What to Expect in Your Traditional Medical School Interview: Final Thoughts

When it comes to your medical school interview, preparation is the best antidote to anxiety, but there are better ways to prepare than just churning through sample questions. Over six days, this series has walked you through the question types you can expect to receive and provided response structures, sample answers, and practice questions. If you missed a post, be sure to go back and give it a read!

Throughout this series, we’ve reviewed the key question types that you should expect to answer in your medical school interview. Now, some final thoughts:

• Know who you are presenting. The “you” at your interview should align with the one you presented in your primary and secondary application materials. Some of your interview questions will be like ones you answered in your application, so review your application to stay on message. We even recommend that you take a copy with you on interview day so that you can review it as you wait.

• Everything is on the table. All of the information you included in your application is fair game. The interviewer can ask about a hardship, emotional experience, or disciplinary action. Be prepared to address it calmly. During a Q&A, one dean shared that a prospective student cried during his interview. However sympathetic an interviewer may be, this lack of emotional regulation is not a good look. If there's a topic that could throw you off your game or elicit an emotional response, practice talking about it. 

• Use stories to make your point. We know this has come up a lot, but it’s important. Every answer you give should include a story about one of your experiences or something you've learned, even if the question doesn't outwardly demand a story. (For example, "Why medicine?") 

• Be direct. Keep your answers to most questions between one-and-a half and three minutes. Practice responses to our sample questions aloud. You don't have to memorize your answers. Just acclimate yourself to the topics and time limit. We like using flashcards to prepare for interviews. Put the Q on one side, and bullet points of what you want to say on the other.

• Medical schools are looking for real people. You don’t have to be perfect. Just be you. And within appropriate limits, don’t be afraid to expose some vulnerability.

Related:

What to Expect in Your Traditional Medical School Interview: Lead with a Confident Introduction

What to Expect in Your Traditional Medical School Interview: Situation, Action, Result Responses

What to Expect in Your Traditional Medical School Interview: “Make a Claim and Back it Up” Responses

What to Expect in Your Traditional Medical School Interview: Why Our Medical School?

What to Expect in Your Traditional Medical School Interview: Questions on Current Events in Healthcare

What to Expect in Your Traditional Medical School Interview: Wildcard Questions

What to Expect in Your Traditional Medical School Interview: Wildcard Questions

When it comes to your medical school interview, preparation is the best antidote to anxiety, but there are better ways to prepare than just churning through sample questions. Over six days, this series will walk you through everything you need to know to prepare for the traditional medical school interview. Check back daily as we discuss the question types you can expect and provide response structures, sample answers, and practice questions.

Wildcard Questions

In any interview you should expect something… unexpected. It could be a fun question about what makes you special, or it could be a logistical question like: "How will you pay for medical school?" 

As with all interview responses, how you back up an answer matters more than the answer itself. So, even if the question is something like "What do you do for fun?" it should subtly hint at one or two of your finer qualities. You don't have to say, "I study extra hard for fun! All I love is studying because I am a serious person!" That's disingenuous. But if you say, "I take salsa classes," share why in a revealing way: "I take salsa classes. I love Latin music and I am nothing but present on the dance floor. Having a partner reminds me to be attuned to her. And having a place to be every Tuesday night makes me even more diligent at work. I've come in early a few times just so I know I can be out the door by 5 PM to make it to my 6 o'clock class." 

Questions you may be asked:

• Teach me something.

• If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

• How would your best friend describe you?

• Who is someone you admire? Why?

• What do you do for exercise?

• Do you think the MCAT is a good measurement of one’s readiness for medical school?

• How do you think you did during this interview?

• What will you do if you're not accepted to medical school? (Oof, right? Is your plan to gain more clinical or research experience and try again? Try a post-bacc or Master's program and try again?)

What to Expect in Your Traditional Medical School Interview: Questions on Current Events in Healthcare

When it comes to your medical school interview, preparation is the best antidote to anxiety, but there are better ways to prepare than just churning through sample questions. Over six days, this series will walk you through everything you need to know to prepare for the traditional medical school interview. Check back daily as we discuss the question types you can expect and provide response structures, sample answers, and practice questions.

General Healthcare News

You will not be asked medical questions during your interview. No one is going to need you to walk them through setting a bone. But you should be prepared to speak about the medical field and current events related to it. Your interviewers want to know that you're keeping up with the times and that you've deeply considered some of the big questions that come with this work.

