2021-2022 Wisconsin

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Thank you to @essereumano for sharing this year's questions!

2021-2022 Wisconsin Secondary Essay Prompts (4 Optional Essays)

1. The Admissions Committee takes many factors into consideration when reviewing your application. A successful applicant is frequently one who communicates what makes them exceptional and why they will become an outstanding physician. You are invited but not required to provide additional information in this essay. Some applicants tell us about hardships and challenges that they have faced in their lives and how these experiences have helped them become caring and compassionate individuals. Other applicants use this space to emphasize a particular passion they have related to their future career in medicine. If you are not a resident of Wisconsin, you may want to tell us why you are interested in the University of Wisconsin or about a special connection that you may have to our state or people who live here. Our goal is to gain insight into you as a unique applicant. You may include anything in this essay that you feel is relevant. (Limit response to 500 words.)

2. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values of UWSMPH. Explain how a learning environment that embodies these values is crucial to the education of tomorrow’s physicians. Reflect on how you might contribute to this mission. (250 words max.)

3. Recently, the United States has seen several incidents that have brought more focus to the intersection of patient care, public health and systemic racism. Choose one area/issue where you believe change is needed. Discuss what role you will play in addressing this as a health professional. (250 words max.)

4. In a paragraph (200-300 words), please share how COVID-19 impacted your application in the following domains:

  • Academic
  • Volunteer
  • Research
  • Work
  • Personal Life
  • Topics to address might include the public health lessons and health care insights learned from the pandemic, creative ways in which you were able to serve your community during the crisis, or any hardships (economic, health, or other) you faced due to the virus or its mitigation efforts (e.g. social distancing, quarantine).

Good luck to everyone applying!

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Where my fellow badgers at? Hoping to get some love from UW after getting the cold shoulder last cycle
 
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Where my fellow badgers at? Hoping to get some love from UW after getting the cold shoulder last cycle
Current student (undergrad) but out of state! Go Badgers!

Surprised they haven't sent anyone secondaries yet.
 
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Where my fellow badgers at? Hoping to get some love from UW after getting the cold shoulder last cycle
OOS badger alum here, hoping to come home! :)

Also, they will be sending out secondaries tomorrow per @UWiscMedAdmiss twitter!
 
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Any tips applying OOS here? Did you have ties? Love this school but no ties to area
I meant I'm a current undergrad haha.

Not a med student yet unfortunately lol

Not sure if there are any good ways to get an advantage here as OOS other than strong ties (lived in WI at some point, undergrad in the state, or strong family ties) though even that is probably a minimal difference from what I've heard. I do know that they like long term clinical experience though.
 
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Did anyone receive the secondary prompts?
 
IS applicant and I have not received the prompts.
Did anyone receive the secondary prompts?
They said they were having some delays after upgrading their secondary system. Per twitter, they sent a small batch of secondaries to 6 applicants to test it out, and will start sending out more in the coming days.
 
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They said they were having some delays after upgrading their secondary system. Per twitter, they sent a small batch of secondaries to 6 applicants to test it out, and will start sending out more in the coming days.
Honestly not even mad. Better to test with a few folks than everyone getting a mess up.
 
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me with Mayo's 500 character essay lmao
Lol Me with duke. Maybe Mayo, haven’t decided. I have checked the “consider for MD also” box thus far.....but burnout kicking in 22 secondaries deep....
 
Isn't Mayo's 500 words, not characters?

Also I just got the secondary. Get to submit my last one!
The MSTP app has a “why Mayo” in 500 characters. Not sure why it they have MD at 500 words and mstp with no space to elaborate.
 
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OOS +1
Is anyone else having issues with getting the password for the first time after entering their AMCAS ID? I've had it work for all the other secondaries that use the Zap Solutions portal, but this one doesn't seem to work.
 
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OOS +1
Is anyone else having issues with getting the password for the first time after entering their AMCAS ID? I've had it work for all the other secondaries that use the Zap Solutions portal, but this one doesn't seem to work.
Also still waiting on the email to set up my password.
 
regular MD in-state received!

Edit: All essays are optional and listed below.
  • The Admissions Committee takes many factors into consideration when reviewing your application. A successful applicant is frequently one who communicates what makes them exceptional and why they will become an outstanding physician. You are invited but not required to provide additional information in this essay. Some applicants tell us about hardships and challenges that they have faced in their lives and how these experiences have helped them become caring and compassionate individuals. Other applicants use this space to emphasize a particular passion they have related to their future career in medicine. If you are not a resident of Wisconsin, you may want to tell us why you are interested in the University of Wisconsin or about a special connection that you may have to our state or people who live here. Our goal is to gain insight into you as a unique applicant. You may include anything in this essay that you feel is relevant. (Limit response to 500 words.)
  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values of UWSMPH. Explain how a learning environment that embodies these values is crucial to the education of tomorrow’s physicians. Reflect on how you might contribute to this mission. (250 words max.)
  • Recently, the United States has seen several incidents that have brought more focus to the intersection of patient care, public health and systemic racism. Choose one area/issue where you believe change is needed. Discuss what role you will play in addressing this as a health professional. (250 words max.)
  • In a paragraph (200-300 words), please share how COVID-19 impacted your application in the following domains:
    • Academic
    • Volunteer
    • Research
    • Work
    • Personal Life
    • Topics to address might include the public health lessons and health care insights learned from the pandemic, creative ways in which you were able to serve your community during the crisis, or any hardships (economic, health, or other) you faced due to the virus or its mitigation efforts (e.g. social distancing, quarantine).
 
