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Why Our School Secondary Essay: Real Prompts and an Example
The why-our-school secondary essay asks why you want that school and how you will use what it offers. 11 of the prompts we verified, at 9 of 17 schools, ask a version of it, often tied to the school's mission or region. Answer with two or three features only that school has, each connected to something you have done.
Below are those prompts word for word, the three ways schools ask, four steps to research and write yours and a full example we wrote.
Real prompts, from the schools' own pages
Quoted exactly, with each school's cycle and limit as its page shows them, from the secondary prompts we verified on October 27, 2026. School names link to the page we read.
University of Michigan Medical School · MD · 2026-27 · 1,500 characters with spaces
“The University of Michigan Medical School strives to be a place of empowerment, advocacy and change in health care. What experiences have you had in empowerment and advocacy for others that would help to advance this mission?”
Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine · MD · 2027 cycle page · 500 words
“At Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, we seek students whose values align with our mission to put the needs of the patient first. Please share why you would like to study medicine at our school, including specifically why at the top campus track you selected.”
The Ohio State University College of Medicine · MD · 2027 admission cycle · 250 words
“The mission statement of The Ohio State University College of Medicine is to "improve people's lives" through innovation in research, medical education, and patient care. Describe experiences that best demonstrate your potential to contribute meaningfully to two of these areas. What did you learn through these experiences, and how do they shape your goals as a future physician?”
The Ohio State University College of Medicine · MD · 2027 admission cycle · 250 words · optional
“What interests you about training in a smaller city in a rural setting? Have you ever lived in a similar setting? How do you hope this environment will shape your development as a physician?”
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine · MD · No cycle year on the page
“Mission Fit: Describe your interest in the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Which opportunities or resources would you pursue as a student, and why are they important to your goals?”
The rest of the prompts of this type
University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine · MD · No cycle year on the page · 300 words
“Why UNR Med? Please share why you want to pursue your medical education at UNR Med. Describe any connections to Northern Nevada communities and how you are prepared to contribute to UNR Med's vision of "A Healthy Nevada."”
University of Georgia School of Medicine · MD · 2027 matriculants' cycle · 300 words
“What draws you to the University of Georgia School of Medicine, and in what ways have your experiences prepared you to contribute to and serve communities across Georgia?”
Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine · MD · 2027 matriculation page · 2,000 characters
“Please explain both of the following: 1) The specific reason(s) you have chosen to apply to WMed and 2) how you will utilize the unique features of WMed's mission, vision, and curriculum to achieve your career goals.”
Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine · MD · 2027 matriculation page · 2,000 characters · optional
“Optional: Please explain any connection you have to Southwest Michigan.”
Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine (Belmont University) · MD · 2026-27 · 2,000 characters
“As a newer medical school, our students will help shape a new culture and build lasting community. Reflect on a time when you embraced ambiguity, sharing specific examples where you contributed to creating a culture of growth, collaboration, and adaptability.”
Medical College of Wisconsin · MD · 2027 cycle · 1,000 characters
“How will MCW uniquely prepare you for your future goals?”
What schools are really asking
- Mission fit. Michigan ties its prompt to empowerment and advocacy, Ohio State to its mission to improve people's lives, and WMed asks how you will use its mission, vision and curriculum.
- Place and community. Nevada, Reno asks about ties to Northern Nevada, Georgia about serving communities across the state, and WMed offers an optional Southwest Michigan question.
- What you will use. Cincinnati asks which opportunities and resources you would pursue, and MCW how it will prepare you for your goals.
An advisor writing in the AAMC's Advisor Corner puts it plainly: secondaries focus on each school's own values, so resist sending the same answer to similar prompts.
Where to find each school's own features
- Mission and values: the school's about or mission page. Michigan, Ohio State and WMed build their prompts around it.
- Curriculum: the MD program or curriculum page, for tracks, clerkship models and pathways.
- Service and clinics: student organization and community engagement pages, for student-run clinics and outreach programs.
