The Perelman interview format: two one-on-one interviews

The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania interviews MD applicants with two individual interviews, one with a faculty member and one with a medical student. That's how Penn describes its format in the AAMC's MSAR interview procedures report for the 2027 cycle, and Penn's own application procedure page says the same thing: one-on-one interviews with faculty and students, on select dates set by the Office of Admissions.

There's no MMI and no group interview. If you searched "Perelman interview," that's the main thing to know. You're preparing for two conversations.

Penn doesn't publish how long each interview lasts, whether either interviewer sees your full file, or what questions they ask. Some older prep guides state exact lengths and interviewer types (for example "a clinician and a researcher"). We couldn't confirm any of that on a current Penn or AAMC source, so we've left it out. Your invitation will have the real logistics.

Interview dates, the interview day and whether it's virtual

Here's what Penn and the MSAR report say for the 2026-27 cycle (students entering in fall 2027):

Interviews are by invitation only and run from September through January (application procedure). The 2026-27 timeline lists invitations going out over the same months.
Only interviewed applicants are considered for admission.
The MSAR entry says the interview day also includes an orientation, time meeting students, a financial aid discussion and "curriculum interaction."
Penn answers "Yes" in the MSAR column for video interviews and says regional interviews aren't available. Neither Penn's admissions pages nor the MSAR entry spells out whether every interview is virtual, so check your invitation before planning travel.
MD-PhD applicants have a separate schedule. Their interviews are arranged by graduate group alongside the medical school interviews, and the MSTP interview page says most MD-PhD applicants have 4 or 5 individual interviews over two days, which are expected to be virtual for 2026-27. That page covers MD-PhD only, so don't read it as the MD schedule.
Penn has a single admission date in March for both the MD and MD-PhD programs.

How to get into Perelman: deadlines and the numbers

For fall 2027 entry, the AMCAS deadline is October 15, 11:59 p.m. ET, and the complete application (supplemental application, letters and MCAT) is due November 15, 11:59 p.m. ET. Every verified applicant gets the supplemental application, which costs $100 unless you have an AMCAS fee waiver. For letters, you can send a committee or composite letter, or at least three faculty letters with one from a science faculty member you've taken courses with. Your MCAT has to be from between January 2023 and September 2026.

Penn also runs an Early Decision Program that it calls "extremely selective and very limited in scope." Applicants have to meet the previous entering class's average GPA and MCAT and contact the admissions office before June 1. EDP applications go to AMCAS by August 1 and must be complete by August 15. Our page on early decision medical schools explains how EDP works in general.

Penn's 2026-27 entering class profile lists 154 incoming students: 129 MD and 25 MD-PhD. The median MCAT was 522 and the median GPA was 3.98 (science GPA median also 3.98). Penn's page doesn't publish how many people applied or interviewed, so we can't give you a Perelman acceptance rate from its own data. For how acceptance rates are calculated across schools, see our medical school acceptance rate guide.

What Penn says it's looking for

Penn's committee uses a holistic review for both the interview decision and the final decision. Its stated criteria are "personal attributes, life experiences, overcoming obstacles and academic strength." That's a short list, and it's the best guide you have to what two interviewers are trying to learn in a conversation.

Academic strength is mostly settled by the time you're invited. The interviews are where the other three get tested. So prepare stories, not talking points. For each major item on your application, you should be able to say what you actually did, what got in your way and what you'd change.

It also helps to know the curriculum, since the interview day includes a curriculum session. Penn's MD curriculum is called IMPaCT, short for Integrating Medicine, Patient Care, Transitions. Its three core blocks combine basic science and clinical experience from day one, and Penn describes it as integrated, innovative and individualized. A good "why Penn" answer connects one specific part of that, or one of Penn's dual degree and concentration options, to something you've already done. Reputation alone isn't an answer.

Faculty interview vs student interview

Penn doesn't describe how the two interviews differ. In general, though, a faculty interviewer and a medical student interviewer are often listening for different things, so it's worth preparing for both angles.

	Faculty interview	Student interview
Likely focus	Depth on your research, clinical work and reasoning	Whether you'd be a good classmate and teammate
Questions to expect	"What was your role in this project?" "What would you do next?"	"How do you handle stress?" "What do you do outside medicine?"
Common mistake	Using jargon to sound impressive, then failing the follow-up	Treating it as casual and getting sloppy
What to have ready	Two experiences you can discuss for ten minutes each	One honest story about a setback and how you dealt with it

Treat both as real interviews. A friendly tone doesn't mean nobody is evaluating you.

Practice questions (written by us, not Penn)

Penn doesn't publish its interview questions. We wrote these around the criteria Penn lists. They're practice material, not reported Penn questions.

Walk me through the experience on your application that changed your thinking the most.
Tell me about an obstacle you had to get past to get here. What did it cost you?
Explain your research to me as if I weren't a scientist. What was your part, specifically?
Why Penn? Name something here you'd actually use.
Tell me about a time you disagreed with someone you worked with. How did it end?
What's something you're not good at yet?
A patient keeps missing appointments because of their work schedule. As a student on the team, what would you do?
What will you bring to your classmates that they won't get from anyone else?

For more standard one-on-one questions, see our medical school interview questions list.

A worked example: question 2

This is a fictional example to show the difference between a weak answer and a stronger one.

The weak version stays general: "I worked full time during college, which was really hard, but it taught me resilience and time management. I learned I can handle a lot." It's true, maybe, but the interviewer has nothing to ask about, and "resilience" is exactly what every other applicant claims.

A stronger version gives a detail and a cost: "I worked 25 hours a week as a pharmacy tech through college to help pay rent. In my second year, I failed my first organic chemistry exam because I'd taken extra shifts. I dropped to 18 hours, moved my shifts to weekends and retook the material with a study group. I got a B+ in the course. The cost was that I didn't do research until my senior year, which is why my research experience is shorter than most people's."

That answer speaks to two of Penn's listed criteria at once, life experience and overcoming obstacles, and it hands the interviewer a good follow-up. When they ask "what did the pharmacy job teach you about patients?", you'll have something specific to say.

A one-week prep plan

Day 1. Reread your AMCAS application and Penn supplemental. For each major activity, write one line on what went wrong and one on what you'd change.
Day 2. Read the IMPaCT page and the dual degree page. Pick one specific thing for your "why Penn" answer and write it in two sentences.
Day 3. Answer practice questions 1 to 4 aloud and record them. Mark every spot where you said something general that a follow-up would expose.
Day 4. Have a friend ask questions 5 to 8 and push back with "why?" at least twice per answer.
Day 5. Run two full mock interviews back to back, one in a faculty style and one in a student style, from the room and setup you'll use if your interview is on video.
Day 6. Prepare two or three questions for your interviewers that you couldn't answer from Penn's website.
Day 7. Rest. Check your camera, lighting and connection if you're interviewing virtually.

If you don't have a partner who'll push back, Confetto's AI mock interviews cover traditional, panel and MMI formats with follow-up questions and rubric-based feedback. You can start with a 7-day free trial.

Also interviewing in Pennsylvania? See our guides for Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Drexel and Geisinger Commonwealth.

Confetto isn't affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania or the Perelman School of Medicine. Details come from Penn's MD admissions pages and the AAMC MSAR interview procedures report for the 2027 cycle, checked October 1, 2026. Formats can change between cycles, so go by your interview invitation.