When I first began this journey, I did not have a coach, a mentor walking me through the medical school admissions process, or someone explaining what I should actually be looking for in a medical school.
I was learning as I went — very much through trial and error.
When I originally started this blog post, I had only written down five questions:
- What characteristics are commonly seen in students who attend and thrive at this medical school?
- What makes this medical school different from other institutions?
- How does the school support students’ mental health, and what resources are available?
- How does the school prepare students for the USMLE Step 1 examination?
- What support is available for students from low-income and underrepresented backgrounds?
And that was it.
The post sat unfinished.
Three years later, after gaining experience as a medical student and attending a different medical school, I returned to the topic with an entirely different perspective.
The original questions were still important, but now I understood something I could not have fully understood before: sometimes you do not know what questions to ask until you have lived through the experience.
I had now experienced different attendance policies, examination structures, academic resources, financial-aid systems, and school environments. I had a better understanding of the questions prospective students should ask — and, more importantly, why they should ask them.
That is what this post became.
This is not an exhaustive list of every question you should ask during a medical school interview. Use it as a starting point, continue doing your own research, and verify current policies directly with each institution.
Before You Ask Questions, Research the School — and Know Yourself
Maybe you have dreamed about attending a particular medical school your entire life. I did not have that experience.
I knew I wanted to become a doctor, and I believed medicine was the direction the Lord was leading me. My focus was simple: I need to get to medical school.
What I did not fully understand was that choosing a medical school also required me to understand what kind of student I was.
I had been in school for most of my life, so I assumed education was education. I thought the setup did not matter as long as I reached the goal.
I eventually learned that it does.
Attendance policies matter. Class schedules matter. Testing formats matter. Academic support matters. Financial aid matters. The learning environment matters.
My focus had been almost entirely on the destination — becoming a doctor — without considering all the variables that could affect me along the way.
Before choosing a school, consider how you learn, what kind of structure you need, what resources are important to you, and what type of environment helps you thrive.
The better you understand yourself, the better questions you can ask.
Questions I Would Ask a Medical School
1. What Is the Attendance Policy?
Ask whether lectures are mandatory and whether classes are fully in person, available live online, or recorded for later viewing.
The pandemic completely changed the way I learned.
Before 2020, I was the student who wanted to sit in class every day. I enjoyed being physically present, and going to class made me feel productive. After experiencing online learning, however, I realized that flexibility allowed me to manage my time differently.
By the time I attended my new medical school, I was no longer the same student I had been before the pandemic.
I had experienced a school with stricter attendance requirements and later attended a school where only specific activities were mandatory.
Neither structure is automatically right or wrong. The question is: which environment works best for you?
Medical school requires an enormous amount of independent learning. Understanding how much control you will have over your schedule can help you determine whether a school’s structure aligns with the way you study best.
2. Are Exams Professor-Written or NBME-Style?
Ask how the school assesses students during the preclinical curriculum.
Some schools use professor-written examinations. Others incorporate examinations developed by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME).
I have experienced different testing environments, and I would not tell anyone that one format automatically guarantees success on a future board examination. An exam can only assess what you have learned and how well you can apply it.
Still, understanding the testing format matters.
Ask what types of examinations are used, how frequently students are tested, how students are prepared for board-style questions, and what resources are available if a student struggles academically.
3. Is a Comprehensive Basic Science Examination Required Before Step 1?
If the school requires a comprehensive examination before allowing students to sit for Step 1, ask about it before you enroll.
You need to know:
- What examination is required?
- What score is required?
- How many attempts are permitted?
- What happens if a student does not achieve the required score?
- What academic support is provided?
- Are there additional requirements after passing before a student can take Step 1?
Do not wait until you are approaching the examination to learn the policy.
A requirement that seems far away during your admissions interview can become extremely important later in your medical education.
4. What Academic Support Is Actually Available?
“Academic support” can mean many different things, so ask for specifics.
Does the school provide academic advising, tutoring, learning specialists, faculty mentorship, board-preparation resources, remediation programs, or structured support for students experiencing academic difficulty?
Also ask what happens if you need additional academic support or time away from school.
You may never need every resource a school offers, but you should understand what support exists before you need it.
5. What Are the Policies Regarding Board-Exam Attempts and Academic Dismissal?
This may not be the most exciting question to ask when you are dreaming about your white coat, but policies matter.
Ask how many attempts students are permitted for required comprehensive examinations and licensing examinations under school policy. Ask what circumstances can lead to academic dismissal, whether there is an appeal process, and what happens if a student needs additional preparation time.
Do not assume you know the answer.
Read the student handbook and ask questions when policies are unclear.
6. What Is the Leave-of-Absence Policy?
Life can happen during medical school.
Ask how long a student may remain on an approved leave of absence, what documentation may be required, how returning from leave works, and whether taking leave affects academic standing, financial aid, or the maximum time allowed to complete the program.
You may enter medical school expecting a perfectly linear journey.
Not every journey is linear.
Understanding the policy does not mean you are planning for something to go wrong. It means you are making an informed decision.
7. How Does Financial Aid Work?
Please do not stop at, “Does the school offer financial aid?”
Ask deeper questions:
- Is the school eligible for U.S. federal student aid?
- Are students expected to use private loans?
- Are scholarships or grants available?
- How are scholarships awarded and renewed?
- What happens to financial aid if a student repeats a course or semester?