Spend some time each day reviewing the news. The New York Times is great for current events related to health care, as are MedPage Today, MedScape, and Stat News. We also recommend that you set up Google alerts for key phrases related to healthcare and/or your research interests and desired specialty to ensure you’re up to date.

You may be asked:

• What have you been following in healthcare news lately that is of particular interest to you?

• What healthcare-related or academic publications do you read?

• Do you have an opinion on the current [X medical news] controversy?

• What would you say is a major problem in the healthcare system today?

• What do you think is the greatest medical development in history?

• What's the difference between Medicare and Medicaid?

• What can be done about rising healthcare costs?

What to Expect in Your Traditional Medical School Interview: Why Our Medical School?

When it comes to your medical school interview, preparation is the best antidote to anxiety, but there are better ways to prepare than just churning through sample questions. Over six days, this series will walk you through everything you need to know to prepare for the traditional medical school interview. Check back daily as we discuss the question types you can expect and provide response structures, sample answers, and practice questions.

Why Our School?

Or: "Tell me why you are interested in this program," etc. This interview prompt will appear, in some form. Obviously, your response should include school-specific details, like what labs or research opportunities you'll take advantage of, what technologies or unique resources they utilize that maybe aren't available at other schools, which professors you're eager to learn from, the student clinics or affiliated hospitals you'd like to work at, and maybe even what you like about the area. And don’t forget to bridge these details with your past experiences and future goals to reinforce your interest in these offerings. 

Whatever you do, don't say something ingratiating and general: "It's an esteemed program where I'll learn from esteemed physicians who lead their esteemed fields." We're teasing about this phrasing, but "esteemed" gets thrown around a lot in responses like this, and what it reads as is essentially: "If I praise you enough, will you let me in?" 

Just answer the question with a couple of salient details and you'll be golden. 

What to Expect in Your Traditional Medical School Interview: “Make a Claim and Back it Up” Responses

When it comes to your medical school interview, preparation is the best antidote to anxiety, but there are better ways to prepare than just churning through sample questions. Over six days, this series will walk you through everything you need to know to prepare for the traditional medical school interview. Check back daily as we discuss the question types you can expect and provide response structures, sample answers, and practice questions.

Make a Claim and Back it Up Responses

Claim Questions are simple and direct—but your answer should be complex and direct. Just like with your Situation-Action-Result (SAR) responses, you will want to use stories here, not just statements. The question may ask you about attributes or skills you have, but do not be fooled, they're not looking for a list. The interviewer wants to hear examples of when you’ve exhibited those things. Go ahead and use multiple examples! They don't all have to be long, but they should be detailed. 

Some questions will be about the hypothetical future, things you'd do as a medical student or doctor. Think: "What would you do if a colleague made a serious clinical mistake?" An ethical question like this should still be backed up with experiences, if possible, or anecdotes that prove that you have the qualities you claim to have. "In the past, I've been quick to remedy others' mistakes. During my work at a university lab…" You want to show your critical thinking too. Explain your thought process, "If I was close to this colleague, I would…”

Questions could also seem to require opinion-only responses. Something like: "What are your feelings about euthanasia?" But don't get it twisted. This is a "make a claim and back it up"-question. You believe or don't believe in it “because…”

One question that you'll almost certainly be asked: What qualities do you have that will make you a good physician? Here's an example of a strong answer: 
“I'm calm and precise under pressure: As a scribe in the ER, I was part of the intake for multiple patients involved in a three car accident. The ER was understaffed and very busy already, so the atmosphere was chaotic. I documented several patients' conditions, bouncing from one doctor's side to another. Later, my supervisor praised my calm demeanor and consistently accurate work. The ER was, of course, a generally hectic place, and I adapted to it quite well. 

I also think a good physician must be able to connect with a diverse array of patients. While volunteering and shadowing at a free clinic, I spoke with patients of all ages, most of them in underserved populations. In one instance, I was asked to give a 5-year-old child a PCR Covid test—but she was terrified and pulling away. Moreover, there was a language barrier; both the girl and her mother only spoke Spanish. I decided to take my time instead of rushing into the test. There was a stethoscope in the room, and I thought she might like listening to her own heart, so I showed her how it worked—mostly through gestures on my end. Her mother was able to translate what was happening as well. I let the young girl listen to my heart, her mother's, and then her own. She was amused and after that, she trusted me more. I then pulled out the PCR test kit again. I spoke soothingly, and I knew she understood my tone. She was uncomfortable during the test—the test is uncomfortable—but she endured it without pulling away. I praised her after the test. I've since begun Spanish lessons, as I think that is the most practical second language to learn in America. I also better understand social determinants of health after working with recent immigrants at the clinic.

