a budding interest in classical philosophy, I've come to understand the importance of having a variety of viewpoints. I think advancement is basically impossible without the ability to question our assumptions and expectations about the world and ourselves.

My responsibility as a volunteer scribe at a mobile clinic was to document the specifics of patient examinations. We saw primarily middle-aged or older people. One patient, Paul, showed up at the mobile clinic with a nasty cut on his foot that he claimed was caused by catching his foot on an old rolled-up fence behind his barn. He was skeptical when we suggested he get a tetanus injection. He expressed why he didn't think immunizations were effective.

It was crucial to avoid conflict. We emphasized that while maintaining his autonomy was our first goal, he was likely to contract tetanus, which is potentially fatal. We explained to him that the tetanus vaccine has contributed to a 95% reduction in tetanus cases since about 1950. The patient thought for a bit, then agreed to the vaccination and thanked us for our assistance before leaving. I want to provide the University of Maryland School of Medicine with what I've learned through polite, open communication.

Prompt: What diverse characteristics and experiences could you offer the community of medical schools?

Our training for the Peace Corps taught us a metaphor for our work. Our new neighborhood could be compared to a square if America, our country of origin, were a circle. Volunteers like me formed triangles. The purpose? We could see both as legitimate modes of existence since we were a part of both.

The majority of us have several identities. I also practice living in the center by driving a boat across an island chain. The translator assumes a crucial role in Ann Patchett's Bel Canto, one of my favorite books, which tells the tale of foreign ambassadors who are taken hostage during a banquet. He is the one who must communicate, interpret, and give voice to the blank spaces between characters.

I have had many opportunities to translate for my siblings, parents, Belizean villagers, and others in my health advocacy work. I am the oldest child, a former Peace Corps volunteer, and a member of a mixed-race family.

My "triangular" persona enables me to take an alternative perspective on issues. The medical school is a hub for creative thinking and an entrepreneurial community. I wish to take part in the translation of differences and support of evidence-based solutions to health issues.

I believe that to fulfill my duty, I must be willing to try to comprehend others. My capacity to stand in two places, ears and heart open, enable dialogue, and give my perspective from a place of collaborative appreciation, will be my most outstanding contribution to the medical school community. In a silo, growth cannot take place. It starts with acknowledging the significance of all identities while learning from and working with others.

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The Medical School Diversity Essay: Everything You Need to Know

June 13, 2017

The Medical School Diversity Essay

Now that you've turned in your AMCAS (phew!), you're probably wondering how to tackle the monster of secondaries coming your way. One of the most common questions asked in one form or another is the medical school diversity essay . Have you ever wondered why diversity is such an important component of the medical school admission process? I’ve heard a lot of pre-med students eager to write this off as a political move on the behalf of medical schools, without taking the time to truly consider its value.

Of course, in the US we have a powerful tradition of diversity in higher education. Diversity in the classroom (and on campus) allows students to produce a “creative friction,” thereby improving the educational experience for all.

However, in the medical school context, diversity has an additional, more utilitarian purpose: it is crucial to the quality of medical care provided by these soon-to-be physicians. An ability to understand your patients -- regardless of background -- is an integral part of your life as a doctor.

So, now that we have solved the great admissions diversity mystery, we can get started on the actual essays. First, what does a medical school diversity essay actually look like? Let’s take an example from one of Stanford Med School’s recent secondary applications:

“The Committee on Admissions regards the diversity (broadly defined) of an entering class as an important factor in serving the educational mission of the school. The Committee on Admissions strongly encourages you to share unique, personally important, and/or challenging factors in your background, such as the quality of your early educational environment, socioeconomic status, culture, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and life or work experiences. Please discuss how such factors have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine.”

Or this question from Wake Forest School of Medicine :

“The Committee on Admissions values diversity as an important factor in the educational mission of the Wake Forest School of Medicine. How will you contribute to the diversity of your medical school class and to the medical community in general?”

Ultimately, these medical school diversity essay prompts are all variations on the same question, “How are you different from other applicants, and how does that difference impact your ability to contribute in medical school and beyond?”

This prompt brings us to our first action point:

1. “Diversity” and “Underrepresented Minority” are not synonymous.  

Have you ever heard someone lament, “[sigh]...I’m not a minority so I’m not diverse.” I have. Many times. Most frequently, this lamentation originates from a lack of creativity and fundamental understanding about what diversity means. As we’ve already discussed, diversity serves two purposes: 1) varying perspectives in a classroom and on campus so as to produce more comprehensive learning, and 2) Improving patient care once these applicants become newly-minted MDs.

Thus, while ethno-cultural, religious, or socioeconomic backgrounds are all forms of diversity, they are by no means the only forms of diversity. Indeed, diversity is anything about you which is special and which will allow you to satisfy the objectives of diversity as described above.

Multlingual? That’s diversity.

Been in the military? That’s diversity.

Had a rare disease as a child? That’s diversity.

Have a special personal quality (such as being a talented connector, or unusually high EQ)? Diversity.

Have a very specific and innovative career path in mind (e.g., using robotics to improve prosthetics)? Diversity.

Worked as a personal trainer or a nutritionist?....you see where I’m going with this. The key is not to narrowly define diversity, but instead to broadly construe how your “diverse elements” will allow you to contribute something unique to your prospective school and ultimately, your profession.

This brings us to our second action point:

2. Your “diversity” means nothing if it isn’t clearly connected to your potential contribution.

Sometimes, applicants get too caught up in the ways they are different, that they forget that being different is not an end, but a means to an end. These differences and unique qualities/experiences have to accomplish something. They have to help prove that you are deserving of a seat at the med school roundtable.

For example, being a chronic truant or two-time felon are certainly unique qualities and experiences for an applicant to medical school. Will they help you get in? Almost certainly not, and for obvious reasons. Best to focus on some other topic for your medical school diversity essay . 

The point is simple: once you have identified what makes you unique, your primary task is to explain how that uniqueness will allow you to contribute something special in school and beyond.

This brings us to our third action point:

3. Diversity, as with all other parts of your application, requires evidence.

“I am the smartest person in the world.”

Really!? Are you actually the smartest person in the world? Prove it.

“I have unique insight into the needs of immigrant populations.”

Oh do you? And what, pray tell, gives you this incredible insight?

“I have always dreamed of being part of Doctors Without Borders, and helping to save the world one person at a time.”

Is that so? Because I don’t see a single international community service experience on your application...

...see where I’m going with this? Diversity, though it may be an intangible concept or quality, still requires tangible evidence. A medical school diversity essay is not complete without a clear explanation of how your “diversity” relates to your experiences.

For example, if you are a first generation college student and the son/daughter of immigrants, you cannot just baldly state that this background gives you some crucial insight into the needs of immigrant populations. Although it seems plausible that you would know more than others who are from affluent, non-immigrant backgrounds, you still need to prove it. Make the connections explicit.

You could do this by providing anecdotes about your communication skills with immigrant families during your time with Habitat for Humanity. Or you could explain how you used your special insights and cross-cultural communication skills in becoming a leader in La Raza.

Ultimately, if what makes you diverse is that you have a very high capacity for empathy, you don’t need to have an activity on your AMCAS experiences section called “the society for people who empathize good and want to learn to do other things good too.” You just need to explain how your diverse element(s) have affected or motivated your activities, even if they seem totally unrelated.

E.g., “I am a motivator. I love motivating people to better their lives. That is why I worked as a nutritionist. Moreover, as a writing instructor at Dartmouth’s RWIT program, I had the opportunity not only to help students with their writing, but also to show them how exciting and fun it could be.” Please note: this is not from an actual essay, and if it was, it would not be especially good. This is just to demonstrate a point.

Thus, if you do decide to focus on ethnic, cultural, or religious diversity, the best approach is not to hammer the adcom with how significant your minority status is. Rather, a strong medical school diversity essay might focus on your activities which were committed to diversity and social justice issues; or on your pursuits which address health disparities between minority and non-minority populations; or experiences which provide tangible evidence of your cross-cultural competence during patient or client interactions. Of course, these three topics are not exhaustive, but might be a good place to start.

This brings us to our final, and most succinct point:

4. Using buzzwords doesn’t convince anyone

This is a common mistake among applicants who think that repeating buzzwords such as “diverse,” “multicultural,” “cross-cultural,” “underrepresented,” etc. will automatically convince an adcom that they are those things. It won’t. In fact, it is no more likely to convince them of your diversity credentials than if I tried to convince you of the quality of this article by simply repeating “this article is super informative and comprehensive, and it is likely the best thing you’ve read all week.”

In short: let your evidence and experience do the talking.

Tags : applying to medical school , medical school , medical school essays , med school , applying to med school , hot to get into medical school , medical school diversity essay

joel butterly

Joel Butterly, Co-founder and CEO of InGenius Prep, is an experienced admissions counselor and entrepreneur. Joel comes from a rich educational background—his immediate family alone has 14 Ivy League Degrees—from Harvard, Yale, Cornell, and Dartmouth.

Joel attended Dartmouth College, where he studied Government, Geography, and the Philosophy of Ethics. He was inducted early into Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated Summa Cum Laude. He graduated with a double major in Government and International Studies, and a minor in Ethical Philosophy.

After Dartmouth, Joel attended Yale Law School, where he served on the executive board of the Journal on Regulation, as well as the Law School’s entrepreneurship society.

Joel currently resides at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut. He lives with his fiance – Emily – who teaches and is receiving her PhD in Medieval History from Yale.

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Medical School Diversity Essay Prompts (21 Examples)

Putting together an incredible diversity essay for a college or med school application can be tough. Knowing where to start, or exactly what it is a school wants to see or read, only adds to the challenge.

A good way to prepare and get a better understanding of what diversity essays are all about is to take a look at prompts. Reading them; you can see recurring themes, common questions, and how schools even try to “diversify” their own diversity questions!

In this article I’ve put together 21 examples and grouped them together under the following categorizations:

• Prompts from Ivy League medical schools
• Prompts from mid-tier schools
• Prompts from low-tier schools
• Prompts from D.O. schools

I hope that by reading them you’ll get a better idea of what diversity essays are about!

Ready to get started? Let’s go.

Just want quick writing tips? Check out this article; How To Write An Awesome Diversity Essay In Medical School (5 Quick Tips) .

How can you find specific prompts for schools you’re applying for?

The best way to stay on top of secondary essay prompts is via the community at The Student Doctor Network .

There, you can sign up for alerts on application information (and secondary prompts) specific to each school.

You’ll also see new threads for every year of admission!

