Essay Topics ('23 - '24)
1. Explain how you know that you want to spend your life studying and practicing medicine. Describe how the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (SSOM) can help you develop into the kind of person and physician you hope to become.
2. Social justice in the Jesuit tradition, justice due each person by virtue of their own inherent human dignity, is an essential dimension of education at SSOM. Describe what you have learned about yourself from your concrete social justice experiences. Explain how you plan to sustain your efforts to advocate for current social justice issues as a medical student and as a physician.
3. Serving underserved and under-resourced communities is an expression of social justice. Describe an impactful experience in working with and for under-resourced communities. Explain what you have learned about yourself through this service OR what has hindered your efforts to serve others in these environments.
4. Describe a time you received feedback about your performance and disagreed with the feedback. What did you disagree with? How did you handle it?
5. Describe a non-academic personal/professional challenge or conflict that you have experienced. Explain what skills, resources and/or strategies you employed to resolve the problem.
6. Have you or any of your relatives attended or been employed by Loyola University Chicago or the Stritch School of Medicine?
****COMPLETE QUESTIONS 7-13 IF APPLICABLE***
7. Please indicate additional grades earned, amendments to your proposed coursework or graduation date, address changes, additions to your list of experiences, and anything else you feel we should know.
8. Please explain in more detail (in less than 1500 characters) anything that would help us understand any gaps or delays in your education, academic missteps, or personal challenges not listed elsewhere.
9. If you have not been enrolled in coursework for over two years, please let us know what you have been doing since your coursework ended.
10. Have you applied to SSOM prior to this application? If so, please list the years of your previous application submissions to SSOM and tell us how your application has improved since your previous submission.
11. Are you currently, or have you been, enrolled in any of the following programs?
Applicant Boot Camp or Health Equity and Advocacy Leaders (ASPIRE):
Early Assurance Program (EAP):
Health Professionals Recruitment and Exposure Program (HPREP):
Loyola University Chicago undergraduate (LUC):
Loyola MA in Medical Sciences (LUC MAMS):
Loyola MS in Medical Physiology (LUC MSMP):
Loyola Masters in Infectious Disease and Immunology (INDIRI):
Proviso United with Loyola for Educational Enrichment (PULSE):
Medical Minority Applicant Registry (MED-MAR):
12. Have you ever been convicted of a crime other than a minor traffic or parking violation? If the answer is yes, please explain below.
13. If you did not submit an advisor or committee letter, please tell us why.
Essay Topics ('22 - '23)
1. Explain how you know that you want to spend your life studying and practicing medicine. Describe how the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (SSOM) can help you develop into the kind of person and physician you hope to become.(Minimum 100 Words)
2. Social justice in the Jesuit tradition, justice due each person by virtue of their own inherent human dignity, is an essential dimension of education at SSOM. Describe what you have learned about yourself from your concrete social justice experiences. Explain how you plan to sustain your efforts to advocate for current social justice issues as a medical student and as a physician. (Minimum 100 Words)
3. Serving underserved and under-resourced communities is an expression of social justice. Describe an impactful experience in working with and for under-resourced communities. Explain what you have learned about yourself through this service OR what has hindered your efforts to serve others in these environments. (Minimum 100 Words)
4. Describe your leadership style. Provide a specific example of how you have applied your leadership style. (Minimum 100 Words)
5. Describe a non-academic personal/professional challenge or conflict that you have experienced. Explain what skills, resources and/or strategies you employed to resolve the problem. (Minimum 100 Words)
6. Have you or any of your relatives attended or been employed by Loyola University Chicago or the Loyola Stritch School of Medicine? If so, please list the affiliation and their years of attendance.
*******COMPLETE QUESTIONS 7-13 IF APPLICABLE*******
7. Please indicate additional grades earned, amendments to your proposed coursework or graduation date, address changes, additions to your list of experiences, and anything else you feel we should know.
8. Please explain in more detail (in less than 1500 characters) anything that would help us understand any gaps or delays in your education, academic missteps, or personal challenges not listed elsewhere.
