Pritzker School of Medicine is on the campus of the University of Chicago; the School of Medicine defines its location as an opportunity for multidisciplinary collaboration among scholars and fields of study. They are open to applicants who hold degrees outside of traditional sciences (over forty undergraduate majors in a typical incoming class), one third of a typical incoming class is BIPOC, and 50 – 70% of the incoming class will have taken one or more gap years. In 2019, the incoming class had a 3.9 GPA mean and 521 MCAT.

University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine 2022-23 secondary application essay questions

University of Chicago School of Medicine essay #1

Please write a short essay about why you are applying to the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. We suggest that you limit your essay to about 550 words.

To answer this prompt successfully, an applicant needs to demonstrate awareness of and suitedness for the U of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine’s mission, values, community, opportunity and curriculum. How are you suited to succeed there? How are you right for them, again tied to mission, values, community, opportunity and curriculum. (Not what they can provide you.) This essay takes time. Its length is approximately two pages. You will need to draft your ideas and keep building upon them from there. Write, revise, and build upon your ideas.

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University of Chicago School of Medicine essay #2

Share with us a difficult or challenging situation you have encountered and how you dealt with it. In your response, identify both the coping skills you called upon to resolve the dilemma, and the support person(s) from whom you sought advice. We suggest that you limit your essay to about 550 words.

The main prompt for essay #2 is called the “adversity” question. Everyone faces adversity. Not everyone faces it to the same degree. If you faced adversity due to race, class, exclusion (race, class, gender, or other reasons that cursorily excluded you from participation or opportunity) definitely address this experience here. Pritzker is dedicated to diversity and inclusion. In doing so, they value successful adaptation to a challenge, such that one was able to circumvent a problem beyond their control, or found an alternative opportunity suited to one’s quest and vision. Interestingly, they want to know who you spoke with, who helped you, in figuring out how to turn lemons into lemonade. Seriously, who helped you dismantle bias and soar, with the help of another or others? What was the outcome? What did you learn from that experience?

University of Chicago School of Medicine essay #3 (Optional)

Please feel free to use this space to convey any additional information that you might wish the Committee to know. For example, if you are not currently completing a degree, please share your planned or current activities for this application cycle. You may also wish to include any impact that COVID-19 has had on your educational, research, or extracurricular plans. We suggest that you limit your text to about 300 words.

Anything else? Do not feel compelled to pad here. If there is nothing else, that’s fine. Also, do not replicate other information already represented in your application. If you have not addressed how you were affected by COVID-19 elsewhere in the application, do so here – but do so factually according to their categories: education, research and extracurricular plans. Pritzker does not want an elaborate answer. Stay explanatory. Close with what other opportunity came your way because of the pandemic. What did you do to assist those in need, locally or broadly? What did you learn from this experience? 

University of Chicago School of Medicine essay #4

If your school has a premedical committee or premedical advisor who composes a letter for each applicant from your school and you chose not to avail yourself of this service, please provide an explanation in the text box below for your decision not to do so. We suggest that you limit your text to about 200 words.

There is likely a reasonable story to tell to explain why you did not utilize resources like a premedical committee or a premedical advisor if the opportunity to do so was available to you at your undergraduate institution. Perhaps something happened; Did the premed advisor take a leave of absence? Did committee members change and this presented unusual circumstances? Perhaps, while matriculating, you were not thinking of going to medical school? 

Do not write an emotional story. Do not write about personality clashes or about a lack of advising. Do not write about your inherent shyness or hesitation to reach out. Those are not explanations as much as excuses.

If you would like professional guidance with your University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine application materials, check out Accepted’s Medical School Admissions Consulting and Editing Services, which include advising, editing, and interview coaching for the University of Chicago‘s application materials.

Applying to Pritzker School of Medicine? Here are some stats:

UChicago Pritzker median MCAT score: 521

UChicago Pritzker median GPA: 3.92

UChicago Pritzker acceptance rate: 3.2%

U.S. News ranks Pritzker #20 for research and #30 for primary care.

Check out the Med School Selectivity Index for more stats.

University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine 2022-23 application timeline

AMCAS application deadline	November 15
Supplemental application deadline	December 1

Source: University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine website

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Related Resources:

• The Ultimate Guide to Secondary Essay Questions from Top Med Schools
• 7 Simple Steps to Writing an Excellent Diversity Essay
• How to Write the “Why This Medical School” Secondary Essay