uc davis application essay questions

UC Davis Graduate Studies

Admissions essays.

UC Davis requires that applicants to all graduate programs submit both a Statement of Purpose and a Personal History and Diversity Statement. Each essay can be no longer than 4,000 characters (including spaces). To allow prospective applicants the opportunity to prepare these essays before starting the application, the prompts for each essay are listed below.

Statement of Purpose

Please highlight your academic preparation and motivation; interests, specializations and career goals; and fit for pursuing graduate study at UC Davis.

• preparation and motivation may include your academic and research experiences that prepare you for this graduate program (for example: coursework, employment, exhibitions, fieldwork, foreign language proficiency, independent study, internships, laboratory activities, presentations, publications, studio projects, teaching, and travel or study abroad) and motivation or passion for graduate study.
• interests, specializations, and career goals may include your research interests, disciplinary subfields, area/s of specialization, and professional objectives.
• fit may include how your preparation, experiences, and interests match the specific resources and characteristics of your graduate program at UC Davis. Please identify specific faculty within your desired graduate program with whom you would like to work and how their interests match your own.

Personal History and Diversity Statement

The University of California Davis, a public institution, is committed to supporting the diversity of the graduate student body and promoting equal opportunity in higher education. This commitment furthers the educational mission to serve the increasingly diverse population and educational needs of California and the nation. Both the Vice Provost of Graduate Education/Dean of Graduate Studies and the University of California affirm that diversity is critical to promoting lively intellectual exchange and the variety of ideas and perspectives essential to advancing higher education and research. Our graduate students contribute to the global pool of future scholars and academic leaders, thus high value is placed on achieving a diverse graduate student body to support the University of California’s academic excellence. We invite you to include in this statement how you may contribute to the diversification of graduate education and the UC Davis community.

The purpose of this essay is to get to know you as an individual and potential graduate student. Please describe how your personal background informs your decision to pursue a graduate degree. You may include any educational, familial, cultural, economic, or social experiences, challenges, community service, outreach activities, residency and citizenship, first-generation college status, or opportunities relevant to your academic journey; how your life experiences contribute to the social, intellectual, or cultural diversity within a campus community and your chosen field; or how you might serve educationally underrepresented and underserved segments of society with your graduate education. This essay should complement but not duplicate the content in the Statement of Purpose.

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First-year requirements

• Subject requirement (A-G)
• GPA requirement
• Admission by exception
• English language proficiency
• UC graduation requirements

Additional information for

• California residents
• Out-of-state students
• Home-schooled students

Transfer requirements

• Understanding UC transfer
• Preparing to transfer
• UC transfer programs
• Transfer planning tools

International applicants

• Applying for admission
• English language proficiency (TOEFL/IELTS)
• Passports & visas
• Living accommodations
• Health care & insurance

AP & Exam credits

Applying as a first year

• Filling out the application
• Dates & deadlines

Personal insight questions

• How applications are reviewed
• After you apply

Applying as a transfer

Types of aid

• Grants & scholarships
• Jobs & work-study
• California DREAM Loan Program
• Middle Class Scholarship Program
• Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan
• Native American Opportunity Plan  
• Who can get financial aid
• How aid works
• Estimate your aid

Apply for financial aid

• Tuition & cost of attendance
• Glossary & resources
• Santa Barbara
• Campus program & support services
• Check majors
• Freshman admit data
• Transfer admit data
• Native American Opportunity Plan
• Apply for aid
• You will have 8 questions to choose from. You must respond to only 4 of the 8 questions.
• Each response is limited to a maximum of 350 words.
• Which questions you choose to answer is entirely up to you. However, you should select questions that are most relevant to your experience and that best reflect your individual circumstances.

Keep in mind

• All questions are equal. All are given equal consideration in the application review process, which means there is no advantage or disadvantage to choosing certain questions over others.
• There is no right or wrong way to answer these questions. It’s about getting to know your personality, background, interests and achievements in your own unique voice.  
• Use the additional comments field if there are issues you'd like to address that you didn't have the opportunity to discuss elsewhere on the application. This shouldn't be an essay, but rather a place to note unusual circumstances or anything that might be unclear in other parts of the application. 

Questions & guidance

Remember, the personal insight questions are just that—personal. Which means you should use our guidance for each question just as a suggestion in case you need help. The important thing is expressing who you are, what matters to you and what you want to share with UC. 

1. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time. Things to consider: A leadership role can mean more than just a title. It can mean being a mentor to others, acting as the person in charge of a specific task, or taking the lead role in organizing an event or project. Think about what you accomplished and what you learned from the experience. What were your responsibilities?

