Preparing for the Creighton University School of Medicine interview

What Creighton's interviewers evaluate

The policy document spells out what interviewers focus on. Per the document, evaluators focus on:

• Motivation for a career in medicine
• Knowledge of medicine as a career
• Commitment to community service
• Personality characteristics
• Teamwork, leadership and communication skills
• Life experiences and extracurricular activities
• Academic background
• "Aspects of note gleaned from the recommendation letters"

Each interviewer completes an evaluation form for every applicant. Because interviews are open, assume your interviewer has read your secondary and letters, and expect questions that follow them.

Why service is the center of the Creighton interview

Creighton is a Jesuit university, and its admissions pages say so plainly. The FAQ says "of critical importance, we look for direct non-medical service to others, especially underserved populations, to ensure you fit the culture of a Jesuit institution." The policy document calls "a strong and consistent record of volunteer service to disadvantaged populations consistent with Creighton University's Jesuit mission" essential.

The FAQ describes the school's Ignatian values in three terms you can use as a vocabulary check:

• Cura personalis: care for the entire patient.
• Faith that does justice: solidarity with those most in need.
• Magis: "the more or the extra effort" that drives excellence in service of others, especially the most vulnerable.

Creighton's admissions pages don't say applicants must be Catholic or religious. The policy also says broad life experiences and talents that may improve patient care and health equity are valued. What you do need is real, sustained service that you can describe without exaggeration.

Creighton's timeline

From the application process page and the FAQ:

• AMCAS deadline: November 1. Transcripts to AMCAS: November 15.
• Secondary: invitations go out from mid-July to applicants with an MCAT of 500 or higher (Creighton doesn't pre-screen secondary invitations). The secondary and all credentials are due by January 15, and the school reviews applications on a rolling basis.
• Interviews: September through March. Offers to regular MD applicants begin October 15.
• Alternate pool applicants are reviewed after the April 30 deposit deadline, and the policy document says applicants on the alternate list are encouraged to send updates.

There's one application for two campuses, Omaha and Phoenix. On the secondary you indicate your campus preference, or either. We didn't find Casper or another situational judgment test on Creighton's MD pages.

How to prepare for Creighton

• Reread your secondary and letters. They're open to your interviewers. Be ready to talk about anything you wrote, in more depth.
• Build your service story honestly. Choose one or two sustained experiences with people who are underserved. Describe the work, what it cost you, and what you'd do differently.
• Be ready to explain your motivation and your knowledge of medicine. Both are named evaluation areas. Tie your motivation to specific clinical experiences, not a general desire to help.
• Use the student interview. A second- to fourth-year student is one of your two interviewers. Ask them real questions about the Omaha or Phoenix campus and early patient contact.
• Prepare for Friday. It includes Q&A with the Dean and students, so have two thoughtful questions ready that go beyond what's on the website.
• Watch the videos before your interview. Referring to something you learned in them signals you did the work.

Creighton practice questions (written by us, not Creighton)

Creighton doesn't publish its interview questions. These are ours, built from the evaluation areas and values above. Practice each aloud for about two minutes.

1. What first made you want to become a physician, and what has tested that decision since?
2. What do you think a physician's day actually looks like, based on what you've seen?
3. Tell me about your longest-running service commitment. What have you learned from the people you serve?
4. What does caring for the whole person mean to you, beyond treating a diagnosis?
5. Describe a time you put in extra effort for someone who could do nothing for you in return.
6. Tell me about a time you led a team and it didn't go well. What did you change?
7. One of your letters describes you as a very independent worker. What's the downside of that, and how do you work on it?
8. How do you respond when you disagree with someone you respect?
9. Why Creighton, and why Omaha or Phoenix?
10. What do you know about health inequity in the community near this school, and what would you do about it?

For a wider set, see our medical school interview questions guide.

A drill for two open-file interviews

1. Print your secondary and highlight every claim a stranger could ask about. Write one follow-up question for each.
2. Answer your top five follow-ups aloud, on camera, in about two minutes each.
3. Have a partner read your file and ask questions from it, including one uncomfortable one.
4. Rerun the service question with a different partner who's playing a current student. Notice what changes in your tone.
5. Run the drill again two days later with fresh follow-ups.

If you don't have a practice partner, 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 7-day free trial.

Creighton interview FAQ

Is the Creighton interview an MMI?

No. Creighton uses two 30-minute open interviews, one with a faculty, staff or alumni member and one with a medical student.

Is the Creighton interview virtual?

Yes. Creighton says all interviews will be conducted virtually, with in-person Admitted Student Days for admitted applicants.

What does "open" interview mean?

Interviewers can review your whole file beforehand: AMCAS, secondary, letters and more.

Do I need to be Catholic to interview at Creighton?

Creighton doesn't say so. It says it looks for sustained service to underserved people consistent with its Jesuit mission.

When do I find out?

Decisions are rolling. Offers to regular MD applicants begin October 15.

Applying to other Midwest schools too? See our guides to the Saint Louis University, University of Kansas and Iowa Carver interviews, or our medical school interview prep page.

Sources: Creighton admissions selection criteria and process policy, MD application process, MD FAQ, Admissions requirements, AAMC MSAR interview procedures (2027).

Confetto isn't affiliated with Creighton University. 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.