Updated · 7 min read
Preparing for the University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine interview
Key facts (2026-27)
Virtual slots are limited, and applicants living within 5 hours of UIWSOM are asked to interview in person in San Antonio.
- Format
- One-on-one interviews with faculty and senior staff
- Where
- In person or virtual (virtual slots limited)
Dates for 2026-27
Rolling, after your supplemental application is received
Interview invitations
From August until the cycle closes March 15, 2027
Interviews
Rolling, by email after your interview
Offers and decisions
Checked October 2026 against UIWSOM: DO admissions FAQ, UIWSOM: Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine admissions and AACOM Choose DO: UIWSOM. Confirm details in your invitation.
The UIWSOM interview format
The University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine (UIWSOM) interview is a traditional faculty interview, not a group exercise. UIWSOM's AACOM listing describes it as "one-on-one traditional interviews with faculty and senior staff members," and the school's DO admissions FAQ says competitive applicants are invited to "a faculty interview, either in-person or virtually."
Virtual is the exception. The FAQ says virtual slots are "quite limited" and asks anyone living within 5 hours of the school to interview in person.
In-person means a trip to UIWSOM's campus, the UIW Medical Campus at Brooks in San Antonio, which was formerly the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine.
UIWSOM doesn't publish how long each interview lasts, how many interviewers you'll see, or an interview day schedule. We couldn't find those details on any official page, so we're not going to guess.
Your invitation will tell you.
Older MMI descriptions
One thing to know about older information: UIWSOM's Student Admissions Policy, last updated in March 2024, says applicants are invited "to participate in multiple mini-interviews." The school's current FAQ and AACOM listing both describe a traditional faculty interview.
If you see MMI advice for UIWSOM online, it may come from that older description. Go by what your invitation says, and if it's unclear, ask the admissions office.
Who interviews you
The same policy lists who can sit across from you: UIWSOM faculty and administrators, UIW main campus staff, local physicians, alumni, and community members with a stake in the school. So your interviewer may not be a scientist.
Answers that make sense to a San Antonio family doctor or a UIW administrator will land better than jargon.
When interviews happen and what comes before them
UIWSOM uses AACOMAS and rolling admissions. Per the school's DO admission page, the 2026-27 cycle is open and closes Monday, March 15, 2027.
The steps run in this order:
- You submit AACOMAS with MCAT scores and three letters: one from a physician (preferably a DO), one from a pre-med advisor or health professions committee, and one from a science faculty member.
- Once you're verified and your MCAT is in, qualified applicants get the UIWSOM supplemental application, which includes essay questions specific to UIWSOM. The school says the invite can take up to four weeks.
- Interview invitations go out after your completed supplemental is received. Qualified candidates are invited to interview throughout the application cycle.
- Decisions go to interviewed candidates by email.
Because it's rolling, earlier is better. Your supplemental essays are also what your interviewer is most likely to have read, so reread them the night before.
No official UIWSOM page we checked requires Casper, PREview or any other situational judgment test. The FAQ asks that you be "well-groomed and dressed professionally."
How competitive the interview stage is
The FAQ's profile of the incoming class of 2025:
| Measure | Class of 2025 (incoming) |
|---|---|
| Applications | 3,595 |
| Interviewed | 883 |
| Matriculated | 159 |
| Average cumulative GPA | 3.6 |
| Average science GPA | 3.55 |
| Average MCAT | 505 |
| Texas residents | 78% |
Our arithmetic from those numbers: about 25% of applicants were interviewed (883 of 3,595), and matriculants equaled about 18% of interviewees (159 of 883). That second figure is not an acceptance rate.
UIWSOM doesn't publish how many offers it made, and some admitted applicants go elsewhere, so the share of interviewees who got an offer is higher than 18%. Still, most people who interview don't end up in the class, which is why the interview matters.
The UIWSOM mission, word for word
If you searched "UIWSOM mission," you'll find two versions, and it helps to know both.
The school's Mission, Vision and Strategic Plan page currently reads: "The University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine's mission is to prepare medical students for successful careers as patient-centric physicians, committed to serving the communities of San Antonio and South Texas."
The version on UIWSOM's AACOM listing opens: "The mission of the University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine (UIWSOM) flows from the mission of the university and the founding call of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word to extend the healing ministry of Jesus Christ."
The same page lists six values: Integrity, Stewardship, Respect, Social Accountability, Compassion and Transformation. Its vision is "to transform learning communities with the ability to impact civic engagement, education, health and health care in the global community."