Did you lead a team? How did your experience change your perspective on leading others? Did you help to resolve an important dispute at your school, church, in your community or an organization? And your leadership role doesn't necessarily have to be limited to school activities. For example, do you help out or take care of your family? 2. Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side. Things to consider: What does creativity mean to you? Do you have a creative skill that is important to you? What have you been able to do with that skill? If you used creativity to solve a problem, what was your solution? What are the steps you took to solve the problem?

How does your creativity influence your decisions inside or outside the classroom? Does your creativity relate to your major or a future career? 3. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time? Things to consider: If there is a talent or skill that you're proud of, this is the time to share it.You don't necessarily have to be recognized or have received awards for your talent (although if you did and you want to talk about it, feel free to do so). Why is this talent or skill meaningful to you?

Does the talent come naturally or have you worked hard to develop this skill or talent? Does your talent or skill allow you opportunities in or outside the classroom? If so, what are they and how do they fit into your schedule? 4. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced. Things to consider: An educational opportunity can be anything that has added value to your educational experience and better prepared you for college. For example, participation in an honors or academic enrichment program, or enrollment in an academy that's geared toward an occupation or a major, or taking advanced courses that interest you; just to name a few.

If you choose to write about educational barriers you've faced, how did you overcome or strive to overcome them? What personal characteristics or skills did you call on to overcome this challenge? How did overcoming this barrier help shape who you are today? 5. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement? Things to consider: A challenge could be personal, or something you have faced in your community or school. Why was the challenge significant to you? This is a good opportunity to talk about any obstacles you've faced and what you've learned from the experience. Did you have support from someone else or did you handle it alone?

If you're currently working your way through a challenge, what are you doing now, and does that affect different aspects of your life? For example, ask yourself, How has my life changed at home, at my school, with my friends or with my family? 6. Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom. Things to consider:  Many students have a passion for one specific academic subject area, something that they just can't get enough of. If that applies to you, what have you done to further that interest? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had inside and outside the classroom such as volunteer work, internships, employment, summer programs, participation in student organizations and/or clubs and what you have gained from your involvement.

Has your interest in the subject influenced you in choosing a major and/or future career? Have you been able to pursue coursework at a higher level in this subject (honors, AP, IB, college or university work)? Are you inspired to pursue this subject further at UC, and how might you do that?

7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? Things to consider: Think of community as a term that can encompass a group, team or a place like your high school, hometown or home. You can define community as you see fit, just make sure you talk about your role in that community. Was there a problem that you wanted to fix in your community?

Why were you inspired to act? What did you learn from your effort? How did your actions benefit others, the wider community or both? Did you work alone or with others to initiate change in your community? 8. Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California? Things to consider:  If there's anything you want us to know about you but didn't find a question or place in the application to tell us, now's your chance. What have you not shared with us that will highlight a skill, talent, challenge or opportunity that you think will help us know you better?

From your point of view, what do you feel makes you an excellent choice for UC? Don't be afraid to brag a little.

Writing tips

Start early..

Give yourself plenty of time for preparation, careful composition and revisions.

Write persuasively.

Making a list of accomplishments, activities, awards or work will lessen the impact of your words. Expand on a topic by using specific, concrete examples to support the points you want to make.

Use “I” statements.

Talk about yourself so that we can get to know your personality, talents, accomplishments and potential for success on a UC campus. Use “I” and “my” statements in your responses.

Proofread and edit.

Although you will not be evaluated on grammar, spelling or sentence structure, you should proofread your work and make sure your writing is clear. Grammatical and spelling errors can be distracting to the reader and get in the way of what you’re trying to communicate.

Solicit feedback.

Your answers should reflect your own ideas and be written by you alone, but others — family, teachers and friends can offer valuable suggestions. Ask advice of whomever you like, but do not plagiarize from sources in print or online and do not use anyone's words, published or unpublished, but your own.

Copy and paste.

Once you are satisfied with your answers, save them in plain text (ASCII) and paste them into the space provided in the application. Proofread once more to make sure no odd characters or line breaks have appeared.

This is one of many pieces of information we consider in reviewing your application. Your responses can only add value to the application. An admission decision will not be based on this section alone.

Need more help?

Download our worksheets:

• English [PDF]
• Spanish [PDF]

University of California Davis (UC Davis) Secondary Application Prompts & Tips

• Cracking Med School Admissions

UC Davis School of Medicine is a popular medical school, especially among California residents, because of its location in Sacramento and its collaborative atmosphere. On your UC Davis secondary application, it is extremely important to answer “Why UC Davis School of Medicine.” UC Davis looks for students who are interested in serving the Northern California. Over the past 5 years, the medical school has had an increasing preference to individuals who have affiliations and who have previously lived in Northern California. The UC Davis secondary is a short application so submit this within 1 week of receiving the official invitation. 