Finally, I'm eager to learn and believe a physician must have intellectual curiosity. When I worked on a diabetes study at my university lab, I went beyond my daily responsibilities, reading previous studies unrelated to ours to be more informed about the disease. I now feel like I have a depth of knowledge on this topic.”

Other “make a claim and back it up”-questions that you may be asked:

• How will you add to the diversity of our school?

• What is your greatest strength?

• How do you deal with stress?

• Explain your academic path. (Here, focus on the positives and how they led you to medicine. Illustrate this with maybe three poignant experiences.)

• Where do you see yourself in 10 years? (Here, you can share both past experiences and what you hope to learn in medical school that will help you achieve this goal.)

What to Expect in Your Traditional Medical School Interview: Situation, Action, Result Responses

When it comes to your medical school interview, preparation is the best antidote to anxiety, but there are better ways to prepare than just churning through sample questions. Over six days, this series will walk you through everything you need to know to prepare for the traditional medical school interview. Check back daily as we discuss the question types you can expect and provide response structures, sample answers, and practice questions.

Situation, Action, Result Responses

Using stories to make your point engages your interviewer, brings your personality and background to life, and makes your responses more memorable. Almost every answer you give should include a story about one of your experiences or something you've learned, even if the question doesn't outwardly demand a story. (For example, "Why medicine?")

However, there are some questions that you MUST answer with a story. These are "SAR responses" because you'll describe the situation (20% of the response), the action you took, and the result (collectively, 80% of the response). SAR questions are easily identified as they typically lead with prompts such as “Tell me about a time when…” However, questions such as “Tell me about your biggest failure/mistake/weakness.” also fall into the SAR category. Some SAR prompts will be familiar because many schools use them as Secondary questions. Go right ahead and reuse any applicable application responses. Those were your experiences and your takeaways, after all. 

Here's an example of a strong answer: 

“Tell me about a time you worked effectively under pressure.” 

“In my one year working as a certified EMT, I’ve learned a lot about staying calm and working effectively under pressure. However, one of my most memorable experiences occurred prior to my certification and played a key role in my decision to pursue the EMT certification. 

I was home from college during a break, when I agreed to babysit for a neighbor. I love children and am an experienced sitter. This particular child, Henry, was only about a year and a half old. And, on this particular night, I was tasked with feeding Henry the dinner his family had already prepared for him. After I did so, he began to show signs of an allergic reaction. Because I routinely babysat, I was aware of the signs to look out for although I had never before experienced an allergic reaction first-hand. Henry had not been previously diagnosed with food allergies so he did not have a prescription epi-pen. 

I watched him carefully as a few hives appeared around his mouth. I then cleaned his face and hands to remove any trace of a potential allergen and called his mother for instructions. She informed me that she was unaware of any existing food allergies but let me know where the anti-inflammatory medicine was stored. I dosed him appropriately, but noticed that the hives were continuing to spread and that his lips had started to swell. Noting that it was a multi-system reaction, I called 911, grabbed his packed diaper bag, and instructed his mother to meet us at the hospital via text. I’ll never forget holding Henry in my arms and watching his body turn on him, while in the background children’s songs continued to play. It was surreal. Upon arrival, the EMTs dosed Henry with epinephrine immediately, which paused the anaphylactic reaction and we went on safely to the hospital where his mother met us and he remained for observation. 

I received feedback from the physicians that I had followed the correct course of action and that Henry would be fine. My calm under pressure had ensured that he received the care he needed in time for it to be effective. 

That experience, my first with allergic reactions and my first with a medical emergency, gave me increased confidence in my own ability to remain calm under pressure. But it also led me to the realization that I wanted to be able to assist people in emergency situations. Beyond just staying calm and calling the experts, I want to be the expert—the one to relieve the hives and swelling, the one to save Henry or others in situations like him. So, one year later, as my schedule permitted, I sought EMT certification. 

As a certified EMT, I have now garnered a number of experiences with medical emergencies. And I rely on the same qualities that I used that day with Henry—an ability to stay calm, think clearly, communicate, and act accordingly. I know they will serve me well as I pursue medical school and a career as a physician.” 

Practice responses to prompts like these:

• Describe a failure and what you learned from it.

• Tell me about a time when you challenged the group consensus.

• Tell me about a time when you took on a leadership role.

• Tell me about an experience when you've learned from people different from yourself.

• Tell me about an ethical dilemma and what you decided to do.

• Tell me about a time when you came up with an imaginative solution to a problem.