Diversity essay topics

You’ll see the most common topics from these prompts include:

• Your educational environment
• Your cultural and socioeconomic background
• Your ethnicity
• Your geographic origin
• Your lifestyle
• Your gender identity
• Your sexual orientation
• Your physical ability/challenges
• Your views on social justice
• Your work experience

Ivy League medical school diversity essay prompts

Of course, this list is by no means exhaustive and colleges change these prompts every year.

You’ll also notice that not every school asks for a secondary essay based on diversity!

Pay close attention to the word count of your school’s prompt when it comes to writing…

Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Are there any special, unique, personal, or challenging aspects of your personal background or circumstances that you would like to share with the Committee on Admissions, not addressed elsewhere (siblings/relatives at Penn, applying as a couple, educational environment, culture, ethnicity, etc.) ( 1000 characters)

Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons values diversity in all its forms. How will your background and experiences contribute to this important focus of our institution and inform your future role as a physician? 300 words .

Harvard Medical School

If there is an important aspect of your personal background or identity, not addressed elsewhere in the application, 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, identification with a minority culture, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. Briefly explain how such factors have influenced your motivation for a career in medicine.  (4000 character maximum)

Geisel School of Medicine

Geisel School of Medicine values social justice and diversity in all its forms. Reflect on a situation where you were the “other”. (250 words)

Yale School of Medicine

Yale School of Medicine values diversity in all its forms. How will your background and experiences contribute to this important focus of our institution and inform your future role as a physician? (500 words limit)

Alpert Medical School

How will your unique attributes (e.g., cultural or socioeconomic background, lifestyle, work experiences) add to the overall diversity of the Alpert Medical School community?  (2000 characters)

Mid Tier medical school diversity essay prompts

*Schools typically ranking 10-20 in common medical school rankings

These schools follow the same trends as those of the Ivy League ones. They also expect you to think about socioeconomics, sexual orientation, gender, and ethnicity, etc.

Some recycle their prompts every year. Others (like John Hopkins/Vanderbilt) are a little more open to creativity.

Duke University

Tell us more about who you are. You may provide additional information that expands your self-identity where gender identification, racial and/or ethnic self description, geographic origin, socioeconomic, academic, and/or other characteristics that define who you are as you contemplate a career that will interface with people who are similar AND dissimilar to you. You will have the opportunity below to tell us how you wish to be addressed, recognized and treated. (500 words)

Stanford University

The Committee on Admissions regards the diversity (broadly defined) of an entering class as an important factor in serving the educational mission of the school. The Committee on Admissions strongly encourages you to share unique, personally important and/or challenging factors in your background which may include such discussions as the quality of your early education, gender, sexual orientation, any physical challenges, and life or work experiences. Please describe how these factors have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine and may help you to uniquely contribute to the Stanford learning environment. (2000 characters )

Johns Hopkins University

Briefly describe a situation where you were not in the majority. What did you learn from the experience?  (2500 characters)

Optional:  You may address any subject you wish, such as being a first generation college student, or being a part of a minority group (whether because of your sexual orientation, religion, economic status, gender identity, ethnicity) or being the child of undocumented immigrants or being undocumented yourself, etc. (2500 characters)

University of Pittsburgh

UPSOM is committed to building a diverse and talented community that will train physicians in delivering culturally competent, person-centered care, and promoting a supportive, collaborative learning environment. To achieve this, we want our fellow students to recognize health disparities and advocate for health equity. We are interested in combating all forms of systemic barriers, and would like to hear your thoughts on opposing specifically: systemic racism, anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, and misogyny. How will you contribute? (Limit your response to  250 words or less .)

Vanderbilt University

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)

Northwestern University (Feinberg)

The Feinberg School of Medicine values diversity as a measure of excellence. We define diversity as the totality of the characteristics and experiences of our students. We believe that a diverse student body improves the educational environment and the ability of our graduates to serve an increasingly diverse patient population. Narrative Descriptions: Everyone has their own narrative. Please provide more detail about how your experiences would enrich the Northwestern community. (200 word max)

Feinberg’s mission is to train future leaders in medicine who will serve their patients, communities and society. Describe one specific interest in medicine and how FSM, located in Chicago which is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the country, will help you achieve this professional goal. (200 word max)

Low Tier medical school diversity essay prompts

*Schools typically ranking outside the top 20 in common medical school rankings

Diversity is at the heart of all medical colleges in the U.S.

Rankings? Have nothing to do with a school’s level of commitment – as you’ll see with these prompts!

Make sure you read your school’s mission statement along with their prompt, that’ll help you better approach an answer.

University of Iowa (Carver)

Describe any unique personal characteristics or obstacles you may have overcome that will influence your contribution to a diverse healthcare system.

Temple University (Katz)

How do you plan on contributing to the Lewis Katz School of Medicine Community? LKSOM seeks an engaged student body with a wide variety of backgrounds, 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 LKSOM community. (2000 characters )

Florida Atlantic University (Schmidt)

Diversity means understanding that each individual is unique and recognizing our individual differences. Describe what uniqueness you would bring to the Schmidt COM. We are proud to already have a medical school rich in cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity. What values, skills, talents, and life experiences would you add to our culture? (1600 characters )

SUNY Upstate Medical University

Upstate Medical University is strongly committed to providing a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment for the patients we serve and all who work at, study at, or visit our campus. As a potential partner in this effort, please describe your commitment to eliminating health inequities, discrimination, or other forms of social injustice. (500 words)

George Washington University

What makes you a unique individual? What challenges have you faced? How will these factors help you contribute to the diversity of the student body at GW? (1000 characters)

D.O. medical school diversity essay prompts

You’ll also see that D.O. schools require diversity essays just as often as their allopathic counterparts.

The same writing rules and strategies apply.

Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MSUCOM)

Other than healthcare access, what are some of the most important health care issues confronting underserved communities? How would you address them?

Briefly describe a situation where you were not in the majority. What did you learn from this experience?’

New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM)

NYITCOM values diversity, equity, and inclusion. How will your background and experiences add to our inclusive culture and how will this focus influence your future role as a physician? (Max. 1000 characters)

What should you do with a medical school diversity essay prompt?

The next best step is to look at your school’s mission statement. Examine what their aims and objectives are in terms of student and faculty representation. Understand that, then try to draw parallels from your own background that lend themselves well.

Use it to brainstorm a couple of points from your life that fit the prompt. Then choose what you feel are the best ones and start writing a couple of rough drafts.

The important thing is to make an attempt early. That’ll make it seem less daunting!

Where can I see medical school diversity essay examples?

I’ve ranked some of the best diversity essay examples I could find, along with giving them a small critique, in the following article…

Related : 6 Medical School Diversity Essay Examples (Ranked Best To Worst!)

Hopefully, scanning over those can give you further ideas on what to think and write about.

Born and raised in the UK, Will went into medicine late (31) after a career in journalism. He’s into football (soccer), learned Spanish after 5 years in Spain, and has had his work published all over the web. Read more .

• Recommended

How to write a medical school diversity essay

Now that you’ve turned in your AMCAS (phew!), you’re probably wondering how to tackle the monster of  secondaries  coming your way. One of the most common questions asked in one form or another is the diversity essay for medical school. Have you ever wondered why diversity is such an important component of the medical school admission process? I’ve heard a lot of pre-med students eager to write this off as a political move on the behalf of medical schools, without taking the time to truly consider its value.

Of course, in the U.S. we have a powerful tradition of diversity in higher education. Diversity in the classroom (and on campus) allows students to produce a “creative friction,” thereby improving the educational experience for all.

However, in the medical school context, diversity has an additional, more utilitarian purpose: It is crucial to the quality of medical care provided by these soon-to-be physicians. An ability to understand your patients — regardless of background — is an integral part of your life as a doctor.

So, now that we have solved the great admissions diversity mystery, we can get started on the actual essays. First, what does a “diversity essay” actually look like? Let’s take an example from one of Stanford Med School’s recent secondary applications:

The Committee on Admissions regards the diversity (broadly defined) of an entering class as an important factor in serving the educational mission of the school. The Committee on Admissions strongly encourages you to share unique, personally important, and/or challenging factors in your background, such as the quality of your early educational environment, socioeconomic status, culture, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and life or work experiences. Please discuss how such factors have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine. -->

Or this question from Wake Forest School of Medicine:

The Committee on Admissions values diversity as an important factor in the educational mission of the Wake Forest School of Medicine. How will you contribute to the diversity of your medical school class and to the medical community in general?

Ultimately, these medical school diversity essays are all variations on the same question, “How are you different from other applicants, and how does that difference impact your ability to contribute in medical school and beyond?”

This prompt brings us to our first action point:

1. “Diversity” and “underrepresented minority” are not synonymous. 

Have you ever heard someone lament, “[sigh] … I’m not a minority so I’m not diverse.” I have. Many times. Most frequently, this lamentation originates from a lack of creativity and fundamental understanding about what diversity means. As we’ve already discussed, diversity serves two purposes: 1) Varying perspectives in a classroom and on campus so as to produce more comprehensive learning; and, 2) Improving patient care once these applicants become newly-minted MDs.

Thus, while ethno-cultural, religious, or socioeconomic backgrounds are all forms of diversity, they are by no means the only forms of diversity. Indeed, diversity is anything about you which is special and which will allow you to satisfy the objectives of diversity as described above.

Multlingual? That’s diversity.

Been in the military? That’s diversity.

Had a rare disease as a child? That’s diversity.

Have a special personal quality (such as being a talented connector, or unusually high EQ)? Diversity.

Have a very specific and innovative career path in mind (e.g., using robotics to improve prosthetics)? Diversity.

Worked as a personal trainer or a nutritionist? …  You see where I’m going with this. The key is not to narrowly define diversity, but instead to broadly construe how your “diverse elements” will allow you to contribute something unique to your prospective school and ultimately, your profession.

This brings us to our second action point:

2. Your “diversity” means nothing if it isn’t clearly connected to your potential contribution.

Sometimes, applicants get too caught up in the ways they are different, that they forget that being different is not an end, but a means to an end. These differences and unique qualities/experiences have to accomplish something. They have to help prove that you are deserving of a seat at the med school roundtable.

For example, being a chronic truant or two-time felon are certainly unique qualities and experiences for an applicant to medical school. Will they help you get in? Almost certainly not, and for obvious reasons. Best to focus on some other topic for your medical school diversity essay.

The point is simple: once you have identified what makes you unique, your primary task is to explain how that uniqueness will allow you to contribute something special in school and beyond.

This brings us to our third action point:

3. Diversity, as with all other parts of your application, requires evidence.

“I am the smartest person in the world.”

Really!? Are you actually the smartest person in the world? Prove it.

“I have unique insight into the needs of immigrant populations.”

Oh, do you? And what, pray tell, gives you this incredible insight?