- Region: the school's own statements about the communities it serves, which matter when a prompt asks about Nevada, Georgia or Southwest Michigan.
- The prompt itself: its wording often names what the school wants to hear about.
Then compare a weak and a strong sentence:
- Weak: “I am drawn to your excellent clinical training and diverse patient population.” It fits every school.
- Strong: names one program by its own name, the experience that makes it fit you, and what you will do there in your first two years.
How to write it, in four steps
- Read the school's mission statement, curriculum page and student programs, and note three features no other school on your list has in the same form.
- For each feature, find a real experience of yours that connects to it.
- Answer the exact question. If the school asks about its mission, its city or your goals, lead with that.
- Cut anything that would still be true if you swapped in another school's name.
Mistakes readers see
- Praising rankings, reputation or "diverse patient population" in words that fit every school.
- Listing features without saying what you will do with them.
- Sending one essay with the name swapped. An advisor in the AAMC's Advisor Corner warns against exactly that.
- Ignoring a connection the school asks about, like Nevada or Southwest Michigan ties, when you have one.
An example essay we wrote
Written by Confetto for a why-our-school prompt (1,000 characters, like MCW). The school, Lakeview, is invented.. The applicant is invented. It is 903 characters with spaces, about 164 words.
Lakeview's longitudinal clerkship is the main reason I applied. Spending third year with the same patients in one community clinic, instead of rotating every six weeks, matches what I learned as a scribe in a rural family practice: what the doctor knew about a patient by the fourth visit was usually what mattered most.
I also want to join your student-run free clinic on the east side. For two years I have volunteered at a free clinic at home, first at the front desk and then running its diabetes education night. I would like to bring that format, short group sessions with a nurse and a dietitian, to a clinic that already sees many patients with diabetes.
Finally, your rural primary care track fits my goal of practicing in a town like the one I grew up in, two hours from the nearest specialist. I want to train where I learn to handle more on my own, with mentors who have done exactly that.
Why it works: every paragraph pairs a feature with a real experience and a plan, and it ends on a goal the school can help with. Features like a longitudinal clerkship or a student-run clinic exist at many schools, so in your version name the specific program, clinic or track by its own name from the school's pages, and say what you will do there.
For every prompt type, timing and limits, see our secondary essay guide, and for outlines by school, secondary essay examples.
Practice the interview version
You will be asked this in the interview too. Our why this school interview guide covers the spoken answer.
“Why do you want to come to our school?”
The interview version needs the same specifics, said out loud in under two minutes. Name two features, connect each to something you have done, and finish with your goal.
Example answer written by Confetto (the applicant is invented)
Two things. Your longitudinal clerkship, because as a scribe I saw how much a doctor learns by the fourth visit, and I want to train that way. And your student-run free clinic, where I'd like to bring the diabetes education night I ran at home.
Both fit my goal of practicing primary care in a small town, and your rural track would give me the mentors to get there.
Sources: each school's own secondary application page and the AAMC, linked above and checked as of October 27, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How do you answer why this medical school?
Name two or three features that are specific to that school, like a curriculum track, a clinic or a community it serves, and connect each to something you have already done. End with how it fits your goals.
How long is a why-us secondary essay?
Usually short. In the prompts we checked, Ohio State asks for 250 words, Nevada, Reno and Georgia for 300 words, and MCW for 1,000 characters. See MCW's prompts.
Can I reuse my why-us essay?
Not as is. An advisor writing in the AAMC's Advisor Corner tells applicants to resist sending the same answer to similar prompts, and a why-us essay that fits any school will read that way. Read the Advisor Corner piece.
What should I avoid in a why-us essay?
Rankings, prestige and phrases like "diverse patient population" that fit every school. Readers want proof you know their program and will use it.
What if I have no connection to the school's region?
Don't invent one. Say what draws you to the communities the school serves and how you plan to take part, like a clinic or outreach program you would join. An honest plan reads better than a stretched tie.