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OOS +1
Is anyone else having issues with getting the password for the first time after entering their AMCAS ID? I've had it work for all the other secondaries that use the Zap Solutions portal, but this one doesn't seem to work.
+2 OOS secondary received!
 
Is everyone writing all of the optional essays?

I feel like there's a decent amount of overlap between the two diversity prompts, and my essay for the first prompt definitely addresses part of the second prompt. I feel like I don't have a ton to add in a second diversity essay on systemic racism as a white man... But I'm guessing it would be a bad look to not write anything for that one.
 
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Is everyone writing all of the optional essays?

I feel like there's a decent amount of overlap between the two diversity prompts, and my essay for the first prompt definitely addresses part of the second prompt. I feel like I don't have a ton to add in a second diversity essay on systemic racism as a white man... But I'm guessing it would be a bad look to not write anything for that one.
I'm having the same thoughts about the longer and shorter diversity essays. I am strongly considering leaving the shorter one blank for the same reason.
 
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I'm having the same thoughts about the longer and shorter diversity essays. I am strongly considering leaving the shorter one blank for the same reason.
wait, what? Both diversity essays are 250 word limits so I'm not sure which you're talking about
 
wait, what? Both diversity essays are 250 word limits so I'm not sure which you're talking about
Sorry, I viewed the 500-word count essay as a diversity essay since they want to "gain insight into you as a unique applicant." I was considering leaving the explicit "Diversity, equity, and inclusion..." essay blank as I had prewritten the 500-word essay with a diversity essay that happened to cover equity/inclusion. Would love to hear other people's thoughts about potentially leaving one of these blank. I am very tempted lol
 
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Sorry, I viewed the 500-word count essay as a diversity essay since they want to "gain insight into you as a unique applicant." I was considering leaving the explicit "Diversity, equity, and inclusion..." essay blank as I had prewritten the 500-word essay with a diversity essay that happened to cover equity/inclusion. Would love to hear other people's thoughts about potentially leaving one of these blank. I am very tempted lol
I think I am considering leaving the second ("Diversity, equity, and inclusion..." 250-word) blank because I have a better ~500-word essay about my unique background that basically answers the question.
The only thing is maybe using the 250-word diversity essay to answer the question "Explain how a learning environment that embodies these values is crucial to the education of tomorrow’s physicians" which is think is a bit more specific than "why are you diverse".
 
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So apparently IS students can't submit until Aug 16th? That's so weird to me.
 
The issue is that it is a state school and the requirements were put in place by the legislature. The rule as written (and can be found on line) is that residency is determined not more than one year before admission and is based on the submission date on the application (secondary). The submission date on the application has to be within one year.
 
For the Covid essay are y'all going to touch on every single one of the "domains" they talked about? Or are you just going to focus on the domains where your application was actually affected. For example, my research was not affected too much so do I say that?
 
For the Covid essay are y'all going to touch on every single one of the "domains" they talked about? Or are you just going to focus on the domains where your application was actually affected. For example, my research was not affected too much so do I say that?
I only focused on what was affected.

It's unreasonable to address everything in such a short essay.
 
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Just as a heads up in case anyone is in the same boat – I'm a reapplicant and I changed my AMCAS email address prior to this cycle to funnel application emails away from promotional/junk emails, etc. UWSMPH sent this cycle's secondary invite to my old email address from the previous application cycle, so make sure to check your old email if you used a different one for AMCAS before! So far, UWSMPH is the only school that I am reapplying to that has done this
 
  • Hmm
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any other IS applicants also waiting on the 2º?
 
do they screen secondaries?

I submitted my primary yesterday, and received my secondary today.

OOS, average stats
 
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do they screen secondaries?

I submitted my primary yesterday, and received my secondary today.

OOS, average stats
They have a secondary screen of 500 MCAT and a 3.0 GPA
 
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Any OOS still waiting on secondaries? On their twitter they said all of them should have been sent out...
 
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If anyone has some familiarity with UWSMPH or is a current med student there, I'd love your feedback on my Why UW-Madison essay
 
If anyone has some familiarity with UWSMPH or is a current med student there, I'd love your feedback on my Why UW-Madison essay
Current undergraduate student and UW Hospital employee if you want to DM me!
 
me... IS, no IA and average stats. not sure what's up
Exact same here--no IA, stats right in their range, familial ties to UW Madison in general. Their Twitter @UWisc Med Admissions said that as of a week ago all of us above their stats cutoff should have received a secondary. I emailed them about it (quoting the tweet) on Saturday morning. They probably won't see the email until today/tomorrow since I sent it over the weekend, but I might call as well just to see.
 
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No secondary yet but I'm above their cutoff MCAT and GPA. OOS, anyone else in the same boat?
 
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Update: IS resident above the cutoff, no IA to red flags. Just received the secondary! still can't submit until the 16th, but at least they have my app!
 
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