The UC Davis secondaries DO NOT change year over year. So, if you live in California and completed all of UC Davis School of Medicine’s pre-requirements, then we strongly suggest you pre-write this or complete it right after you receive it. 

To learn more about student life, medical school culture, and clinical curriculum, read our blog post:  Cracking UC Davis Medical School Admissions: Insider Tips to Get Accepted .

Our Cracking Med School Admissions team has a track record of helping our mentees receive acceptances to UC Davis School of Medicine year after year. We also advise UC Davis undergraduate premed clubs, so we have a good sense of the University of California system.. Read more of our Cracking Med School Admissions tips for UC Davis secondarie s, and  contact us  if you have any questions. 

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UC Davis Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2024 – 2025

Uc davis secondaries – md essay prompts.

• (optional) Discuss any elements of your application that you feel might be concerning to the Admissions Committee (This could include explanation of metric trends, institutional actions, legal violations, etc.) Please enter N/A if no concerns to report . (500 characters max)
• Do you have a connection to Northern or Central California? If “yes” , please explain. (500 characters max)
• Activities : Please list the activities you would like to be considered in your application to UC Davis.  The secondary activities may be used to highlight your experiences specifically relevant for UC Davis. You may use your most meaningful experiences listed in your initial AMCAS application or select/add others that may be relevant to UC Davis. Please only list three.
• Please list your actual hours completed at the time of your secondary submission, not projected commitment. Therefore, enter your secondary application submission date as your end date for activities still in progress.   (500 characters max)

UC Davis Secondaries – Rural-PRIME (Rural Program in Medical Education) Program

• Please describe how your experiences with rural communities make you a good fit for the Rural-PRIME program. (500 characters max)
• Describe your future plans to serve a rural underserved community. (500 characters max)

UC Davis Secondaries – TEACH-MS (Transforming Education and Community Health for Medical Students) Program

• Please tell us what experiences have shaped your desire to be a primary care physician in urban underserved communities. (500 characters max)
• Describe your future plans to serve as a primary care physician leader. (500 characters max)

UC Davis Secondaries – ACE-PC (Accelerated Competency-based Education in Primary Care) Program

• Please tell us what attributes or experiences would make you a good fit for an accelerated program in primary care. (500 characters max)

UC Davis Secondaries – REACH (Reimagining Education to Advance Central California Health) Program

• Please tell us about your ties to Central California and what you have done, or plan to do, to make a positive change in Central California. (500 characters max)

UC Davis Secondaries – Tribal Health PRIME

• What experiences have you had with rural and/or underserved communities/populations? More specifically, what involvement have you had with tribal communities/populations? (500 characters max)

UC Davis Secondaries – ARC-MD (Academic Research Careers for Medical Doctors)

• The UC Davis School of Medicine has an honors pathway, Academic Research Careers for Medical Doctors (ARC-MD), to encourage the development of the next generation of school of medicine faculty. These faculty will be drawn from diverse backgrounds, many committed to research as a foundational aspect of their career. Tell us about how you could see yourself as a faculty of the future and how biomedical research might play a role in your career development. (500 characters max)

Tips to Answer UC Davis Secondaries

UC Davis Medical School Secondary Application Tip #1: We don’t say this for too many medical school secondary applications, but this is a short secondary app. Submit this secondary within 1 week of receiving the official secondary. If you’re a California resident (most likely, you will receive the official secondary invite), you should pre-write your UC Davis secondaries!

UC Davis Secondary Pre-writing Guidance: Questions for University of California Davis  do not change year to year. This is a good med school secondary to pre-write IF you are a California resident. Premeds who are not California residents are not guaranteed a secondary, so we recommend out-of-state students not to pre-write UC Davis’ secondary. 

UC Davis Medical School Secondary Application Tip #2: Yes, you can choose the same 3 “most meaningful activities” as you chose in your AMCAS application. Most of our students have the same 3 most meaningful activities reflected in the UC Davis secondary and the AMCAS application. The activities that you choose also don’t have to all be clinical experiences, although we would recommend at least 1 activity is a clinical experience. 

UC Davis Medical School Secondary Application Tip #3:  UC Davis School of Medicine  strongly prefers students who live in Northern California, specifically around the Sacramento area (not necessarily around San Francisco / San Jose / Palo Alto). If you cannot answer the UC Davis secondaries, “Do you have a connection to Northern or Central California,” then you should re-consider applying, even if you are an in-state applicant. Furthermore, for the question, you should includeNorthern California  family ties, visiting/living in Northern California (even for an internship), community service, and clinical experience.