9. If you have not been enrolled in coursework for over two years, please let us know what you have been doing since your coursework ended.
10. Have you applied to SSOM prior to this application? If so, please list the years of your previous application submissions to SSOM and tell us how your application has improved since your previous submission.
11-12 just minor questions (crime + program question)
13. If you did not submit an advisor or committee letter, please tell us why.
Essay Topics ('21 – '22)
1. Explain how you know that you want to spend your life studying and practicing medicine. Describe how the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (SSOM) can help you develop into the kind of person and physician you hope to become. (100 words minimum, 500-word maximum)
2. Social justice in the Jesuit tradition, justice due each person by virtue of their own inherent human dignity, is an essential dimension of education at SSOM. Describe what you have learned about yourself from your concrete social justice experiences. Explain how you plan to sustain your efforts to advocate for current social justice issues as a medical student and as a physician. Inherent human dignity is an essential dimension of Jesuit education at SSOM. What have you learned from your concrete social justice experiences? How do you plan to sustain your efforts to advocate for current social justice issues as a medical student and as a physician? (100 words minimum, 500-word maximum)
3. Serving underserved and under-resourced communities is an expression of social justice. Describe an impactful experience in working with and for under-resourced communities. Explain what you have learned about yourself through this service OR what has hindered your efforts to serve others in these environments. (100 words minimum, 500-word maximum)
4. Describe your leadership style. Provide a specific example of how you have applied your leadership style. (100 words minimum, 500-word maximum)
5. Describe a non-academic personal/professional challenge or conflict that you have experienced. Explain what skills, resources and/or strategies you employed to resolve the problem. (100 words minimum, 500-word maximum)
OPTIONAL QUESTIONS:
Essay Topics ('20 – '21)
1. Explain how you know that you want to spend your life studying and practicing medicine. Describe how the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (SSOM) can help you develop into the kind of person and physician you hope to become. (please limit your response to 500 words or less)
2. Social justice in the Jesuit tradition, justice due each person by virtue of their own inherent human dignity, is an essential dimension of education at SSOM. Describe what you have learned about yourself from your concrete social justice experiences. Explain how you plan to sustain your efforts to advocate for current social justice issues as a medical student and as a physician. Inherent human dignity is an essential dimension of Jesuit education at SSOM. What have you learned from your concrete social justice experiences? How do you plan to sustain your efforts to advocate for current social justice issues as a medical student and as a physician? (please limit your response to 500 words or less)
3. Serving underserved and under-resourced communities is an expression of social justice. Describe an impactful experience in working with and for under-resourced communities. Explain what you have learned about yourself through this service OR what has hindered your efforts to serve others in these environments. (please limit your response to 500 words or less)
4. Describe your leadership style. Provide a specific example of how you have applied your leadership style. (please limit your response to 500 words or less)
5. Describe a non-academic personal/professional challenge or conflict that you have experienced. Explain what skills, resources and/or strategies you employed to resolve the problem. (please limit your response to 500 words or less)
6. Please indicate additional grades earned, amendments to your proposed coursework or graduation date, address changes, additions to your list of experiences, and anything else you feel we should know. (please limit your response to 500 words or less)
7. Please explain in more detail (in less than 1500 characters) anything that would help us understand any gaps or delays in your education, academic missteps, or personal challenges not listed elsewhere. (please limit your response to 500 words or less)
Essay Topics ('19 – '20)
Our mission statement reflects the guiding principles of our institution. The Stritch School of Medicine is a home for all faiths, according to our Jesuit values. We believe that spirituality is an integral component of education, professional formation, and well-being. We value the opportunity to consider reflections of your own mission as it pertains to your candidacy and future professional goals. With your own personal mission in mind, please address each of the following questions (please limit your responses to 500 words or less):
1. Becoming a person for others is a core Jesuit value. What does this Jesuit ideal mean to you?
2. Please describe a personal or professional challenge or conflict that you have experienced. How did you resolve it? What skills, resources and/or strategies did you employ? DO NOT write about the MCAT, a course, or an academic issue.
