UC Davis Medical School Secondary Application Essay Tips [2021 – 2022]

According to the U.S. News and World Report, UCDSOM is ranked #11 for primary care and #48 for research. This medical school campus is unique in that they have seven student-run clinics: Paul Hom Asian Clinic, Clinica Tepati, Imani Clinic, Shifa Clinic, Joan Viteri Memorial Clinic, Bayanihan Clinic, and the Willow Clinic. Medical students can begin serving a diverse patient population early in their education and take on critical leadership roles in community health.

This school also provides several special programs to provide you with training appropriate to the area you wish to serve—the Rural PRIME Program, Accelerated Competency-based Education in Primary Care (ACE-PC) Program, the San Joaquin Valley PRIME Program, The Transforming Education and Community Health Program for Medical Students (TEACH-MS) Program, and the Physician Scientist Training Program. UCDSOM is looking for students who can accurately self-assess their strengths and weaknesses and who will bring a diverse background, perspective and skill set to their campus.

UC Davis School of Medicine 2021-22 Secondary Application essays questions:

UC Davis Medical School essay #1

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

Here the admissions committee would like to see how accurately you can identify and address any weaknesses in your application. If it is challenging for you to identify any issues, it may be useful to have an advisor or medical school consultant review your application with you to select an appropriate topic to cover. The best responses will be those that are accurate and that have already been addressed so that you can end this essay on a high note.

UC Davis Medical School essay #2

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

Start by making a list. Have you ever lived in the area? Do you have family or friends who do? Or have you spent significant time in any of the cities in Northern or Central California? It’s far better to list as much as possible.

Using the list you created, organize your answer—starting with the weakest connections and ending on the strongest. They want to accept applicants who will stay in these areas to practice after medical school. Statistically, those applicants who are from these communities and who have years of community service in them are most likely to return after their education to live and work. Emphasize both of these things if you have them in your background. If you have never visited this part of the country, it may not be a good idea to apply.

UC Davis School of Medicine at a glance 

UC Davis School of Medicine average MCAT score: 510

UC Davis School of Medicine average GPA: 3.58

UC Davis School of Medicine acceptance rate: 3.5% 

U.S. News ranks UC Davis School of Medicine #48 for research and #11 for primary care.

Has this blog post helped you feel more confident about approaching your UCDSOM application? We hope so. It’s our mission to help smart, talented applicants like you gain acceptance to your dream schools. With so much at stake, why not hire a consultant whose expertise and personalized guidance can help you make your dream come true? We have several flexible consulting options—click here to get started today!

UC Davis School of Medicine 2021-22 application timeline

AMCAS Application Due	October 1, 2020
Admissions Decisions Released for Accepted Applicants	October 15 through July 15
Admissions Decisions Released for Waitlisted Applicants	May 1 through July 15

Source: UC Davis School of Medicine website

***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.***

Alicia McNease Nimonkar worked for 5 years as the Student Advisor & Director at the UC Davis School of Medicine's postbac program where she both evaluated applications and advised students applying successfully to med school and other health professional programs. She has served Accepted's clients since 2012 with roughly a 90% success rate. She has a Master of Arts in Composition and Rhetoric as well as Literature. Want Alicia to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

• Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Med School & Secondary Essays, a free guide
• UC Davis SOM’s Clear Message in its New Coaching Program, a podcast episode
• 5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Medical School Application Essays

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