essay prompt for university of alabama

University of Alabama Secondary Application Essay Prompts

• Cracking Med School Admissions

The University of Alabama School of Medicine secondary application consists of several short answers. The UAB secondary essay prompts have changed in the past few years, although it did not change in the most recent 2 cycles. Therefore, tread with caution. We wouldn’t make this UAB secondary application the highest priority secondary essays to pre-write. Read our UAB secondary application tips below to get guidance per question. If you are not an Alabama resident, you must discuss your affiliations with Alabama state. 

Our Cracking Med School Admissions team can help you get accepted to the University of Alabama School of Medicine. We can help you edit your secondary essays or practice for your medical school interview . Finally, as a heads up to all Alabama residents, the University of Alabama has a rigorous Multiple Mini Interview. Learn more about MMI schools .

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University of Alabama School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2023 – 2024

• Non-Alabama Resident with Ties to Alabama: Describe any ties or meaningful experiences you have had related to the state of Alabama or UAB Medical Center (1,500 characters max)
• New Question. If the area you spent most of your life before college differs from where you currently consider your permanent address, please explain (1,500 characters max)
• Where do you see yourself in your medical career fifteen to twenty years from now? (750 characters max)
• Learning from others is enhanced in educational settings that include individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences. Please describe your personal characteristics or experiences that would add to the educational environment for your classmates. (750 characters max)
• Describe a patient interaction with the healthcare system. This could be a direct patient observation (in person or virtual) during a shadowing experience, a personal experience within the healthcare system, or a family member or friend who had a memorable interaction within the healthcare system. What did you learn from this experience? (750 characters max)
• Describe a fulfilling or challenging community service experience and how you grew personally from the experience. (750 characters max)
• New Question: UAB Medicine provides quality health care and compassionate service to every patient, every time, regardless of their individual differences or circumstances. Our academic medical center attracts patients from across the world who represent many cultures, religions, lifestyles, and economic backgrounds. Why are you specifically interested in beginning your medical education in this environment, and how do you feel that your previous experiences will prepare you for this unique learning environment? (750 characters max)
• New Question: (Optional) Describe your identity and how it has impacted the development of your values and attitudes toward individuals different from yourself and how this will impact your interactions with future colleagues and patients.  (750 characters max)
• (Optional) Please share any information you want us to know about you that is not included in your AMCAS application or in this secondary application. (750 characters max)
• (Optional) You have a separate page to add any experiences that you did not have listed on your AMCAS application  (1 page max)

Tips to Answer University of Alabama Secondary Application Essays

UAB Secondaries Pre-writing Tip: Questions for University of Alabama School of Medicine change year to year. This is NOT a good med school secondary to pre-write. 

UAB Secondary Application Tip #1: The most important points to emphasize in your UAB secondaries are any ties you have to Alabama, your commitment to improving the health of Alabama residents, and ability to work in diverse settings. At UAB, you’ll work primarily with many African Americans and caucasians – from different socioeconomic backgrounds, and the UAB admissions committee wants to make sure that you are dedicated to helping all Alabama residents regardless of their backgrounds. Many of our tips here will revolve around diversity and Alabama.

UAB Secondary Application Tip #2: Tell good stories. For example, you can discuss a story in the following questions: 

• Stories about interactions with individuals, including patient care experience, in Alabama
• Stories about interactions with individuals, including patient care experience, in Alabama + stories that exemplify your values
• Short anecdote or example that highlights 1 personal characteristic
• A patient story in a clinical experience. Ideally, this should be a patient you directly impacted
• A person you impacted in the community at a specific community service event
• A story that reflects your values
• A story about patient care. A story about leadership. A story about teamwork. 

UAB Secondary Application Tip #3: For the UAB secondaries question, “D escribe a fulfilling or challenging community service experience and how you grew personally from the experience, ” many students do not adequately answer the second half of the sentence. Make sure to explain in-depth what you gained from the experience. What did you learn? You should write at least 3 sentences describing what you learned from the experience. 

