Updated · 5 min read
Preparing for the UdeM University of Montreal interview
Key facts (2026-27)
UdeM and Laval run a joint in-person MEM on April 17 and 18, 2027, entirely in French. Some applicant categories go to McGill or Sherbrooke instead.
- Format
- In-person MMI (MEM) in French, 7-minute stations
- Where
- In person
- Length
- 7 minutes per station, with a 2-minute pause between stations
Dates for 2026-27
Five waves from March 22 to April 12, 2027
Interview invitations
April 17 and 18, 2027 (joint with Université Laval)
Interviews
Checked October 2026 against UdeM medicine: MEM 2027 information (PDF), UdeM medicine: Entrevue de sélection and AAMC MSAR 2027 interview report. Confirm details in your invitation.
Université de Montréal's standard 2027 medicine MEM interviews are scheduled in person for April 17 and 18, jointly with Université Laval. The published information describes stations conducted entirely in French, lasting seven minutes with a two-minute pause between stations.
MEM means mini-entrevues multiples, the French term for multiple mini-interviews.
Prepare to communicate naturally in French and respond to the person in front of you. You don't need to turn each answer into a medical explanation.
Check the interview route for your category
The faculty's selection-interview page distinguishes the joint UdeM-Laval process from other categories.
- PNIQ applicants. It lists a McGill-run Zoom interview on April 23, 2027 for PNIQ applicants.
- Maritime and international. It directs the specified Maritime and international study-permit categories to Sherbrooke's virtual process.
Don't book travel from the standard dates alone if you're in a different category. Check the official category instructions and your invitation for the host, date and location.
What the current MEM information confirms
The official MEM 2027 information PDF describes interaction with assessors, actors or other candidates.
- Format. It specifies seven-minute stations, two-minute pauses, French throughout and no requirement for specific medical knowledge.
The 2027 candidate guide
It says the detailed 2027 candidate guide will be available in winter 2027. The 2026 candidate guide is offered as a reference meanwhile.
Its ten-station circuit is a 2026 detail; don't assume that count is confirmed for 2027 before the new guide appears.
Treat it as a conversation
Read the instructions as a conversation format. A seven-minute station doesn't mean you should deliver a seven-minute speech.
Leave room to hear the other person and respond to follow-up questions.
UdeM MEM practice questions (written by us, in English)
UdeM doesn't publish its MEM stations, and the real stations run only in French.
We wrote these in English so you can plan an answer, then say it aloud in French. Some stations involve an actor or another candidate, so a few are role plays.
- An actor plays your roommate, who is upset that you had friends over the night before their exam. Speak with them. What do you say first?Practice this question now
- You and another candidate must agree on how to split a small grant between a youth sports league and a seniors' meal program in Montréal. How do you decide together?Practice this question now
- A patient in a Montréal emergency room has waited 12 hours and starts shouting at the triage nurse. You are a volunteer nearby. What do you do?Practice this question now
- Québec now allows advance requests for medical aid in dying. A patient with early dementia wants to make one, but her son objects. How would you approach the conversation?Practice this question now
- A neighbor in Montréal has waited two years for a family doctor and is frustrated. What would you suggest?Practice this question now
- A recent immigrant misses clinic appointments because they can't read the French letters the clinic sends. How could the clinic help?Practice this question now
- A pharmacist in a small Québec town says she could renew more prescriptions to ease the doctor shortage. What are the benefits and risks?Practice this question now
- A classmate whose first language isn't French is being mocked in your study group. What do you do?Practice this question now
- A teammate on a group project stops answering messages two days before the deadline. How do you handle it?Practice this question now
- Describe a time you changed your mind after listening to someone. What made you change it?Practice this question now
Rehearse French interaction with an original scenario
The scenario
This fictional practice case isn't a UdeM question. You're volunteering at a workshop.
Your colleague Alex feels excluded because you and another volunteer decided how to split the tasks without asking them. Speak with Alex.
Ask a partner to play Alex. Give them these starting lines in French:
« Vous avez tout décidé sans moi. J'ai l'impression que mon avis ne compte pas. »
Open by understanding
Your first job is to understand the complaint. An opening you could rehearse is:
« Je comprends que tu te sois senti mis à l'écart. On aurait dû te consulter avant de répartir les tâches. Peux-tu me dire ce que tu aurais voulu proposer ? »
This acknowledges the stated problem and asks a question. It doesn't assume Alex wants a particular role.
Use your own words, then listen to the response.
Add a constraint
Have your partner add this new constraint:
« Je ne veux pas tout recommencer. Mais je veux qu'on m'écoute la prochaine fois. »
Now make a proportionate proposal:
« D'accord. Pour aujourd'hui, regardons si la répartition actuelle te convient ou s'il faut ajuster une tâche. Pour le prochain atelier, je propose qu'on en discute ensemble avant de décider. Est-ce que ça te conviendrait ? »
The proposal matches what Alex just said. It offers a check for today's work and a change for next time.
A long apology followed by a plan Alex didn't ask for would miss the conversation.
A seven-minute rehearsal you can use
Set a seven-minute timer for this exercise. The structure below is our practice method, not an official sequence within a station.
- Use the first minute to open the conversation and ask what happened.
- Over the next three minutes, respond to your partner's explanation. Ask them to introduce a complication halfway through.
- Use the next two minutes to discuss a feasible next step, checking whether it addresses their concern.
- Leave the last minute for a final question or an unresolved point. Don't restart your opening.
The total is seven minutes: 1 + 3 + 2 + 1. Afterward, take two minutes to write one observation.
This review is part of our drill; the official pause isn't a promise that you'll be allowed to take notes.
Review your French without scripting a speech
Fix the hardest sentence
Ask your partner to identify the sentence that was hardest to understand. Rewrite that sentence using familiar words, then try a different scenario.
Changing the scenario tests whether the improvement transfers beyond a memorized answer.
Ask for clarification
Practice asking for clarification: « Pouvez-vous reformuler la question, s'il vous plaît ? »
In an interaction, check your understanding with « Si je comprends bien, ce qui te préoccupe, c'est… » and let the other person correct you.
A guessed interpretation can send the rest of the answer in the wrong direction.
Separate facts from assumptions
When discussing a difficult decision, separate a fact from an assumption. Saying « Je ne sais pas encore si cette option est possible; je vérifierais avec la personne responsable » explains what you'd check.
It is more concrete than promising to solve a problem outside your role.
Choose practice that matches the task
A partner who can hold the whole conversation in French is useful for this drill. Ask them to challenge an unclear phrase and vary their response.
Use original everyday situations instead of recalled interview questions.
Confetto also offers spoken AI interview rehearsal. It provides practice questions and AI feedback, rather than the official MEM interface or rubric.
This guide doesn't establish that Confetto reproduces the French MEM process; the French partner exercise above can be done independently.
Before the interview period, return to the faculty page for the new candidate guide and your category's instructions. Your invitation controls the assigned session.
Rehearse one fresh conversation in French using the communication change you identified.