“I have always dreamed of being part of Doctors Without Borders, and helping to save the world one person at a time.”

Is that so? Because I don’t see a single international community service experience on your application …

… see where I’m going with this? Diversity, though it may be an intangible concept or quality, still requires tangible evidence. A diversity essay for medical school is not complete without a clear explanation of how your “diversity” relates to your experiences.

For example, if you are a first-generation college student and the son/daughter of immigrants, you cannot just baldly state that this background gives you some crucial insight into the needs of immigrant populations. Although it seems plausible that you would know more than others who are from affluent, non-immigrant backgrounds, you still need to prove it. Make the connections explicit.

You could do this by providing anecdotes about your communication skills with immigrant families during your time with Habitat for Humanity. Or you could explain how you used your special insights and cross-cultural communication skills in becoming a leader in La Raza.

Ultimately, if what makes you diverse is that you have a very high capacity for empathy, you don’t need to have an activity on your AMCAS experiences section called “the society for people who empathize good and want to learn to do other things good too.” You just need to explain how your diverse element(s) have affected or motivated your activities, even if they seem totally unrelated.

For instance, “I am a motivator. I love motivating people to better their lives. That is why I worked as a nutritionist. Moreover, as a writing instructor at Dartmouth’s RWIT program, I had the opportunity not only to help students with their writing, but also to show them how exciting and fun it could be.” Please note: This is not from an actual essay, and if it was, it would not be especially good. This is just to demonstrate a point.

Thus, if you do decide to focus on ethnic, cultural, or religious diversity, the best approach is not to hammer the adcom with how significant your minority status is. Rather, a strong essay might focus on your activities which were committed to diversity and social justice issues; or on your pursuits which address health disparities between minority and non-minority populations; or experiences which provide tangible evidence of your cross-cultural competence during patient or client interactions. Of course, these three topics are not exhaustive, but might be a good place to start.

This brings us to our final, and most succinct point:

4. Using buzzwords doesn’t convince anyone.

This is a common mistake among applicants who think that repeating buzzwords such as “diverse,” “multicultural,” “cross-cultural,” “underrepresented,” etc. will automatically convince an adcom that they are those things. It won’t. In fact, it is no more likely to convince them of your diversity credentials than if I tried to convince you of the quality of this article by simply repeating “this article is super informative and comprehensive, and it is likely the best thing you’ve read all week.”

In short: Let your evidence and experience do the talking.

Joel Butterfly is co-founder and CEO, InGenious Prep .

Image credit:  Shutterstock.com

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Reset password, create a free fasthire account, how to write successful diversity essay for medical school (sample).

• July 19, 2023
• Education/Study

How do you write a successful diversity essay for medical school? Here is one major question raised by applicants and today we will provide you with answers. Read on to learn more.

The application process for medical school has evolved beyond simply submitting transcripts, letters of recommendation, and personal statements . While these documents are still essential, some medical schools now require diversity essays, which allow applicants to share their unique experiences and perspectives. This helps the admissions committee create a more inclusive and diverse student body.

A well-written diversity essay can help you stand out from the competition and increase your chances of getting accepted into medical school. Hence, In this article, we will discuss the meaning of diversity, what is meant by a diversity essay for medical school, and the various factors that count as diversity. We will also outline the steps to writing a convincing essay and provide examples of diversity essay prompts by different universities.

Furthermore, this article would not be complete if we didn’t include a sample diversity essay for medical school. Therefore, we will provide you with a sample to guide you when drafting your essay. Let’s get started!

What is a  Diversity Essay for Medical School?

Diversity essays are a common part of the secondary application process for medical school. They allow you to share your unique perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds related to diversity and inclusion. This is your chance to show how your diverse attributes can positively impact the medical school community and the practice of medicine.

While the diversity essay is a secondary requirement, it is still an important part of the medical school application process. Medical schools value diversity because it enriches the learning environment and helps future healthcare professionals provide culturally competent and compassionate care to patients from different backgrounds. Therefore, the diversity essay can give you an advantage in the admissions process by providing the selection committee with more information about your unique experiences and perspectives.

  What Factors Count as Diversity

One challenge applicants face when considering writing a diversity essay is the perception that diversity only includes people from underrepresented geographical areas, cultural backgrounds, or ethnicities. While these are all valid forms of diversity, many other areas can be incorporated into this field.

Diversity in the context of a diversity essay covers the entire perspective that makes up a unique individual. 

Here are two broad categories you should be thinking about:

Perspective 1

This includes

• A gap year in your medical school journey
• An applicant with a non-science background
• A transitioning practitioner 
• An expert with military experience
• A career changer 
• An applicant with social

Perspective 2

Here you consider the overall diversity thought peculiar to all individuals in the universe:

• Race and ethnicity 
• Socioeconomic status
• Gender identity
• Language and Linguistic Diversity
• Family Structure
• Life Challenges and Adversities
• Sexual orientation
• Disability:
• Life experiences
• Cultural Heritage
• Immigration and Identity
• Advocacy for Inclusion
• Intersectionality
• Career Aspirations
• Cross-Cultural Communication
• Social Justice Involvement
• Volunteer Work

Note: These categories mentioned above make up the various topics you can discuss in your diversity essay for medical school.

Examples of Diversity Essay Prompt for Medical School.

The diversity essay prompt may vary from school to school, but its underlying purpose remains the same. The primary goal of these questions is to gain insight into your perspective on diversity. To help you better understand these prompts, let’s explore some examples of diversity essay prompts from various universities.

Prompt: Stanford University

“The Committee on Admissions regards the diversity (broadly defined) of an entering class as an important factor in serving the educational mission of the school. The Committee on Admissions strongly encourages you to share unique, personally important and/or challenging factors in your background which may include such discussions as the quality of your early education, gender, sexual orientation, any physical challenges, and life or work experiences. Please describe how these factors have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine and may help you to uniquely contribute to the Stanford learning environment. (2000 characters)”

Prompt: Harvard Medical School 

“If there is an important aspect of your background or identity, not addressed elsewhere in the application, that you would like to share with the Committee, we invite you to do so here. Many applicants will not need to answer this question. Examples might include significant challenges in access to education, unusual socioeconomic factors, and identification with a minority culture, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. Briefly explain how such factors have influenced your motivation for a career in medicine.”

Prompt: Mayo Clinic College of Medicine

 “ We are all differentiated from or connected by individual inflexions that constitute our diversity. Explain how your relationship with your diversity and to the diversities of others manifests in your personal and professional activities.” 

Prompt: Yale School of Medicine 

“ Yale School of Medicine values diversity in all its forms. How will your background and experiences contribute to this important focus of our institution and inform your future role as a physician?  “

Prompt: University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine

“ Given the diversity statement of the school, explain how your background and experiences with diversity will bring value to the school.”

How to Write a Diversity Essay For Medical School

Writing a secondary application of diversity is not as hard as you think. But if you are having issues writing yours, Here is a guide to help you:

1. Understand the Purpose of the Diversity Essay

Before you start writing your diversity essay, it is important to understand its purpose. The diversity essay is not just a list of your diverse experiences and accomplishments. It is an opportunity to reflect on how these experiences have shaped your worldview and how you can use your unique perspective to contribute to the medical community.

The admissions committees want to see your ability to think critically and empathetically about diversity, as well as your commitment to promoting inclusivity in the medical field. In your diversity essay, you should strive to answer the following questions:

• What have you learned about yourself and others through your experiences with diversity?
• How have your experiences with diversity shaped your understanding of the world and your commitment to social justice?
• How do you believe your experiences with diversity will inform your work as a physician?
• What have you learned from your different cultural, social, or economic experiences?
• How do your unique perspectives and insights allow you to see the world differently?
• How will your unique perspectives and insights benefit your patients and colleagues?
• What are your specific goals for promoting diversity and inclusivity in the medical field?
• What specific actions do you plan to take to achieve these goals?
• How will your commitment to diversity and inclusivity make a difference in the lives of your patients and colleagues?

Answering these questions sets the stage for your ideas to flow. Remember, this is just the preliminary stage

2. Choose the right Diversity Essay Topic

Choosing the right topic for your diversity essay is essential. It should be something that is personally meaningful to you and allows you to showcase your unique experiences and perspectives. Here are a few tips to help you select the perfect topic:

• Brainstorm your journey : Think about the experiences, challenges, or moments that have had a significant impact on your understanding of diversity. Consider how these experiences have shaped your values, beliefs, and aspirations about medicine.
• Highlight your unique perspective: What makes you different? What aspects of your background or identity set you apart from other applicants? Focus on those aspects that have influenced your outlook on diversity and healthcare.
• Consider the broader impact : How do you envision your contribution to the medical field? How will your unique perspective and experiences translate into tangible actions that promote diversity and inclusivity in healthcare?
• Connect your story : Now, use the right words to make your narrative logical and easy to follow.

Remember, the goal is not to simply recount your experiences, but to reflect on their significance and how they have influenced your journey towards becoming a healthcare professional. Choose a topic that allows you to tell a compelling story and effectively convey your passion for diversity and medicine.

3. Highlight 2 or 3 Unique Experiences and Expand on it

Once you have chosen a topic, it is time to dive into the heart of your diversity essay by highlighting your unique experiences and perspectives. This is your chance to showcase the aspects of your background and identity that have shaped your understanding of diversity and influenced your desire to pursue a career in medicine.

Introduction:

Start by painting a vivid picture of the situations or encounters that have had the most profound impact on you. Use descriptive language to engage the reader and bring your experiences to life. This will capture their attention and make your essay more memorable.

Next, reflect on the significance of these experiences. How have they shaped your worldview? What lessons have you learned from them? How have they influenced your understanding of diversity and its importance in healthcare? Be honest and introspective in your reflections, as this will add depth and authenticity to your essay.

Conclusion:

Finally, tie your experiences and perspectives back to your motivation for pursuing a career in medicine. Explain how your unique background and insights will enable you to contribute to a diverse and inclusive medical community. Show the admissions committee that you have a clear vision for how you will use your experiences to make a difference in healthcare.

Remember, it is not just about what you have experienced, but how those experiences have shaped you and your commitment to diversity in medicine. Your essay should be a cohesive narrative that flows from one section to the next. Each section should build on the previous one, culminating in a powerful conclusion that leaves the reader with a lasting impression.

4. Editing and Revising Your Diversity Essay

Once you have written your diversity essay, it is important to take some time to edit and revise it. This will ensure that your essay is clear, concise, and free of grammatical or spelling errors.