3. How will you contribute to the diversity of the Stritch student body and community? Specifically, what unique traits, identities, experiences, skills and perspectives will you contribute?
4. Please use this space to bring the information in your AMCAS application up-to-date. Please indicate additional grades earned, alterations in your proposed coursework or graduation date, address changes, additions to your list of activities, and anything else you feel we should know. If you have not been enrolled in coursework, please let us know what you have been doing since coursework ended.
5. Have you or any of your relatives attended or been employed by Loyola University Chicago or the Loyola Stritch School of Medicine?
6. List relative(s), institution(s), and year(s) of graduation:
OPTIONAL QUESTIONS:
1. Please use the space below to further explain anything in your application that may help us in our review of your candidacy-gaps or delays in education, academic missteps, or personal challenges not listed elsewhere, etc. (this response limited to 1500 characters)
2. Have you applied to Loyola Stritch School of Medicine prior to this application? If so, please list the years of your previous application submissions to Loyola SSOM.
3. Have you applied to any medical school prior to this years application? If so, please list the years of your previous application submissions to AMCAS. Please also tell us how your application has improved since your previous application.
Essay Topics ('18 – '19)
Our mission statement reflects the guiding principles of our institution. The Stritch School of Medicine is a home for all faiths, according to our Jesuit values. We believe that spirituality is an integral component of education, professional formation, and well-being. We value the opportunity to consider reflections of your own mission as it pertains to your candidacy and future professional goals. With your own personal mission in mind, please address each of the following questions (please limit your responses to 500 words or less):
1. Becoming a person for others is a core Jesuit value. What does this Jesuit ideal mean to you?
2. Please describe a personal or professional challenge or conflict that you have experienced. How did you resolve it? What skills, resources and/or strategies did you employ? DO NOT write about the MCAT, a course, or an academic issue.
3. How will you contribute to the diversity of the Stritch student body and community? Specifically, what unique traits, identities, experiences, skills and perspectives will you contribute?
4. Please use this space to bring the information in your AMCAS application up-to-date. Please indicate additional grades earned, alterations in your proposed coursework or graduation date, address changes, additions to your list of activities, and anything else you feel we should know. If you have not been enrolled in coursework, please let us know what you have been doing since coursework ended.
5. Have you or any of your relatives attended or been employed by Loyola University Chicago or the Loyola Stritch School of Medicine?
6. List relative(s), institution(s), and year(s) of graduation:
OPTIONAL QUESTIONS:
1. Please use the space below to further explain anything in your application that may help us in our review of your candidacy-gaps or delays in education, academic missteps, or personal challenges not listed elsewhere, etc. (this response limited to 1500 characters)
2. Have you applied to Loyola Stritch School of Medicine prior to this application? If so, please list the years of your previous application submissions to Loyola SSOM.
3. Have you applied to any medical school prior to this years application? If so, please list the years of your previous application submissions to AMCAS. Please also tell us how your application has improved since your previous application.
Essay Topics ('17 – '18)
1. Becoming a person for others is a core Jesuit value. What does this Jesuit ideal mean to you? (500 words max)
2. SSOM seeks students who are resourceful and lifelong learners who are both self-aware and adaptable. Please describe a personal or professional challenge or conflict that you have experienced. How did you resolve it? What skills, resources and/or strategies did you employ? DO NOT write about the MCAT, a course, or an academic issue. (500 words max)
3. How will you contribute to the diversity of the Stritch student body and community? Specifically, what unique traits, identities, experiences, skills and perspectives will you contribute?
4. Please use this space to bring the information in your AMCAS application up-to-date. Please indicate additional grades earned, alterations in your proposed coursework or graduation date, address changes, additions to your list of activities, and anything else you feel we should know. If you have not been enrolled in coursework, please let us know what you have been doing since coursework ended.
5. Have you or any of your relatives attended or been employed by Loyola University Chicago or the Loyola Stritch School of Medicine?
