Tell me about yourself.

Where answers to this question lose points

Our scorer marks every answer on three parts. For each of the 404 applicants who finished this question on Confetto, we took their first scored answer and counted the part that scored lowest.

• Structure: a clear order and a clear point253 of 404
• Content: covering what the question needs83 of 404
• Communication: tone, clarity and professionalism28 of 404

Confetto data as of November 8, 2026. A part is shown only when 20 or more applicants share it. Answers where two parts tied are not counted toward either. We never show anyone's answers or details.

What this question tests

• Communication
• Personal growth

How to structure your answer

1. Present (15 seconds). The answer opens with the applicant’s current role as a clinical research assistant at a large academic hospital, processing samples for a diabetes study. It introduces both scientific work and participant contact, establishing the connection that organizes the rest of the answer.
2. Past (40 seconds). The answer connects careful sample handling, helping a participant who arrived late after taking two buses, and changing reminder calls through one thread: understanding what research requires of participants. These moments show growth from technical accuracy toward greater attention to people’s circumstances.
3. One detail from outside medicine (15 seconds). Learning to bake bread gives the interviewer a glimpse of the applicant’s life beyond the lab. The failed first loaf and roommate-approved rosemary focaccia add humor and specific, memorable details without trying to turn the hobby into another qualification for medicine.
4. Future (15 seconds). The closing sentence identifies the kind of physician the applicant hopes to become, someone attentive to scientific details and the person seeking help. It ties that direction directly to the lab experience, explaining the purpose of medical training without becoming a full why-medicine answer.
5. Common pitfalls. Starting with high school and reciting positions chronologically would replace this answer’s clear thread with a CV summary. Expanding the ending into a full why-medicine explanation or omitting the bread-baking detail would weaken its balance of professional direction and personal warmth.

Example answer from Confetto

Example answer from Confetto. Not a real applicant's answer.

Today, I’m a research assistant in a clinical lab at a large academic hospital, where I process blood samples for a diabetes study and meet the people behind the specimen labels.

When I started, I focused on getting the technical details right, from checking collection times to keeping our sample logs accurate. Meeting participants gave that work another dimension. One man arrived late after taking two buses and immediately apologized because he thought he had ruined the visit. I checked with our coordinator, confirmed we could still see him, and walked him through what remained. As we talked, I realized that a routine research appointment could take up most of someone’s morning.

That experience changed how I approached reminder calls. I began asking whether participants had questions about the visit instructions rather than simply confirming the time. I liked the careful bench work, but I also found myself looking forward to those conversations. They made me more attentive to what our procedures actually asked of people.

Outside the lab, I’m learning to bake bread. My first loaf was practically a doorstop, but I now make a decent rosemary focaccia that my roommates reliably finish.

I’m here because I want to train as a physician who brings that same care to both the scientific details and the person making room in their life to seek help.

Use it for its structure. Interviewers can tell a memorized script, so tell your own story.

Keep going

• What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
• Describe a time when you received feedback that was difficult to hear. How did you process it, and what changes did you make as a result?
• Is there something about you that would make it difficult to get along with you?
• Medical school interview questions by type
• Weak, okay and strong sample answers to this question
• The full interview question bank