UC Davis Medical School Secondary Application Tip #4: Read more about the UC Davis School of Medicine curriculum , social life, and culture. For example, do you know that most medical school students live in the neighborhoods right next to the medical school, and many people throw BBQs in their backyards?

UC Davis Medical School Secondary Application Tip #5: It is important to note that there are University of California PRIME programs. PRIME programs are geared towards practicing in underserved communities.

• Read the UC Davis PRIME programs before applying:  UC PRIME programs
• If you decide to apply, make sure you write tailored “Why this PRIME program” essays.

UC Davis Medical School Secondary Application Tip #6: Get our help to edit your UC Davis Medical School secondary application essays. We can help you through our secondary essay packages . Have questions about how you can stand out? Contact us below.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Does UC Davis screen secondaries? It does, and not all medical school applicants receive a UC Davis secondary application.

[ Read other secondary essay tips: University of California Irvine (UCI), University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), University of California San Diego (UCSD), Oregon Health and Sciences University ]

Your medical school application Coaches, Mentors, & Cheerleaders

We Personally Advise Every Student We Work With.

Rachel Rizal, M.D.

Changing the trajectory of people’s lives.

Undergraduate Princeton University, cum laude

Medical School Stanford School of Medicine

Residency Harvard, Emergency Medicine

Awards & Scholarships Fulbright Scholar USA Today Academic First Team Tylenol Scholarship

Rishi Mediratta, M.D., M.Sc., M.A.

Advising students to attend their dream schools.

Undergraduate Johns Hopkins University, Phi Beta Kappa

Residency Stanford, Pediatrics

Awards & Scholarships Marshall Scholar Tylenol Scholarship Global Health Scholar

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UC Davis Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2023 – 2024

• Activities : Please list the activities you would like to be considered in your application to UC Davis. You may use your activities listed in your initial AMCAS application or select/add others that may be relevant to UC Davis. Please only list three.
• Briefly describe this activity and its significance. How did it prepare you for a medical career? Include any supporting information (e.g. your contribution to the project or accomplishment as well as links to any publication, etc). (500 characters max)

UC Davis Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2022 – 2023

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UC Davis Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2021 – 2022

• Discuss any elements of your application that you feel might be concerning to the Admissions Committee (This could include explanation of metric trends, institutional actions, legal violations, etc.) Please enter N/A if no concerns to report . (500 characters max)

UC Davis Secondaries – Scholarly Pathways Prompts

• Are you interested in applying to the Rural-PRIME (Rural Program in Medical Education) Program? If “Yes” : Please describe how your experiences with rural communities make you a good fit for the Rural-PRIME program. (500 characters max)
• Are you interested in applying to the TEACH-MS Program (Transforming Education and Community Health for Medical Students) Program? If “Yes” : Please tell us what experiences have shaped your desire to be a primary care physician in urban underserved communities. (500 characters max)
• Are you interested in applying to the ACE-PC (Accelerated Competency-based Education in Primary Care) Program? If “Yes” : Please tell us what attributes or experiences would make you a good fit for an accelerated program in primary care. (500 characters max)
• Are you interested in applying to the REACH (Reimagining Education to Advance central California Health) Program in Medical Education? If “Yes” : Please tell us about your ties to Central California and what you have done, or plan to do, to make a positive change in Central California. (500 characters max)
• Are you interested in applying to ARC-MD (Academic Research Careers for Medical Doctors)? If “Yes” : The UC Davis School of Medicine has an honors pathway, Academic Research Careers for Medical Doctors (ARC-MD), to encourage the development of the next generation of school of medicine faculty. These faculty will be drawn from diverse backgrounds, many committed to research as a foundational aspect of their career. Tell us about how you could see yourself as a faculty of the future and how biomedical research might play a role in your career development. (500 characters max)

UC Davis Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2020 - 2021

Uc davis medical school secondary application questions: 2019 – 2020.

• Discuss any elements of your application that you feel might be concerning to the Admissions Committee. (500  characters  max)
• Do you have a connection to Northern or Central California? (Yes or No) If you answered ‘yes’ to having a connection to Northern or Central California, please explain below. If you answered ‘no’ type ‘not applicable’. (500  characters  max)
• Experiences: At UC Davis School of Medicine we realize that each applicant brings diversity and perspective from a broad range of experiences. In this section we give you the opportunity to describe in detail the 3 extracurricular activities or experiences that have been most influential in leading you to a career in medicine. We realize that many applicants have identified key experiences in the main application. However, some do not and others identify less than 3. We apologize for any redundancy – feel free to reproduce the comments from your Primary application and expand on them as appropriate. (750  characters  max)

UC Davis Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2018 – 2019

Uc davis medical school secondary application questions: 2017 – 2018, uc davis medical school secondary application questions: 2016 – 2017.

