Interviews play a significant role in the medical school application process. Receiving an invitation to interview at a med school—for either a traditional interview or Multiple Mini Interview—indicates that you have cleared an important hurdle and have been selected to advance to the next level of evaluation. The role of interviews for med school admissions is very different than for undergraduate admissions, in which colleges often try to interview as many applicants as possible and the interviews tend to be more informational than evaluative. Med school interviews are the final step in a rigorous evaluation process and provide an opportunity to obtain a more personal and holistic sense of the candidate by offering firsthand insights into their personality, background, and goals in real time.
In the med school admissions process, candidates are initially evaluated for their potential as future medical students and physicians based on their primary application submitted through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS). The application includes the candidate’s undergraduate and, if applicable, graduate coursework and grades, MCAT scores, activities, and a personal statement. AMCAS calculates separate GPAs for science, “all other,” and total coursework—for both undergraduate and graduate level courses. Individual med schools then typically send candidates a “secondary” application with school-specific essay prompts.
A med school’s decision on whether to offer an interview invitation may also take into account scores from the situational judgment tests (SJTs) of Casper (offered by Acuity Insights) and the AAMC PREview™, as well as Duet (also offered by Acuity), a values-alignment test—if they require or recommend these.
Timing of Medical School Interviews
Ideally, you can help your applicants prepare for the Casper and PREview™ SJTs in the spring, so that they can take these tests by the end of June, when medical schools will begin to receive applications from AMCAS. The best time to conduct mock sessions for traditional and MMI interviews is about one week before the interview is scheduled, so that the feedback is fresh.
In this article, we will discuss the content, structure, timing, and tips for preparing for each of these interviews.
Acuity Insights
The Acuity Insights suite of assessments includes two different tests: Casper and Duet. While much of a candidate’s application (such as GPA and test scores) demonstrates their hard skills, these assessments are meant to give a sense of their soft skills early in the application process. At least 40 medical schools in the United States require the Casper assessment, so it is important for applicants to research the requirements of the schools they are applying to in order to see if Casper is needed.
Content. According to Acuity Insights’ website, Casper “measures aspects of your social intelligence and professionalism, like ethics, empathy, problem-solving and collaboration.” Duet, meanwhile, evaluates how closely an applicant’s values, interests, and priorities align with those of the schools to which they are applying.
Structure. Casper presents test-takers with 11 scenarios (via text and video), not all of which are medically related but are designed to evaluate the applicant’s decision-making process. For example, one scenario may ask how an applicant would respond to a colleague asking for advice in a difficult or uncomfortable situation. In total, the assessment takes 65 to 85 minutes to complete.
Duet is a much shorter assessment, taking only around 15 minutes to complete. It presents test-takers with pairings of characteristics (like “individual assignments” versus “group tasks”) within certain categories and asks them to choose which of the two options in the pair they gravitate toward. The results are designed to show how an individual’s interests and priorities compare with those of the schools they are applying to.
Timing. Medical schools consider Casper scores at different points in the application process: during the pre-screening stage, the interview stage, or before they make their final acceptance offers. We recommend that applicants take Casper in the spring so that results are sent to schools in the first stage of the application process, in case the scores factor into a school’s decision to extend an interview invitation.
Duet should be completed within two weeks of Casper; we recommend students take Duet regardless of whether the schools on their list require it or not.
Preparation. Acuity Insights offers a practice test for Casper on their website. Candidates should familiarize themselves with the test format so that they are able to complete their responses within the time allotted. For Duet, applicants can prepare by researching the institutional priorities and features of the schools they are applying to and considering how these aspects connect with their own personal preferences and interests. Ultimately, the best strategy for Duet is to trust one’s instincts and provide authentic responses in order to end up at a school that is genuinely a good fit.
Tip for Applicants: Become familiar with the test format and research your medical schools.
AAMC PREview™
Content. The AAMC PREview™ Professional Readiness Exam is another situational judgment test, designed to evaluate a candidate in terms of the following AAMC Professional Competencies: Interpersonal Skills, Cultural Awareness, Cultural Humility, Empathy and Compassion, Teamwork and Collaboration, Ethical Responsibility to Self and Others, Reliability and Dependability, Resilience and Adaptability, and Commitment to Learning and Growth.
Structure. Like Casper, it is taken from home and presents applicants with hypothetical scenarios, but there are a few key differences: there are no video responses; all scenarios require the test-taker to respond from the point of view of a medical student; and instead of asking for original responses, they provide multiple-choice solutions that the candidate must rank in terms of how they view their effectiveness.
