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How to Prepare for Residency Interviews: Formats, the Day and Six Steps
Residency interview prep for the 2027 Match: which specialties interview virtually, what a real interview day looks like at four programs, six steps to prepare and a countdown for each interview.
To prepare for a residency interview, find out whether it is virtual or in person, know your ERAS application cold, research each program, practice the common questions out loud and do two or three full mock interviews in the real format. Then plan the day and take notes right after for your rank list. Two weeks before your first interview is enough for most applicants.
Virtual or in person: your specialty's format
Each specialty's program directors publish a guide for the season. For 2026-27, 10 of the 23 guides we read call for virtual interviews. The format decides how you prepare.
Anesthesiology, Diagnostic radiology, Emergency medicine, Internal medicine, Neurology, OB/GYN, Ophthalmology, Pathology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry
Prepare your camera, light and connection. Internal medicine programs, among others, schedule them in Thalamus.
Family medicine, General surgery, Orthopedic surgery, Otolaryngology, PM&R
Check each invitation. Family medicine lets you choose, and general surgery, orthopedics, otolaryngology and PM&R leave it to each program.
Interventional radiology, Plastic surgery, Vascular surgery
Budget for travel and plan the day around the tour and the residents.
Dermatology, Neurological surgery, Radiation oncology, Thoracic surgery, Urology
The invitation tells you. Prepare for both.
From each specialty's 2026-27 program directors' guide, linked one by one in our residency interview season guide with each specialty's invite dates. A program's own invitation comes first.
What a residency interview day looks like
Most days have the same parts: a welcome and program overview, several short one-on-one interviews, time with residents, and often a conference or tour. Four programs' own schedules for this season show how much that varies. Tap one for the details.
University of Wisconsin, Anesthesiology: 5 interviews, 75 minutes in all
Format: Virtual, in Thalamus, November to January.
Who: 15 minutes each with the program director, an associate program director, a faculty member, a chief resident and a resident.
Each session holds four applicants and starts with an intro from the coordinator, then you rotate through the five interviews with short breaks. The whole session takes under two hours.
A residents' social hour and a meet and greet with the chair, both optional and on separate days. Four second-look days in Madison in January and February, which the program says give no advantage in ranking.
Boston Medical Center, Child neurology: 5 interviews, 95 minutes in all
Format: Virtual, on four Fridays from November 20 to December 18.
Who: 20 minutes each with about four faculty members, matched to your interests, then a 15-minute wrap-up with one faculty interviewer.
A program overview and meet and greet with residents, the faculty interviews with one-on-one resident time in between, lunch with residents, a live case at grand rounds, then the wrap-up. 9:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Eastern.
A virtual social with the residents closes the day.
Boston Medical Center Pediatric Neurology, interview information
UCLA, Internal medicine (categorical): 2 interviews
Format: Virtual, Mondays and Fridays, late October through December.
An introduction to the program, two interviews, the residents' noon conference and time with residents and program leadership. About 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Pacific.
No in-person second looks this season, a decision UCLA made with several peer programs to ease applicants' costs.
Johns Hopkins, General surgery: In person for categorical applicants
Format: In person for categorical applicants (December 4, 11 and 18), on Zoom for preliminary applicants (January 8 and 13).
The program posts its dates by track. The format depends on the track you applied to, so one hospital can run both.
A virtual meet and greet for the whole cycle was held in August, before applications.
Six steps to prepare
1. Know your application cold
Interviewers read your ERAS application, MSPE and personal statement, and most questions start from them. Reread all three and every experience you listed, above all the ones you marked as most meaningful.
For each experience, know what you did, what went wrong and what you would do differently. Anything you listed is fair game, including a research project from years ago.
If you signaled a program, expect to be asked why. Have one specific reason that isn't on its website's front page.
2. Research each program
Read the program's own site first: tracks, rotations and clinic sites, how call and night float work, conferences, and where graduates go. Then check its FREIDA listing (AMA) for size and basics, and Residency Explorer (AAMC) to compare your application with residents who matched there.
When the schedule names your interviewers, as UW Anesthesiology's guide does for its program director, associate program directors and chief residents, read a line about each one's work.