Here are a few tips to help you in the editing process:

• Take a break. After writing your first draft, step away from your essay for a day or two. This will give you fresh eyes and allow you to approach your essay with a more critical mindset.
• Read aloud. Reading your essay aloud will help you catch any awkward phrasing or grammatical errors. It will also help you ensure that your essay flows smoothly and has a natural rhythm.
• Eliminate unnecessary details . Review your essay and remove any repetitive or irrelevant information. Focus on the most important aspects of your experiences and reflections, and ensure that every sentence contributes to your overall message.
• Seek feedback . Ask trusted friends, family members, or mentors to read your essay and provide feedback. They can offer valuable insights and suggestions for improvement.

Remember, the editing process is just as important as the writing process. By carefully editing and revising your diversity essay, you can ensure that it is polished and impactful.

Make your Diversity Essay standout with Storytelling

Storytelling is a powerful tool when it comes to writing a standout diversity essay. With this technique, you can captivate the reader and make your essay more engaging and memorable. 

Here are a few storytelling techniques to consider:

• Start with a compelling hook. You could start your essay with a personal anecdote that illustrates your understanding of diversity. For example, you could write about a time when you were challenged by someone’s different beliefs or values.
• Use descriptive language . When you describe the people, places, and emotions involved in your experiences, use vivid language that will help the reader visualize your story. For example, you could describe the setting of a particular event in detail, or you could use figurative language to capture the emotions you were feeling.
• Show, don’t tell. Instead of simply stating your beliefs or values, demonstrate them through concrete examples and actions. For example, you could write about a time when you took action to promote diversity in your community.
• Create a narrative arc . Structure your essay like a story, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. This will help the reader follow your journey and understand how your experiences have shaped your understanding of diversity.

Diversity Essay Examples for Medical School

Embracing Diversity in Medicine: A Journey of Passion, Purpose, and Global Impact

If I were told that I would pursue a career in medicine, I would have laughed so hard, cracking my ribs. You see, I had a distaste for the sight of blood, and swallowing medications was an ordeal. However, life has a peculiar way of molding us, and my path to medicine emerged from the depths of tragedy and a deep desire to make a meaningful difference.

Growing up in a polygamous home in Nigeria, I was immersed in a multicultural household that exposed me to diverse traditions, languages, and perspectives. Despite the complexities often associated with such arrangements, our family thrived on unity, with everyone contributing to our growth and development. Witnessing the strength and resilience of my stepmothers and the collective effort to maintain harmony instilled in me a profound appreciation for collaboration and the power of diversity.

On that fateful Sunday evening, our lives were shattered by a senseless act of violence. Three armed men stormed into our home, and with bullets piercing through my fathers’ ribs and hand, our world turned upside down. Amid the chaos, the fragility of life and the disparities in our healthcare system became glaringly apparent. As we rushed my father to the hospital, we faced numerous obstacles. Calling for an ambulance was not a viable option, so we relied on the kindness of neighbors to transport him. The hospital demanded a police report before administering treatment, and obtaining one was a daunting task. Yet, amidst the chaos, a police officer lent a helping hand, expediting the process and enabling my father to receive the care he desperately needed. Gazing upon my father’s weakened state, my heart shattered. The hospital lacked his blood type, and the search for a suitable donor was a race against time. Miraculously, my boyfriend, who happened to be a match, selflessly donated his blood. Throughout that agonizing night, I clung to hope, praying for a miracle. However, tragedy struck, and my father succumbed to his injuries while undergoing surgery, deprived even of basic pain relief.

This harrowing experience ignited a fire within me a deep-seated passion to address the inadequacies in our healthcare system and alleviate the suffering of others. I realized that my purpose lay in becoming a physician, armed with compassion, empathy, and a commitment to diversity. Drawing from my academic and professional background, I possess a solid foundation for success in medical school. With a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and experience working as a medical assistant, I have gained valuable insights into patient care and the intricacies of healthcare delivery. These experiences have reinforced my understanding of the importance of holistic, patient-centered care and sharpened my resolve to promote equitable access to quality healthcare.

In choosing to pursue my medical education abroad, I have been drawn to a country that values diversity, inclusivity, and innovation in healthcare. The United States, renowned for its cutting-edge medical advancements and emphasis on comprehensive patient care, presents an ideal environment for me to flourish both personally and professionally. By attending the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine, I am confident that I will be immersed in a diverse community of learners, fostering an environment where various perspectives and experiences enrich the educational journey. I am inspired by the commitment of the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine to cultivate culturally competent physicians who can bridge gaps in healthcare and provide equitable care to all individuals, regardless of their background.

In joining the medical school community, I hope to contribute my unique perspective and experiences, offering insights into the challenges faced by underrepresented communities. I aspire to actively participate in initiatives that promote diversity and inclusion within the institution while advocating for equitable healthcare policies on a broader scale. Ultimately, my goal as a future physician is to provide compassionate, culturally sensitive care to patients from all walks of life. I believe that my diverse upbringing and personal experiences have endowed me with a heightened sense of empathy and an ability to connect with patients on a profound level. By embracing diversity, I aim to serve as a bridge between different cultures, fostering understanding, trust, and improved health outcomes.

In conclusion, my journey to medicine has been shaped by tragedy, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to creating a more equitable healthcare system. Through my academic and professional background, I have gained invaluable skills and insights that will enable me to thrive in medical school and beyond. By choosing to study medicine in a diverse and innovative environment, I am poised to make a meaningful impact by advocating for change and providing compassionate care to those in need.

Yours sincerely,

Albert, Dinma

1. How to Approach Diversity Essay for Med School?

• Start by brainstorming your experiences and perspectives. What aspects of your background and identity have shaped your understanding of diversity? How have your experiences made you more open-minded and empathetic?
• Choose a specific experience to focus on. This could be an event, a person, or a community that has had a significant impact on your understanding of diversity.
• Write about the impact of this experience on your worldview. How has it changed your perspective on the world? What have you learned about yourself and others?
• Connect your experience to your desire to pursue a career in medicine. How will your unique perspective and experiences help you to be a better physician?
• Be honest and authentic. The admissions committee wants to get to know the real you, so don’t be afraid to share your personal experiences and thoughts.

2. How Do You Start an Essay About Diversity and Inclusion?

Begin your essay about diversity and inclusion with a captivating hook. This could be a thought-provoking quote, a personal anecdote, or a startling statistic. Introduce the significance of diversity and inclusion, and how it impacts various aspects of life or the field you’re discussing. Set the tone for a thoughtful and engaging exploration of the topic.

4. How Do You Answer Diversity Questions in a Medical School Interview?

When answering diversity questions in a medical school interview:

• Be honest and authentic: Share genuine experiences that have shaped your understanding of diversity.
• Highlight empathy and cultural competence: Emphasize your ability to relate to and understand patients from diverse backgrounds.
• Discuss your contributions: Mention any initiatives or experiences where you actively promoted diversity and inclusion.
• Connect to your future career: Explain how embracing diversity will impact your approach to patient care and collaboration with colleagues.
• Be clear and concise. The interviewer is busy, so make sure your answers are easy to understand.
• Be positive. Focus on the positive aspects of diversity and how it has enriched your life.

Conclusion : Successful Diversity Essay for Medical School

Diversity essays are an important part of the medical school application process. They allow applicants to share their unique experiences and perspectives, and to show the admissions committee that they are more than just their GPA and MCAT score. By writing effective diversity essays, applicants can show that they are committed to diversity and inclusion and that they would be a valuable addition to the medical school community.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, writing a medical school diversity essay.

Hey guys, I'm starting to think about my application for med school, and I know I'll have to write a diversity essay. Do any of you have advice on how to approach this? What sort of experiences and personal qualities should I emphasize in the essay to make my application stand out? Thanks in advance!

When writing a medical school diversity essay, it's important to showcase the unique experiences, perspectives, and qualities you bring to the table. Remember, diversity goes beyond race and ethnicity; it can encompass socio-economic background, personal struggles, and distinctive skills. Here are several tips to help you create a strong diversity essay:

1. Reflect on your background and experiences: Think about the factors that set you apart from other applicants. This could include upbringing in a non-traditional family, your work with underprivileged communities, or hobbies that align with your commitment to helping others (e.g. volunteering in a homeless shelter).

2. Focus on one or two key themes: Rather than trying to touch on every aspect of your diversity, choose one or two central qualities to develop in-depth. This could be a unique cultural insight or specific life experience that has shaped your character and perspective.

3. Show how your diversity will add value to the medical community: Explain how the traits you're highlighting will benefit your future patients and the medical field overall. For example, if you have advanced language skills, discuss how you will break down communication barriers by translating for patients or connecting with non-English speaking communities.

4. Demonstrate personal growth from your experiences: Illustrate how your unique perspective has evolved over time, showcasing your adaptability and openness to learning. If you've faced adversity, explain how you've overcome challenges and how these experiences have prepared you for the demands of medical school and a career in healthcare.

5. Make it memorable and genuine: Your essay should be an engaging narrative that captures the reader's attention. Take the time to craft a well-organized, thoughtful essay that showcases your unique qualities without resorting to cliches or overused examples.

6. Be mindful of the word count: Medical school essays typically have strict word limits. Stay within the required word count while still delivering a comprehensive and compelling message.

Remember, the purpose of the diversity essay is to demonstrate what sets you apart from other applicants and how your unique perspective will contribute to the medical field. By emphasizing your specific experiences and qualities in the context of healthcare, you'll create a strong, memorable essay that showcases your commitment to serving others and your potential to excel in medical school. Good luck!

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Weekly Weigh-in: The Diversity Secondary Essay

Welcome to PDr’s Weekly Weigh-in! Each week, we ask medical students and physicians to weigh in on some of our most frequently asked pre-med questions. This week’s question:  How did you approach “the diversity secondary essay” on your secondary applications?

