Brown Medical School Secondary Essay Examples

The Ins and Outs of Medical School Secondary Essays

If you’re wondering how to make your medical school application stand out, secondary essays are a great way to achieve that. The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University is historically one of the best medical schools in the US. The curriculum offers core clerkships in internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, clinical neuroscience, and family medicine. Brown Medical School is also an institution known for producing physician-scientists primed with research experience in one of their affiliated programs and institutions. With such a diverse curriculum and elective options allowing students to pursue their unique interests, the secondary essays inevitably demonstrate how prospective students will approach such a demanding course load.

Because Brown Medical School also has one of the lowest medical school acceptance rates, a strong secondary essay submission will be necessary. Aside from the other documents you will submit in your application, such as a medical school letter of intent or medical school resume, your secondary essays should relate to the attributes and experiences that demonstrate the potential to become a physician. Medical school is also a rigorous and demanding academic environment, which means you should use your secondary essays to show that your academic history is indicative of your ability to succeed in the program at Brown.

This cycle’s secondary essays ask students to address the following topics (these are not the prompts themselves):

• Activities during the current or past academic year.
• How your attributes will contribute to diversity and inclusion in medical education.
• Aspirations for medical practice.

You will notice how these topics require a combination of retrospective and future-oriented reflection. Essentially, you’re being asked to address how your most recent activities in the academic calendar and your attributes position you to succeed as a medical school student. The second topic is similar to what you might include on your AMCAS statement of disadvantage. Let’s outline a few strategies for addressing each of these topics:

A Note on Secondary Essay Format

The Brown medical school secondary essays you write for prompts 1 and 2 should not exceed 2,000 characters, including spaces. For reference, 2,000 characters is about 285–500 words. The third and final prompt has a 3000-character limit, which is about 428–750 words. You should aim to write as close to the character limit as possible; doing so will allow you to include enough detail to demonstrate your point clearly. It will also show that you’re capable of following instructions and that you can write a succinct and structured essay following basic requirements.

Your essays should be formatted according to standard academic essay requirements. You should have an introduction, a body, and a conclusion; information should flow consistently through logical points. When you only have 2,000 or 3,000 characters to convince the admissions committee that you’re worth an acceptance, every word counts. However, don’t try and stuff in words or information, which will make your essays congested.

Brown Medical School Secondary Essay Prompt #1

“Summarize your activities during the current academic year. Describe how your activities are preparing you for a medical career.” (2,000 characters)

Through a student organization for pre-medical students, I met with a doctor named Daniel Allena who was offering shadowing opportunities for pre-meds. Dr. Allena owns a GI health clinic; during my time shadowing him, I observed various procedures, such as colonoscopy, barium swallow tests, upper GI series, and small bowel series. I was specifically interested in this field because colon cancer runs in my family. Having witnessed the pain and adversity of invasive and painful treatment, I know that the health care professionals involved in this level of care make all the difference. By exposing myself to a medical setting in which I can envision myself specializing, I learned that not only is it important to uphold the highest standard of patient care, but that it takes patience and understanding to overcome fear and potential communication barriers. Earlier this year, I was also volunteering at a hospital as an administrative support assistant. My job was to make phone calls to patient families and confirm upcoming appointments or important dates. I also occasionally worked with the treasury branch to collect donations from local patrons in support of our workers. From communicating with patients and their families, I discovered the importance of being clear, focused, and receptive. Many of the patients or patients’ families had questions about treatment or care options, and I was always glad to answer any questions I was qualified to answer or find someone that could. I always made sure to ask if they had any questions or concerns to show that I was available to help. I learned that listening and being available are important ways to show empathy to people who are possibly worried, afraid, and desperate for answers. I also learned that sociocultural factors could change variables of interaction and make it a challenge to communicate; in these situations, I always listen to the best of my ability and do what I can to accommodate the patient’s concerns.

