How to answer “Why our school?” in a medical school interview

A good answer to the "why this medical school" interview question names two or three specific features of the program and explains how each one connects to your own experience and goals. Interviewers reward research and honest fit, and they notice flattery quickly.

What the interviewer is assessing

• Self-reflection and growth
• Critical thinking

Schools want students who will thrive in their particular setting and who chose them for real reasons. The interviewer is checking whether you understand the school's mission, the community it serves and how it teaches. They also want to know whether you'll be an engaged member of the class. Some schools focus strongly on rural communities, underserved populations, research or a particular teaching style, and they look for applicants whose experiences match. Interviewers can tell when an applicant has read only the homepage.

How to structure your answer

1. Before the interview, read the school's mission statement, curriculum overview and student organization pages, and note the features that genuinely appeal to you.
2. Pick two or three features and connect each one to a specific experience you've had.
3. Say what you would contribute, such as a skill, a perspective or a commitment to continue work you've started.
4. Keep it to about 90 seconds, and speak about the school with interest rather than flattery.

If you answered a version of this question in a written supplementary or secondary application, keep your interview answer consistent with what you wrote. The why this medical school interview question often comes back in a different form later in the conversation, so make sure your reasons are ones you can expand on.

Common mistakes

• Praising the school's ranking or reputation tells the interviewer what everybody already knows.
• Naming features without connecting them to your own experience makes the answer sound copied from the website.
• Saying the school is close to your family can be true, but it shouldn't be your main reason.
• Getting a fact about the program wrong suggests you didn't prepare, so check every detail you plan to mention.
• Giving the same answer at every school is easy to spot, because the features you name won't quite fit.

Follow-up questions to prepare for

• What do you know about the patients our teaching hospitals serve?
• Which other schools have you applied to, and what would make you choose us over them?
• Which of our student groups would you join in your first year?
• What about our curriculum concerns you?
• If you were accepted here and at a school closer to your family, how would you decide?