Ace the Larner College of Medicine Secondary Essays: A Comprehensive Guide

Gaining admission to medical school is a competitive process, and the secondary application to the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont is a crucial step. This guide provides insights and strategies to craft compelling essays that highlight your strengths and align with the school's values.

Larner College of Medicine: An Overview

Vermont, the 14th state, is home to the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, the seventh-oldest medical school in the nation. Larner College of Medicine focuses on innovative training and teaching and places a heavy emphasis on maintaining a diverse student body.

Rankings and Admissions Statistics

The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at the University of Vermont is ranked Tier 2 for Best Medical Schools in both Primary Care and Research by US News & World Report. The entering class of a recent year saw 8569 applications for approximately 124 spots. A significant portion of the matriculated students came from Vermont, with a notable percentage representing populations underrepresented in medicine and identifying as LGBTQIA. This data emphasizes Larner's commitment to diversity.

Curriculum and Learning Environment

The MD program's curriculum is based on an active learning model. Classes are delivered in various modalities at the Larner College of Medicine. The teaching methods at LCOM revolve greatly around the methodology taught in the book Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, and Mark A. McDaniel. As a Larner student in the MD program, you’ll be provided with a copy of this book.

Prerequisite Courses and Application Requirements

To be considered for admission, applicants must complete required prerequisite courses. While the school recommends at least one course in biochemistry or molecular genetics, an applicant's undergraduate studies must include the coursework listed here. Prerequisite courses may be completed at community colleges, junior colleges, and online coursework. Foreign-earned prerequisites will be accepted if they are found to be equivalent during the translation. All required courses must be completed prior to matriculation in the year you plan to matriculate. Official transcripts must be received after the grade is available. The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is required of all applicants. The Larner College of Medicine also requires all applicants to complete CASPer (Computer-Based Assessment for Sampling Personal Characteristics). Completion of CASPer is mandatory to receive an invitation to interview. The Larner College of Medicine participates in the AMCAS letter writer service, and letters must be submitted through the letter writer portal. The letters should critically evaluate your academic ability, strengths, and weaknesses, motivation for medicine, maturity, and special attributes or assets. All letters should be on letterhead and signed. A committee letter or a letter packet is preferred if your college or university provides it.

Strategies for a Standout Application

To earn an offer of acceptance into LCOM, you’ll want to make sure your application stands out from others.

Laying a Strong Academic Foundation

Your GPA and MCAT scores will stay with you throughout the entire medical school application process, so it’s vital that you aim for the highest you’re capable of for both. Carefully choosing your prerequisites and other courses is important. As you choose your courses, select various courses that will demonstrate breadth of knowledge since LCOM looks for students whose academic record illustrates intellectual rigor and curiosity. In addition to courses in the sciences, recommended areas of study include literature, mathematics, behavioral sciences, history, philosophy, and the arts.

Crafting a Compelling Personal Statement

Your personal statement allows you to talk to adcoms outside of your AMCAS primary application. You should consider your motivations to pursue a career in medicine as well as your specific ties to Vermont. They’ll be looking for ways you fit into their programs as well as how their programs will help you achieve your goals. Highlight your alignment with the curriculum and program at Larner. This would be a good place to discuss an active learning experience, since LCOM places a heavy emphasis on active learning and its benefits.

Mastering the Secondary Essays

Your secondary essays are another opportunity for you to speak freely to adcoms outside of your formal academic record. It is important to answer the questions thoroughly. Each question is an opportunity to highlight your passions and strengths.

Analyzing the Larner College of Medicine Secondary Essay Prompts

The UVM secondary essays are long and they will take time to complete. Let's explore the common prompts and how to approach them.

Active Learning and Personal Suitability

The Larner College of Medicine curriculum emphasizes active in-person participation and peer co-learning which translates into strong clinical practice. This relies on individual students preparing for, and being actively involved in, participatory class sessions. The prompt asks applicants to share their thoughts on the suitability of active learning for them. The prompt often includes points to guide your response:

Navigating a group learning process.
Personal contributions to such a learning environment and areas of growth.
The value of balancing your learning with the teaching of your classmates.
Any potential challenges to this approach to learning.

Discuss your experiences in group learning environments, highlighting your contributions, areas for growth, and how you value learning from and teaching your classmates. Address any potential challenges you foresee with active learning and how you plan to overcome them.

Diversity and Personal Experiences

The Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont recognizes that diversity extends beyond chosen and unchosen identities and encompasses an individual’s entire experiences. The prompt asks applicants to reflect on a time you learned something from someone or a group of people who are unlike yourself.

Share a specific experience where you learned from individuals with different backgrounds or perspectives. Explain how this challenged your preconceptions or biases and how this experience will influence your behavior in the future.

Professionalism and Core Values

The Larner College of Medicine has core values that are reflected in their professionalism statement. The prompt asks how your understanding of what professionalism means has evolved over time.

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Reflect on a personal experience that contributed to your understanding of your own core values. Share a personal experience that contributed to your understanding of your own core values.

Unique Opportunities at Larner College of Medicine

The prompt asks applicants to describe what unique opportunities at Larner College of Medicine would be meaningful to you in your education and how do these align with your larger goal of becoming a physician?

Research specific programs, research opportunities, or community initiatives at Larner that resonate with your interests and career goals. Explain how these opportunities align with your aspirations to become a physician.

The Optional Essay

The optional essay provides space for you to clarify anything on your application that you should elaborate on. It is an opportunity to highlight your passions and strengths. You can of course talk about discrepancies or dips in your grades. Or, if you are a re-applicant, discuss how your application has changed from the previous time you applied. You can discuss your strengths, such as leadership experiences, clinical experiences in rural settings, memorable patient encounter, significant extra-curricular activity that you want to expand upon, past what you have discussed in your AMCAS primary application, and updates since you submitted your primary AMCAS application.

Additional Essay Prompts to Consider

Other prompts include:

Please reflect on a difficult and challenging non-academic experience you have faced. Include a description of the stressful event, how you dealt with it and what you have learned about others and yourself through this process.
(Optional) Please use this box to describe how the COVID-19 pandemic may have adversely impacted your application.
In reflecting on your personal background, talents, opinions and life experiences, how might you contribute to the overall diversity of the UVM COM community?

The Interview Process

The interviews at Larner are held virtually. During your interview, you’ll meet with Larner faculty, staff, students, and community members from Vermont and Connecticut. You’ll then participate in an MMI style interview where you’ll have the chance to speak to several interviewers.

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