Write three reasons you want this program, each tied to something you did, and three questions you can't answer from the website.
3. Practice the questions out loud
A dozen questions come up at almost every program: tell me about yourself, why this specialty, why our program, a mistake, a conflict, a hard patient, your research, where you see yourself. Answer them out loud against a timer, 60 to 90 seconds for the opener and one to two minutes for a story.
Then practice the questions for your specialty. They are all in the residency interview questions guide, with the two-week practice plan.
4. Do two or three full mock interviews
Copy the real format: the same device and room, camera on, interviews as long as your programs' (15 minutes at UW Anesthesiology, 20 at Boston Medical Center), back to back the way the day runs.
Ask your school's advising office or a resident in your specialty for one, a classmate for another, or use an AI interviewer that asks follow-up questions. Record each one.
Afterward, check three things: answers that ran long, stories without a specific moment, and a why-this-specialty answer that could fit any specialty.
5. Plan the day and the social
Socials, dinners and resident hours are where you learn how residents really feel about the program. Go when you can, keep it professional, and have two questions for residents ready.
Programs often say these events are optional, and UW Anesthesiology says its second looks give no advantage in ranking. Treat them as research, not an audition.
6. Take notes and follow up the right way
Within an hour of each interview, write down what you liked, what worried you and the names of people you met. By February the programs blur together, and these notes become your rank list.
Follow each program's policy on thank-you notes. The NRMP's Match Codes of Conduct say programs may not ask how you will rank them, and you should not ask either.
The countdown for each interview
- When you book: Confirm the date and time zone in Thalamus or the program's email, save the program's interview guide or packet, and block the whole day plus the social.
- One week before: Research the program, write your three reasons and three questions, and do a full mock interview in the same format.
- Two days before: Virtual: test your setup in the program's test room or Thalamus Video, and give the program a backup phone number. In person: confirm travel and lay out your clothes.
- The night before: Go to the social if there is one, reread your application and your notes on the program, then stop practicing.
- The day: Log in or arrive early, keep your reasons and questions on one page, and take a minute between interviews to reset.
- Within an hour after: Write your notes for the rank list, then send a thank-you only if the program's policy invites one.
For a virtual interview, the setup checklist and Thalamus Video's test room are in the Thalamus section of our residency guide. Open with a strong tell me about yourself.
Sources: each specialty's 2026-27 program directors' guide (CMSS index) and society statement. The 2026-27 interview pages of University of Wisconsin anesthesiology, Boston Medical Center child neurology, UCLA internal medicine and Johns Hopkins general surgery. AMA FREIDA, AAMC Residency Explorer and the NRMP Match Codes of Conduct. All checked October 16, 2026. ERAS, NRMP and Thalamus are trademarks of their owners, and Confetto is not affiliated with them.
Frequently asked questions
How long should I prepare for a residency interview?
Two weeks of steady practice before your first interview is enough for most applicants, then an hour or two of program research and one mock interview before each new program. Start when your first invitation arrives, since invitations in many specialties go out in October.
Are residency interviews virtual this season?
Mostly. Internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN, emergency medicine, psychiatry, anesthesiology, neurology, pathology and ophthalmology guides call for virtual interviews this season. Plastic surgery, interventional radiology and vascular surgery prefer in person, and family medicine lets you choose. Check each invitation.
How long is a residency interview day?
Half a day to a full day. At the four programs on this page, a day held 2 to 5 interviews of 15 to 20 minutes each, plus an overview, time with residents and often a conference. A virtual day can be as short as a two-hour session.
What should I wear to a residency interview?
A suit, or a blazer with dress pants or a skirt, in a dark or neutral color, for virtual interviews too. On camera, solid colors read better than patterns. Our medical school attire guide covers each piece, and the same rules hold for residency. See what to wear, piece by piece.
Do pre-interview dinners and second looks count?
Programs usually call them optional, and some say outright that they don't affect ranking, as UW Anesthesiology does for its second looks. Residents may still share impressions, so be yourself and professional. Go to learn about the program, not to be scored.