- How does a leave of absence affect financial aid?
- Are there periods in the curriculum when students may not receive normal disbursements?
- What expenses are students expected to cover beyond tuition?
Financial policies can significantly affect your medical education.
Understand how you are going to fund not only your first semester, but the journey as a whole.
8. Is the Curriculum Systems-Based or Course-Based?
Ask how the curriculum is organized.
Some programs teach subjects separately, while others integrate disciplines into organ-system blocks. Understanding the structure can help you determine whether the curriculum matches the way you process and connect information.
Choosing a school is not only about whether the school wants you.
You are also evaluating whether the school’s educational structure works for you.
9. Is the Curriculum Pass/Fail or Graded?
Ask how academic performance is reported and whether students are ranked.
A pass/fail curriculum and a traditionally graded curriculum can create different academic environments. Ask how the grading system affects class rank, honors, remediation, and the information eventually included in residency applications.
Do not simply ask, “Is it pass/fail?”
Ask what that actually means at that institution.
10. What Does a Typical Week Look Like?
Ask for a realistic picture of the schedule.
Are classes primarily in the morning or afternoon? How many hours per day are students typically scheduled? How much unscheduled time is available for independent study?
I learned firsthand that the time of day can affect how you function as a student. Moving from one schedule to another required me to adjust when I studied, rested, and processed information.
A sample schedule can sometimes tell you more than a general description of the curriculum.
11. What Research Opportunities Are Available?
If research matters to you, ask what opportunities actually exist for students.
Ask how students become involved, whether faculty members are actively conducting research, whether students can publish or present their work, and whether partnerships with other institutions exist.
The existence of an opportunity and your actual ability to access that opportunity are not always the same thing.
12. What Scholarships and Grants Are Available?
Ask whether the institution offers internal scholarships and whether students are eligible for outside funding.
This can be especially important for students considering international or Caribbean medical schools because some external scholarships may restrict eligibility based on where a student attends school.
Ask about eligibility requirements, deadlines, renewal criteria, and how competitive the funding is.
13. Are Dual-Degree Opportunities Available?
If you are interested in an MPH, MBA, MS, or another graduate degree, ask whether the medical school offers dual-degree programs or partnerships with other universities.
Also ask how completing another degree would affect your medical school timeline and tuition.
14. What Is Student Life Actually Like?
Medical school is demanding, but you are still a person.
Ask about student organizations, community service, leadership opportunities, wellness programming, professional organizations, and social activities.
The size and structure of an institution may affect what is available. A large university may provide a very different student-life experience from a smaller institution.
Consider what kind of environment you want outside the classroom, too.
15. How Does the School Create an Inclusive Learning Environment?
Diversity is important, but I would encourage you to ask beyond percentages and demographic statistics.
Ask how the school supports students from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Ask how the institution ensures that all students can participate fully in the learning environment and whether leadership opportunities are accessible across the student body.
My experiences in diverse environments taught me a great deal about cultures, perspectives, and health concerns I may not have otherwise considered. Those experiences can help prepare us to care for diverse patient populations.
At the same time, inclusion requires more than simply having people from different backgrounds in the same building. Students should be able to communicate, participate, and learn in the official language of instruction during required academic activities.
The goal is not to avoid difference. The goal is to understand whether the environment allows all students to learn and contribute.
Listen to the Answers — but Keep Doing Your Research
Even when you ask all the right questions, remember that an admissions interview is still part of the admissions process.
Schools want students to choose them, too.
A good answer during an interview does not mean you should stop researching. Read the student handbook. Review publicly available outcomes. Speak with current students and, when possible, recent graduates.
Ask the same question in different ways.
Policies on paper and the lived student experience may not always feel identical.
Schools are evaluating you, but you are also evaluating them.
Do Not Limit Yourself Too Early
You may have a dream school, but do not assume that one institution is the only place where your journey can happen.
Apply strategically and realistically. Research your options. Consider the financial, academic, geographic, and personal implications of each school.
An acceptance is an opportunity, but it is also a major decision.
The goal is not simply to get into a medical school. The goal is to choose, from the options available to you, an environment where you have the best opportunity to learn, develop, and ultimately become a physician.
No School Can Guarantee Your Journey
I also want to make something very clear: having the “right” curriculum, resources, schedule, or examination structure does not guarantee that everything will happen according to your preferred timeline.
It does not guarantee that you will pass every examination on the first attempt.
It does not guarantee that you will be at the top of your class.
It does not guarantee that your journey will look like someone else’s.
Medicine is a deeply personal journey. Every student enters with different strengths, weaknesses, resources, responsibilities, and areas in which they still need to grow.
Your journey may be longer than someone else’s. It may be shorter. It may include turns you never anticipated.
That is why we have to be careful about comparing timelines.
Do your part. Prepare. Ask questions. Research. Seek wise counsel.
And, for those who share my faith, pray.
Pray before the interview.
Pray about your preparation.
Pray about where you should attend.
Pray for discernment — not simply for the answer you want, but for the wisdom to recognize where God is leading you.
I entered this journey with one primary focus: I wanted to become a doctor.
Experience taught me that reaching the destination also requires paying attention to the road.
So when your interviewer finally asks, “Do you have any questions for us?”
Do not ask a question simply because it sounds impressive.
Ask the questions that will help you understand the life you may actually be choosing.