See also:

What to Expect in Your Traditional Medical School Interview: Lead with a Confident Introduction

What to Expect in Your Traditional Medical School Interview: Lead with a Confident Introduction

When it comes to your medical school interview, preparation is the best antidote to anxiety, but there are better ways to prepare than just churning through sample questions. Over six days, this series will walk you through everything you need to know to prepare for the traditional medical school interview. Check back daily as we discuss the question types you can expect and provide response structures, sample answers, and practice questions.  

The First Response: The Three-Minute Elevator Pitch

The first question your interviewer asks will likely be something general that invites the widest-ranging answer. This question comes in many forms. It could be as short and blunt as: Tell me about yourself. It could be: Walk me through your resume. It could be: Can you talk to me about anything you believe will enhance your candidacy for admission? We had a client who told us her first interview question was: “So…?"

These opening questions require a three-minute answer. Think of it as an elevator pitch response. Naturally, you want to reiterate your commitment to studying medicine. It is okay to stay in a linear timeline: I did X and transitioned to Y. What's important is explaining the motivation behind your decisions. You can also share who you are via your three most impactful experiences. Practice some possible responses to ensure you're not going wildly under or over the three-minute mark. Don't try to memorize anything word-for-word as this will lead to fumbling with your words or coming off as wooden. But have an outline in mind—some milestones you know you want to pass. 

Some sub-questions you might answer to build your "Tell me about yourself"-answer are:

• What was your path to wanting to study medicine?

• How did your undergrad experience prepare you for medical school?

• Do you know what specialty you'd like to study? Why?

• Do you want to take this opportunity to expand on any meaningful clinical or research experiences and how they've impacted you?

• What fun fact about you could you close on?

Here's an example of a strong answer: 

“I'm 24 years old. I'm from Tiny Town, NY, and I'm one of three children raised by a single mom, a veterinarian. I did not grow up wanting to be a doctor. I started at Public University as a psychology major. After learning about the relationship between eating disorders and the brain, I was fascinated. I switched to the pre-med track. As a junior, I served as a T.A. for Biology 156, my favorite course when I was a sophomore. 

I'm currently taking Introduction to Neurobiology, a course at Local College to expand my knowledge of the brain. For the last year, I've worked as a clinical research assistant on a study for a new drug treatment for Parkinson's Disease at SuperCool Hospital. I wrote about this experience in a Most Meaningful response in my Work and Activities. But I'd like to expand on how it's further impacted me since my application. Doing this clinical research has allowed me to connect with patients more than in any of my other clinical experiences. Since applying to medical school, I've only grown closer to our returning patients. One patient, Denise, enrolled in the study after she couldn't hold her newborn grandson due to her tremors. Even simply talking about how the disorder affects her daily life seems to be helping her. Moreover, it's been incredible to see the impact of an emerging treatment that, so far, seems to be improving her and other patients' lives. 

As an undergraduate, I was also involved in a research study. This one incorporated lab rats. I so value the lab and critical thinking skills that I learned in this work—but I must say that I do prefer working with people. They're chattier. [Laughs] Eventually, I'd like to pursue neurology and look forward to participating in future clinical research studies in medical school and as a physician. 

In addition to being an enthusiastic student in my post-graduate course and a clinical research assistant, I'm also in charge of baking elaborate cupcakes for my family's birthday parties. I decided to learn how to bake after watching too many episodes of The Great British Bakeoff. I'm also very involved in planning my hometown's Centennial celebration. I loved growing up in my community, and I'm looking forward to this event.”

Admissions committees like it when applicants include personality in their answers, especially when answering this question. Revealing something fun about yourself encourages a connection between you and the interviewer.

Medical School Secondary Essays: One Optional Question You May Not Need to Answer

There are two optional secondary questions that are common to most applications, one that you can always answer and one that you should only answer if it is appropriate. We covered the former yesterday and the latter below.

Have you experienced any hardships?

If you have experienced hardships regarding your health, family, finances, or any significant interruptions to your education, share them here.

If you have not experienced such hardships, don't exaggerate a small hurdle or massage any facts to answer this question. A hardship prompt is different from an adversity prompt. We've all faced adversity in our own way. But an optional secondary question about hardships is exactly that —optional.

We once had a client write in a draft that she lived in a medically underserved area. Her home state was in the top 10 medically underserved states, but this description applied to rural parts of the state and areas of her city deeply affected by poverty—not where she lived. We counseled her to remove that answer from her application and we routinely caution against using embellished responses to prompts and interview questions.

