2025-2026 UC San Diego

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chilly_md

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2025-2026 UC San Diego Secondary Essay Prompts:

1. This should be a true autobiographical statement. Topics to be included are family, childhood, primary and secondary school years, undergraduate years, and, if applicable, what you’ve done since completing your bachelor’s degree. You should also discuss the motivational factors which led you to a career in medicine including any disadvantages or obstacles which might put your accomplishments into context. A repeat of your AMCAS statement will not be acceptable. (6000 characters)

2.
On your AMCAS Application, you were asked to identify your three “most meaningful” experiences. These activities have been auto-filled in your secondary application.
In addition to the information you provided on the AMCAS application, we would like to know if there are any additional activities you would consider among your most meaningful. This may include activities that you’ve already completed but couldn’t include as you were limited to three selections on the AMCAS application, or it may include a new activity that began after your initial AMCAS application was submitted. Use the “Add” button below to enter a new activity. Please provide a brief description of this experience. (100 characters each)

3.
Some medical school applicants are already focused on pursuing a particular career pathway in medicine. While many students will change from this pathway during medical school, knowing of your potential interests does help us to assign interviewers. Your choice below does not influence how the Admissions Committee selects students to interview.

Please select from one of the career pathways listed below: In addition to this selection, please provide a brief description of your future career goals. (400 characters)

a) Academic Medicine (Working as a faculty member at a School of Medicine either as a clinician, a clinician-educator, or a clinician investigator. This could be in any field of medicine)
b) Primary Care and/or work in underserved communities (Working as a general internist, a pediatrician, or a family medicine physician and/or spending the majority of your time working in a community currently underserved by the medical profession)
c) Public Health, administrative leadership in medicine (Pursuing an MPH and/or working for a public health department or organization; working in health care policy; working as a hospital administrator)
d) Specialist in private practice (Working in a private practice or managed care setting as a subspecialist. Examples include cardiologist, infectious disease specialist, obstetrician, orthopedic surgeon, general surgeon, anaesthesiologist, radiologist)
e) Other/undecided


Good luck to all applying!

Interview Feedback:

 
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+1 IS MD only - notice that my application was received
 
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+1 IS "primary application received" email, no secondary
 
If we did not receive a secondary on Tuesday, we are we probably no longer under consideration?
in all seriousness, it can take a while to receive a secondary after getting the primary confirmed email. took me a couple days last year. your app is definitely still under consideration!
 
What are folks writing for the autobiography? I know it should be in the same spirit as our personal statement but it feels very redundant.
 
What are folks writing for the autobiography? I know it should be in the same spirit as our personal statement but it feels very redundant.
just my thoughts on how to approach it: i sat down and thought about the most important events/moments in the entirety of my life, things that i wouldn't be the same if they hadn't happened to me. then i expanded on those, and tied the relevant ones to my interest in medicine. it ended up being ~25% elementary through high school, ~45% college, and ~30% post-grad stuff (but i have taken 3 gap years so it might be different for you).
 
+1 IS secondary MD only

Same questions as last year, as far as I can see
 
What does the additional experiences part of the secondary mean? Are you supposed to add experiences you already had on your primary, but couldn't designate as most meaningful because they limited that selection to 3? Or is it just for activities you didn't include on primary?
 
+1 IS MD
Secondary received on 7/10/25
Verified & app transmitted on 7/8/25
 
If you apply Prime, are you still considered for regular track or only with the PRIME pool?
 
If I select no for all the prime pathways, GHAC, Tan, etc. but my narrative is focused on underserved communities, does that harm my chances for regular MD admission?
 
Could someone please provide the secondaries or indicate if they are the same as last year? Thanks!
 
If I select no for all the prime pathways, GHAC, Tan, etc. but my narrative is focused on underserved communities, does that harm my chances for regular MD admission?
Technically they’re evaluated separately, but if your narrative strongly emphasizes underserved communities, adcoms may wonder why you didn’t apply to PRIME/GHAC/Tan. It might not ‘harm’ your regular MD chances directly, but aligning your applications with your stated mission could strengthen your overall fit.
 
Could someone please provide the secondaries or indicate if they are the same as last year? Thanks!
whoops. here they are:

1. This should be a true autobiographical statement. Topics to be included are family, childhood, primary and secondary school years, undergraduate years, and, if applicable, what you’ve done since completing your bachelor’s degree. You should also discuss the motivational factors which led you to a career in medicine including any disadvantages or obstacles which might put your accomplishments into context. A repeat of your AMCAS statement will not be acceptable. (6000 characters)

2. On your AMCAS Application, you were asked to identify your three “most meaningful” experiences. These activities have been auto-filled in your secondary application.

