Preparing for Interviews

If you are invited in for an interview, that means the admissions committee determined you have met their academic qualifications. Among all of the students who meet their academic qualifications, however, the interview has a strong influence on who is ultimately offered admission. Thus, you need to prepare well. Remember:  Even outgoing, talkative people need to prepare carefully in order to do well at professional school interviews! Do not try to “wing it.â€

Professional schools will use your interviews to assess your motivations for entering the profession and to determine whether or not you seem to be a "good fit" for the profession and for their particular school. They will seek to determine what you have learned from your activities and experiences, and how those insights have shaped your values and motivations. They will also be assessing how articulate you are, how well you think on your feet, and your level of maturity. (By the way, they do expect you to be nervous; in fact, if you do not appear to be nervous at all, they may gain the impression that you are overconfident or that you do not really want to gain entrance into their program.) At many professional schools, the interviewers are asked to get to know you so that they can present your case to the rest of the admissions committee. Thus, they are on your side.

The CE Pre-Health Four-Step Process for Preparing for Interview

We created this two-part video series to introduce you to the types of questions commonly asked at professional school interviews and explain WHY they are asked. We also help you understand the interview process. The more familiar you are with the process and the more you have prepared in advance, the more likely you are to do well! You will come away with a set of concrete steps to take in order to prepare for your interviews. 

In this live, interactive session, you will practice the skills introduced in the two-part Interview Strategies video series.

We will focus on the following topics:

  • Recognizing the categories of questions that are commonly asked at professional school interviews
  • Practicing the structure for effective answers to interview questions

To continue your preparation for professional school interviews (and for situational judgement tests such as Casper, which evaluate similar competencies), watch the following two videos:

  • Tips for Responding to Ethical Dilemmas (video coming soon)
  • Preparing for Multiple Mini Interviews (video coming soon)

In Practice Session #2, you’ll practice answering the kinds of questions you can expect in both traditional interviews and Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs).

To schedule a practice interview with a pre-health advisor:

  1. Schedule a pre-health advising appointment through Buff Portal Advising or by calling our office at (303)492-5148 and selecting the "Academic Advising" option.
  2. Email your advisor to let them know the appointment is for a practice interview. 
    In your email, please let us know:
    1. Whether you would like to practice traditional interview questions or MMI-style questions
    2. Any specific questions you would like to practice

Treat this session as a dress rehearsal; it is ideal if you can wear the interview attire you plan to wear at your real interviews, if possible. You will complete a practice interview with the advisor and then receive immediate coaching. If you complete the practice interview on Zoom, you are welcome to take a Zoom recording. Although it may sound excruciating to do this, we highly recommend this approach so that you can review your answers and body language after the session.

Additional Interview Prep Resources 

Virtual Interview Tips