Medical School Secondary Essays: One Optional Question You Can Always Answer

There are two optional secondary questions that are common to most applications, one that you can always answer and one that you should only answer if it is appropriate. We’ll cover the former today and the latter tomorrow.

Is there anything else we should know about your candidacy?

If you have no issues to address and the prompt is this open-ended, you could recycle a Secondary Essay from another school to highlight an experience that didn't fit into your W&A. Or, if they didn't ask in another Secondary, talk about why you love this program.

But the secret purpose of this prompt is to give you a chance to take down some red flags. It is the school's nice way of saying: "What not-so-great thing did you do? Explain why we shouldn't be concerned about it." Some schools will ask about it more explicitly: Please explain any inconsistencies in your college or graduate school academic performance and/or MCAT scores.

So, did you tank a class your freshman year? Does your lowish MCAT score not reflect your ability to thrive in a challenging academic environment? Don't make excuses. Instead, after you share your misstep, explain how you excelled in later courses or rigorous academic or work environments. You want to keep any answer concise: This is the issue. These are my accomplishments that mitigate that issue.

Test scores and grades aside, is there something else in your school record that needs to be addressed? Did you get a citation for underage drinking at a campus music festival two years ago? For topics like this, keep your answer very brief. Going on and on about every circumstance and how this is not really your fault, etc. is weak. Get to the point: This is the situation. This is the action I took afterward. This is the result of that action and what I learned.

You do not have to max out this word count. And much like the adversity question that might pop up in your Secondary application, you want to avoid appearing too negative or overly critical of others here.

Common Secondary Essay Topics: School Specific

This week on the blog we’re covering common secondary essay topics. Stay tuned for a new topic each day along with pointers on how to make the most of your response.

Why our school?

This is a place to mention courses you're excited to take, potential mentors you'd seek out, clubs you'd join, what the school's hospital affiliations and research opportunities mean to you, etc. And you want to share how those offerings are relevant to your past experiences and/or passions. If you've spent the last two years volunteering at a free clinic and doing community health outreach and the school has a brand-new mobile clinic serving the unhoused, you want to be working on it. If you aim to become an OB/GYN and Professor So-And-So just published a 10-year study on geriatric pregnancy, you want her as a mentor and to become involved in her current research.

You also might share how the school's location will set you up for the kind of career you want. Say, for example, the school is in a city, and you ultimately want to practice in an urban area. If true, you could take your reasoning one step further, saying that you want to work in the school's city or state when you're a physician. State schools love applicants who are committed to practicing in their state post-residency.

Mentioning that you find other aspects of the town or city appealing or that it is located near friends and relatives is also relevant here. Schools want to know if you have a local support system.

Similar Q: Tell us about your special interest in the campus you selected.

If a school has multiple campuses, à la The Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, they will likely ask you to choose a favorite. Again, you should share your interest in the local clinical opportunities and how the campus location relates to your career aspirations. A personal affinity for a larger or smaller city or rural campus is noteworthy too.

Common Secondary Essay Topics: Key Physician Attributes

This week on the blog we’re covering common secondary essay topics. Stay tuned for a new topic each day along with pointers on how to make the most of your response.

What are the most important attributes a physician should possess?

Which one do you embody? This question is self-explanatory, but again, don't just tell, show. Share a story (or, better yet, more than one instance) where you exemplified an attribute that means a lot to you.

Describe a time where you worked on a team.

Teamwork is a huge part of working in medicine, so make this example count. Choose the best anecdote from your Teamwork and Collaboration Bucket in your brainstorm. Be detailed: What was your team's goal? What problem did you solve together? If the team was small, include everyone's first name. (It shows that you valued these people as collaborators.) What did each of them bring to the table? How did you delegate tasks? When did you choose to lead and when did you choose to follow? Did a conflict arise? How did you solve it? If you didn't, is there anything you would do differently if faced with that situation today?

Common Secondary Essay Topics: Adversity and Failure

This week on the blog we’re covering common secondary essay topics. Stay tuned for a new topic each day along with pointers on how to make the most of your response.

Tell us about a time you faced adversity.

This prompt can be a trap because it tempts you to be very negative. Obviously, you don't have to be all sunshine and smiles in your essay about facing adversity. But be careful not to paint yourself as pitiable or overly criticize others, even those who deserve it—let their actions speak for themselves. Present the event in detail, but you want about 80% of your answer to focus on the actions you took, lessons you learned, and how you grew through facing adversity. How did this incident affect your long-term view of something? How will it affect your future actions? How will having navigated this experience make you a better healthcare provider?

