2023-2024 Minnesota

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2023-2024 Minnesota Secondary Essay Prompts (1500 characters each)
Questions 1-3 are required for all. See notes about #5 and #6

1. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values of the University of Minnesota Medical School. 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 learning environment.

2. How have your individual experiences and identity shaped who you are and who you will be as a physician?

3. Describe a time when you used critical thinking to solve a problem that you encountered in any realm where you asked questions, gathered information, thought through possible solutions and their alternatives, and evaluated what you did critically. Please include in your discussion what you learned from this experience.

4. (Optional) Any other pertinent information would you like to bring to the attention of the Admissions Committee? This is an opportunity for you to discuss an aspect of your journey to medicine that you have not already presented in your application. You may also update us with any current experiences that were not included in your AMCAS application.

Note: The primary mission of the UMN Medical School, Duluth Campus is to educate physicians dedicated to serving rural Minnesota or Native American communities. Only complete the Rural and/or Indigenous Health questions if your application presents a strong commitment to these communities. Most candidates accepted within the context of the Duluth Campus mission will be placed on that campus.

5. (Optional) The University of Minnesota Medical School is dedicated to educating future physicians who have demonstrated an interest in serving patients and families in rural Minnesota. Reflect on what "rural Minnesota community" means to you. Describe your experience in and ties to rural Minnesota areas. What do you view as the greatest healthcare practice needs in rural Minnesota, and how will your future practice help fill these needs?

6. (Optional) The University of Minnesota Medical School is dedicated to educating future physicians who have demonstrated an interest in serving Indigenous communities. Describe your experience in and ties to Indigenous communities. What do you view as the greatest healthcare needs in Indigenous communities, and how will your future practice help fill these needs?

Good luck to everyone applying!

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It’s time for my annual post —

Hi all, so excited that you are interested in UMN. I am a rising MS3, and I’ve been active here since 2020. My DMs are always open if you have questions at any point this cycle.

My number one piece of advice for applying here is to pre-write secondaries and apply ASAP!! If you are remotely interested in attending, make this application a priority.

They review applications in largely chronologic order. Interviewees in the first two months have a good shot at acceptance, and it gets exponentially more difficult as the cycle goes on. Last cycle, they offered enough As to fill the class before even reviewing most December interviewees. So, I’m serious. Apply early! Don’t procrastinate! Best of luck to all of you.
 
Is UMN friendly to OOS students without ties to the Midwest (beyond a gap year spent in Chicago like 8 years ago)? I would like to be a rural PCP but also interested in providing gender-affirming care. @galaxybrain
 
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Is UMN friendly to OOS students without ties to the Midwest (beyond a gap year spent in Chicago like 8 years ago)? I would like to be a rural PCP but also interested in providing gender-affirming care. @galaxybrain
In general, UMN is not the most OOS-friendly public school. Only 20% of our class is OOS, though I would say most of those don’t have ties to the area. However, with a demonstrated interest in rural health care, you align very well with the UMN mission (especially the Duluth campus), so I think it would certainly be worth considering!
 
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It’s time for my annual post —

Hi all, so excited that you are interested in UMN. I am a rising MS3, and I’ve been active here since 2020. My DMs are always open if you have questions at any point this cycle.

My number one piece of advice for applying here is to pre-write secondaries and apply ASAP!! If you are remotely interested in attending, make this application a priority.

They review applications in largely chronologic order. Interviewees in the first two months have a good shot at acceptance, and it gets exponentially more difficult as the cycle goes on. Last cycle, they offered enough As to fill the class before even reviewing most December interviewees. So, I’m serious. Apply early! Don’t procrastinate! Best of luck to all of you.
Hi,
I am very interested in the MSTP program. Concerning secondaries, do you know if I have to fill out the MD secondary plus the MSTP secondary or just the MSTP secondary? The website for MSTP just shows secondary prompts very different from the MD secondary prompts.
I am trying to get my bearing on this because I am pre-writing rn

Thank you!
 
In general, UMN is not the most OOS-friendly public school. Only 20% of our class is OOS, though I would say most of those don’t have ties to the area. However, with a demonstrated interest in rural health care, you align very well with the UMN mission (especially the Duluth campus), so I think it would certainly be worth considering!
Cheers! I'm nontrad, been living in rural zones most of my adult life and hope to stay in one. I'll prob shoot my shot. :)
 
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Hi,
I am very interested in the MSTP program. Concerning secondaries, do you know if I have to fill out the MD secondary plus the MSTP secondary or just the MSTP secondary? The website for MSTP just shows secondary prompts very different from the MD secondary prompts.
I am trying to get my bearing on this because I am pre-writing rn

Thank you!
MSTP admissions are completely separate from the MD program, so I believe that you would only need to complete the MSTP prompts!
 
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Does anyone know how the application cycle will change ?? apparently we aren't choosing pathways when we apply. It looks like they haven't really updated their website either
 
It’s time for my annual post —

Hi all, so excited that you are interested in UMN. I am a rising MS3, and I’ve been active here since 2020. My DMs are always open if you have questions at any point this cycle.

My number one piece of advice for applying here is to pre-write secondaries and apply ASAP!! If you are remotely interested in attending, make this application a priority.

They review applications in largely chronologic order. Interviewees in the first two months have a good shot at acceptance, and it gets exponentially more difficult as the cycle goes on. Last cycle, they offered enough As to fill the class before even reviewing most December interviewees. So, I’m serious. Apply early! Don’t procrastinate! Best of luck to all of you.
Hey! Does the U change their secondaries much year to year? Will last year's secondaries be roughly similar?
 