Edward Chang, DGSOM MS3

Honestly I had a pretty tough time with the diversity question. I didn’t know how far I could go with this question and I had a difficult time putting what I thought made me unique on paper without sounding arrogant or cliche. At the time I was applying, I also thought this question was very ethnically charged (I felt that I couldn’t be “different” as a typical Asian American from a middle-class family) but looking back, I realized that I was approaching the question very narrow-mindedly. If I were to answer the question now, I would emphasize the unique aspects of my personality and the specific instances that demonstrate those unique qualities. I personally wouldn’t talk about race but rather focus on how my uniqueness would contribute to the student body overall. I think a few things that make me who I am are:

Obviously many people have those qualities but I think its the combination of those characteristics that make me unique.

|| Read:  Diversity in Medical Secondary Questions ||

Evan Laveman, DGSOM MS3

When I was answering questions on diversity in my secondary statements, I would catch myself unconsciously interpreting the word ‘diversity’ as a difference in race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. I urge everyone to not be limited in their approach to portraying their own diversity. What sets me apart is not my skin color, religion, or how much money my parents make. What sets me apart is that I worked within the same marine safety department for 7 years. I got permission to obtain my EMT license earlier than most other California residents. I’ve been personally involved in saving lives and losing lives. I love the ocean. I once paddled 41 miles down the Southern California coast in one day.I helped to found a social fraternity at UCLA. I value community, camaraderie, compassion, and service. I attempted a day hike of Mount Whitney in the snow, and knew when to turn back. I’m a hard worker, but I strive to never work so hard that I lose my grounding. There are many qualities and characteristics I possess that I share with others, and some that may be unique to just me, but the constellation of what I’ve done is a fingerprint that I feel defines me and makes me diverse. This is how I chose to answer questions on diversity- by focusing on the active aspects of my character, instead of passive identifiers.

|| Read: Three Secondaries to Pre-Write ||

Brandon Brown, UCSF MS2

I approached the diversity question by just writing about what made me a unique individual that would provide new perspectives to the incoming medical school class. Diversity doesn’t merely mean diversity in how you look or where you came from, but how your experiences have shaped you as an individual and how your experiences provide a valuable addition to a group. I wrote about about my family, my upbringing, and some of the skills I’ve acquired (e.g. programming) and how those inform my decisions, thought process, and contribute to improving team work.

|| Check out: PDr’s Secondary Essay Prompts Database to start pre-writing! ||

Evan Shih, DGSOM MS3

As a heterosexual Asian-American male from an immigrant family with aspirations of applying to medical school, I wasn’t exactly jumping to the top of anybody’s diversity checklist, at least not in the classic sense of “racial background, sexual identity, and social background”. However, I wanted to show medical schools that despite growing up in an “cookie cutter” suburban community, I still possessed experiences that provided me with both an enriched background and an open-minded outlook. With my diversity essay, I sought to exhibit the fact that I was eager to learn more about the diverse patient population that I was going to serve in the future. I wrote about my experiences volunteering with a homeless clinic and the multitude of patient backgrounds in the Greater Los Angeles area: recently displaced families, chronic cocaine addicts, veteran war heroes, Latino immigrants, and countless individuals of the LGBT community.

Working with the homeless clinic showed me two things: 1) I knew very little about the world around me and 2) If I wanted to practice medicine in Southern California, I needed to hone my Spanish skills. These two realizations compelled me to plan a summer trip to Cusco, Peru with a friend. For 3 weeks we took medical Spanish, learned to salsa dance, and hiked the Inca Trail. My multicultural experiences in both Peru and inner-city Los Angeles provided me with an understanding of the many different patient backgrounds that I would encounter as a physician, and I wanted to show schools that I was confident that I could contribute the same enthusiasm and capabilities in medical school.

Related posts:

• Weekly Weigh-in: The University Secondary Essay
• Weekly Weigh-in: Which Medical Schools Should I Apply To?
• Weekly Weigh-in: The Adversity Secondary Essay
• Weekly Weigh-in: Preparing for Interview Season

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May 11, 2023

Writing an Excellent Diversity Essay

What is the diversity question in a school application, and why does it matter when applying to leading programs and universities? Most importantly, how should you respond?

Diversity is of supreme value in higher education, and schools want to know how every student will contribute to it in their community. A diversity essay is an essay that encourages applicants with disadvantaged or underrepresented backgrounds, an unusual education, a distinctive experience, or a unique family history to write about how these elements of their background have prepared them to play a useful role in increasing and encouraging diversity among their target program’s student body and broader community.

In this post, we’ll cover the following topics: 

How to show you can add to diversity

Why diversity matters at school, seven examples that reveal diversity, how to write about your diversity, diversity essay example, want to ensure your application demonstrates the diversity that your dream school is seeking.

If you are an immigrant to the United States, the child of immigrants, or someone whose ethnicity is underrepresented in the States, your response to “How will you add to the diversity of our class/community?” and similar questions might help your application efforts. Why? Because you can use it to show how your background will add a distinctive perspective to the program you are applying to.

Download this sample personal background essay, and see how one candidate won over the adcom and got accepted into their top-choice MBA program.

Of course, if you’re not from a group that is underrepresented in your field or a disadvantaged group, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have anything to write about in a diversity essay.

For example, you might have an unusual or special experience to share, such as serving in the military, being a member of a dance troupe, or caring for a disabled relative. These and other distinctive experiences can convey how you will contribute to the diversity of the school’s campus.

You could be the first member of your family to apply to college or the first to learn English in your household. Perhaps you have worked your way through college or helped raise your siblings. You might also have been an ally to those who are underrepresented, disadvantaged, or marginalized in your community, at your previous school, or in an earlier work experience. 

As you can see, diversity is not limited to one’s religion, ethnicity, culture, language, or sexual orientation. It refers to whatever element of your identity  distinguishes you from others and shows that you, too, value diversity.

Admissions officers believe diversity in the classroom improves the educational experience of all the students involved. They also believe that having a diverse workforce better serves society as a whole.

The more diverse perspectives found in the classroom, throughout the dorms, in the dining halls, and mixed into study groups, the richer the discussions will be.

Plus, learning and growing in this kind of multicultural environment will prepare students for working in our increasingly multicultural and global world.

In medicine, for example, a heterogeneous workforce benefits people from previously underrepresented cultures. Businesses realize they will market more effectively if they can speak to different audiences and markets, which is possible when members of their workforce come from different backgrounds and cultures. Schools simply want to prepare graduates for the 21st century job market.

Adcoms want to know about your personal diversity elements and the way they have helped you develop particular character and personality traits , as well as the unusual experiences that have shaped you.

Here are seven examples an applicant could write about:

• They grew up with a strong insistence on respecting elders, attending family events, or learning their parents’ native language and culture.
• They are close to grandparents and extended family members who have taught them how teamwork can help everyone thrive.
• They have had to face difficulties that stem from their parents’ values being in conflict with theirs or those of their peers.
• Teachers have not always understood the elements of their culture or lifestyle and how those elements influence their performance.
• They suffered from discrimination and succeeded despite it because of their grit, values, and character.
• They learned skills from a lifestyle that is outside the norm (e.g., living in foreign countries as the child of a diplomat or contractor; performing professionally in theater, dance, music, or sports; having a deaf sibling).
• They’ve encountered racism or other prejudice (either toward themselves or others) and responded by actively promoting diverse, tolerant values.

And remember, it’s not just about who your parents are. It’s about who you are – at the core.

Your background, influences, religious observances, language, ideas, work environment, community experiences – all these factors come together to create a unique individual, one who will contribute to a varied class of distinct individuals taking their place in a diverse world.

Your answer to the diversity question should focus on how your experiences have built your empathy for others, your embrace of differences, your resilience, your character, and your perspective.

The school might well ask how you think of diversity or how you can bring or add to the diversity of your school, chosen profession, or community. Make sure you answer the specific question posed by highlighting distinctive elements of your profile that will add to the class mosaic every adcom is trying to create. You don’t want to blend in; you want to stand out in a positive way while also complementing the school’s canvas.

Here’s a simple, three-part framework that will help you think of diversity more, well, diversely:

• Identity : Who are you? What has contributed to your identity? How do you distinguish yourself? Your identity can include any of the following: gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, religion, nontraditional work experience, nontraditional educational background, multicultural background, and family’s educational level.
• Deeds : What have you done? What have you accomplished? This could include any of the following: achievements inside and/or outside your field of study, leadership opportunities, community service, , internship or professional experience, research opportunities, hobbies, and travel. Any or all of these could be unique. Also, what life-derailing, throw-you-for-a-loop challenges have you faced and overcome?
• Ideas : How do you think? How do you approach things? What drives you? What influences you? Are you the person who can break up a tense meeting with some well-timed humor? Are you the one who intuitively sees how to bring people together? 

Learn more about this three-part framework in this podcast episode.

Think about each question within this framework and how you could apply your diversity elements to the classroom, your school, or your community. Any of these elements will serve as the framework for your essay.

Don’t worry if you can’t think of something totally “out there.” You don’t need to be a tightrope walker living in the Andes or a Buddhist monk from Japan to pass the diversity test!

And please remember, the examples I have listed are not exhaustive. There are many other ways to show diversity!

All you need to write successfully about how you will contribute to the rich diversity of your target school’s community is to examine your identity, deeds, and ideas, with an eye toward your personal distinctiveness and individuality. There is only one you .

Want our advice on how you can best show diversity?

Click here to sign up for a free consultation.

Take a look at this sample diversity essay, and pay attention to how the writer underscores their appreciation for and experience with diversity. 

When I was starting 11 th grade, my dad, an agricultural scientist, was assigned to a 3-month research project in a farm village in Niigata (northwest Honshu in Japan). Rather than stay behind with my mom and siblings, I begged to go with him. As a straight-A student, I convinced my parents and the principal that I could handle my schoolwork remotely (pre-COVID) for that stretch. It was time to leap beyond my comfortable suburban Wisconsin life—and my Western orientation, reinforced by travel to Europe the year before. 

We roomed in a sprawling farmhouse with a family participating in my dad’s study. I thought I’d experience an “English-free zone,” but the high school students all studied and wanted to practice English, so I did meet peers even though I didn’t attend their school. Of the many eye-opening, influential, cultural experiences, the one that resonates most powerfully to me is experiencing their community. It was a living, organic whole. Elementary school kids spent time helping with the rice harvest. People who foraged for seasonal wild edibles gave them to acquaintances throughout the town. In fact, there was a constant sharing of food among residents—garden veggies carried in straw baskets, fish or meat in coolers. The pharmacist would drive prescriptions to people who couldn’t easily get out—new mothers, the elderly—not as a business service but as a good neighbor. If rain suddenly threatened, neighbors would bring in each other’s drying laundry. When an empty-nest 50-year-old woman had to be hospitalized suddenly for a near-fatal snakebite, neighbors maintained her veggie patch until she returned. The community embodied constant awareness of others’ needs and circumstances. The community flowed!

Yet, people there lamented that this lifestyle was vanishing; more young people left than stayed or came. And it wasn’t idyllic: I heard about ubiquitous gossip, long-standing personal enmities, busybody-ness. But these very human foibles didn’t dam the flow. This dynamic community organism couldn’t have been more different from my suburban life back home, with its insular nuclear families. We nod hello to neighbors in passing. 