• Experiences: Briefly describe this activity and its significance. How did it prepare you for a medical career? Include any supporting information (e.g. your contribution to the project or accomplishment as well as links to any publication, etc). (750 characters max)

UC Davis Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2015 – 2016

• Discuss any elements of your application that you feel might be concerning to the Admissions Committee. (500 characters max)
• What have you been doing since submitting your AMCAS application? Include contact information for any references related to these experiences. (500 characters) (500 characters max)
• At UC Davis School of Medicine we realize that each applicant brings diversity and perspective from a broad range of experiences. In this section we give you the opportunity to describe in detail the 3 extracurricular activities or experiences that have been most influential in leading you to a career in medicine.” For each activity: Briefly describe this activity and its significance. How did it prepare you for a medical career? Include any supporting information (e.g. your contribution to the project or accomplishment as well as links to any publication, etc) (750 characters max)

UC Davis Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2014 – 2015

• Discuss any elements of your application that you feel might be concerning to the Admissions Committee. (1,500 characters max)
• What have you been doing since submitting your AMCAS application? Include contact information for any references related to these experiences. (1,500 characters max
• The Accelerated Competency-Education in Primary Care (ACE-PC) program is a 6-year track that seamlessly links medical school and residency in primary care. A collaboration between UCDSOM and Kaiser Permanente, the program allows a select group of eligible students to complete medical school in 3 years and receive a conditional acceptance to a UC Davis or Kaiser Permanente Northern California residency program in primary care. Students who are accepted to the UCDSOM 4-year program and who plan a career in primary care, Internal Medicine or Family Medicine will be considered for the program. For more information, please see https://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/mdprogram/ACE-PC/about.html . If you would like to be considered for Davis ACE-PC, please tell us what attributes or experiences would make you a good fit for the program. If you are not interested, please insert “Not Applicable”. (1,500 characters max)
• The Rural-Program In Medical Education is designed for students interested in becoming physician leaders in rural California communities. Curricular enhancements include weekly seminars, hands-on skill sessions covering laceration repair, obstetric delivery, CPR, etc., mentorship with rural physicians, 3rd year rural clinical rotations and leadership opportunities related to rural health. Link to Rural-PRIME Website: https://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/mdprogram/rural_prime/index.html If interested, please tell us why you would like to be considered for the program. Otherwise, please insert “not applicable”. (1,500 characters max)
• Please describe your experiences working with underserved communities. If not interested in Rural-PRIME, please insert “not applicable”. (1,500 characters max)
• What are your future plans to practice in a rural underserved community? If not interested in Rural-PRIME, please insert “not applicable”. (1,500 characters max)
• The Physician Scientist Training Program ( https://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/mdprogram/MD_Ph.D/index.html ) is designed for students interested in becoming clinician investigators and leads to a dual degree (MD-PhD). The program includes 4 years of dedicated research in addition to the standard medical school curriculum. Did you select “Combined Medical Degree/Ph.D.” under Program Type on your AMCAS application? If you did, please indicate why you are interested in the UC Davis School of Medicine Physician Scientist Training Program here. Otherwise, please insert “Not applicable”. (1,500 characters max)
• A collaboration between UCDSOM and the UC Davis TEACH Residency Program, the Transforming Education and Community Health Program for Medical Students (TEACH-MS) is a four year tailored track for students committed to primary care and care for the urban underserved ( https://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/mdprogram/TEACH-MS /). If you would like to apply to TEACH-MS Program, please respond to the following 2 questions.  (1,500 characters max)   Otherwise, please insert “not applicable ”. A. Please tell us about your motivation to pursue a career in primary care (Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, or Pediatrics). B. Please describe an experience that best demonstrates your commitment to urban underserved communities.
• A collaboration between UCDSOM, UC Merced and UCSF Fresno, the San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education (SJV PRIME) is a tailored leadership track for students committed to providing care for the medically underserved in the San Joaquin Valley ( https://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/mdprogram/sjvprime/index.html ). To apply to SJV PRIME, please respond to the following 3 questions.  (1,500 characters max) Otherwise please insert “not applicable”. A. Please tell us about your ties to the San Joaquin Valley. B. Please tell us what you have done, or plan to do, to make a positive change in the San Joaquin Valley. C. After you complete your medical training, where (city or county) do you intend to practice and why?
• “At UC Davis School of Medicine we realize that each applicant brings diversity and perspective from a broad range of experiences. In this section we give you the opportunity to describe in detail the 3 extracurricular activities or experiences that have been most influential in leading you to a career in medicine.” For each activity: Briefly describe this activity and its significance. How did it prepare you for a medical career? Include any supporting information (e.g. your contribution to the project or accomplishment as well as links to any publication, etc) (750 characters max)

