The CCOM interview format

Midwestern University's Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine (CCOM) in Downers Grove, Illinois, uses a group panel interview. The school's catalog describes it this way: "applicants join several other interviewees to meet with members of an interview panel." The panel is drawn from a volunteer group of basic scientists, current students, administrators and clinicians.

That group setting is the thing to prepare for. You won't be the only applicant in the room, which changes how you answer, how long you talk, and how you treat the people next to you.

Item	What the school says
Format	Group panel interview. You and several other applicants meet with members of an interview panel. AACOM lists the format as "Traditional."
Who's on the panel	Volunteers drawn from basic scientists, current students, administrators and clinicians.
How you're scored	Panel members assess your "academic and personal preparedness for medical school" and rate you on a standardized evaluation form.
Number of panelists, length, day agenda	Not published.
Virtual or in person	AACOM says applicants can interview virtually or in person.
Interview season	Typically September through April.
Decision	The Admissions Committee recommends accept, deny, hold or alternate, and the Dean gives final approval. You hear within four weeks of your interview.
Situational judgment test	None mentioned. We found no Casper, PREview or other SJT requirement on CCOM's pages or its AACOM profile.

Sources: the Midwestern University catalog, CCOM admissions section, the CCOM program page, and CCOM's AACOM Choose DO Explorer profile, checked October 2026.

How a group panel is different

Most interview advice assumes it's just you and the interviewer. In a group panel, the other applicants hear your answers and you hear theirs. Midwestern doesn't publish how questions are distributed, whether everyone answers the same question or each applicant gets their own, so prepare for both.

Here's what we'd keep in mind, as our suggestions rather than the school's rules:

Keep answers tight. Panel time is shared. Aim for 60 to 90 seconds unless someone asks you to go deeper.
Don't copy, and don't compete. If someone before you gives a strong answer, don't repeat it with small changes. Give your own. And don't try to top them. Panelists notice applicants who talk over or dismiss others.
Listen like it counts. Nod, look at whoever's speaking, and if it's natural, build on someone else's point ("I agree with what she said about trust, and I saw a different side of it when..."). Teamwork is part of the school's stated vision, and the panel can see how you act around peers.
Know which panelist you're talking to. A basic scientist, a student and a clinician may hear the same answer differently. Answer the person who asked, in terms that make sense to them.

What CCOM is looking for

CCOM's mission: it "educates osteopathic physicians to provide compassionate, quality care, promote the practice of osteopathic medicine and lifelong learning, research and service." Its vision names six qualities: leadership, teamwork, commitment, integrity, professionalism and osteopathic philosophy.

The college was established in 1900, and its program page stresses the osteopathic approach of treating the body as an integrated whole. From the school's admissions materials, the qualities it weighs include your understanding of osteopathic medicine, a service orientation, commitment to health care, and communication skills.

Vision quality	Have ready (our suggestion)
Leadership	A time you got people moving toward a goal, and what you'd do differently
Teamwork	A team that struggled and your part in fixing it, plus how you act in the group interview itself
Commitment	Something clinical or service-related you stuck with for a long time
Integrity	A time you told the truth when it cost you
Professionalism	How you handled a patient, customer or colleague who was rude or upset
Osteopathic philosophy	A concrete example of treating the whole person, ideally something you saw while shadowing a DO

Programs and setting worth knowing

CCOM shares the Downers Grove campus with Midwestern's other health professions colleges, including pharmacy, dental medicine and optometry. If you've worked alongside other health professionals, that's a good thread for "Why CCOM?"

CCOM highlights its Simulation Center and research training opportunities as what sets it apart, and students can add a Master of Public Health through Midwestern's dual degree option, with most MPH coursework taken in summer quarters. Mention one of these only if it ties to something real in your background. Midwestern's Arizona campus has a separate osteopathic college (AZCOM) with its own process, so make sure you're talking about the Illinois program.

Timeline for the current cycle

AACOMAS opened May 4, 2026. CCOM's official AACOMAS deadline is April 1.
Admissions is rolling. The catalog says that "typically, 50% of all admissions offers are made by the end of December," and that applications are considered first-come, first-served until seats fill. Apply early.
For a recent cycle, the catalog notes that CCOM received nearly 7,000 applications for its 200 seats.
Interviews typically run September to April. You'll hear your status within four weeks after your interview.
Letters: two. One from a premedical committee, prehealth advisor, or a basic science professor who taught you. Letters from osteopathic physicians are strongly recommended.

How to prepare

Write your "why" answers. Why medicine, why osteopathic medicine, why CCOM. Keep each to about 60 to 90 seconds so you can deliver it in a group setting.
Build six stories, one per vision quality. Use the table above. Each story should be specific enough that a panelist could repeat it to the committee.
Practice in a group. This is the part most applicants skip. Get two or three friends and rotate who answers first. Being first and being last both feel different.
Prepare for mixed panelists. Have one answer that would satisfy a scientist (what you did in research, and why it mattered) and one that would satisfy a student (what you'd add to the class).
If you're interviewing virtually, practice that too. Group calls make interruptions and lag worse. Wait a beat before you start talking, and follow whatever mute rules the panel sets at the start.

Practice questions (written by us, not Midwestern)

CCOM doesn't publish its interview questions. We wrote these to fit the college's mission, vision and setting. They're for practice and don't predict what you'll be asked.

Tell us briefly about yourself and why you chose osteopathic medicine.
What does "treating the whole person" mean to you? Give an example you saw yourself.
Why CCOM, and why the Chicago area?
Tell us about a time you were part of a team that wasn't working. What did you do about it?
You and the applicant next to you both have to decide how to split a scarce resource between two clinics. Talk it through together.
Our vision lists integrity. Tell us about a time it was tested.
A patient asks you to explain a test result in plain language. Explain something technical you know well to us as if we were that patient.
Describe a time you received criticism you thought was unfair. How did you respond?
What's one thing a pharmacist, dentist or optometrist could teach a future physician?
Tell us about a long-term service commitment and why you kept going.
Where do you see yourself practicing, and who do you want to serve?

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

A group panel drill

Recruit at least two other people to play fellow applicants and one to play the panel. Better yet, find friends applying this cycle and practice together.
The panelist picks six questions from the list above, including question 5 (the shared-resource one). For each, rotate who answers first.
Hold every answer to 90 seconds. The panelist cuts you off at 90.
On question 5, have two applicants answer together. Watch whether each person makes room for the other.
Afterward, the panelist says one thing each applicant did well and one thing that made them less memorable. Repeating someone else's point is the most common one.

For solo practice between group sessions, Confetto's AI mock interviews run panel and traditional interviews as well as MMIs, ask follow-ups based on what you actually said, and give rubric-based feedback afterward. You can start with a 7-day free trial.

CCOM interview FAQ

Is the CCOM interview an MMI?
No. It's a group panel interview, and AACOM lists the format as traditional.

Will other applicants be in my interview?
Yes. The catalog says applicants "join several other interviewees" to meet with the panel.

Who interviews me?
Panel members come from a volunteer group of basic scientists, current students, administrators and clinicians.

How long is it?
Midwestern doesn't publish the length or the number of panelists.

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

When will I hear back?
Within four weeks of your interview, according to the catalog.

Applying to other osteopathic or Chicago-area schools? See our guides to Midwestern's Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine and Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin, or our medical school interview prep page.

Confetto isn't affiliated with Midwestern University. Details about CCOM come from the Midwestern University catalog, the CCOM program page, and its AACOM Choose DO Explorer profile as of October 2026. Formats can change between cycles, so go by what your invitation says.