This wonderful experience contained a personal challenge. Blond and blue-eyed, I became “the other” for the first time. Except for my dad, I saw no Westerner there. Curious eyes followed me. Stepping into a market or walking down the street, I drew gazes. People swiftly looked away if they accidentally caught my eye. It was not at all hostile, I knew, but I felt like an object. I began making extra sure to appear “presentable” before going outside. The sense of being watched sometimes generated mild stress or resentment. Returning to my lovely tatami room, I would decompress, grateful to be alone. I realized this challenge was a minute fraction of what others experience in my own country. The toll that feeling—and being— “other” takes on non-white and visibly different people in the US can be extremely painful. Experiencing it firsthand, albeit briefly, benignly, and in relative comfort, I got it.

Unlike the organic Niigata community, work teams, and the workplace itself, have externally driven purposes. Within this different environment, I will strive to exemplify the ongoing mutual awareness that fueled the community life in Niigata. Does it benefit the bottom line, improve the results? I don’t know. But it helps me be the mature, engaged person I want to be, and to appreciate the individuals who are my colleagues and who comprise my professional community. I am now far more conscious of people feeling their “otherness”—even when it’s not in response to negative treatment, it can arise simply from awareness of being in some way different.

What did you think of this essay? Does this middle class Midwesterner have the unique experience of being different from the surrounding majority, something she had not experienced in the United States? Did she encounter diversity from the perspective of “the other”? 

Here a few things to note about why this diversity essay works so well:

• The writer comes from “a comfortable, suburban, Wisconsin life,” suggesting that her own background might not be ethnically, racially, or in other ways diverse.
• The diversity “points” scored all come from her fascinating  experience of having lived in a Japanese farm village, where she immersed herself in a totally different culture.
• The lessons learned about the meaning of community are what broaden and deepen the writer’s perspective about life, about a purpose-driven life, and about the concept of “otherness.” 

By writing about a time when you experienced diversity in one of its many forms, you can write a memorable and meaningful diversity essay.

Working on your diversity essay?

Want to ensure that your application demonstrates the diversity that your dream school is seeking? Work with one of our admissions experts and . This checklist includes more than 30 different ways to think about diversity to jump-start your creative engines.

Related Resources:

•  Different Dimensions of Diversity , a podcast episode • What to Do if You Belong to an Overrepresented Applicant Group • Med School Admissions Advice for Nontraditional Applicants: The Experts Speak

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8 Tips to Writing an Excellent Diversity Essay

by internationalmedicalaid

Here at IMA, we believe in writing strong essays. We provide samples in our  medical school guides , and we’ve shown you how to write  strong personal statements . In today’s article, we’re going to examine the diversity essay. 

The diversity essay is among the classic essay prompts that many universities employ to better understand their applicants. If you don’t know how to write a diversity essay, this can be tricky. That’s why we’re going to break down the elements. If you know what the essay question is asking  and  how to answer it, you can write a fantastic essay. 

What Is Diversity?

Diversity is what makes you diverse. You could also say that diversity sets you apart from others. It makes you unique. It gives you an individual story to tell. Some kinds of diversity include:

• An unusual background
• A different educational experience
• A unique family history

How To Show Your Diversity

• Are you a U.S. immigrant?
• Were your parents immigrants?
• Do your parents have an unusual background?

If any of these apply to you, you can describe diverse aspects of your childhood. For example, if your mom was from China and ran a restaurant to support your family, you could talk about how your immigrant mother built a business from the ground up and taught you the value of hard work. What might seem ordinary or common to you could be unique and inspirational to someone else (like the admissions committee!).

• Are you a veteran?
• Did you serve as president of a club?
• Were you on your debate team?

Not all diversity means having diverse roots. Some experiences can make you diverse as well. For example, if you’ve been through the Army’s Basic Combat Training or Advanced Individual Training, you’ll surely have stories to tell. Your experiences will bring diversity to the campus you’re attending.

In short, diversity is about anything that makes you unique. Your diversity  can  come from your religious or cultural background. It could come from your sexual orientation or gender identity. But it could  also  be something entirely different. Indeed, you could write a story about having a rare disease and how you’ve worked through setbacks. Even that is diverse. 

We go into such great detail on what you can classify as “diversity” because some students get freaked out. They think that coming from a middle-class family in a suburban neighborhood means they’re not “diverse.” Then they worry that they won’t get into medical school because they’re not “diverse enough.” That is not true! Everyone has something that makes them diverse. And sharing that story will help the admissions committee to get to know you better. 

Why Is Diversity Important?

Diversity matters for a few reasons. 

• Diversity improves a student’s classroom experience.
• Diversity teaches things you can’t learn in a textbook.
• Diversity in medicine allows for better healthcare .

If everyone came from the same background, had the same interests and interacted the same way, we’d have a pretty boring world. But if we surround ourselves with a diverse population, our opportunities for growth never end. 

Once you don your white coat as an  M.D. or D.O. , you’ll be surrounded by diverse populations. The more diversity you’ve been exposed to, the better of a healthcare provider you’ll be. 

10 Diversity Examples to Get You Started

We’ve talked about diversity… now let’s get you started! Here are ten examples to showcase your diversity.

• You were raised by your grandmother after your single mother passed away from cancer.
• You subscribe to a different set of beliefs than you did when you were a child.
• You didn’t have that many friends at school. Only 3% of students were also of your ethnicity. It was hard to find others to relate to.
• You grew up in the military. You called your father “Sir” far more than you called him “Dad”. You have deep respect for him, but not really a relationship.
• You learned to adapt to an ever-changing environment because your family was part of a traveling circus.
• You’re a dual citizen. You grew up in France but moved to the U.S. as a teenager.
• Your little brother has cerebral palsy. You’ve helped take care of him since he was a baby.
• You grew up in a neighborhood with lots of different political beliefs. You’ve seen a lot of injustice and have protested for positive change.
• You were diagnosed with dyslexia when you were little. You adapted to your environment and learned different ways to study.
• You’ve been a ballerina since you were five years old. Not only do you love the sport, but it’s taught you the value of hard work, determination, discipline and grit.

These are just a few of the examples you could use to get started with your own diversity essay.  

Writing Your Diversity Essay

Now that we’ve covered  what diversity is , let’s talk about  how to write about it . Because you want to tell a story, but you also want to appropriately craft your essay for the admissions department. 

First , let’s examine what the question is. Not every school asks about diversity in the same way. For example, one school might ask how diversity has shaped you as a person, while another school might ask what diversity means to you. Some schools even combine diversity with adversity. They’ll ask you how you’ve overcome injustice related to diversity. Carefully examine the question to ensure you properly answer it. And whatever you write about, be bold. Shyness won’t show the admissions committee who you are as a person. 

Second , formatting your essay is the way to go. This will help you write within a framework so that your writing isn’t all over the place. You don’t want the admissions committee to have a hard time following what you wrote.

• Introduce yourself.  First off, tell the admissions committee who you are. But don’t write, “Hi, I’m Hannah, and I want to attend  Perelman School of Medicine .” The admissions committee already knows who you are. Your name is listed on your application. Instead,  describe who you are . What is your gender identity? What about your sexual orientation? Your background? Did you grow up Catholic but became a Latter-day Saint? Are you the first doctor in your family? Did you grow up in poverty?  And those questions are just ideas to get you started. Think about what makes you unique, and describe yourself in that light. This will make up the first part of your essay.
• How has your diversity impacted you?  The admissions committee knows you’re diverse. It’s time to tell them what you’ve done with your diversity. How have you grown through it? How has it affected you? This could be negative or positive. How have you adapted to different circumstances? The sky is the limit with this one. You can talk about scholastic achievements, leadership positions, service projects, work or internships, or even serving in the military.
• Tie it back to diversity.  It’s really easy to get lost in the experience you’re sharing, especially when you’re passionate about something. Be sure to tie your experience into your diversity, and how that contributes to your M.D. candidacy. Why should this school accept you? How do your ideas, your philosophical approach and your work ethic influence you? This is also where you’ll want to wrap up your essay. Transition into your conclusion.

We’re Here to Help

Do you need help with your diversity essay? If so, International Medical Aid is here to help! We offer  medical school admissions consulting , which includes reviewing your secondary application essays. Our experts can guide you through the writing process. We’ll even proofread your essay for you and provide pointers on how to improve it. 

It’s easy to schedule a virtual appointment with us right on our website. We look forward to helping you. 

Are you deciding which medical schools to apply to? Check out our series of definitive guides on how to get into different medical schools. We regularly update our blog with more universities, so check back often!

• Baylor College of Medicine
• George Washington University School of Medicine
• Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
• St. George’s University School of Medicine
• Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (in Pennsylvania)
• Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
• Wake Forest University School of Medicine
• Western University of Health Sciences (in California)
• Drexel University College of Medicine
• Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago
• Georgetown University School of Medicine
• Yale School of Medicine
• Perelman School of Medicine
• UCLA Medical School
• NYU Medical School
• Washington University School of Medicine
• Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
• Brown Medical School

Finally, if you want to immerse yourself in experiences that will build your diversity, consider going on an internship with us. We offer internships  all over the world  to students just like you. Our doctors travel to multiple countries to provide healthcare to individuals who live in remote areas without easy access to healthcare. 

We wish you good luck as you write your diversity essay and with every section of your medical school application! Remember that we’re  here to help , should you need it along the way!

International Medical Aid provides  global internship opportunities  for students and clinicians who are looking to broaden their horizons and experience healthcare on an international level. These program participants have the unique opportunity to shadow healthcare providers as they treat individuals who live in remote and underserved areas and who don’t have easy access to medical attention. International Medical Aid also provides  medical school admissions consulting  to individuals applying to medical school and PA school programs. We review primary and secondary applications, offer guidance for personal statements and essays, and conduct mock interviews to prepare you for the admissions committees that will interview you before accepting you into their programs. IMA is here to provide the tools you need to help further your career and expand your opportunities in healthcare.

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Georgetown Secondary Application Essay Tips & Prompts

• Cracking Med School Admissions

The Georgetown University School of Medicine secondary application reflects the school’s mission in recruiting a diverse and compassionate medical school class. The primary Georgetown secondary application essay is tough – it’s like a 1-page “ Why Georgetown ,” “ Why Medicine ,” and Autobiography all in one essay! Georgetown changed its character limit last year, so our applicants who pre-wrote this secondary had to re-work it. This year, we are advising students to pre-write this secondary because the essays + character limits have not changed for the past couple of years. The Georgetown secondary essays are also unique and difficult to finish with excellence. 

Our Cracking Med School Admissions team has a track record of helping our mentees receive acceptances to Georgetown Medical School year after year. Get started and read our Georgetown Medical School secondary application tips below. To learn more about student life, read our extensive blog post on  How to Get Into Georgetown Medical School.