Characters: 1,986

Brown Medical School Secondary Essay Prompt #2

“How will your unique attributes , life experiences, and interests add to the Alpert Medical School community?” (2,000 characters)

I grew up in a small remote city surrounded by large swaths of farmland close to a cottage area along the lake. The irony is that while the landscape is very beautiful, the circumstances in which some people live are not. There has been a fentanyl and opioid crisis throughout most of my time living there. I was lucky to live on the outskirts of town, where we were not directly exposed to most of these issues. There was an unsettling number of overdoses reported each year, a number that has recently been rising. Unfortunately, the municipality and health care system has not been able to adequately address this crisis and get people the help they need.

After moving out of the city and into a much larger and industrial one, a TA for one of my classes passed away from an overdose; I was disheartened when I continued to hear news of other students who were affected by addiction, many of whom did not know the markers of addiction until their condition had become severe. Despite efforts to install social outreach programs, opioid-use disorder continues to increase. I believe that there are many reasons for why addiction continues to rise, but accessibility to proper care and medicine remains my primary concern. Another reason that proper care is not provided in most communities, including my hometown, is that people are not receiving the education they need to prevent an addiction from occurring.

I applied to the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University mainly because of the addiction medicine fellowship program. Once I complete medical school and residency, my goal is to create an addiction and mental health clinic in my hometown. Addiction is a complex disorder that requires expert physicians in every community to treat and educate the people suffering and provide resources for their families. Knowing people who suffer from addiction and have not received the help they need incites a strong desire to contribute to solving this problem in my community and beyond.

Characters: 1,997

Brown Medical School Secondary Essay Prompt #3

“Reflect on a non-academic situation when you had to change course, and how you did so.” (3,000 characters)

On a Sunday morning, I was running the opening shift at the café where I worked. A thunderstorm knocked out power across our block, except for us. Within an hour, the line curled around the corner. People were wet, cold, and impatient. Our normal way of doing things, made-to-order drinks with dozens of options, wasn’t going to work. I could either stick to the plan and watch the line crawl or change course.

First, I listened. I walked the line and asked what people needed most. The answers were simple: “something hot,” “something quick,” and for the older folks, “a place to sit.” That told me speed and warmth mattered more than variety. I pulled my two coworkers aside and said, “Let’s go simple.”

We switched to a short menu: hot coffee, hot tea, and one hot chocolate. No custom milk, no extra syrups. We brewed in big batches and kept the kettles going. I moved the pastry case to the front and turned it into a grab-and-go table so people could choose while waiting. We made two lines, one for quick drinks only and one for drinks plus food, and we set out a pitcher of free water and cups near the door.

Are you writing your med school personal statement? Find more tips here:

The next problem was payment. Our card reader kept freezing as the internet flickered. I put out a cash box with a sign: “Pay what you can if cards don’t work; we’ll settle later if needed.” We used a notepad to tally orders and wrote first names on cups to avoid mix-ups. A regular offered to help wipe tables; I gave her a cloth and thanked her. A father with two kids offered to take drinks to people standing in the rain; we handed him a tray, and he made three trips. The room warmed up, not just from the kettles, but from the feeling that everyone was pulling together.

We kept looking for small fixes. The booths filled up fast, so we pulled the sidewalk tables under the awning and gave older customers first dibs. The hot chocolate took longer to make, so we pre-mixed it in a big pot and refilled it often. When a mother asked for milk for a toddler, we set a small pitcher aside at the end of the bar so parents could help themselves. Every change made the line move a little faster and the room a little calmer.

By early afternoon, we had served more than twice our usual Sunday crowd. People thanked us on their way out. One woman said, “You made this morning feel manageable.” That stuck with me. I hadn’t solved the storm, but I had made a hard moment easier by letting go of perfection and focusing on what mattered most to the people in front of me.

What I took from that day is simple: when the plan no longer fits the situation, listen first, make the smallest change that helps, and keep adjusting. Ask for help and accept it. Measure success by how people feel, not by how closely you followed the original plan. In medicine, I’ll meet patients on days that feel like storms to them. I’ll bring the same approach—listen, simplify, act, and revise—so the path to care feels clear and human, even when the power is out.

Characters: 2,950

FAQs

To your success,

Your friends at BeMo

BeMo Academic Consulting

Want more free tips? Subscribe to our channels for more free and useful content!

TikTok

YouTube

Instagram

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

LinkedIn

Twitter