Hey! Does the U change their secondaries much year to year? Will last year's secondaries be roughly similar?
They are typically pretty similar from year to year, but they do post the secondaries on their website early (should be this month!). I would probably wait until they post those to write any polished essays, just in case.
 
I was just looking at the website; they haven't posted prompts yet but it says there will be 3 mandatory essays, 1 optional, and then 1 each for people with a specific interest in rural or indigenous healthcare. Seems like it will be pretty different from the last few years
 
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Hi everyone. I’m a rising MS1 at the Duluth campus this year. Feel free to PM me if you have questions about my experience last application cycle. Good luck!
 
Does anyone know when they will send out secondaries?
 
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Hi everyone. I’m a rising MS1 at the Duluth campus this year. Feel free to PM me if you have questions about my experience last application cycle. Good luck!
Congratulations on your acceptance and good luck in med school! Do Duluth students do their clinical rotations in years 3 and 4 in the Twin Cities?
 
Congratulations on your acceptance and good luck in med school! Do Duluth students do their clinical rotations in years 3 and 4 in the Twin Cities?
Most Duluth students come to the cities for rotations, yes! There are also options to rotate in Duluth or complete clerkships at rural sites throughout Minnesota if those are of interest to students who started on either campus though.
 
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On the website under Admissions | Application Process | MCAT Residency & Status Screen is says Twin Cities could take up to 3 weeks and Duluth up to 3 business days to be offered a supplemental application.
 
I wonder if they still have to send a campus preference email, because how would they know where we want to go
 
Both campuses share the same secondary application so I believe you select one or both (and then rank) campuses as part of that process. Then if selecting rural or Indigenous pathways, answer those questions on the secondary as well??
 
Congratulations on your acceptance and good luck in med school! Do Duluth students do their clinical rotations in years 3 and 4 in the Twin Cities?
Yes. We complete our 1.5 years of didactics in Duluth then get shipped off to MSP for the last 2.5 years for rotations. I did hear that they are trying to set up more rotation spots in Duluth to give students the option to stay.
 
Anybody hear anything regarding secondary and/or campus preference email?
Found this little update today
JULY 2023
  • July 17: Campus preference selection begins; Supplemental applications open and are available for submission
 
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Current MS3 - feel free to DM/ask questions
 
Found this little update today
JULY 2023
  • July 17: Campus preference selection begins; Supplemental applications open and are available for submission
Wait, where did you find this? I checked the website and couldn't find anything that says this
 
Found this little update today
JULY 2023
  • July 17: Campus preference selection begins; Supplemental applications open and are available for submission
This was just changed on the website.

July 24: campus preference selection begins
July 27: supplementary applications open and are available for submission

😵‍💫
 
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This was just changed on the website.

July 24: campus preference selection begins
July 27: supplementary applications open and are available for submission

😵‍💫
Ok, ok. I'll stop obsessively refreshing my inbox until next week. I wonder how the campus preference before receiving the secondary application will work.
 
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Ok, ok. I'll stop obsessively refreshing my inbox until next week. I wonder how the campus preference before receiving the secondary application will work.
Last year they sent an email with a link asking you to pick and in the email they attached a doc of the secondary questions so you could pre write and then 2-3 days later they sent an email with the actual secondary link!
 
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Last year they sent an email with a link asking you to pick and in the email they attached a doc of the secondary questions so you could pre write and then 2-3 days later they sent an email with the actual secondary link!
Thanks!
 
omg july 24. Thats so late. I wish they would release the secondary qs
 
omg july 24. Thats so late. I wish they would release the secondary qs
I know, I want to know the questions! I didn't pre-write this year because I think they were massively changing up their questions.
 
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Has anyone gotten secondaries yet?? I still haven't heard anything back yet...
 
Has anyone gotten secondaries yet?? I still haven't heard anything back yet...
I believe today (July 24) they are supposed to send out campus preference selection. Then on July 27th, they are going to be sending out the secondary.
 
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OOS here -- just received an email asking me to rank the Twin Cities and Duluth campuses, with a note that says we will be screened for residency and MCAT for secondary apps once the ranking is submitted
 
OOS here -- just received an email asking me to rank the Twin Cities and Duluth campuses, with a note that says we will be screened for residency and MCAT for secondary apps once the ranking is submitted
IS - just received the same
 
OOS here -- just received an email asking me to rank the Twin Cities and Duluth campuses, with a note that says we will be screened for residency and MCAT for secondary apps once the ranking is submitted
did they attach any questions?
 
OOS here -- just received an email asking me to rank the Twin Cities and Duluth campuses, with a note that says we will be screened for residency and MCAT for secondary apps once the ranking is submitted
+1
 
did they attach any questions?
No. I received an automatic reply after submitting my ranking that included...

What’s next?
We will screen all verified AMCAS applications before sending out our supplemental application...

...This initial screening process can take some time due to the volume of applications. Please be patient and we will send out your invitation to complete the supplemental as soon as possible...
 
OOS here -- just received an email asking me to rank the Twin Cities and Duluth campuses, with a note that says we will be screened for residency and MCAT for secondary apps once the ranking is submitted
IS +1
 
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Got mine 45 minutes ago, IS, can confirm no questions. Bummer because they included them last year, would have loved to pre-write these bad boys
 
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