UC Davis Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2013 – 2014

• A collaboration between UCDSOM and the UC Davis TEACH Residency Program, the Transforming Education and Community Health Program for Medical Students (TEACH-MS) is a four year tailored track for students committed to primary care and care for the urban underserved ( https://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/mdprogram/TEACH-MS /). If you would like to apply to TEACH-MS, please respond to the following 2 questions.  (1,500 characters max)   Otherwise, please insert “not applicable ”. A. Please tell us about your motivation to pursue a career in primary care (Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, or Pediatrics). B. Please describe an experience that best demonstrates your commitment to urban underserved communities.

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How to Answer UC Application PIQs Like an Aggie | UC Davis

• by Alexa Carter and Abigail Loomis
• October 19, 2022

Quick Summary

• META DESCRIPTION: The best way to show college admissions committees who you are is to answer college essay prompts and personal insight questions authentically. Use these tips.

Applying to college can be scary, hectic and confusing. There are so many essays to write, edit, review, and so many different tips and tricks to handle it all. You might feel overwhelmed by all of this sometimes contradictory information. We know we did. That's why we have assembled some Aggie-approved college essay tips to help you stand out from the crowd!

Figure Out Your “Why?”

When writing your essays and choosing what programs you apply to, it is important to have a clear idea as to why you chose that school/major/academic program. If you are applying to a school with a mechanical engineering major, think about why you are interested in it. Is it because you enjoy tinkering and innovating? Maybe you think that you can positively impact the world through this career path, or you have a family member in that field that you look up to. Knowing why you are interested or what you want to achieve is an excellent starting point for conveying strengths that might not be reflected in your extracurriculars and grades. This gives you clarity and purpose, which can really shine through to the admissions committee. In no way do they expect you to have a life plan, but rather a sense of purpose and a spark of excitement.

Pick the Right PIQs for You

While all PIQs are weighted equally, some prompts might fit you better than others. If volunteer work is important to you, choose the prompt that best fits that pursuit. As an applicant who had a lower GPA than others, I found it useful to write about how I overcame obstacles in my education and how I was passionate about pursuing academic research. You need to find the PIQ prompts that showcase your passions and personality best.

Discuss How You Have Improved

As much as we all want to create a version of ourselves that is, has been, and will always be perfect, we have all made mistakes or struggled. This is not something to be ashamed of, and it is not something that you need to conceal from the admissions committee. 

Talking about how you have overcome a struggle can show a lot about who you are and how you have grown. You can explain the obstacles, how they impacted you, how you overcame them, and what you learned from the experience. Remember to explain the obstacle briefly and spend the majority of your word limit on how you have grown from the situation. Schools want to see who you are, so don’t be afraid to show how you have become the person you are today!

Showcase Your Personality

Remember that there is no right or wrong way to approach college applications. Don’t feel like you have to change yourself or answer certain prompts that are less applicable to you because you feel it will impress the admissions office. All UC PIQ prompts are evaluated in the same way ! Let your favorite interests shape your responses. If you spent a large portion of your time in fan club meetings or hiking, use those experiences to give personality to your statement! You are an interesting and complex person, full of stories and nuances the admissions committee wants to learn about. 

This can be difficult for many people, so one tip is to write in a way that is similar to how you speak (But avoid slang, curse words, or unexplained acronyms!). Doing so can help you feel comfortable during the writing process, and can help show some individuality. One easy way to check that you are writing in your own voice is to read your PIQs aloud in front of some people close to you to find out if it sounds like your voice. 

Focus on You

When discussing your life experiences, it can be easy to include anecdotes about the people closest to you or to talk about how they have influenced you. This is in no way a bad thing, but it is important to keep the focus on yourself, and avoid writing an essay that makes you a side character. For example, if you wanted to write about your relationship with your mother and growing up with a single mom, you need to ensure that you discuss how you felt and how she influenced who you are today. Do not spend too much time trying to explain who this person is to your audience. Some college applications have a strict word count, so it is more important to focus on influences and impacts on you .

