End-of-life decisions, faith-clinical conflict, conscientious objection, Catholic health system constraints.

Delivering difficult news, spiritual distress, family conflict about care goals.

West suburban health access, uninsured Maywood residents, safety-net navigation.

Interprofessional scenario with chaplain or social worker role-play.

Cura personalis in your life, service experiences, why Jesuit medicine.

Cura personalis means "care for the whole person." In a clinical context, this means attending to psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions alongside the biomedical.

Think of a patient experience where you attended to something beyond the medical complaint — bring that story to spiritual care and personal qualities stations.

You don't need to be Catholic or religious — but you need to demonstrate respect for patients' spiritual lives as clinically relevant.

For Catholic health system scenarios (no contraception coverage, MAID restrictions), acknowledge the institutional constraint and focus on how you'd ensure the patient receives full information and a referral.

In end-of-life scenarios, validate the patient's spiritual framework before introducing medical options — never override values with protocols.

Conscientious objection: articulate that personal values are valid, professional obligations require ensuring patient access, and both can coexist.

Maywood, IL, is a majority Black suburb with high poverty rates — very different from North Shore Chicago. Know this context.

Loyola University Medical Center serves as the primary safety-net hospital for western Cook County — discuss its community anchor role.

Frame your service experiences as aligned with Stritch's mission to care for the poor and marginalized in the Jesuit tradition.

"Since 2011 I've sat on MMI panels across Canada, the USA, and the UK — scoring thousands of candidates across medicine, dentistry, PA, and nursing. Universal MMI is built on everything I've learned sitting on the other side of that table."

No. Stritch is a Jesuit institution with a Catholic identity, but students of all faiths and no faith are welcome. The admissions process looks for alignment with whole-person care values, not religious affiliation.

Loyola University Medical Center and its affiliates operate under the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. This affects certain reproductive and end-of-life procedures. Students learn to navigate these constraints professionally while ensuring patient access to referrals.

Cura personalis is the Jesuit principle of "care for the whole person" — attending to every dimension of a patient's humanity, including spiritual and psychological wellbeing. Discuss a specific experience where you engaged with a patient's non-biomedical needs.

Yes. Stritch typically includes at least one station involving spiritual distress, faith-clinical conflict, or whole-person care. Prepare a thoughtful response that respects patient spirituality without imposing or dismissing it.

Recent entering classes have median MCAT around 511 and median GPA around 3.65. Stritch is known to value mission fit and service alongside academic metrics.

Maywood is a majority-Black, economically disadvantaged suburb. Stritch students train in a community with significant health disparities, giving early exposure to safety-net medicine and social determinants of health.

Yes. Stritch faculty have noted that brief, sincere thank-you notes (within 48 hours) are read and appreciated. Keep them personal and genuine, not generic.

Stritch has active global health programs in Uganda, Ethiopia, and several Latin American countries. Mentioning genuine interest in global health missions — grounded in social justice, not travel tourism — resonates with the school's Jesuit mission.