Colorado

University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine Aurora (Denver), CO · Public · MD

Average MCAT: 517
Average GPA: 3.70
Class size: 184 (10,444 applicants)
Tuition: $74,859 (per year, nonresident)
Out-of-state applicants: Welcome

Deadlines

AMCAS deadline: Oct. 15, 2026
Secondary deadline: Nov. 30, 2026

Essays

Instructions

Please do not repeat content from your AMCAS personal statement in these essays. To the extent that there is overlap in the personal statement to what you want to write here, please choose a different approach to discussing the issue(s), such as influence on your values and beliefs, changes you made in your life, reflections that are from a different perspective. The committee utilizes this important information in the selection process.

Leadership, curiosity, commitment (500 words)

The pillars of our curriculum are Leadership, Curiosity, and Commitment. Tell us about how you have embodied one or more of these attributes in your path to medicine thus far. In which of these areas do you see the most opportunity for personal growth and why?

Welcoming environments (300 words)

Please describe how your experiences have shaped your approach to creating welcoming, respectful, and collaborative environments for all your future patients.

Reapplicants (1,500 characters)

Please explain how you and your application has changed since your previous submission.

Fort Collins campus (1,500 characters (about 300 words))

Please tell us why you are interested in being a part of the 4-year CUSOM at CSU (Fort Collins Branch campus)? With the background that FCB's smaller class sizes and unique structure lead to a highly interactive curriculum, please tell us how this campus matches your learning style and personal philosophy.

Colorado Springs LIC (1,500 characters (about 300 words))

The CS LIC Program exists at the intersection of academic and community medicine. CS LIC students experience the myriad of academic, private, corporate, military, non-profit, and public service organizations that come together to care for a community. Clinical, didactic, and project-based learning emphasizes how physician leadership and community engagement can promote the health of communities. Didactic education is based in Colorado Springs with clinical sites spanning small cities along the Southern Front Range including Pueblo, Cañon City, Monument, and Woodland Park. Please describe how participation in the CS LIC would advance your career goals and how your life experiences align with an interest in our program. If applicable, you may also note any ties to Colorado Springs or the Southern Front Range.

Rural physician (1,500 characters (about 300 words))

Why are you interested in being a rural physician? How will rural life and work fit your personal and professional goals? You may include your past experiences and ties or interest to rural Colorado.

Peak-to-Peak: rural family medicine (500 words)

What has led you to commit to a career in rural family medicine? Please describe any life experiences that have contributed to this commitment. As a rural family physician, describe the impact you will make on your community.

Peak-to-Peak: urban primary care (500 words)

What has led you to commit to a career in urban primary care? Please describe any life experiences that have contributed to this commitment. As an urban primary care physician, describe the impact you will make on your community.

Peak-to-Peak: infectious diseases and public health (500 words)

What has led you to commit to a career in infectious diseases and public health? Please describe any life experiences that have contributed to this commitment. As an infectious diseases physician, describe the impact you will make on your community.

Peak-to-Peak: pediatrics (500 words)

What has led you to commit to a career in pediatrics? Please describe any life experiences that have contributed to this commitment. As a pediatrician, describe the impact you will make on your community.

M.D./M.S. Aerospace Engineering (1,500 characters)

Combined MD-MS (Aerospace Engineering): CUSOM has joined with the Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at CU Boulder to offer a combined MD-MS degree program. The goal of this program is to prepare trainees to lead the next generation of human spaceflight in clinical, research, engineering, and programmatic positions. The 5-year curriculum includes spending one year at CU Boulder obtaining an MS in Aerospace Engineering with a focus on bioastronautics. Participants can also elect to complete an MS thesis or develop more hands-on engineering experience via Graduate Projects courses. Describe your career path up to this point and how that has led to your interest in human spaceflight. What is your motivation for seeking a dual degree in Aerospace Engineering and how does this fit into your vision for your career?

M.D./M.B.A. (750 words)

CUSOM has partnered with the Leeds School of Business at CU Boulder to offer a combined MD-MBA degree program. The goal of this program is to prepare trainees to lead innovation and progress at the intersection of medicine and business. Please answer the following question with a limit of 750 words. What are your career aspirations and professional development goals for your studies in the MBA program, and why is Leeds your choice? How will your background, values, academics, and leadership skills enhance the experiences of your fellow MBA students during your studies? In what ways do your core values guide your approach to leadership?

M.D./M.P.H. (5,000 characters)

Public health is both a science and a calling, requiring practitioners to bridge the gap between clinical medicine and population-level health improvement. As a medical student applying to the Master of Public Health program, write a statement, reflecting on the following: What inspired you to pursue an MPH degree in addition to your medical training? What public health issue or field (e.g., epidemiology, health systems, management and policy, climate and environmental health, biostatistics, community and behavioral health, etc.) are you most passionate about? How does the chosen public health field align with your personal and professional goals?

Editor's notes

Check your MCAT against the screen first. Below 507, you won't get the secondary, and no essay fixes that. At 507 or above, the real clock is rolling offers starting Oct. 15, which reward a file that's complete in the summer rather than on the Nov. 30 deadline.
Colorado won't take updates after you apply. Whatever you want the committee to know has to be in the AMCAS and secondary when you submit, or saved for interview day. Don't hold back a strong activity hoping to send it later.
The regional programs are a real choice, not a checkbox. You can pick only one of Fort Collins, Colorado Springs and Rural, and the Rural essay asks for lived rural experience and primary care exposure. Choose where your record already points.
Nonresidents pay $74,859 in tuition, and the Accountable Student fee stays with you all four years even if you become a Colorado resident. The class is still about half out-of-state, so apply if the fit is there, but budget honestly.