The Medical School Interview: Osteopathic Interviews

This week we’re providing information on the various medical school interview formats.

The Osteopathic Interview. The interview process for osteopathic programs is basically the same as that of allopathic programs. Some schools will have you in-and-out of a one-on-one interview, others utilize the MMI, others will have a day-long extravaganza. “During our interview process, we have the first half of the day be an informational session,” says one administrator. “In the morning, we have presentations on the curriculum and professionalism, financial aid, learning services, and inclusion. We also schedule a medical student panel where interviewees have the chance to ask questions of current medical students.” This is followed by a traditional behavioral interview.

There are just two questions that you will be asked in an osteopathic medical interview that don't come up in allopathic interviews, for soon-to-be obvious reasons. That’s because they are:

• Why are you interested in attending osteopathic medical school?

A great answer will emphasize what you'd gain from an osteopathic program, why osteopathic values mean something to you, and highlight an osteopathic clinical experience and how it impacted you.

• Are you also applying to allopathic medical school?

Just be real. If the answer is yes, and it probably is, say you're exploring all possible paths to becoming a physician.

The Medical School Interview: Multiple Mini Interviews

This week we’re providing information on the various medical school interview formats.

Multiple Mini Interviews. The MMI is like an obstacle course. It can be a lot of fun—or it can lead to you flailing and tripping all over the place. Many applicants find the MMI stressful but that often changes after their first experience. “We survey applicants after their MMI and most say they enjoyed it,” one admissions team member told us.

During the MMI, interviewers are at different "stations." The number of stations varies; a school might have only a handful and follow them with a short one-on-one behavioral interview or they could have 10 stations and no behavioral interview at all. While some stations are less common than others, you will 100% have to address character-proving moral and ethical scenarios.

Interviewers will not test your medical knowledge but could seek to suss out your awareness of healthcare policy and will put you in hypothetical patient-facing situations to assess your critical thinking and communication skills. Beyond verbal Q&A sessions, there could be an actor interaction or role-playing element, a team-based challenge, a picture station where you describe an image, or a writing station where you respond to a presented scenario.

There could also be wild card discussion topics that have nothing to do with medicine. “Sometimes applicants are stumped by arguably super-easy prompts like ‘Explain the plot of your favorite book,’” one admissions officer told us. “They spiral and think: What am I really being tested on here? Will they hate my taste in books? One applicant asked in a panic: ‘What if I don’t read? Can I do a movie?’” The admissions pro assured us that the book a candidate chooses has zero impact on their score. “A prompt like this is to test how clearly you can explain something,” she said. “And the reason we ask that you tell us about your ‘favorite’ is only because it’s something you’re well-versed in—this is meant to take off pressure, not add it.”

At each station, you'll have one or two minutes to consider your answer and five to eight (depending on the school) to respond. They're giving you so much time so you can weigh the pros and cons of every scenario and/or decision you're considering. It's the thought process that they're testing you on here. How you think exemplifies certain skills and traits. In your responses, you can bring in examples from your personal experiences to back up your reasoning. If you finish early, don't panic. Your interviewer will likely ask follow-up questions regarding your answer. These questions will tell you what to extrapolate on and emphasize.

Sometimes what you're being evaluated on will be obvious, other times, not so much. "We do not tell applicants what characteristic we are testing them on in a given MMI prompt," an admissions team member told us. You don't have to emphasize all of these in every response, but qualities and abilities they're looking for you to express during the MMI are:

• Critical thinking skills

• Communication skills (This means being good at listening, not just talking.)

• Ethical judgment

• Empathy

• Interpersonal skills (Patience, collaboration, etc.)

• Self-awareness

• Teamwork skills

The Medical School Interview: Behavioral Interviews

This week we’re providing information on the various medical school interview formats.

The One-on-One Behavioral Interview. This 30-to-45-minute interview is mostly a getting-to-know you session, but it's also the school making sure that you're the person you presented in your application. They'll be assessing whether your values and passions align with their goals for their incoming class too.

The school might have you do two or three one-on-one interviews with different folks: a faculty member, a current student, and/or a practicing physician. Your interviewer might have your application open, semi-open (just one section), or closed. Sometimes when an interview is open-file, prospective students feel like they shouldn't repeat anything from their application. But you must repeat some biographical information and experiences. That's the stuff that's relevant to your interview.