What mission fit means at UIWSOM
UIWSOM puts mission fit in writing. Its admissions policy names four criteria, and one of them is "commitment to social accountability and alignment with the UIW mission."
It says admissions criteria were built to find applicants who will thrive in a school "focused on the health care disparities of the surrounding community." The policy also asks bilingual applicants to identify themselves on AACOMAS.
The Catholic identity
The Catholic identity is real, and UIW describes it plainly. The university's mission statement calls UIW "a Catholic institution that welcomes to its community persons of diverse backgrounds."
It traces the school to three young French women, the first Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, who came to San Antonio in 1869 "to minister to the sick and the poor." UIW's About Our Mission page says they came during a cholera epidemic and established the city's first hospital, the Santa Rosa Infirmary, which cared mostly for the poor.
Showing mission fit
You don't need to be Catholic, and you shouldn't pretend to a faith you don't hold. What the mission asks of you is concrete: care for people who get less of it, in San Antonio and South Texas.
Show that with specific things you've done. A good mission-fit answer names a place, a person (anonymized) and something you did, then connects it to where you want to practice.
A strong answer names a place, what you did there, and a school feature UIWSOM claims itself, such as the "weekly community engagement and early clinical experience" its Why Incarnate Word page describes. Practice this question in the app to see model answers.
UIWSOM interview practice questions (written by us, not UIWSOM)
UIWSOM doesn't publish its interview questions. We wrote these to fit a traditional faculty interview and the school's stated mission and values.
Why DO, why UIWSOM
- Why osteopathic medicine rather than an MD program?Practice this question now
- Why UIWSOM, and what do you know about San Antonio and South Texas as places to practice?Practice this question now
- Tell us about the DO or other physician you shadowed. What did you see them do that you want to do?Practice this question now
Mission fit
- Our mission talks about serving the communities of San Antonio and South Texas. Where do you see yourself practicing in ten years, and why?Practice this question now
- UIW is a Catholic university founded by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. How do you feel about training in a faith-based school?Practice this question now
- Tell us about a time you served people whose background was very different from yours. What did you get wrong at first?Practice this question now
Values and judgment
- Describe a time you were responsible for resources that weren't yours. How did you handle them? (Stewardship)Practice this question now
- A classmate asks you to cover for them on a clinic shift they're skipping. What do you do? (Integrity)Practice this question now
- A patient keeps missing follow-up visits. What might be going on, and what would you try? (Social Accountability)Practice this question now
- Tell us about a setback that changed how you work. (Transformation)Practice this question now
- Tell us about a time you treated someone with respect when it was hard to do. What made it hard? (Respect)Practice this question now
- When have you shown compassion to someone who was difficult to help, and what did you learn? (Compassion)Practice this question now
On question 5, honesty beats performance. If you're not religious, say you respect the school's mission and explain the part of it you share, such as care for the poor.
If you are, talk about how your faith shows up in how you treat people, not in doctrine.
A 30-minute mission-fit drill
Do this a week or so before your interview, then once more the day before.
- Map your stories (10 minutes). Write UIWSOM's six values down the left side of a page. Next to each, write one experience from your application that shows it. You'll probably have gaps. Two or three strong stories that each cover a couple of values are enough.
- Answer out loud (10 minutes). Set a 2-minute timer and answer questions 2, 4 and 6 above, recording each. In a one-on-one interview, a 90-second to 2-minute answer leaves room for follow-ups.
- Check each recording (10 minutes). For every answer, ask: did I name a specific place or person? Did I say what I did, not just what I felt? Did I connect it to South Texas or to something UIWSOM actually offers? Rerecord any answer that misses two of those.
Then practice follow-ups, because that's where a traditional interview gets hard. Have a friend ask "why?" after every answer, twice.
If you don't have someone to do that, Confetto's AI mock interviews run traditional one-on-one formats, ask follow-up questions and give rubric-based feedback. You can start with a free trial.
Our medical school interview questions article has more on "why medicine" and ethics prompts.
Applying to other Texas DO schools? See our Sam Houston State College of Osteopathic Medicine interview guide.
Applying to other Texas DO schools? See our guide to the UNT Health Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine interview.
Confetto isn't affiliated with the University of the Incarnate Word. School details here come from UIWSOM's admissions pages, its student admissions policy, UIW's mission pages and UIWSOM's AACOM listing, checked in October 2026.
Formats can change between cycles, so go by your invitation.