UAB Secondary Application Tip #4: For the UAB secondaries question, “ If the area you spent most of your life before college differs from where you currently consider your permanent address, please explain, ” the University of Alabama School of Medicine Admissions Committee is trying to see whether you’ve lived in Alabama during your childhood. If you have not, you can still take advantage of answering this question and saying 

UAB Secondary Application Tip #5: Community health and community involvement are extremely important to the University of Alabama School of Medicine. Make sure to mention your community work throughout your University of Alabama secondary application responses! 

UAB Secondary Application Tip #6: Answer as many optional essays as possible.

UAB Secondary Application Tip #7: Many premedical students have trouble answering the question, “ Please share any information you want us to know about you that is not included in your AMCAS application or in this secondary application. ” Here are some topics our students have written about:

• Life experiences that have shaped the applicant.
• Other activities the applicant could not mention in the AMCAS. For example, some students have had a meaningful one-day volunteer event that did not make it to your AMCAS application. 
• Other patient encounters that were meaningful.
• What students like to do for fun.
• More specifics about why they want to attend the University of Alabama School of Medicine.
• A inspirational class, professor, or mentor. 

UAB Secondary Application Tip #8: Have questions about how you can stand out? Contact us below. Need editing help on your secondary? We can help you through our secondary essay packages . 

UAB Secondary Application Tip #9: If you are a resident of Alabama, start preparing for the Multiple Mini Interview through Dr. Rachel Rizal’s Mastering the Multiple Mini Interview course . It will help you for traditional interviews and the CASPer as well. 

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University of Alabama School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2022 – 2023

• Please share any information you want us to know about you that is not included in your AMCAS application or in this secondary application. (750 characters max)
• Please describe if and how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected your preparation for applying to medical school. (750 characters max)

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University of Alabama School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2021 – 2022

University of alabama school of medicine secondary application essay prompts: 2020 – 2021.

• Where do you see yourself in your medical career fifteen to twenty years from now? (750 characters)
• Please share any information you want us to know about you that is not included in your AMCAS application or in this secondary application. (750 characters)
• Briefly indicate how you would add diversity to our medical school class. (750 characters)
• Please describe if and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected your preparation for applying to medical school. (750 characters)
• Describe an observed patient-physician interaction, what you learned from the experience, and how those lessons will impact your approach to patient care. (750 characters)
• Describe a fulfilling or challenging community service experience and how you grew personally from the experience. (750 characters)

University of Alabama School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2019 – 2020

• Non-Alabama Resident with Ties to Alabama: Describe any ties or meaningful experiences you have had related to the state of Alabama or UAB Medical Center. (1,500 characters max)
• If the area you spent most of your life before college differs from where you currently consider your permanent address, please explain. (1,500 characters max)
• Please share any information you want us to know about you that is not included in your AMCAS application or in this secondary application: (750 characters max)
• Briefly indicate how you would add diversity to our medical school class. (750 characters max)

University of Alabama School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2018 – 2019

•  If the area you spent most of your life before college differs from where you currently consider your permanent address, please explain. (1,500 characters max)

University of Alabama School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2017 – 2018

• Briefly indicate how you would add diversity to our medical school class.  (750 characters max)
• Do you consider yourself rural? If yes , describe life experiences that illustrate this. (1,500 characters max)

University of Alabama School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Prompts: 2016 – 2017

• Do you consider yourself rural?  If yes , describe life experiences that illustrate this.  (1,500 characters max)
• If you are a reapplicant, describe how you have improved your overall credentials for the current application year, specifically addressing any concerns raised in feedback you received from the Admissions Committee.
• Non-Alabama Resident with Ties to Alabama : Describe any ties or meaningful experiences you have had related to the state of Alabama or UAB Medical Center.  (1,500 characters max)
• All Applicants : if the area you spent most of your life before college differs from where you currently consider your permanent address, please explain.  (1,500 characters max)
• Where do you see yourself in your medical career fifteen to twenty years from now?  (750 characters max)
• Please share any information you want us to know about you that is not included in your AMCAS application or in this secondary application.  (750 characters max)

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