How to answer “Why should we accept you?” in a medical school interview

Answer "why should we accept you" with a short case built on evidence. Name two or three qualities you bring, back each with an example, and say what they'll mean for your class and your future patients.

What the interviewer is assessing

• Self-reflection and growth
• Communication

This question asks you to advocate for yourself, which many applicants find uncomfortable. The interviewer is checking whether you can do it with self-awareness and without arrogance. They also want to see whether you understand what makes a good medical student beyond grades and test scores. Every applicant in the room is qualified, so the panel is listening for what is distinctive about you and whether you can say it clearly. In a medical school interview, "why should we accept you" rewards specifics over comparisons with other applicants.

How to structure your answer

1. Open with a sentence that names what you bring, so the interviewer hears your argument first.
2. Give your first quality or experience with a specific example.
3. Add a second, and a third only if time allows.
4. Explain how these would help you contribute to the class, the school's community or the care of patients.
5. Close with one sentence on why you're ready now.

Think about what your classmates would gain from you as well as what you'd gain from the school. Medical students learn a great deal from each other. A perspective from an unusual job, a different field of study or a particular community can be a real contribution.

Common mistakes

• Saying you're better than other applicants is impossible to support and sounds arrogant.
• Being so modest that you say every applicant deserves a place avoids the question.
• Relying on grades and test scores repeats what the panel already knows.
• Listing many qualities without examples sounds like a cover letter.
• Telling the panel you want this more than anyone can't be proven and rarely persuades.

Follow-up questions to prepare for

• What is the weakest part of your application, and why shouldn't it count against you?
• If you sat on this admissions committee, what would make you hesitate about your file?
• What does a good medical student do that a good undergraduate doesn't?
• Which of the qualities you named took you the longest to build?
• What have you done that you think none of the other applicants interviewing today have done?