Seek Another Perspective

When writing your college application essays , do not be afraid to ask for a teacher or counselor who knows you well to review your essays. You might be surprised by how many mistakes you may have missed or by how many suggestions they can provide. Your academic advisors and mentors are there to support you , and most are delighted that you value their advice enough to ask for their help. Take a leap of faith and ask them for a bit of their time to review your PIQs; it may be one of the best decisions you make towards the success of your college application.

Most importantly, be sure to take care of yourself during this college application season. Your well-being is of the utmost importance, so make sure to hang out with friends and family or take a break and watch a movie or hit the gym. It is hard to write essays and showcase who you are when your brain is plagued with stress and sleep deprivation. You will get into the school that is just right for you. You just have to get through the college application process first.

Primary Category

UC Davis School of Medicine Secondary Essay Prompts

These are the secondary application essay prompts for University of California Davis School of Medicine. To put your best foot forward and maximize your chance of an interview invitation, visit our secondary application editing page .

about University of California Davis School of Medicine

Secondary Deadline:  30 days after receiving the secondary application invite Secondary Fee: $120 FAP Waiver: Yes CASPer Required: No PREview Required: Yes Screens Applications : Yes Accepts Application Updates : No

To provide excellent learner-centered education to a diverse body of medical students and graduate students; cultivating in them the passion to improve lives and transform the health of the communities they will serve as physicians, scientists and health care leaders.

1. Discuss any elements of your application that you feel might be concerning to the Admissions Committee (This could include explanation of metric trends, institutional actions, legal violations, etc.) Please enter N/A if no concerns to report. (500 characters; spaces count as a character)

2. Do you have a connection to Northern or Central California? If “yes”, please explain (500 characters; spaces count as a character).

Activities Please list the activities you would like to be considered in your application to UC Davis. You may use your activities listed in your initial AMCAS application or select/add others that may be relevant to UC Davis. Please only list three. a. Briefly describe this activity and its significance. How did it prepare you for a medical career? Include any supporting information (e.g. your contribution to the project or accomplishment as well as links to any publication, etc) (500 characters; spaces count as a character).

Scholarly Pathways Are you interested in applying to the Rural-PRIME (Rural Program in Medical Education) Program? If “Yes” : a. Please describe how your experiences with rural communities make you a good fit for the Rural-PRIME program (500 characters; spaces count as a character). b. Describe your future plans to serve a rural underserved community (500 characters; spaces count as a character).

Are you interested in applying to the TEACH-MS (Transforming Education and Community Health for Medical Students) Program? If “Yes”: Please tell us what experiences have shaped your desire to be a primary care physician in urban underserved communities (500 characters; spaces count as a character).

Are you interested in applying to the ACE-PC (Accelerated Competency-based Education in Primary Care) Program? If “Yes”: Please tell us what attributes or experiences would make you a good fit for an accelerated program in primary care (500 characters; spaces count as a character).

Are you interested in applying to the REACH (Reimagining Education to Advance central California Health) Program in Medical Education? If “Yes”: Please tell us about your ties to Central California and what you have done, or plan to do, to make a positive change in Central California (500 characters; spaces count as a character).

Are you interested in applying to ARC-MD (Academic Research Careers for Medical Doctors)? If “Yes”: The UC Davis School of Medicine has an honors pathway, Academic Research Careers for Medical Doctors (ARC-MD), to encourage the development of the next generation of school of medicine faculty. These faculty will be drawn from diverse backgrounds, many committed to research as a foundational aspect of their career. Tell us about how you could see yourself as a faculty of the future and how biomedical research might play a role in your career development (500 characters; spaces count as a character).

1. Discuss any elements of your application that you feel might be concerning to the Admissions Committee.

2. Do you have a connection to Northern or Central California?

If you answered ‘yes’ to having a connection to Northern or Central California, please explain below. If you answered ‘no’ type ‘not applicable’

Activities:

3. At UC Davis School of Medicine, we realize that each applicant brings diversity and perspective from a broad range of experiences. In this section, we give you the opportunity to describe in detail the 3 extracurricular activities or experiences that have been most influential in leading you to a career in medicine. We realize that many applicants have identified key experiences in the main application. However, some do not and others identify less than 3. We apologize for any redundancy – feel free to reproduce the comments from your Primary application and expand on them as appropriate.

Briefly describe this activity and its significance. How did it prepare you for a medical career? Include any supporting information (e.g., your contribution to the project or accomplishment as well as links to any publication, etc.).