The tone to strike and structure to follow applies to other common questions, such as, "Describe a conflict you've had. How did you resolve it?" and "Reflect on a time when you had to show resilience.”

Tell us about a time you failed.

Talking about a failure or weakness can make you feel vulnerable—good. To get a little Brené Brown: Vulnerability leads to bravery. When you share a failure, you want to spend about 20% of your answer explaining what happened and 80% on what you learned and what you've done since to improve. Lastly, how are you feeling now? Hit these beats: Situation. Action. Result. You don't need to seem ever-resilient and impervious to future failure, just like you've grown.

Common Secondary Essay Topics: Mission Alignment

This week on the blog we’re covering common secondary essay topics. Stay tuned for a new topic each day along with pointers on how to make the most of your response.

What disparities in health will you try to address as a medical student and physician?

A question about health disparities and inequity could be direct like this or the topics could come up in a question about your alignment with a program's mission statement. Many schools' statements tout their commitment to addressing these issues. There are plenty of health disparities to write about; explain why you're passionate about one or two and show your knowledge of them, preferably through previous experiences. Share the steps you have already taken regarding inequities and plot out the steps you plan on taking in the future.

We had a client who went to college where Black maternal healthcare was ranked the worst in the country. While this was attributable to multiple factors, physician bias certainly played a role, she wrote. After college, she participated in several unconscious bias trainings. Discussing implicit bias raised her awareness of how dangerous it is in a healthcare setting and caused her to pause and consider where beliefs she had originated. She's going to take that practice with her throughout her career. And on campus and in her future practice, she plans to organize implicit bias trainings.

What about our mission statement resonates with you? How do or will you embody it?

A version of this question might be phrased in several long-winded ways (you'll see what we mean), but this is what they are all asking. Mission alignment matters to schools. They want to know that you share their values and will be a proactive member of their community.

Schools often hit similar themes: innovation, collaboration, and servant leadership. Health equity and social justice also frequently appear in mission statements. (Some schools have a separate question related to those topics.) Even if you're not drafting this answer yet, think about experiences you've had that involve those themes and jot down some notes. Hit up your brainstorm and find the times where you utilized critical thinking. When were you a leader? How have you been involved in social justice or what's a critical topic that you are making an effort to learn more about?

If a question like this isn't in a school's Secondaries mix, you should be looking to reflect the mission statement back to the school in your other essay responses. For example, if a school especially values collegiality, you might include a story about how you collaborated on a class project in one of your answers. (This is another example of show don't tell.)

While you should be researching schools individually to learn other specifics, AAMC has a tremendously convenient document that rounds up all allopathic schools' mission statements in one place.

Guidelines for Adding Hobbies to Your AMCAS Application

Hobbies. They are not a make or break component of the medical school (and later, residency) application, but they are an opportunity to provide the admissions committee with a view of the person beyond the test scores. Hobbies are also an effective way to demonstrate how you will add to the diversity of the incoming class, showcase qualities you will need as a medical student/physician, and/or provide insight into how you may relieve stress during medical school. 

Within the AMCAS application, hobbies belong in the Work & Activities section under the extracurriculars category. Applicants can provide up to four experiences under each category type, with a 700 character (with spaces) count, unless the experience is designated “most meaningful” (requires an additional 1,325 characters with spaces). 

Below are our guidelines for adding hobbies to your AMCAS application:

• Be current. If you played the trumpet in the high school band, but haven’t picked it up since then, consider what hobbies are more relevant to your life now. What do you turn to for fun, and what do you see yourself doing for stress relief in medical school?

• Be specific in your description. Provide a sense of how often, and how long you have been pursuing the hobby, as well as what the hobby entails. It’s great that you love to read, do yoga, and travel, but so do many others. In what unique ways have you engaged with your interests? Did you launch a monthly book club for discussing the NYT best sellers? Write book reviews for the school paper? Did you gain a yoga teaching certification or take part in a unique yoga retreat? Do you travel to particular destinations or participate in medical experiences abroad?

• State how your hobby has impacted your personal growth. Did an experience within your hobby contribute to a change in your perspective or influence your decision to apply to medical school? What attributes have you developed through your hobby that will benefit you as a medical student and physician (resilience, effective communication and collaboration skills, empathy, the ability to thrive in a diverse environment, etc.)? 