Timing. The PREview™ assessment takes approximately 75 minutes to complete; it can be taken a maximum of two times per administration year. We recommend that applicants take PREview™ in the spring, before submitting the AMCAS application.
Preparation. To prepare for the assessment, we recommend becoming familiar with the test format and login procedure, as well as reviewing AAMC’s 17 Premed Competencies for Entering Medical Students and their meanings.
Tip for Applicants: Review AAMC’s Premed Competencies.
Traditional Interviews
The traditional interview is an open conversation between the applicant and the interviewer, and it is the most common format used in the med school admissions process. Typically, traditional interviews are by invitation-only and are offered to select candidates; receiving an invitation to participate in an interview indicates that the school has already determined the student to be a promising candidate. Potential interviewers may include admissions committee members, medical school faculty, or current med students. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, on-campus interviews have become less and less frequent, and most interviews are now conducted virtually.
Content. The ways that schools approach these interviews vary in format. For example, some may conduct “blind” interviews in which the interviewers do not have prior knowledge of the student’s application materials, while for others, the interviewers are familiar with the candidate’s application materials and will ask follow-up questions related to the content of the application. Interviewers typically ask about the candidate’s medically related experiences in the areas of clinical work, research, shadowing, and volunteer work; personal topics such as motivation for a career in medicine and influential life experiences; and opinions on current issues in healthcare.
Structure. Traditional interviews can come in different formats: one-on-one or with a panel or multiple interviewers. Each interview typically lasts 30 to 60 minutes and may be part of a full-day experience that includes conversations with current med school students and faculty.
Timing. While situational judgment tests are taken during the preliminary stage of the application process, traditional interviews happen later, after secondary essays are submitted. Interview invitations are sent out on a rolling basis, typically between September and January, after applications have been received. We advise students to respond to interview invitations as quickly as possible to secure the earliest available time slot. Some schools will let students know their admissions decision shortly after the interview process, while some schools have a set date on which they release all their admissions decisions at once.
Preparation. To prepare for traditional interviews, we recommend that students refresh themselves on their application materials to ensure that their answers are in line with the information and values they expressed previously. We also advise that they research the school thoroughly so that they can mention specific features in their responses and come prepared with questions, both of which demonstrate a sincere and informed interest in the school. Most importantly, though, we conduct thorough mock interview sessions with students to practice and honenot only the content of their potential responses but also how they present themselves on their interview day.
Tip for Applicants: Review your application and conduct mock interviews.
Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI)
An MMI—or Multiple Mini Interview—attempts to standardize the interview process by having the candidate cycle through several “stations,” each run by an interviewer who grades all students at each station by a set rubric. This format was developed more than 20 years ago with the intention of reducing the potential for interview bias that exists in traditional interviews, in which one candidate’s interviewer may be stricter than that of another candidate, resulting in a potentially unpredictable rating system. Like traditional interviews, MMIs are also typically invite-only.
Content. Each station presents a different situation. The topics could include ethical dilemmas, problem-solving scenarios, collaborative exercises, or healthcare challenges. There may also be questions similar to traditional interviews on topics such as the candidate’s motivation for a career in medicine or their interest in the particular med school.
Structure. MMIs typically take around two hours and include six to ten stations, which could range from acting out a scenario with a patient actor, to completing a writing task, to responding to a question. Typically, each candidate has two minutes to read the scenario and prepare a response, and then five to seven minutes to discuss their response with the interviewer.
Timing. Invitations to participate in MMIs are sent out on the same rolling timeline as traditional interviews, after receiving the secondary application, so we recommend students respond to these invitations in an equally timely manner.
Preparation. The preparation process for the MMI is similar to the traditional interview, and we encourage students to participate in the mock MMI interviews we provide. Students should research the med schools’ websites and related online resources to gather any available information about the types of stations the schools have employed in the past in order to prepare potential responses.
Tip for Applicants: Practice on-the-spot responses to interview scenarios.
Conclusion
As an IEC, you can help your clients master these tests and interviews by being knowledgeable about their content and objectives, and by conducting effective mock interviews with constructive feedback. The assessments provide your applicants with a unique opportunity to demonstrate their competencies, values, and goals. In addition, the traditional and MMI by-invitation-only interviews not only help the school evaluate if a student is the right fit for them but also enable the applicant to determine if the school would meet their needs.
By Julie Raynor Gross, EdM, MBA, CEP, 51Թ (NY)