Georgetown University Mission Statement:
Guided by the Jesuit tradition of ‘cura personalis,’ caring for the whole person, Georgetown University School of Medicine will educate a diverse student body, in an integrated way, to become knowledgeable, skillful, ethical, and compassionate physicians and biomedical scientists, dedicated to the care of others and the health needs of our society.
Georgetown Secondary Application Questions
Georgetown University School of Medicine strives to ensure that its students become respectful physicians who embrace all dimensions of caring for the whole person.
Please describe how any personal characteristics or life experiences will contribute to the Georgetown University School of Medicine community and bring educational benefits to our student body. (1,000 characters)
The question here is phrased such that it includes an important component of the mission statement - the care of the whole person. In order to better physically and emotionally care for others, it is important to have a broader appreciation and understanding of various influences that impact health and well-being.
A student body with broad personal characteristics and life experiences is better suited to contribute to the learning environment. There are many factors that influence the health of the whole person and these can include economic, cultural, geographic, religious, racial/ ethnic, political, sexual and many other differences. Therefore, it is an asset for the student body to have some of these vast experiences that will better equip them to serve the needs of their patients.
Again, be conscientious of framing your unique characteristics and life experiences in the context of both how it will benefit various colleagues in the institution and also how they apply to all dimensions of caring for the whole person.
This response need not be a simple restating of one’s experiences and qualifications already identified on the AMCAS application. Of course, some of your unique experiences can be included in the response but it should include more depth about how you have and will contribute than just a simple listing.
Why have you chosen to apply to Georgetown University School of Medicine, and how do you think your education at Georgetown will prepare you to become a physician for the future? (1-2 pages, PDF form).
The allotted response space for this question is 1 to 2 pages. With so much space, there might be a tendency to mostly list all of the interesting and impressive descriptions often found in a brochure about the institution.
Some of those features will be important to include in this response but they should be answered in such a way that further elaboration is provided.
For example, the mission statement emphasizes the tradition of the Jesuit order of the Catholic Church. The Jesuit tradition particularly places an emphasis on the care of the most vulnerable in our society.
For some, this religious influence may be an important attraction to the institution and this can be an opportunity to elaborate more personally on that aspect rather than simply stating an appeal to the religious influence.
Close examination and understanding of how that religious aspect is incorporated into teaching and requirements can be an important consideration for why one may consider the Georgetown School Medicine. Discussing these personal interests in this section could be beneficial.
There are many individual reasons that can be described by an applicant in this response. Some of those reasons should acknowledge the curriculum and the mission statement.
Is there any further information that you would like the Committee on Admissions to be aware of when reviewing your file that you were not able to notate in another section of this or the AMCAS Application? (1,000 characters)
It would be appropriate to include any inconsistencies in this section. The obvious ones are academic but some other examples might include: the omission of a recommendation letter from a PI with whom you have pursued in-depth research experience, an explanation of why there isn’t a more robust record in a particular category, a more in-depth description of a career change, information about additional responsibilities and challenges that may have negatively impacted your application.
This section can also include information on new achievements or plans or space to describe aspects of your personality or influences that might be interesting. It can include anything so one should take advantage of it with a response.
Georgetown School of Medicine Application Timeline
AMCAS Application submission deadline: November 2nd,
Secondary Application submission deadline: December 15, (11:59 p.m. EST – no exceptions) with Application Fee, and Recommendation Letters received by AMCAS
Admissions Decisions Released: April 30 - until class is full
All AMCAS applicants will be invited to submit a secondary application.
Additional Application Information:
https://som.georgetown.edu/admissions/degrees-and-admissions/md/guide/
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