• When possible, provide an experience or milestone that differentiates your involvement in the hobby. Many people play an instrument, but fewer start a quartet or play in the university band. Many people enjoy running or fitness, fewer run the NY marathon to support a favorite cause/organization or start a running club. Providing the specific way(s) that you’ve engaged with your hobby will demonstrate to the admissions committee what you may offer to your incoming class. 

Generating Strong W&A Entries: Shadowing

Approaching Your W&A Entry. Shadowing is great introductory clinical exposure and prevalent among applicants—88% of Johns Hopkins' 2018 accepted students had shadowing experience. But to med schools, shadowing weighs less than volunteering at free clinics, doing clinical research, or working as a medical scribe, etc. That's because it typically doesn't lead to significant patient interactions. Still, shadowing someone in a field you're very interested in is informative, and you can have poignant experiences. We had one client who shadowed an infectious disease doctor abroad and learned that potential life-altering treatments regularly can't cross international lines.

Since patient interaction isn't common in these scenarios, you want to emphasize how else a shadowing experience helped you build clinical skills or expanded your knowledge of a medical specialty, preferably one you're interested in pursuing after medical school. If these things don't apply to your shadowing experience, here are some other things to consider: What did you see—and how did it affect you? Did a doctor calmly handle an angry patient? Did you seek more information on any condition a physician diagnosed in front of you? Did you learn something about a doctor's day-to-day life that you didn't know before? Unless you had one incredible experience or really need to fill up your W&A, grouping your shadowing experiences in one entry is a great idea.

Connect Your Shadowing to Your Future. If you know what area of medicine you'd like to study, having multiple shadowing experiences with different physicians practicing the same specialty shows the depth of that interest. That makes for a powerful shadowing entry. Who you shadow should be relevant to your goals. If you're interested in congenital heart disease because you worked on a clinical research study related to it or your dad survived a heart attack, try to shadow multiple cardiologists. Shadowing a broad range of specialties is exciting and may indeed be a part of your deciding what field you're most interested in—that makes for a strong entry. But there's something sturdy and assuring about a med school candidate who has pursued one area in depth. A consistent interest is compelling.

Your Work & Activities Section: Two Problems You Don't Really Have

"Help, I have too many experiences!" 

We've heard it before: "How am I going to keep this at 15 entries? I have 20 options." Here's the thing, you probably don't. You can and should bundle certain activities. Doing so reduces repetition and allows you to include a wider variety of experiences. Say, you were secretary of your student council for one year and vice president for two—that's material for one entry. Even if one of those roles produced one of your Most Meaningful experiences, you can likely cover both in one write-up.

"Help, I Don't Have Enough Experiences!" 

You may insist: "I have had three clinical experiences, two volunteer posts, and was in one club in college. I don't have 15 options!" 

Here's the thing, you probably do. Did you take a weekend long improv class with some friends? It might have teased out a braver you or helped you to think on your feet. Do or did you have a non-medical job? Obviously, you're going to include all medical work or volunteering experiences as well as impressive internships or jobs in any industry. But even working as an office temp, swiping cards at the college food court, and ringing up retail at the local bookstore exemplifies your work ethic and commitment. It also implies that you're not spoiled. Facts are facts: A lot of med school applicants are privileged. Earning your own money can set you apart because it shows personal responsibility and that you know how to balance work and studying. 

Hobbies count too. It is not a waste of space to share that you're an artist or love to garden. You can angle these activities to be more relevant to your application by explaining what transferable qualities—creativity, dedication, patience—you can apply to medicine. Your hobby write-ups also can highlight different strengths than your other entries, have a passionate delivery, and show some personality. 

"No, I really don't have enough experiences."

If you don't have enough experiences, now is the time to get them. Put together a group to clean up tree pits in your neighborhood to practice leadership. Take a hip-hop dance class to become less stiff and stern. If you're interested in mental health, volunteer for a crisis hotline. Exercising empathy and learning to talk to people on the worst days of their lives is useful for a future physician. Last-minute shadowing experiences are an option, too. They in no way should replace clinical experiences, but, if you are light on clinical experience or want to get some career goal-related shadowing experiences in, this is the ticket. Attending a conference or volunteering at a community health fair are one-day events that can lead to impactful encounters. Pursuing and sharing education is very valuable to medical schools.

Your Work & Activities Section: Where to Begin

To improve your W&A writing experience and the quality of your entries, try this: 

Raid your brainstorm. As we’ve frequently mentioned, your brainstorm serves every part of your application process. If you're having a hard time with W&A entries, copy and paste info directly from a brainstorm bucket or two and cut and sew together the first draft of an entry from that material.

