Currently, at least 29 medical schools in the U.S. offer the MMI. The average length of an MMI day is about nine hours.
If you have a morning interview, check-in can begin as early as 7:15 am which may include breakfast with medical students. After breakfast, the dean or assistant dean gives a welcome speech. If you are selected for the first shift of MMI’s, you will be introduced to the MMI style and given their school’s guidelines. Some schools allow you to have a pen and pad to take notes, others schools do not allow it. If you are unsure about any guidelines, ask. Usually, there is a break before the MMI begins.
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Most schools have anywhere from 8 to 10 different stations with 2 minutes of prep time and six minutes to provide a response. Some schools have the prompt printed and taped to a door that you can read before entering a room to respond or participate in a collaborative or actor scenario. Some MMI’s are hosted in large open rooms, where you can see (and hear) all the different stations. Different schools have different procedures. Some schools will have interviewers introduce themselves at the beginning or you may meet interviewers at the station as you are giving your response. Most schools will have an interviewer who is intentionally abrasive to see how you handle difficult personalities and stressful situations. Expect at least one difficult interviewer per school. They may also have an intentionally friendly interviewer who is constantly giving you compliments, to see how you handle it. The MMI can take anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half or longer, depending on the number of stations.
After the MMI, lunch is provided and often hosted by medical students. After lunch, they often provide a tour of the school or a particular area of its facilities. Usually, there is a presentation at the very end with closing statements.
One of the students I helped prepare for the MMI provided the feedback that “the mocks were very good at preparing me.” She emphasized the importance of being yourself and not stressing. While most schools do not rank you lower for being nervous, it often does not help you articulate your responses.
Before your MMI:
• Avoid coffee or foods with high caffeine levels (like chocolate)
• Exercise every other day or more
• Review an updated copy of your CV or resume every day before the interview
• Practice, practice, practice!
For more assistance, you are welcome to work with me or one of my colleagues at Accepted. Preparing students for interviews is my favorite part of the process! I strive to help each student improve their interviewing skills on multiple levels from the rhetoric of their responses to the way they present themselves through posture and facial expressions.
Alicia McNease Nimonkar is an Accepted advisor and editor specializing in healthcare admissions. Prior to joining Accepted, Alicia worked for five years as Student Advisor at UC Davis’ postbac program where she both evaluated applications and advised students applying successfully to med school and related programs. Want Alicia to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!
Related Resources:
• The Ultimate Guide to Medical School Interview Success, a free guide
• Do I Really Need a Mock Admissions Interview?, a short video
• What the Adcom Looks For During an MMI
