Albert Einstein College of Medicine MD program · 2026-27 MD applicants (entering fall 2027)

Answers

For every question: which parts of an applicant's background to use, how they connect to what the question tests, and the points to hit - not a script. See it for our sample applicant, or upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary and get it for yours.

Make it yours. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary and get these answers from your own background: which of your experiences fit each question, the angle to take and the points to hit.

Get answers from my AMCAS application and Einstein secondary

In AMCAS, open your submitted application and print it to PDF; add your Einstein secondary answers (applicants suggest drafting them in a separate document anyway, so copy them into the same file or a second one). For every question we show you which parts of your application to draw on, how they connect to what the question tests, talking points, and what's missing - not a script to memorize. Nothing is invented. We read your file once and don't keep it. Your guidance is saved to your account, so you can come back to it on any device, and you can upload again anytime to replace it.

Sample applicant: Noam. A 2022 Binghamton University neuroscience graduate from Yonkers, New York, applying to Einstein's MD program after four years as a clinical research assistant at a Bronx community health center. He took a C in Organic Chemistry II during the spring his father lost his job, scored 501 on his first MCAT and 511 on his second, and spends his Saturdays at a Bronx food pantry.

Noam is fictional, and so are Mosholu Family Health Center, Northgate Community Hospital, ScribeBridge, the Sedgwick Avenue Community Pantry, Spoke & Chain Cycles and his supervisors; the application was written for this sample. Every answer below uses only what's in the application, the way your own will. Read Noam's application (PDF).

Opening

Tell me about yourself and your family. Sample applicant

Based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to get this from your own background.

Material

Father from Haifa, HVAC repair; mother an elementary school secretary; Yonkers upbringing The family half of the question, and it explains why the Bronx is home ground for you, not a rotation.
The physician assistant's diagram your father kept in his toolbox after an 11-hour ED wait A family moment that already points toward the kind of doctor you want to be.
Four years at Mosholu Family Health Center plus Saturdays at Sedgwick Avenue Pantry Sets up the topics you most want her to follow up on in a long open-file talk.

The angle

Your opening sets the agenda, so connect Yonkers, your father's HVAC work and the toolbox diagram to the Bronx work you do now. Dr. Shulhof treats visits that are also about rent and closed pharmacies. Your family story and your pantry and Mosholu work show the same instinct to explain plainly and fix practical problems. Leave threads she will want to pull, like the diabetes trial and the SNAP table.

Talking points

Start with Yonkers, twenty minutes north, and your parents' jobs: HVAC repair, school secretary
Mention your father coming from Haifa at 24, Hebrew at home, and Friday challah with him
Briefly touch the toolbox diagram, then move on rather than retelling the essay
Bridge to now: full-time research at Mosholu since July 2022 and Saturdays at Sedgwick Avenue
Hint at a thread, such as Mr. Ortiz or the SNAP table, and let her choose

To think about

What about your sister, or the period when your father lost his job, are you comfortable sharing, and how much?

Avoid: Reciting the personal statement in order. She has read it, so give the version that didn't fit, and keep it to about two minutes.

From: Noam's application · the question and its sources

What do you do for fun?

A preview, based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to preview your own.

Material

Rebuilding old bikes to give away through the pantry (nine so far), rooted in summers at Spoke & Chain Cycles A real hands-on hobby with a story behind it.

The angle

Talking points

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Tell me about your time in college. What did you study, and why?

A preview, based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to preview your own.

Material

BS Integrative Neuroscience with a Spanish minor; Sleep and Stress Lab thesis using wrist actigraphy on 58 students, rebuilt around mailed watches in fall 2020 Shows why you chose the major and how you adapted when COVID stopped in-person collection.

The angle

Talking points

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Why medicine and why Einstein

What brings you to medicine? Sample applicant

Based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to get this from your own background.

Material

Your father's eleven-hour ED wait and the PA's diagram he kept in his toolbox The origin of what kind of clinician you want to be: one who explains, not just treats.
Mr. Ortiz: 'You talk like the pamphlet,' the Saturday call, A1c 9.8 to 8.1 Shows motivation tested by real failure, not just inspiration.
Four years at Mosholu where the protocol couldn't fix a closed pharmacy Explains why research alone isn't enough and you want to be the physician.

The angle

Your reason isn't abstract: you've watched a diagram matter more than a diagnosis, and you've watched a trial protocol hit its limits. The answer should move from your father to Mr. Ortiz to why you need a physician's role, not a research assistant's, to act on what you see. Dr. Shulhof does diabetes group visits in Spanish; the pharmacy and text-timing details will register with her.