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Georgetown Secondary Application Questions: 2023 – 2024

• Are you/will you be enrolled as a student at Georgetown University during the 2022-2023 academic year? (Y/N)
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• Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP)
• Georgetown University School of Medicine Summer Immersion Program (GUSOM SCS)
• Cultivating Opportunity & Realizing Excellence (CORE) Leadership Program
• Graduated from Georgetown Experimental Medical Studies Program (GEMS)
• Graduated from Special Master’s Program (SMP)
• The 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, People for Others, and Community in Diversity, we are steadfast in our commitment to racial justice and to addressing the health inequities exacerbated by the recent pandemic. Please describe how your values, life experiences, and your identity will contribute to these GUSOM priorities. (1,000 characters max)
• Is there any further information that you would like the Committee on Admissions to be aware of when reviewing your file that you were not able to notate in another section of this or the AMCAS Application? (1,000 characters max)
• Why have you chosen to apply to the Georgetown University School of Medicine and how do you think your education at Georgetown will prepare you to become a physician for the future? (3,000 characters max)

Tips to Answer Georgetown Secondaries

Georgetown Secondary Pre-Writing Guidance: Georgetown changed its character limit last year, so our applicants who pre-wrote this secondary had to re-work it. This year, we are advising students to NOT pre-write this secondary. However, because this essay is tough to perfect, make sure to start on this essay as soon as you receive the official secondary. 

Georgetown Secondary Application Tip #1: Understand the Jesuit value of “cura personalis.” You can read more about Georgetown’s philosophy / mission statement here: What is Cura Personalis – Georgetown College

Once you understand Cura Personalis, show how you have fostered your commitment to serve others in all 3 of the long essays. We advise our students to pick stories and activities that exemplify cura personalis. The Georgetown Medical School Admissions committee seeks to recruit a medical school class of compassionate physicians who are visionaries in wanting to improve healthcare. 

Georgetown Secondary Application Tip #2: For the question, “ Why have you chosen to apply to the Georgetown University School of Medicine and how do you think your education at Georgetown will prepare you to become a physician for the future? ” this is like a “Why Georgetown,” “Why do you want to be a doctor” and “Tell me about yourself” loaded in one question. Make sure to incorporate all 3 of these ideas in your response. 

Read the following resources to help you respond to this essay:

• How To Write An Autobiography For Medical School
• Why this Medical School? Secondary Essay Example

One successful technique we’ve advised our mentees through our secondary essay edits – include why you want to be going to medical school in Washington D.C. Many of our students who receive interview invites show compassion through their stories AND state that they want to engage in community health, advocacy, and public policy in Washington D.C. Don’t be afraid to write about opportunities in Washington D.C. (the opportunities you want to pursue as a medical student don’t necessarily have to be linked to Georgetown University). While it’s not wrong to write about your interest in research and biomedical scientists, we advise students to link their research to “big picture” ideas to improve healthcare.

Georgetown Secondary Application Tip #3: For the question, “ Is there any further information that you would like the Committee on Admissions to be aware of when reviewing your file that you were not able to notate in another section of this or the AMCAS Application? ” treat this like a diversity essay. You can write about your experiences in Washington D.C., any hardship you have faced, leadership experiences, global health projects, and anything else that would help you stand out.

Read our helpful blog post on Diversity Essays:  Medical School Diversity Essay Examples and Tips

Georgetown Secondary Application Tip #4: This is a tough secondary application, and medical school applicants frequently ask for our help to edit and brainstorm their Georgetown University School of Medicine secondary application essay responses. We can help you through our secondary essay packages . Have questions about how you can stand out? Contact us below.

Georgetown Secondary Application Tip   #5:  Georgetown medical students take advantage of opportunities at other Georgetown University graduate schools. For example, we’ve had mentees who take business school classes at the McDonough School of Business and public policy classes at McCourt School of Public Policy. If you discuss your interests in other Georgetown graduate schools in your Georgetown secondary application, make sure to discuss how your clinical experiences during clinical rotations, medical education, and learnings at other graduate schools will all complement each other.

[ Read more secondary essay tips: George Washington (GW) , New York University (NYU) , University of Virginia (UVA) , Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)  ]

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Georgetown Secondary Application Questions: 2021 – 2022

• Why have you chosen to apply to the Georgetown University School of Medicine and how do you think your education at Georgetown will prepare you to become a physician for the future? (1 page, formatted at your discretion)

Georgetown University School of Medicine Secondary Application Questions: 2020 - 2021

• The Georgetown University School of Medicine strives to ensure that its students become respectful physicians who embrace all dimensions of caring for the whole person. Please describe how your personal characteristics or life experiences will contribute to the Georgetown University School of Medicine community and bring educational benefits to our student body. (1,000 characters max)

Georgetown Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2019 – 2020

Georgetown medical school secondary application questions: 2018 – 2019, georgetown medical school secondary application questions: 2017 – 2018, georgetown medical school secondary application questions: 2016 – 2017, georgetown medical school secondary application questions: 2015 – 2016.

• Why have you chosen to apply to the Georgetown University School of Medicine and how do you think your education at Georgetown will prepare you to become a physician for the future? (1-2 page, formatted at your discretion)

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• Campus Life

Diversity and Inclusion in Medical Education: Top 10 Best Med School Diversity Initiatives

Diversity in medical education has been a hot topic for decades. Higher education institutions across US and Canada are increasingly focused on adding diversity initiatives to their on-campus life and medical schools are no exception. You’ll find that almost every medical school in Canada and the US now focuses on diversity in education as part of their long-term and short-term goals. That’s why there are so many diversity initiatives in med schools aimed at ensuring the medical school population reflects the diverse and multi-cultural nature of the patient population.

In this blog, we list ten of the best diversity initiatives in medical schools across the US and Canada, and explain how they work and what makes them great.

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Article Contents 10 min read

If you’re a student applying to medical school, you’ll definitely have come across various diversity initiatives and programs focused on encouraging students from all different backgrounds to apply to med school. From diversity secondary essays to medical school scholarships benefitting students from underrepresented minorities, there’s no doubt that medical schools are attempting to address the imbalance in their own student populations. Having said that, how successful are they? Do these initiatives work? How much farther do we still have to go?

Diversity in medical school is a hot-topic issue today, as researchers continue to study numbers and analyze the data to figure out why marginalized and disadvantaged communities continue to be underrepresented among medical professionals and especially practicing physicians.

For instance, a few years ago, the New England Journal of Medicine completed a ten-year study of medical school enrollment data and found that while there was an encouraging 30% increase in net number of residents from underrepresented groups, the overall proportion of these students vis-à-vis the total student population had actually dropped from 15% to 13%! Such findings, along with other studies on the same topic, motivated universities to set up more effective diversity initiatives in med schools. The goals of these initiatives can vary: some seek to encourage more students from underrepresented communities to apply to med school, while others want to identify and implement measures to correct biases in the hiring process. Many aim to improve the on-campus experience for minority students and provide them with effective community support, tools, and resources to help them counter bias and injustice and succeed in their academic and professional life.

Let’s take a look at some of the best diversity initiatives in med schools across the US and Canada:

Are you interested in Yale Medical School? Watch our video to improve your chances of acceptance!

The OHSU Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) at the Oregon Health and Science University offers many fantastic diversity initiatives aimed at making campus life more inclusive and comfortable for students from different backgrounds. Their first official diversity plan was implemented in 2010, and since then they have created many new initiatives aimed at serving the community and representing different demographics in their student population. 

The CDI conducts many different events, including webinars, conferences, and celebrations, to address key issues related to diversity and representation in their med school campus. They also offer a detailed list of resources and support tools for students from minority backgrounds, from tie-ups with local community organizations, to multi-cultural on-campus festivals, student research programs, and student resources groups.

They also have a multi-million-dollar budget to address diversity, equity, and inclusion in their med school. They utilize this budget to fund studies and institute oversight into how to address bias in hiring practices and curriculums, and to provide unconscious bias training to all employees. Specifically, good work has been done by their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee led by their internal medicine residents . They partner with local communities to offer mentorship and assistance, propose strategies to recruit more diverse batch of residents every year, identify ways to address biases in med school curriculums, set up initiatives to raise money for anti-racism organizations, and so on.

The University of Missouri-Columbia might not be an obvious candidate for most diverse campus in the US, but their School of Medicine actually offers one of the most active, effective diversity programs in the country. Their Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, established in 2001, work towards creating a diverse on-campus environment and advancing cultural competency, equity, inclusion, and respect for minority students. The council runs several committees specifically charged with ensuring diversity in student recruitment, addressing bias in employee training, and encouraging student success. They also run an annual Diversity Symposium bringing together different departments of their School of Medicine to create and update goals of working towards a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment.

They offer several diversity initiatives aimed at supporting students and residents from diverse backgrounds. The School of Medicine Multicultural Affairs group or SOMMA offers impressive initiatives including Students in Medicine Academia Research and Training or “SMART”, a student mentoring program for “first generation” students (i.e., students whose parents did not attend college) or students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. MACS, or the Multicultural Advisory Community of Students, leads several student associations for diverse groups including LGBT alliances, alliances for women in medicine, Latino medical student alliances, and so on.

Besides the above initiatives, they offer a host of resources for students from disadvantaged backgrounds including scholarships, conferences, receptions, mentoring programs, academic support, and stringent mistreatment reporting. 

The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office at the University of California, Davis, offers one of the most wide-ranging, holistic, end-to-end programs to address the issues of discrimination, injustice, and underrepresentation in their medical school campus. The Center for the Advancement of Multicultural Perspectives on Science (CAMPOS) offers the ADVANCE Scholar Award that encourages students to engage with research and outreach in underserved communities. They also offer a scholar program and research colloquia all aimed at building a diverse scientific and research community.

The Office of Student and Resident Diversity (OSRD) at the UC Davis medical school also offers specific programs to encourage on-campus diversity at their med school. They have several initiatives aimed at encouraging local students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds to consider a future in medicine, including:

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#4 Case Western Reserve School of Medicine

Case Western Reserve School of Medicine offers multiple student resources and diversity initiatives with a view to encourage diversity and promote an accepting, multi-cultural on-campus environment for all students. Their School of Medicine hosts several student groups to represent and assist students belonging to minority groups. Their Office for Inclusion, Diversity and Equal Opportunity also conducts multiple lecture series, diversity awareness trainings, events, and conferences to promote diversity on their campuses. In particular, their Trailblazer Project is a noteworthy award program that seeks to honor distinguished alumni, faculty, and administrators of color and women.

One of their most impressive initiatives is their focus on encouraging diversity in research and educational programs. Their Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) for MD-PHD candidates encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds. They also offer a Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) oriented towards preparing students, especially those from diverse backgrounds, to get additional training and education before they can apply for their PHD degree (including MD-PHD).

