2025-2026 Rush

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2025-2026 Rush Secondary Essay Prompts

All 1000 characters

1. Rush Medical College is located on Chicago’s Near West Side and serves a diverse patient population. We seek to train physicians who can connect with diverse patient populations with whom they may not share a similar background. Tell us about a life experience that has broadened your own world view or enhanced your ability to understand those unlike yourself and what you learned from this experience.

2. "Distance traveled" is the metaphorical distance that represents the journey an applicant undertakes throughout their life, encompassing achievements, personal identity, and the competencies developed along the way. The Committee on Admissions seeks and values the skills and competencies that applicants develop as a result of their individual experiences, and recognizes them as desired and essential attributes of a future physician.

Based on your experiences and your distance traveled, please describe any adversities, challenges, and/or marginalized experiences that you have encountered. (Optional)

2a. Please describe the effect of these adversities, challenges, and/or marginalized experiences on you as an individual. Explain how you overcame them, what skills you built, what lessons you learned, and how these experiences motivated you to be a doctor. (Optional)

2b. Can you describe a time when you recognized your privilege and used it to promote health equity? Please share specific initiatives, projects, or actions in which you were involved in and the impact they had. (Optional)

Good luck to all applying!

Interview Feedback:

Rush University Rush Medical College - Admission, Tuition, Ranking & Overview | Student Doctor Network

Detail information of Rush University Rush Medical College including admission, tuition, ranking, and overview.

www.studentdoctor.net

 

[loophua]

+1 secondary OOS, haven't checked prompts yet sorry

 

[meowsentry]

+1 OOS

 

[chickenlegs2020]

+1 OOS. Does anyone know if they accept writing/reading humanities-type courses instead of the Reading Comprehension requirement they have? I came into college with IB credits for Literature and Rhetoric, so I never took those classes in college, but I did get a Liberal Arts degree so I have taken many analytical writing/reading courses.

 

[FodRN]

Pretty please post prompts

 

[MiniTron3]

can one of you post prompts please

 

[watx]

1. Rush Medical College is located on Chicago’s Near West Side and serves a diverse patient population. We seek to train physicians who can connect with diverse patient populations with whom they may not share a similar background. Tell us about a life experience that has broadened your own world view or enhanced your ability to understand those unlike yourself and what you learned from this experience.

2. "Distance traveled" is the metaphorical distance that represents the journey an applicant undertakes throughout their life, encompassing achievements, personal identity, and the competencies developed along the way. The Committee on Admissions seeks and values the skills and competencies that applicants develop as a result of their individual experiences, and recognizes them as desired and essential attributes of a future physician.

Based on your experiences and your distance traveled, please describe any adversities, challenges, and/or marginalized experiences that you have encountered. (Optional)

2a. Please describe the effect of these adversities, challenges, and/or marginalized experiences on you as an individual. Explain how you overcame them, what skills you built, what lessons you learned, and how these experiences motivated you to be a doctor. (Optional)

2b. Can you describe a time when you recognized your privilege and used it to promote health equity? Please share specific initiatives, projects, or actions in which you were involved in and the impact they had. (Optional)

 

[user123456123]

all 1k characters too.

 

[chasingmdnotscrubs]

Hi! Did they remove the COVID prompt?

 

[dokiii]

+1 OOS secondary

 

[SilentCavalier]

+1 OOS secondary, MD only

 

[johnzhng]

+1 OOS

 

[ramixmeds]

+1 OOS secondary

 

[Swiftlions]

+1 OOS

 

[texco23]

+1 OOS

 

[rap1985]

+1 IS

 

[mustravel2016]

+1 OOS

 

[ekgrrr]

+1 OOS

 

[Brownboyd]

+1 IS , Had a question though, I have not done my math prereq, but I have everything else, I have been seeing conflicting reporting on this; were all my prereqs supposed to be in by the time I applied?

 

[ablanco]

+1 IS , Had a question though, I have not done my math prereq, but I have everything else, I have been seeing conflicting reporting on this; were all my prereqs supposed to be in by the time I applied?

Most schools say you need it by time of matriculation. Rush's website seems to indicate you do need it before you apply. Not sure how firmly they hold to that standard though so it could be worthwhile calling them to clarify if need be.

