Featured Supplemental Essay Prompt For Case Western Scholars Program Applicants:

By applying to the Pre-Professional Scholars Program, you are applying to gain admission to professional school earlier than students who apply in the traditional way. Please indicate why you’re interested in your chosen profession. How do you see yourself being particularly suited to this field? What events and/or experiences have led you to your choice? This essay should be between 250 and 500 words in length.

Successful Supplemental Essay Example From Our Accepted Alumni Student:

My 12-year-old self meandered down the dirt road to the dining hall.

As I stepped in, a girl ran up to me. “Hi! I’m Moo Moo Cow!” she exclaimed. I glanced at her name tag—emblazoned with blocky, sharpie-scrawled handwriting, that was the name she had chosen for the week. “Are you in our cabin?”

“Hi! Yes, I'm in your cabin! I’m Starbucks!” I responded.

At [Program Name], the counselors encouraged us to shed our identities, and concerns, for that week. Instead of the label I had as “[Name], the girl whose mom was in remission,” I was “Starbucks”—the person I was seeking to unravel for myself and those around me.

And by the end of the week, I had done exactly that. The shy, naive girl who arrived at camp had grown into the confident, outspoken woman you would meet today.

On the last night, the counselors sat us down and told us there was one final activity. "Okay, Campers. Tonight is ‘Empowerment.’ Please feel free to share."

While the rest of the camp week was filled with games and s'mores, Empowerment was the night in which we all acknowledged why we were there. One after another, the campers, whether they were 5 or 15, shared their stories about their parents' experiences with cancer.

Everyone spoke so freely about their experience. Nothing was held back. This was a safe space.

As we shared our stories of our parents’ cancer struggles, I saw the raw emotions behind every kid—from those who were still too little to understand why their parents were ill, to those who were stoic enough to take on everyone’s burdens with ease. Even those who didn’t have that parent here in this world with them anymore.

[Program Name] was, and still is, a safe space for young people who have parents in remission from cancer—and even those who had lost parents to cancer. While I had seen my mother’s journey battling breast cancer, that week at camp showed me how many people are impacted by this disease. Not only are there too many patients—there are too many families, too many children, too many friends, who have to watch their loved ones in pain—or worse, have to say goodbye.

The camp also, however, showed me that there is hope and support for those affected by cancer. Every story seemed to have a common thread—the medical community. Their stories, filled with emotion and heartache, were also filled with the appreciation and gratitude for the healthcare workers who supported their family when they didn't have the strength to hold themselves up. The medical community goes beyond surgery and chemotherapy. The medical community provides emotional support, reassurance, and unity.

This experience, along with volunteering in the hospital, inventing a healthcare innovation, conducting scientific research, and shadowing professionals, makes me dream of becoming part of the medical community as a physician—to help with treatment, to work toward cures, and to help patients and families like mine know that they are never alone.