The Meritus MSOM interview format

Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine (MSOM) in Hagerstown, Maryland screens applicants and then invites those who pass to interview. Its How to Apply page says applicants "are screened for academic achievement, clinical involvement, interpersonal skills, leadership qualities, service, perseverance, maturity, motivation, and knowledge of the osteopathic profession. Applicants who pass this screening will be invited for an interview." MSOM's FAQ says selected applicants "will be invited for a virtual interview" and that decisions come "between 2-4 weeks after the interview," although another FAQ answer says students "will participate in a virtual and in-person interview." AACOM's Choose DO Explorer lists virtual interviews only and the format as traditional. MSOM does not publish the interview length, the number of interviewers or whether the file is open.

Item	What the school or AACOM says
Format	AACOM lists "Traditional." MSOM does not name a format.
In person or virtual	Virtual (AACOM and MSOM's admissions FAQ). One FAQ answer also mentions a "virtual and in-person" interview, so check your invitation.
Who is invited	Applicants who pass screening of the verified AACOMAS application and secondary application.
Secondary application	Two required short-answer questions and a short survey. Fee listed as $100 on the How to Apply page, $50 on the requirements page and $100 by AACOM, waived with an AACOMAS fee waiver.
Decision	2 to 4 weeks after the interview.
Length, interviewers, scoring	Not published.
Situational judgment test	None mentioned. We found no Casper or PREview requirement on MSOM's pages or its AACOM profile.

Sources: MSOM's How to Apply, Admissions Requirements, Admissions FAQ and Mission & Vision pages, and its AACOM Choose DO Explorer profile, checked October 2026.

What MSOM is looking for

The mission is "to prepare future generations of physicians who are professionally accomplished, socially responsible, and community-oriented," and the vision is "to be a leader in community-based medical education." The screening criteria above are the clearest list of what interviewers will care about: interpersonal skills, leadership, service, perseverance, maturity, motivation and knowledge of osteopathic medicine. MSOM's FAQ adds that the committee considers academic background, achievements, the personal statement, MCAT scores, letters, and health-related work, research and volunteer experience, and wants applicants who "are an asset to the profession of osteopathic medicine."

What the school names	How it might show up in your answers (our suggestion)
Community-oriented	Experience in a community, not just a clinic: what you saw and what changed
Socially responsible	A time you acted on a problem outside your own interests
Perseverance and maturity	A long effort with setbacks, and how you handled disappointment
Interpersonal skills	Listening first, then asking a good follow-up question
Knowledge of the osteopathic profession	What you have seen or read, in your own words

Timeline for the current cycle

MSOM's page lists April 30, 2027 as the primary deadline (verified by AACOMAS and received by MSOM) and May 7, 2027 as the secondary deadline, both at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. AACOM lists April 8, 2027 for both, so aim for well before either date. MSOM encourages submitting the secondary within two weeks of receiving it.
Competitive candidates have, per MSOM, at least a 3.5 overall and science GPA and an MCAT at or above the 50th percentile. MCAT scores from exams taken on or after January 1, 2023 are accepted.
Required: a bachelor's degree by the end of June 2027, a C or better in English, biology or zoology, general chemistry, physics and organic chemistry (all with labs, except English), and U.S. citizenship or permanent residency.
Letters: two. Preferably a DO or MD, and a premedical advisory committee member or a science faculty member with a terminal degree who knows your academic work.
AACOM says online coursework and labs are accepted, pass/fail grades are accepted, and no physician letter is required.
Orientation for the entering class is July 20, 2027 (AACOM).

A young school: what to know

MSOM's first class, the Class of 2029, enrolled in fall 2025. AACOM calls it the first new medical school in Maryland in over 100 years and lists 94 first-year matriculants, 25 of them in-state. MSOM holds COCA pre-accreditation status. The curriculum is described as a systems-based, one-pass curriculum with team-based learning, interactive lectures and virtual anatomy, with COMLEX preparation time built in and 20 clinical clerkships with an emphasis on underserved communities and team-based care. Students can add certificates such as Health Data Services and Health Equity and Quality Improvement. Clinical training includes the Meritus Health System and other clinical affiliates. If asked "why MSOM," connect your answer to its community-based mission or its Hagerstown setting, not only to being new.

How to prepare

Be ready to talk about what you have done. The screening criteria read like the topics of a traditional interview. Have a clear example for each: service, leadership, perseverance and clinical involvement.
Prepare an osteopathic answer. MSOM screens for knowledge of the profession. Describe what you know and how you learned it.
Know the community-based angle. Read the mission and vision and think about what community-based training means to you.
Test your video setup. A virtual interview is easy to lose to a bad connection or a distracting room.
Run three mock interviews. Use someone who asks follow-ups, and record at least one.

Practice questions (written by us, not MSOM)

MSOM does not publish its interview questions. We wrote these around its mission and screening criteria. They are for practice and do not predict what you will be asked.

Tell me why you want to be a physician, and why an osteopathic physician.
Why MSOM, and what does community-based medical education mean to you?
Describe a time you kept going on something for a long time after it got hard.
Tell me about a time you served a community you were not part of.
What does it mean to be socially responsible as a physician?
A patient in a small town has to take unpaid time off to reach appointments. What do you try?
Tell me about a leadership role and what you would do differently now.
How would you describe osteopathic medicine to someone who has never heard of it?
Describe a time you gave someone difficult feedback.
What did you learn from your clinical experience that surprised you?
Tell me about a mistake that taught you something.
What question were you hoping we would ask?

Our free question bank preview has more medical school interview questions, and the full bank has over 500.

A 30-minute practice run

Recruit one or two people to play interviewers. Ask them to read your application first.
Have them pick eight questions from the list above and ask a follow-up for each.
Run it on Zoom with your camera at eye level. Keep answers to about two minutes.
Record it. Watch two answers and check whether you gave a specific example and answered what was asked.
Ask what they would still want to know, and add that detail next time.

Practicing alone? Confetto's AI mock interviews run traditional and panel-style interviews as well as MMIs, ask follow-up questions based on what you said, and give rubric-based feedback afterward. You can start with a 7-day free trial.

Meritus MSOM interview FAQ

Is the MSOM interview an MMI?
AACOM lists the format as traditional. MSOM does not describe a station-based format.

Is it virtual or in person?
AACOM and MSOM's FAQ say virtual. One MSOM FAQ answer mentions both virtual and in-person, so go by your invitation.

How soon will I hear back?
MSOM says decisions come between 2 and 4 weeks after the interview.

What GPA and MCAT does MSOM want?
MSOM says the most competitive candidates have at least a 3.5 overall and science GPA and an MCAT at or above the 50th percentile.

Is there a secondary application?
Yes. It has two short-answer questions and a short survey, and the fee is waived with an AACOMAS fee waiver.

Do I need Casper or PREview?
Neither appears on MSOM's admissions pages or its AACOM profile.

Applying to other Mid-Atlantic DO schools? See our guides to the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine interviews, or our medical school interview prep page.

Confetto isn't affiliated with Meritus Health or the Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine. Details come from MSOM's public admissions pages and its AACOM Choose DO Explorer profile as of October 2026. Formats can change between cycles, so go by what your invitation says.