 

[Dcim180!]

+1 OOS

 

[SilentCavalier]

What are folks with combined lecture/lab courses putting for the lab requirement on the prereqs page? I was thinking of putting second semester genchem or both semesters of orgo, but I don't have a biology course with a wet lab since I used both my general bio classes

 

[Brownboyd]

Most schools say you need it by time of matriculation. Rush's website seems to indicate you do need it before you apply. Not sure how firmly they hold to that standard though so it could be worthwhile calling them to clarify if need be.

Just emailed them today, will see what they say.

 

[flytraps]

What are folks with combined lecture/lab courses putting for the lab requirement on the prereqs page? I was thinking of putting second semester genchem or both semesters of orgo, but I don't have a biology course with a wet lab since I used both my general bio classes

I think this should be ok? I used Genetics as my biology course and used myh intro organismal bio course w/ lab as one of the labs.

 

[flytraps]

How are you guys writing the clinical activity descriptions and how long? It seems they do not just want us to copy and paste from primary.

 

[manifestingmdacceptance]

+1 OOS

 

[SpongeBob79447]

essay 2b does not have a character limit on my portal. i might just do 1000 characters like the other ones.

 

[SpongeBob79447]

Hi! Did they remove the COVID prompt?

No, it is part of the application!
"9. If applicable, describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your application to and/or preparation for medical school. (Optional)"

 

[mustravel2016]

essay 2b does not have a character limit on my portal. i might just do 1000 characters like the other ones.

Yeah last night my thing showed 1000 but I checked this morning and it's now no limit.

 

[Timetocrunch]

Just emailed them today, will see what they say.

Did they respond?

 

[TheguythatdrivesEVs]

what does it mean by academic letter, personal letter, and professional letter? what is personal letter?

 

[aastrocyte]

+1 IS

 

[MiniTron3]

so for this prompt are you only answering 2a and 2b, we don't have to put anything for 2 itself.

 

[Brownboyd]

Did they respond?

You can't apply if you did not have the prereqs done by the time you applied. Goodluck everyone!

 

[watx]

I've seen a lot of rejections on medadmit. Has anyone who submitted secondaries gotten correspondence from them?

 

[texco23]

I've seen a lot of rejections on medadmit. Has anyone who submitted secondaries gotten correspondence from them?

The rejections are from those who did not receive secondaries. They screen before secondaries

 

[FodRN]

The rejections are from those who did not receive secondaries. They screen before secondaries

When you say medadmit, do you mean admit.org?

 

[Gator7421]

I have not completed a course on "cell biology" but I have done bio 1 and bio 2 with labs and genetics. Can I put one of my biology courses for the cell biology coursework?

 

[dogcatlove]

I have not completed a course on "cell biology" but I have done bio 1 and bio 2 with labs and genetics. Can I put one of my biology courses for the cell biology coursework?

I was going to call Rush about the same question but let me know if you hear anything as well!

 

[rap1985]

I have not completed a course on "cell biology" but I have done bio 1 and bio 2 with labs and genetics. Can I put one of my biology courses for the cell biology coursework?

I emailed about them with this previously, if one of your bio courses/intro bio courses has an emphasis on cell bio it should count. Check your university registrar to get a course description for context here was mine. I'd still email them to get a solid confirmation though.
Unifying principles common to all levels of biological organization, with emphasis on cell biology, metabolism, and genetics.

 

[unbotheredlizard]

"Distance traveled" is the metaphorical distance that represents the journey an applicant undertakes throughout their life, encompassing achievements, personal identity, and the competencies developed along the way. The Committee on Admissions seeks and values the skills and competencies that applicants develop as a result of their individual experiences, and recognizes them as desired and essential attributes of a future physician.
Based on your experiences and your distance traveled, please describe any adversities, challenges, and/or marginalized experiences that you have encountered. (Optional)

^for this question, can it be a small non-academic challenge that I encountered in one of my extracurriculars or does it have to be more adversity-like/long-term experience?

 

[Highest]

^for this question, can it be a small non-academic challenge that I encountered in one of my extracurriculars or does it have to be more adversity-like/long-term experience?

If you can show growth through skills and competencies gained through the challenge, then go for it!