One client began a W&A entry on her time as an EMT by briefly sharing salient details about things she did and skills she acquired while working on an ambulance. She then copied (literally control-C) a poignant story from her brainstorm's ah-ha bucket wherein she showed compassion for a patient who had miscarried. She pasted it directly into her W&A draft document. She proceeded to trim unnecessary parts of the story (what day it was, what her partner was doing), and add a takeaway about seeing the importance of caring for a patient's mental health.

Start with the easy ones. Do you know what your takeaway was from shadowing a pediatrician? Did working on a poster presentation with a group help you learn to manage conflict? Have you been swimming competitively since you were a guppy? Instead of writing W&A entries in the order of their occurrence or importance, start with whatever comes naturally.

Do a dirty draft—and re-read it later. You don't have to refine your first draft text right away. In fact, we’d recommend that you write all 15 first drafts (that doesn't have to happen in one sitting) and then go back to the entries with fresh eyes later. Sometimes when you're reading one entry repeatedly back-to-back, you see what's in your head and not what is on the page. So, you might think a description makes perfect sense. But later, you'll read it, discover issues, and revise it accordingly.

Craft your stories. You'll always share some basic duties and details; and they can be pretty cut and dry. For example, "At the free clinic, I checked in patients and learned how to take vitals. I interacted with approximately 20 patients during every four-hour shift." But you must also include what you got out of this experience, preferably using an engaging anecdote. "One patient, Linda…" If you don't think you have a specific story to tell, schedule time with an Apply Point consultant and we'll talk things over and find one. You'll be surprised at how much of a story you can fit into 700 characters. But don't worry about going over the word count in your first draft. We're here to help you pare down, if necessary.

Your Work & Activities Section: Before You Start

Before we make a case for the kinds of experiences you should include in your W&A and get into the deep details you should be sharing, we're going to give you three super-basic tips for writing these entries. Bookmark/screenshot this page and keep it accessible because you are going to want to check that you're doing these three things in each entry that you write.

1. Use complete sentences. This is not a resume. You might have done an activity log when presenting your candidacy to your pre-med committee. That will be an excellent resource, but it's probably not polished, and these entries must be.

2. Go beyond the "what." Don't just describe a job you did. Share details about how this experience challenged, changed, or motivated you. Through anecdotes, show the qualities that medical schools are looking for, which include leadership and critical thinking abilities, empathy, strong communication skills, resilience, intellectual curiosity, and maturity.

3. Utilize your space well. For general entries, you'll have 700 characters with spaces to tell your story. Aim to max out that character count. Each experience should warrant it—700 is not that many characters. For the Most Meaningful entries, you'll have 700 characters with spaces, followed by an additional 1,325 with spaces. If you come up short on either section of the Most Meaningful entries, don't worry about it, so long as you have something compelling in each section.

The 2025-2026 Allopathic Medical School Application Overview: Medical School Interviews

If you’re looking to start medical school in the Fall of 2026, now is the time to get started with the application process! Throughout this week, we’ll post blogs that focus on each component of the application and provide suggested timing and resources.

Medical School Interviews: 

Fall 2025 through Spring 2026 (by invitation only)

Many applicants receive invitations to interview following their submission of secondary applications and/or CASPer or Preview Exam scores. Schedule yours as early as possible. And before solidifying your travel plans, you should contact nearby schools to which you’ve applied and let them know you have an interview in the area in case they have availability. This serves the dual purpose of letting the other school know that you are “in demand,” while also showcasing your strong interest in their program.

Review our blog posts on medical school interviews:

• Blog Series: Preparing for the Traditional Medical School Interview

• Blog Series: Preparing for the MMI

• Your Medical School Group Interview: A Team Sport

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

• The Medical School Post-Interview Thank You Note

The 2025-2026 Allopathic Medical School Application Overview: Secondary Applications

If you’re looking to start medical school in the Fall of 2026, now is the time to get started with the application process! Throughout this week, we’ll post blogs that focus on each component of the application and provide suggested timing and resources.

Secondary Applications:

Submit within two weeks of receipt. 

Secondary applications are typically sent between June and August, although they can come later depending upon the timing of your AMCAS submission. Many schools will not review your application file until you have submitted your secondary application. And, because most schools review applications on a rolling basis, and invite applicants to interview accordingly, it is important to send in your secondary application materials promptly, which we define as within two weeks of receipt. 

Additionally, because many of the schools will use at least some of the same prompts, you can start preparing responses to the most commonly asked questions as soon as you’ve submitted your AMCAS application. 

Review our blog post on common secondary application questions.