Updated · 6 min read
Preparing for the University of Maryland School of Medicine interview
Key facts (2026-27)
UMSOM keeps remote interviews for the 2027 cycle: two 45-minute one-on-one interviews, and you should be ready to discuss any part of your application.
- Format
- Two one-on-one interviews: faculty and student
- Where
- Virtual
- Stations
- 2 one-on-one interviews with trained faculty and student interviewers
- Length
- About 45 minutes each
- Also required
- Secondary application (due December 1)
Dates for 2026-27
Initial interview offers in early August
Interview invitations
Mondays and Wednesdays, early September to early February
Interviews
First decisions October 15, then rolling
Offers and decisions
Checked October 2026 against UMSOM: Your path to medical school and AAMC MSAR 2027 interview report. Confirm details in your invitation.
The University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) gives each invited applicant two one-on-one interviews with trained faculty and student interviewers, usually about 45 minutes each. It is not an MMI, and UMSOM plans to keep interviews remote for the 2026-27 (2027 entry) cycle.
Initial interview offers go out in early August, and interviews run on Mondays and Wednesdays from September to early February. First Committee decisions come out October 15, then admission is rolling.
Be ready to discuss any part of your application.
The UMSOM interview: format and experience
Two one-on-one interviews
The AAMC's MSAR (2027 edition) describes two interviews, conducted one-on-one by trained faculty and student interviewers, usually lasting about 45 minutes.
UMSOM's Your Path to Medical School page says the Office of Admissions hosts virtual interview days on Mondays and Wednesdays from September through February, and the MSAR entry says UMSOM plans to continue remote interviews for the 2027 cycle. It is not an MMI.
The interview day
UMSOM publishes a sample schedule for the interview day: a 10:00 a.m. ET welcome and Q&A, a possible 45-minute interview at 11:00 a.m., lunch with medical students, a campus tour with senior students, and possible 45-minute interviews in the afternoon. The MSAR entry adds a financial aid presentation and an information session led by an admissions dean.
Details for your own day appear on the application portal after you receive an invitation to interview.
What the interview covers
On the interview itself, UMSOM says the interview gives you an opportunity to discuss your personal history and motivation for a medical career and any aspect of your application that merits special attention or explanation. It tells applicants to be prepared to discuss any and all aspects of the application, so treat it as open-file.
UMSOM does not publish who your two interviewers will be beyond "trained faculty and student interviewers," so do not assume which of them will be a physician or a student.
UMSOM's interview tips are short: be yourself, present yourself professionally, know the contents of your application, have prepared questions, and participate fully in all activities.
Mission and culture fit
The mission of UMSOM's MD program, as stated on its admissions page, is to provide an inclusive learning environment that develops lifelong learners who are clinically excellent and possess humanism, professionalism, scholarship, leadership, critical thinking and attention to social justice and diversity.
What the committee looks for
The Committee on Admissions says it looks for evidence of these qualities in your personal statement, activities and letters: psychological maturity, character and integrity, self discipline, adaptability and flexibility, good judgment, excellent communication skills, empathy and concern for helping others, intellectual curiosity, appropriate motivation for a career in medicine, leadership skills and commitment to excellence.
UMSOM also says that research experience and community service are highly valued, and that clinical exposure and knowledge of the advantages and disadvantages of medicine as a career are expected.
Use that list as your story inventory: have at least one concrete example for most of those qualities. Show fit by being specific about what you did and what you learned, rather than by repeating the mission statement back.
Maryland health context
UMSOM does not publish a list of Maryland policy topics for the interview. One piece of context is documented by CMS and its evaluators: Maryland operates under a unique federal arrangement in which hospital rates are set by the state.
- Earlier models. The Maryland All-Payer Model ran from 2014 to 2018, and the Total Cost of Care Model, signed in 2018, ran from 2019 through December 2025.
- AHEAD Model. According to CMS, Maryland moved to the AHEAD Model on January 1, 2026 (for the earlier model, see the Mathematica implementation report for the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission).
If you discuss this in an interview, keep it to what you understand: hospitals paid under global budgets have an incentive to manage total cost and keep patients healthy. Do not quote savings or utilization figures unless you have read the source and know what they measure.
Current issues
UMSOM does not publish which current issues come up in interviews. Prepare the usual categories: a health care issue you have seen firsthand, an ethical dilemma, and a question about how you work with people whose backgrounds differ from yours.
For each, have a clear position, one piece of evidence and one limit on your view. If you are drawn to Baltimore or Maryland, say what you have actually seen there.
If a number comes up, take it from a primary source such as the Maryland Department of Health, the CDC or KFF.
UMSOM practice questions (written by us)
UMSOM does not publish its interview questions. These were written by us, not by UMSOM.
- Why the University of Maryland School of Medicine?Practice this question now
- Tell me about yourself and how you came to medicine.Practice this question now
- Walk me through one experience in your application that shaped how you think about patients.Practice this question now
- UMSOM looks for psychological maturity. When did you have to take on more responsibility than you expected, and what changed in you?Practice this question now
- Describe a time you worked with a community whose background was different from your own.Practice this question now
- How would you handle a patient who distrusts the health care system or a treatment you recommend?Practice this question now
- UMSOM's mission names social justice. Where have you seen a health problem in a city like Baltimore that was really an access problem?Practice this question now
- Tell me about your research or community service. What did you learn that you did not expect?Practice this question now
- Maryland hospitals are paid under global budgets set by the state. How might that change the way a hospital cares for a patient who keeps returning to the emergency department?Practice this question now
- Describe a time you showed good judgment under pressure.Practice this question now
- What is a health care problem you have seen firsthand, and what would you try first to address it?Practice this question now
- Tell me about feedback that was hard to hear. What did you change?Practice this question now
Preparation checklist
- Run mock interviews that mirror UMSOM's open-file, one-on-one style, practicing detailed answers about any activity in your application.
- Drill scenarios on patient distrust, working across differences and ethical reasoning to refine your structure, empathy and reasoning under time pressure.
- Review recordings for filler words and weak evidence, and rework each answer until it ties a personal experience to a quality UMSOM lists.
- Build a one-page story inventory matching an example to each quality the Committee on Admissions says it looks for.
- Record and review yourself on video: because the interview day is virtual, check your camera framing, eye contact and tone for the lunch and Q&A sessions as well as the interviews.
FAQ
Is the University of Maryland School of Medicine interview an MMI?
No. The AAMC's MSAR lists two one-on-one interviews with trained faculty and student interviewers, usually about 45 minutes each.
Is the interview open-file?
UMSOM does not use the term, but it tells applicants to be prepared to discuss any and all aspects of their application and to know its contents. Prepare as if interviewers know your file.
Are interviews in person or virtual?
Virtual. UMSOM's admissions page says it hosts virtual interview days, and the MSAR entry says remote interviews will continue for the 2027 cycle.
How many interviews are there, and how long are they?
Two, usually about 45 minutes each, per the MSAR entry.
When are invitations and decisions?
UMSOM's timeline lists initial interview offers in early August, interviews beginning in early September, a November 1 AMCAS deadline and a December 1 secondary deadline (the secondary fee is $80), first Committee decisions released October 15, and the interview season ending in early February. Admission is rolling, and decisions are one of accept, waitlist or reject.
Confetto isn't affiliated with the University of Maryland School of Medicine. School details here come from UMSOM's public admissions page and the AAMC MSAR, checked in October 2026.
Formats can change between cycles, so go by your interview invitation.
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