6. Please use the space below to further explain anything in your application that may help us in our review of your candidacy-gaps or delays in education, academic missteps, or personal challenges not listed elsewhere, etc. (this response limited to 1500 characters)
7. Have you applied to Loyola Stritch School of Medicine prior to this application? If so, please list the years of your previous application submissions to Loyola SSOM.
8. Have you applied to any medical school prior to this years application? If so, please list the years of your previous application submissions to AMCAS. Please also tell us how your application has improved since your previous application.
Essay Topics ('16 – '17)
1. Becoming a person for others is a core Jesuit value. Please describe your own development in becoming a person for others. How have you demonstrated this value? (500 words max)
2. Please describe a personal challenge that required resiliency or adaptability (and the skills, resources and strategies you employed to take on the challenge). DO NOT write about the MCAT, a course, or an academic issue. (500 words max)
3. How will you contribute to the diversity of the Stritch student body and community? Specifically, what unique traits, identities, experiences, skills and perspectives will you contribute? (500 words max)
4. Please use the space below to further explain anything in your application that may help us in our review of your candidacy-gaps or delays in education, academic missteps, or personal challenges not listed elsewhere, etc. (this is an optional response limited to 1500 characters)
Essay Topics ('15 – '16)
1. Becoming a person for others is a core Jesuit value. Please describe your own development in becoming a person for others. How have you demonstrated this value? (2 paragraph or 500 word limit)
2. Please describe a personal challenge that required resiliency or adaptability (and the skills, resources and strategies you employed to take on the challenge). DO NOT write about the MCAT, a course, or an academic issue. (2 paragraph or 500 word limit)
3. How will you contribute to the diversity of the Stritch student body and community? Specifically, what unique traits, identities, experiences, skills and perspectives will you contribute? (2 paragraph or 500 word limit)
OPTIONAL QUESTION:
1. Please use the space below to further explain anything in your application that may help us in our review of your candidacy-gaps or delays in education, academic missteps, or personal challenges not listed elsewhere, etc. (this is an optional response limited to 1500 characters)
Essay Topics ('14 – '15)
1. Describe a valuable experience in your personal development. This might be a decision you have made, an achievement of which you are particularly proud of, or a person who has influenced your life.
2. Provide in detail an experience of working with individual(s) from diverse backgrounds. What was the experience? How did it have an impact on you?
3. Describe how you have dealt with a personal or academic challenge. Focus on what you learned about yourself and how it will help you during the challenges you might face in medical school.
4. Your patient has a rare disease and would be a great candidate for an experimental new treatment. You are the principal investigator for the research project and you and your Chair would like to pursue this experiment with the patient. The parents of your patient are adamant against the treatment. How would you handle this situation?
5. If you will not be enrolled as a full-time student during the current academic year, please explain what you will be doing prior to your planned matriculation into medical school? If you are a re-applicant, please tell us how your application has improved since the last time you applied.
6. Please use this space to bring the information in your AMCAS application up-to-date. Please indicate additional grades earned, alterations in your proposed coursework or graduation date, address changes, additions to your list of activities and anything else you feel we should know.
Essay Topics ('13 – '14)
1. Describe a valuable experience in your personal development? This might be a decision you have made, an achievement of which you are particularly proud of, or a person who has influenced your life.
2. Provide in detail an experience of working with individual(s) from diverse background(s). What was the experience? How did it have an impact on you?
3. Describe how you have dealt with a personal or academic challenge. Focus on what you learned about yourself and how it will help you during the challenges you might face in medical school.
4. Your patient has a rare disease and would be a great candidate for an experimental new treatment. You are the principal investigator for the research project and you and your Chair would like to pursue this experiment with the patient. The parents of your patient are adamant against the treatment. How would you handle this situation?
5. If you will not be enrolled as a full-time student during the current academic year, please explain what you will be doing prior to your planned matriculation into medical school? If you are a re-applicant, please tell us how your application has improved since the last time you applied.
6. Please use this space to bring the information in your AMCAS application up-to-date. Please indicate additional grades earned, alterations in your proposed coursework or graduation date, address changes, additions to your list of activities, and anything else you feel we should know.
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