Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine

Overview

Savvy Rank
The Savvy Rank is a combination of admissions selectivity (MCAT, GPA, acceptance rate), research ranking, and primary care ranking.
115
School Type
Whether the school confers an MD or DO degree, is an international (Intl) school for Americans or is a Canadian (CA) school
MD
Public/Private
Private
Year Founded
2008
US News Rank - Research
Unranked
US News Rank - Primary Care
Unranked
Cost
Out-of-state tuition, from cheap ($) to obscenely expensive ($$$$$)
$$$
Weather Rating
How nice is the weather, from crappy () to excellent ()

City Size
< 1M

Getting In

Median GPA
3.7
Median MCAT
512
Research Rating
A combination of factors to show the school's research ranking and research opportunities, from very little research () to lots ()

Out-of-State Rating
Whether the school is very out-of-state friendly (), somewhat friendly (), not friendly (), or in-state only ()

International Friendly
How friendly the school is toward international applicants
No
Med School Class Size
Class sizes range from 40 students to 400




Application
AMCAS
Letters of Rec Required
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Secondary Essays

Secondary Essay Difficulty
How many essays, how long, and how unusual the prompts, from easy () to brutal ()

Screen Before Secondaries
Does the school read your primary before sending a secondary?
No
Typical Secondary Release Date
When does a school usually release its secondary relative to other med schools (though it may vary from year to year)?
Early
Secondary Fee
$100
Other Tests

Interviews

Interview Type
Interview Invites Begin
Interview Format
MMI - Multiple Mini Interview; Traditional - two-way conversation
Traditional
Accepts Updates?
Does the school accept update letters?
Yes

Secondary Essay Prompts

Essay Topics ('23 – '24)

1500 characters for all prompts

If you are applying to the Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program, please share with the Admissions Committee what primary care and/or psychiatry means to you, and why you believe you are a good fit for the Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program. If not:

1. Given Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s unique mission and values, please tell us why you believe you are a good fit for our institution.

2. List the five most important attributes you believe a physician should possess. Please choose one that you believe you embody and describe a personal experience that demonstrates this trait?

3. Geisinger Commonwealth values diversity, health equity, inclusion, and social justice. Tell us how you will share in this mission.

4. If you have previously applied to medical school, please describe your significant experiences between this year’s application and your previous application. If you are not a previous applicant, please type, “N/A” in the response area.

Essay Topics ('22 - '23)

(no character limits listed)

1. Given Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's unique mission and values, please tell us why you believe you are a good fit for our institution.

2. List the five most important attributes you believe a physician should possess. Please choose one that you believe you embody and describe a personal experience that demonstrates this trait.

3. Geisinger Commonwealth values diversity and is committed to maintaining an inclusive environment. How will you contribute to our commitment to diversity, social justice, equity, and inclusion?

4. If you have previously applied to Geisinger Commonwealth's Doctor of Medicine program, please describe your significant experiences between this year's application and your previous application. (If you are not a previous applicant, please type, "N/A" in the response area.)

Essay Topics ('21 – '22)

1. Given Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s unique mission and values, please tell us why you feel you are a good fit for our institution. (1500 character limit)

2. List the five most important attributes you feel a physician should possess. Please choose one that you feel you embody and describe a personal experience that demonstrates this trait. (1500 character limit)

3. Geisinger Commonwealth values diversity and is committed to maintaining an inclusive environment. How do you think you can contribute to our commitment to diversity and inclusion? (1500 character limit)

4. If you have previously applied to Geisinger Commonwealth’s Doctor of Medicine program, please describe your significant experiences between this year’s application and your previous application. If you are not a previous applicant, please type, “N/A” in the response area. (1500 character limit)

Essay Topics (’20 – ’21)

1. Given Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine's unique mission and values, please tell us why you feel you are a good fit for our institution.

2. List the five most important attributes you feel a physician should possess. Please choose one that you feel you embody and describe a personal experience that demonstrates this trait.

3. Geisinger Commonwealth values diversity and is committed to maintaining an inclusive environment. How do you think you can contribute to our commitment to diversity and inclusion?

Essay Topics ('19 – '20)

1. Given Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicines unique mission and values, please tell us why you feel you are a good fit for our institution.