In addition to the information you provided on the AMCAS application, we would like to know if there are any additional activities you would consider among your most meaningful. This may include activities that you’ve already completed but couldn’t include as you were limited to three selections on the AMCAS application, or it may include a new activity that began after your initial AMCAS application was submitted. Use the “Add” button below to enter a new activity. Please provide a brief description of this experience. (100 characters each)

3. Some medical school applicants are already focused on pursuing a particular career pathway in medicine. While many students will change from this pathway during medical school, knowing of your potential interests does help us to assign interviewers. Your choice below does not influence how the Admissions Committee selects students to interview.

Please select from one of the career pathways listed below: In addition to this selection, please provide a brief description of your future career goals. (400 characters)

a) Academic Medicine (Working as a faculty member at a School of Medicine either as a clinician, a clinician-educator, or a clinician investigator. This could be in any field of medicine)
b) Primary Care and/or work in underserved communities (Working as a general internist, a pediatrician, or a family medicine physician and/or spending the majority of your time working in a community currently underserved by the medical profession)
c) Public Health, administrative leadership in medicine (Pursuing an MPH and/or working for a public health department or organization; working in health care policy; working as a hospital administrator)
d) Specialist in private practice (Working in a private practice or managed care setting as a subspecialist. Examples include cardiologist, infectious disease specialist, obstetrician, orthopedic surgeon, general surgeon, anaesthesiologist, radiologist)
e) Other/undecided
 
whoops. here they are:

1. This should be a true autobiographical statement. Topics to be included are family, childhood, primary and secondary school years, undergraduate years, and, if applicable, what you’ve done since completing your bachelor’s degree. You should also discuss the motivational factors which led you to a career in medicine including any disadvantages or obstacles which might put your accomplishments into context. A repeat of your AMCAS statement will not be acceptable. (6000 characters)

2. On your AMCAS Application, you were asked to identify your three “most meaningful” experiences. These activities have been auto-filled in your secondary application.

In addition to the information you provided on the AMCAS application, we would like to know if there are any additional activities you would consider among your most meaningful. This may include activities that you’ve already completed but couldn’t include as you were limited to three selections on the AMCAS application, or it may include a new activity that began after your initial AMCAS application was submitted. Use the “Add” button below to enter a new activity. Please provide a brief description of this experience. (100 characters each)

3. Some medical school applicants are already focused on pursuing a particular career pathway in medicine. While many students will change from this pathway during medical school, knowing of your potential interests does help us to assign interviewers. Your choice below does not influence how the Admissions Committee selects students to interview.

Please select from one of the career pathways listed below: In addition to this selection, please provide a brief description of your future career goals. (400 characters)

a) Academic Medicine (Working as a faculty member at a School of Medicine either as a clinician, a clinician-educator, or a clinician investigator. This could be in any field of medicine)
b) Primary Care and/or work in underserved communities (Working as a general internist, a pediatrician, or a family medicine physician and/or spending the majority of your time working in a community currently underserved by the medical profession)
c) Public Health, administrative leadership in medicine (Pursuing an MPH and/or working for a public health department or organization; working in health care policy; working as a hospital administrator)
d) Specialist in private practice (Working in a private practice or managed care setting as a subspecialist. Examples include cardiologist, infectious disease specialist, obstetrician, orthopedic surgeon, general surgeon, anaesthesiologist, radiologist)
e) Other/undecided
Thank you!
 
Regarding number 3, I specifically mentioned an interest in practicing in a rural, underserved area as a closing statement in my AMCAS app. UCSD assigned me an M.D. interview (1 of 2) with a primary care faculty member in rural health. I truly believe that interview was a difference maker in getting accepted. I'm glad they're still doing this in their secondary prompts.
 
I am a little confused on the meaningful experiences question. if I haven’t started any new activities, do I pick a 4th most meaningful experience out of my 15 activities on the primary? I’m not sure how to explain why it’s meaningful in only 100 characters
 
is it worth using space to name drop UCSD programs in the autobiography? or would they prefer you dont try to do a Why Us essay?
 
Does anyone have advice on how to even convey anything at all in 100 characters...? Should I even be trying to write a full sentence? More bullet-point format?
 
is it worth using space to name drop UCSD programs in the autobiography? or would they prefer you dont try to do a Why Us essay?
it makes more sense to do that in the essay asking how you will pursue your career goals (#3)
 
Anyone else dreading writing this despite receiving a secondary earlier this month...
 
Anyone else dreading writing this despite receiving a secondary earlier this month...

I felt like I prewrote so many essays for precisely this purpose earlier this year and somehow I hate all of them now that I actually am pressed to use them. I feel like I have to write it up all over again.

And the application is so long! Every time I click a checkbox I unlock a new Bonus Essay(™). Send help!
 
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