Limit your response to 500 characters for the next 3 questions:

Do not feel compelled to answer this question, but if there is a portion of the application which needs clarification it is reasonable to do so. If there is a negative portion of the application which has an explanation for the reason, go ahead and provide it. Be sure to not sound like a victim and not to make excuses, but be honest in description of the circumstances and reasons for this issue. One possible example is if you had any health issues requiring you to withdraw from a class and receive an incomplete. Be sure to state what you learned from the experience and how you improved upon it thereafter.

2. Do you have a connection to Northern or Central California? (Y/N) If you answered ‘yes’ to having a connection to Northern or Central California, please explain below. If you answered ‘no’ type ‘not applicable’.

Answer as applicable to your background. Feel free to describe personal family connections or a prior experience with the area. Incorporating a desire to give back to the community can make your essay stronger. UC Davis has a very strong primary care presence in the medical school and residency so a desire to serve the community will reflect well upon you. Make it genuine though, and do not concoct an answer which is not true or legitimate.

Experiences Section

500 characters or less:

3. At UC Davis School of Medicine we realize that each applicant brings diversity and perspective from a broad range of experiences. In this section we give you the opportunity to describe in detail the 3 extracurricular activities or experiences that have been most influential in leading you to a career in medicine. We realize that many applicants have identified key experiences in the main application. However, some do not and others identify less than 3. We apologize for any redundancy – feel free to reproduce the comments from your Primary application and expand on them as appropriate.

This is a difficult question because the key is to answer effectively while not repeating what was stated in the primary application. Although the prompt allows for redundancy, your application will be stronger if the same concepts are not repeated. Choose an experience you feel strongly about and then try to think about how you could explain its importance from a fresh angle. Perhaps there was a deeper or different lesson it taught you than what you previously described. Tie the experience to a tangible skill you gained or lesson you learned which will help you impact the medical profession. How does that experience make you unique and a good contribution to the diversity of the school?

The secondary application essay prompts from this medical school application cycle are the same as above.

Disclaimer: The information on this page was shared by students and/or can be found on the medical school’s website. Med School Insiders does not guarantee the accuracy of the information on this page.

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• Applications

Specific questions about UC Davis application

By a fragrant plant December 9, 2009 in Applications

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a fragrant plant

There are two text boxes for you to paste your essay but they strangely ask the same/similar questions.

For example the "Statement of Purpose" prompt reads:

Please describe your motivation, academic preparation and aptitude for graduate study at UC Davis. You should describe your academic plans and research interests, your specialization within your academic field, your research experiences and your career goals .

Then they have another text box called "Future interest or goals". The prompt reads:

Please describe your future interests or professional/career/artistic goals. Please limit your response to 2,000 characters (including spaces).

Now, should I talk about my professional/career goal in the statement of purpose? If I do I won't have anything to say in the second box!!!!

Really need your help!!!!

I actually found this helpful since UC Davis only allows 4000 characters in the SOP. My SOP was around 8000 characters, so I took that opportunity to move (almost) everything having to do with life after grad school to the second essay. I only kept a brief sentence about my plans after school. I'm not sure if that is exactly what they had in mind, but I'm assuming they'll be reading both essays at the same time so it shouldn't matter.

UnlikelyGrad

There are two text boxes for you to paste your essay but they strangely ask the same/similar questions. For example the "Statement of Purpose" prompt reads: Please describe your motivation, academic preparation and aptitude for graduate study at UC Davis. You should describe your academic plans and research interests, your specialization within your academic field, your research experiences and your career goals . Then they have another text box called "Future interest or goals". The prompt reads: Please describe your future interests or professional/career/artistic goals. Please limit your response to 2,000 characters (including spaces). Now, should I talk about my professional/career goal in the statement of purpose? If I do I won't have anything to say in the second box!!!! Really need your help!!!!

The UC Davis app was my least favorite app of the 9 I submitted last year.

I believe I alluded to my professional & career goals in the first one (a couple of sentences) and then fleshed them out in the second one.

I thought my essays sucked, but I got in. Go figure.

• 4 weeks later...

Tall Chai Latte

i also applied to UC Davis but to the pharmacology/toxicology program. didn't like the prompts either...

Catch22alex

Had to rework my statement a lot to fit it. Wasn't happy with the App process, including the surprise fellowship application that came after the app

Gah! Yes. That filled me with SO much rage.

• 1 month later...

The UC Davis app was my least favorite app of the 9 I submitted last year. I believe I alluded to my professional & career goals in the first one (a couple of sentences) and then fleshed them out in the second one. Then I had to write the diversity essay. I thought my essays sucked, but I got in. Go figure.

Did you have an interview or did they just admit you??

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