You're going to walk them through how you sought out experiences that helped you grow. Emphasize your commitment to life-long learning. Having an identified passion—an area of interest in medicine that you're especially eager to pursue—is a bonus. And evidence of critical thinking, teamwork, compassion, empathy, and leadership should be present throughout your answers. 

The Medical School Interview: A Day-Long Extravaganza

This week we’re providing information on the various medical school interview formats.

The Day-Long Extravaganza. In a day-long session, there's more than an interview happening. A member of the admissions committee might give you a rundown of the program, there could be a student led tour, an optional session on applying for financial aid, a meal with first-year students, and you could even get to sit in on a class. (If your interview time conflicts with a class you'd like to sit in on, you can request to come back to campus in the future.) Sometimes an interviewer will need you to meet them off-campus, perhaps at a nearby teaching hospital.

An obvious but important note: Stay awake and appropriate. If you're getting sleepy or about to roll your eyes at a presentation, go to the bathroom or get some water. Sorry to creep you out, but per multiple deans of admissions, you are always being observed on campus. We don't tell you this to make you paranoid and tense. If you're behaving in a normal way, no one will blink. This is simply to say that a school's assessment of you goes beyond the interview. If you check your phone at the day's finale event, someone will clock it.

The Medical School Interview

Interview cycles run from early September through mid-January. If the school is not doing rolling admissions, your interview date doesn't matter. Non-rolling schools send out all acceptance letters at once. If they are doing rolling admissions, you want to interview as soon as possible. These schools are why we recommend turning your AMCAS application in early. 

What an Interview Day is Like. There's no standard-issue interview day. A one-on-one interview is common. (You might do two or three of those on the same day.) Or a panel of folks might interview you. Virtual interviews became more common after COVID-19 came into our lives. A group interview with other applicants in front of a panel of interviewers is also on the table. The Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) involves multiple interviewers and even some acting. A school might have you do some combo of these interview types, like a mini-MMI and a traditional interview. Still, another program might have a day-long on-campus session, where the interview is just a portion of your experience. (Harvard Medical School follows this format.) 

This week we’ll provide more information on each interview type, check back daily.

The Medical School Interview: Don’t Forget, You’re Interviewing Them Too.

As your interview wraps up, your interviewers will ask if you have any questions. You must have them. Being interested and thoughtful demonstrates your commitment to the program. Perhaps you've visited this school before your interview day or spoken to current or past students. Terrific. But if everything you know about a program came from their website, this is your chance to find out more. You should be open to every school you're applying to—so this is about engaging, not interrogating. This Q&A flip is also a chance to show that you've done your due diligence. Be precise instead of broad. A weak question such as "What research opportunities are currently available?" will require your interviewer to launch into 1,000 things, most of which won't apply to you—oh, and that you could have read about on their website.

You should also keep your focus on the program. Asking an interviewing physician: "What made you choose your field?" is something you do at a lunch mixer. The questions you ask during an interview session should relate to how you and the school will fit together. If you're going to ask three questions, ask at least two meaty ones. You want to include details in your questions that show that you've done your homework on the school. After your third program-related question, close out by asking if you can contact them with other questions in the future. And if the school is your top choice, tell them right now. As we cover elsewhere in this guide, schools want to accept students who will definitely attend.

Some questions you might ask a faculty or admissions committee member include:

• I read about X clinical opportunity currently offered to medical students in their second year. Is that going to be available in the future? Can you tell me more about that opportunity?

• I worked on a Y study as a research coordinator, and I'm very interested in the Y research happening here. Are there plans to expand that?

• How diverse is the student body? Are there support services for minority students?

• I have not lived in an urban setting, but I have worked with underserved patients in a small town. About how many patients does the student-run clinic see a year?

With student interviewers, your questions can be more personal, but you still want to show that you know something about the school. It's also a good idea to ask a question that relates to something you've just discussed or about a commonality that you two share, or that you share with the school:

• You mentioned that you're involved in researching X. I, too, have a background in researching X. Or, if you’re into completely different areas of research: I’m very interested in pursuing research at Specific Lab. Can you tell me more about your work at Specific Lab?

• My grandfather was in the Army, and I value our veterans. I know that the medical school has partnered with the local VA center to address both chronic pain and mental health issues. Have you worked there? What is it like?

• I’ve read about X, Y, and Z organizations here. What clubs and student organizations do you belong to? Have they proven valuable to you?