Stanford School of Medicine offers a wide range of diversity initiatives, programs, and engagements targeted at partnering with underserved communities, helping students from disadvantaged backgrounds, encouraging on-campus diversity, and addressing injustice and inequity. From lunch talks, seminars, and conferences on important social injustice issues to awards for excellence in underrepresented communities, their roster of initiatives seeks to address issues at every level of the educational experience. Some of their most notable diversity initiatives include:

This initiative focuses on encouraging women to pursue orthopedic medicine and engineering via outreach programs in medical school as well as high schools and undergrad campuses. ","label":"Perry Outreach Program","title":"Perry Outreach Program"}]" code="tab1" template="BlogArticle">

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#6 Weill Cornell Medicine

Cornell medical school has a long-standing commitment to diversity and they view inclusion as critical to ensuring a rich learning environment and effective educational outcomes. Cornell conducts numerous conferences, mentorship programs, and community events to address issues of diversity and inclusion in their med school campus.

A lot of medical schools offer “pipeline programs” which are essentially diversity initiatives designed to encourage and support minority students and students from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue their interest in medicine and become medical students. Weill Cornell Medicine is a trailblazer in this department as their pipeline programs are among the best and most effective diversity initiatives in the US. This includes their highly successful and well-received study and research programs for bright aspiring medical students from diverse backgrounds such as the Successful and Productive Academic Research Careers Jr. (SPARC Jr.) program, the Travelers Summer Research Fellowship (TSRF) program, and the Weill Ithaca Summer Experience in Research (WISER) program.

One of their most exciting pipeline programs is the Gateways Laboratory Program for college freshmen and sophomores from socio-economically challenged backgrounds who want to pursue an MD-PHD degree. The ten-week program includes hands-on field and lab experience as well as meetings, workshops, and lectures to help the students understand what it takes to become a physician-scientist.

Through the diversity initiatives of their Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Northwestern Fienberg School of Medicine prioritizes the need to create an inclusive and diverse campus, foster discussions about equitable representation, and support students from varying backgrounds on their path to medicine. They offer a range of different programs to encourage diversity including pipeline programs to encourage pre-med students from disadvantaged backgrounds, scholarship programs for minority students, visiting student elective programs for students from underrepresented communities, LGBT sensitivity training programs, and lecture series about important diversity and inclusion issues.

Northwestern also hosts the Daniel Hale Williams Society, created in 2018, to promote the recruitment of African-American men in medicine. They conduct events, tours, mentorship programs, and scholarships to help promising young students from the undergrad level fulfill their dreams of med school.

One of their most unique diversity initiatives is the Sustained Dialogue program that aims at helping students develop active listening and facilitation skills with respect to difficult topics. The nine-session program gathers students from diverse communities, and encourages them to come up with a positive action plan to enact change on campus based on their learnings during the program. 

Check out this infographic to see these initiatives listed!

#8 University of Manitoba Rady Faculty of Health Sciences

The University of Manitoba medical school has demonstrated one of the most long-standing commitments to diversity and inclusion, especially with respect to their work with the local indigenous populations. They are committed to creating an inclusive on-campus community and serving the local indigenous populations and disrupting all forms of racism in the educational experience. Their comprehensive, results-focused diversity policies should be an inspiration for medical schools across Canada and the US.

Their diversity initiatives start with the admissions process, where they prioritize students from indigenous and local communities, and from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds such as refugees. They also provide extensive student support and mentorship opportunities for students from a disadvantaged background, as well as constituting groups to review diversity in education in terms of curriculum and faculty representation.

One of their most unique diversity initiatives is their commitment to honoring traditional knowledge systems and practices for indigenous students via structured learning opportunities, electives, seminars, and so on. To deliver these programs, they partner with the Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing to ensure they meet the needs of the community and can effectively reach out to indigenous students. 

The UCSF School of Medicine is fully committed to encouraging diversity in education and diversity on campus. They believe that fostering an environment of inclusion and acceptance, with students from diverse backgrounds, is crucial to creating an effective learning environment and producing innovative, cutting-edge results. They are focused on implementing a whole host of policies and programs aimed at treating more diverse populations, delivering equitable care to different communities, and removing barriers to medical education for students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Their Differences Matter Orientation, a part of their new student orientation, is an exemplary program designed to help students address bias, differences, diversity, and inclusion during their very first week as medical students. As part of this program, they also offer the chance for minority students to interact with Underrepresented in Medicine (UIM) faculty advisors. This encourages minority students to foster effective mentorship relationships with experienced faculty members who can guide them through their own personal learnings as well as their years of professional experiences.

Their cultural registered campus organizations for various communities and groups including women, LGBT students, Latinx students etc. also host multiple events, lectures, workshops, and other types of programs in order to effectively set up medical students from disadvantaged backgrounds for future success. Such organizations also provide a support system and networking opportunities for students who may not otherwise have access to them. 

#10 Ohio State University College of Medicine

Ohio State University College of Medicine has been nationally recognized and awarded for their excellent diversity initiatives and outcomes, including addressing their admissions bias and encouraging diverse hiring practices across the board. The Office for Diversity and Inclusion is committed to enacting policies to increase the representation of African American, Latino, and Indigenous students on campus and to make the on-campus experience of these students as meaningful as possible.

To that end, they conduct pipeline programs to encourage students from underrepresented backgrounds to pursue their medical school dreams and to place minority students in the residencies of their choice. Their MEDPATH Post-Baccalaureate Program focuses on helping students from disadvantaged backgrounds to work towards their medical school admissions requirements while the Aspire program gives post-bac students from disadvantaged backgrounds an opportunity to gain useful research experience for their medical school extracurriculars . Another impactful initiative is the Underrepresented in Medicine Visiting Student Program, which provides 4th year minority medical students with a one-month rotation in elite residency programs.

While these diversity initiatives are encouraging and prove a great attraction to incoming students belonging to underrepresented communities, there’s still a huge gap in representation of minorities in medical professions. According to the latest AAMC data , African-Americans make up only 5% of all physicians while constituting 13% of the total population. Not only medical schools, but the medical community in general needs to continue to address this gap with as many diversity initiatives and programs as possible to ensure that students from varying backgrounds have an equal chance to become a practicing doctor.

Ensuring that the physician population reflects the same level of diversity as the patient population is a key concern of the medical community today. To that end, medical schools want to promote and prioritize diversity, inclusion, and equity at every level of the educational experience. Long-term research studies prove that representation of minorities in medical communities is improving, but there’s still a long way to go. That’s why, most medical schools take active steps to achieve their diversity goals, from researching and implementing policy changes to implementing diversity initiatives.

Such on-campus diversity initiatives are often aimed at recruiting more diverse students, promoting cross-cultural harmony and communications, partnering with disadvantaged communities to provide medical support where needed, and providing much-needed support and mentorship to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Through such initiatives, med schools hope to foster an environment of acceptance, diversity, and inclusion, and to provide minority students with useful opportunities and reliable resources to help them achieve success in the medical profession despite the systemic biases they face in society.

As discussed above, diversity initiatives provide minority students with much-needed support and access to important resources. But that’s not all they do. Many diversity initiatives focus on other issues related to bias in the medical community. For instance, many initiatives seek to promote cross-cultural dialogue and harmony, with a focus on providing high-quality patientcare for underrepresented and disadvantaged communities.

Diversity initiatives such as service projects where medical schools partner with local communities help students learn more about diverse patient populations and expose them to different environments. Students get early, first-hand experience of working in settings with a shortage of physicians as well as medical resources. Not only does this encourage more students to practice medicine in socio-economically disadvantaged communities, but it also fosters important dialogue about systemic inequities in the medical community and how to correct them.

If you’re applying to medical school, you definitely need to engage with the topic of diversity in your application. Med schools want to know about your own background and your engagement with the community and larger social problems. These aspects are critical for med schools to consider so they can ensure their student population reflects the true diversity and multi-culturalism of the patient population; at the same time, most schools look for students with a sense of civic responsibility and social consciousness as these are also desirable qualities in future physicians.

You can definitely speak about your experiences with diversity, inclusion, and inequality and how they tie in to your overall motivation to study medicine in your medical school personal statement . Also, you should discuss your insights from any volunteer and community service you’ve completed in the extracurriculars section of your application, for instance, the AMCAS Most Meaningful Experiences section. Finally, and most importantly, your diversity secondary essay is where you can really expand upon this topic. In these essays, medical schools want students to discuss their unique background and experiences, and how they will add to the diversity of their class.

It’s definitely a good idea to research the diversity initiatives of your chosen medical schools, so you can see the array of programs on offer and what projects might work for you if you end up going to that school. Most medical schools have a separate Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that oversees and executes all their diversity related projects. You should check the official website of the school to find detailed information about all their diversity initiatives, projects, and policies. You’ll find a separate page with this information for most medical schools. Here are a few examples:

• Yale Medical School
• Harvard Medical School
• Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine

To know more about the demographic compositions of student bodies and key diversity statistics, you can use MSAR and/or check the websites of the schools you’re applying to.

For more information about overall enrollment figures and other statistical data related to diversity in medical schools, check the latest AAMC Diversity in Medicine report on their website.

It’s difficult to give a precise answer to this question since enrollment data changes from one year to the next and there are so many different parameters that could be considered to determine which schools are the “most diverse”. For instance, Howard University College of Medicine has the largest percentage of African-American students (68%) in the US. In Canada, the University of Manitoba Rady Faculty of Health Sciences is known for its groundbreaking diversity initiatives and policies focused on partnering with the local indigenous communities.

You should check the school websites, MSAR, and AAMC data to identify key statistics related to demographics as well as the diversity policies of the schools you’re applying to. Based on this information, you can make the right decision about which school suits your unique background and requirements.

Students will find plenty of opportunities to engage with key topics related to diversity and inclusion on medical school campuses. If you’re interested in community service and meaningful volunteer work, you should apply to medical schools that partner with local socio-economically disadvantaged communities to provide students with on-campus service and community engagement opportunities. If you’re interested in being part of policy-change and advocacy, many medical schools host student bodies and groups focused on providing resources and advocating for the medical issues related to a particular community. And finally, you can take inspiration from the students of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, who chose to form their own student advocacy group called Student Advocates for Diversity and Inclusion (SADI) to increase diversity on campus and to improve the experiences of students from diverse backgrounds.

While the medical school curriculum is extremely rigorous and doesn’t leave much free time for extracurricular activities, taking time out for meaningful community engagement can help you gain important perspectives about the larger social context of medicine and your responsibilities as a physician. Moreover, when you’re applying for residencies, a history of impactful volunteer work can really make your residency CV stand out.

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