2. List the five most important attributes you feel a physician should possess. Please choose one that you feel you embody and describe a personal experience that demonstrates this trait.

3. Geisinger Commonwealth values diversity and is committed to maintaining an inclusive environment. How do you think you can contribute to our commitment to diversity and inclusion?

4. If you have previously applied to Geisinger Commonwealths Doctor of Medicine program, please describe your significant experiences between this years application and your previous application. If you are not a previous applicant, please type, N/A in the response area.

5. Are you currently enrolled or a graduate of Geisinger Commonwealths Master of Biomedical Sciences program? (yes/no)

6. Request Fee Waiver (yes/no)

Essay Topics ('18 – '19)

1. Given Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicines unique mission and values, please tell us why you feel you are a good fit for our institution. (1500 char)

2. List the five most important attributes you feel a physician should possess. Please choose one that you feel you embody and describe a personal experience that demonstrates this trait. (1500 char)

3. Geisinger Commonwealth values diversity and is committed to maintaining an inclusive environment. How do you think you can contribute to our commitment to diversity and inclusion? (1500 char)

4. If you have previously applied to Geisinger Commonwealths Doctor of Medicine program, please describe your significant experiences between this years application and your previous application. If you are not a previous applicant, please type, N/A in the response area. (1500 char)

Essay Topics ('17 – '18)

1. Given Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicines unique mission and values, please tell us why you feel you are a good fit for our institution. (1500 char)

2. List the five most important attributes you feel a physician should possess.(1500 char)

3. From the attributes you listed above, please choose one that you feel you embody and describe a personal experience that demonstrates this trait. (1500 char)

4. Geisinger Commonwealth values diversity and is committed to maintaining an inclusive environment. How do you think you can contribute to our commitment to diversity and inclusion? (1500 char)

5. If you have previously applied to Geisinger Commonwealths Doctor of Medicine program, please describe your significant experiences between this years application and your previous application. If you are not a previous applicant, please type, N/A in the response area. (1500 char)

Essay Topics ('16 – '17)

1. Given TCMC's unique mission and values, please tell us why you feel you are a good fit for our institution. (character count: 1500)

2. List the five most important attributes you feel a physician should possess. (character count: 1500)

3. From the attributes you listed above, please choose one that you feel you embody and describe a personal experience that demonstrates this trait. (character count: 1500)

4. TCMC values diversity and is committed to maintaining an inclusive environment. How do you think you can contribute to our commitment to diversity and inclusion? (character count: 1500)

5. If you have previously applied to TCMCs Doctor of Medicine program, please describe your significant experiences between this years application and your previous application. If you are not a previous applicant, please type, N/A in the response area. (character count: 1500)

Essay Topics ('15 – '16)

1. Given TCMC's unique mission and values, please tell us why you feel you are a good fit for our institution. (1500 characters).

2. List the five most important attributes you feel a physician should possess. Please choose one attribute and describe one personal experience that best exemplifies that attribute (1500 characters).

3. TCMC values diversity and is committed to maintaining an inclusive environment. How do you think you can contribute to our commitment to diversity and inclusion? (1500 characters)

4. If you have previously applied to TCMCs Doctor of Medicine program, please describe your significant experiences between this years application and your previous application. If you are not a previous applicant, please type, N/A in the response area. (1500 characters)

Essay Topics ('14 – '15)

1. Given TCMC's unique mission and values, please tell us why you feel you are a good fit for our institution. (1500 Character Limit)

2. List the five most important attributes you feel a physician should possess. Please choose one attribute and describe one personal experience that best exemplifies that attribute. (1500 Character Limit)

3. TCMC values diversity and is committed to maintaining an inclusive environment. How do you think you can contribute to our commitment to diversity and inclusion? (1500 Character Limit)

Essay Topics ('13 – '14)

1. List the 5 most important attributes you feel a physician should possess.

2. Choose one attribute from the above list, and describe one personal experience that best exemplifies that attribute. (1500 characters each)

3. TCMC values diversity and is committed to maintaining an inclusive environment. How do you think you can contribute to our commitment to diversity and inclusion?

4. Using 1–3 sentences, explain how your admission to TCMC could assist in addressing the health care needs of northeastern Pennsylvania.

5. If you could speak directly to the Admissions Committee, explain why you should be admitted to The Commonwealth Medical College.

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