Colorado School of Medicine Interview: Format, Questions

From Colorado's timeline page for the 2026-27 cycle:

• AMCAS. AMCAS deadline: October 15, 2026.
• Secondary. Secondary application deadline: November 30, 2026.
• Interviews. Interview season: September 2026 through March 2027.
• Offers. Offers of admission begin on a rolling basis on October 15.

Casper

Casper test dates and requirements vary by school. For the full 2026-27 list of MD and DO schools that use it, with last test dates and deadlines, see which medical schools require Casper.

For the format, scoring and practice scenarios, see our Casper test guide.

Colorado's requirements page says every applicant must complete Casper, the online situational judgment test, as part of the secondary application.

If you're interviewing, that part is done, but it tells you what the school wants to see: interpersonal skills and values, not just scores.

The numbers

The numbers explain why preparation matters. Colorado's FAQ says the school receives more than 10,000 applications, interviews about 700 applicants a year, and enrolls 184 students.

Roughly half of each class is Colorado residents and half is from out of state, with no quota.

The school's selection criteria page lists the personal attributes it considers:

• Leadership
• Communication skills
• Empathy and altruism
• Curiosity, creativity and innovation
• Resilience and work ethic

It adds that the school wants "future physicians who reflect our mission to serve and improve healthcare for Colorado communities and beyond." Those five attributes are the best guide to what a rubric-based interview will score, so build your stories around them.

Colorado's curriculum is called Trek, and its Plains pre-clerkship page describes it in detail:

• Three pillars. Medical Science, Clinical Science, and Health & Society are integrated throughout.
• A 52-week first year. The Plains year is organized around body systems, with each week built around a chief concern presentation so the science is framed in the patient's experience.
• Weekly self-assessment. Time is set aside at the end of each week to assess skills and set learning goals.
• Longitudinal integrated clerkships. After the Plains year, the Foothills phase uses longitudinally integrated clerkships.
• Shared values. The page names leadership, curiosity and commitment, and says the school aims to educate "physician leaders who are curious, life-long learners with a commitment to serve the profession, our patients, and society."

• Prepare examples for all five attributes. For each of leadership, communication, empathy and altruism, curiosity, and resilience, have one specific story with a situation, your action and what changed.
• Practice thinking out loud in a group. Since the day includes a group component, rehearse being a good collaborator: building on someone else's point, asking a question, and making room for a quieter voice. We can't tell you the task, so focus on behaviors that read well in any group exercise.
• Be ready to update the committee. Colorado doesn't accept application updates, and its FAQ says the interview day is the best time to share changes. Have two or three new developments ready in a sentence each.
• Link "Why Colorado?" to something specific. The Trek structure, the Colorado community focus or the Fort Collins, Colorado Springs and rural options mentioned in the secondary application can anchor an honest answer.
• Be consistent. If every interviewer scores against shared rubrics, your answers across components should tell one coherent story.

Build an evidence sheet for the individual interview

Choose a real experience involving a mistake or a change of mind. Write four short notes: the situation, your responsibility, the action you took and what happened afterward.

Put your own action in a separate sentence from what the team did.

1. Rehearse the account once without reading your notes.
2. Ask a partner to interrupt with: What part was actually your responsibility?
3. Answer: What would you do differently if the same problem happened again?
4. Check whether your reflection names a change in behavior, rather than merely a lesson such as learning to communicate.

Try an original group discussion exercise

This fictional exercise practices listening and updating a plan. It is not an actual Colorado interview question or an official assessment rubric.

A community center has two volunteers available on Saturday. The group must choose between opening a drop-in homework session and running a previously planned equipment-sorting session.

Families have asked for homework support, but the equipment is needed for an upcoming youth event. You don't yet know either task's staffing or safety requirements.

With two or three practice partners, agree on the questions you'd answer before choosing. A useful opening is: Before choosing, can we check whether two volunteers can safely run the homework session, and when the equipment must be ready?

This is an example written for practice, not a quote from a successful applicant.

Halfway through, tell the group that homework supervision requires three volunteers, while equipment sorting can be done by two, and that a third approved volunteer's availability hasn't been confirmed.

Revisit the options and name what would change your recommendation. Don't silently treat an unconfirmed volunteer as available.

Afterward, give each other evidence-based feedback: did you acknowledge a point someone else made, make an assumption sound like a fact, or revise your plan after hearing the new constraint? These are practice observations, not admissions scores.

If someone hasn't spoken, offer them an opening without demanding agreement: We haven't heard your view on the staffing question yet. Is there something we're missing?

Avoid appointing yourself the chair unless the exercise asks you to take that role.

Check your setup for a virtual conversation

Read your invitation for the platform, time zone and joining instructions.

Test your audio and camera in the setup you'll use, and keep the admissions contact details from the invitation handy in case you need to report a connection problem.

During a practice call, check whether you can hear quieter speakers and whether your microphone picks up typing or background noise.

Keep any real interview notes or assistance within the school's rules.

1. Write the five attributes on a page. Under each, write one story headline, not a script.
2. Pick any three and answer them out loud in about two minutes each, recording on the device you'll use on interview day.
3. Run a mock group discussion with two or three friends on a health policy question. Afterward, ask each person one thing you did that helped the group and one thing that didn't.
4. Watch the recording and mark filler words, long openings and any answer that never says what you learned.
5. Repeat two days later with different stories.

If you don't have practice partners, Confetto's AI mock interviews ask follow-up questions based on what you actually said and give rubric-based feedback afterward.

The question bank has over 500 questions, and you can start with a free trial.

Is the Colorado interview an MMI?

Not by that name. Colorado describes a mixed format with a group component and an individual interview, and the AAMC MSAR entry calls it structured interviews with group and individual interviews.

Is the Colorado interview virtual?

Yes. Colorado's interview page says all interviews will be conducted virtually.

How many people are interviewed each day?

Up to 30 applicants, according to Colorado's interview page.

When will I hear back after interviewing?

Colorado says to expect a decision within approximately 4 to 6 weeks of your interview day.

Can I send an update after I submit my application?

No. Colorado says application updates are not accepted and that the interview day is the best time to update the committee.

Applying to other Mountain West and Plains schools too? See our guides to the University of New Mexico, University of Oklahoma and University of Kansas interviews, or our medical school interview prep page.

Sources: Colorado MD interview process, Admissions timeline, Selection criteria, Admissions FAQ, Requirements, Trek Plains curriculum, AAMC MSAR interview procedures (2027).

Applying to other Colorado schools? See our guide to the University of Northern Colorado College of Osteopathic Medicine interview.

Confetto isn't affiliated with the University of Colorado.

Everything here about the school comes from its public admissions pages and the AAMC MSAR report, checked in October 2026. Formats can change between cycles, so go by your invitation email.