Talking points

Open briefly on your father, the eleven hours and the diagram in the toolbox
Pivot to Mr. Ortiz firing you and what the Saturday call taught you about listening
Name the ceiling: insulin running out when the pharmacy closed, and why that pushed you past research
Bring in scribing and shadowing family medicine: what you saw physicians do that you couldn't
Close on the kind of doctor: managing the diabetes and asking about the texts, in your own words

To think about

Which specific moment scribing or in your 40 hours of family medicine shadowing showed you a physician doing something you want to do?

Avoid: Don't recite the essay in order; she's read it. Tell the part that didn't fit, e.g. what you actually said on that Saturday call.

From: Noam's application · the question and its sources

Why Einstein? Sample applicant

Based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to get this from your own background.

Material

Secondary: 'the Bronx is not a rotation but the place,' four years ten minutes from campus Your fit is geographic and lived, not researched from a website.
Scholarly Paper requirement and Montefiore primary care sites Concrete link from your Mosholu diabetes research to Einstein's structure.
ECHO free clinic and the community service requirement Shows you'd continue service, matching what Einstein screens for.

The angle

You can argue continuity: your 6,800 hours at Mosholu and Saturdays at Sedgwick Avenue are already Einstein's community, and Einstein lets you keep them. Tie the Scholarly Paper to the kind of question you asked Mr. Ortiz. The new data science institute could connect to your REDCap and trial work, if it genuinely interests you.

Talking points

Start with staying: Mosholu, the pantry, Van Cortlandt soccer, ten minutes away
Scholarly Paper: name a community research question from the text-message trial you'd want to follow up at Montefiore sites
ECHO and the service requirement as a place for your bilingual consent and intake skills
Optional: the $7M data science institute and your REDCap/retention work, only if real
What draws you to Einstein beyond location? Name one thing you'd lose going elsewhere

To think about

What about Einstein's teaching or curriculum, not just its location, do you specifically want? Have you talked to any Einstein students or faculty?

Avoid: Don't make it only 'it's close'; and don't mention tuition-free as a main reason.

From: Noam's application · the question and its sources

What do you know about the population of the Bronx?

A preview, based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to preview your own.

Material

Secondary figures: ~1.4 million, over half Latino, about a third Black, last of 62 NY counties in health outcomes You already have the data; use it as a starting point.

The angle

Talking points

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How would you continue your service work here in the Bronx?

A preview, based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to preview your own.

Material

SNAP table: two donated laptops, 61 applications Proof you build service, not just show up; a model to scale with classmates.

The angle

Talking points

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Your application and experiences

Tell me about your research. Sample applicant

Based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to get this from your own background.

Material

Clinical research assistant, Mosholu text-message diabetes trial (PI Dr. Lena Marchetti), 212 of 240 enrolled, 86% six-month retention Your main research; expect detailed follow-ups on design, your role and the numbers.
Honors thesis in Dr. Engström's Sleep and Stress Lab: sleep timing and test anxiety in 58 students, rebuilt around mailed actigraphy watches in fall 2020 Shows you can explain a study you designed and rescue it when COVID stopped in-person collection.

The angle

Dr. Shulhof checks whether you understood the work, not just did tasks. You can show that at two levels: the trial's question and design at Mosholu, and the concrete choices you owned there, like consenting in Spanish and the reminder-time change, plus a thesis you rebuilt yourself. Be ready to say what the trial is actually testing and what your actigraphy study found.

Talking points

Name the Mosholu trial's question and design in two sentences: randomized, text-message support, type 2 diabetes, what the outcome measure is
Your part: recruiting, bilingual consent, point-of-care A1c draws, REDCap; give 212 of 240 and 86% retention
The design change from Mr. Ortiz's feedback: reminder times by participant choice after March 2023, and how that affects the study as a protocol change
Switch to the thesis: 58 students, wrist actigraphy, the March 2020 shutdown and the mailed-watch rebuild
Your finding on sleep timing and test anxiety, and a limitation you'd name

To think about

What did your thesis actually find, and does the Mosholu trial have any results, or how will the primary outcome be analyzed? Could you explain why a mid-study change to reminder timing doesn't break the randomization?

Avoid: Don't retell the Mr. Ortiz story as your research answer; she has read it. Avoid implying the A1c drop from 9.8 to 8.1 shows the intervention works.

From: Noam's application · the question and its sources

Walk me through your activities. Which ones matter most to you? Sample applicant

Based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to get this from your own background.

Material

Your three 'most meaningful' picks: Mosholu research, Sedgwick Avenue pantry, Sleep and Stress Lab You already ranked them; be ready to explain the ranking.
Bicycle mechanic at Spoke & Chain, and the nine rebuilt bikes given away through the pantry Connects an older job and a hobby to service in a way no list shows.
Baking challah with your father on Fridays; Sunday soccer in Van Cortlandt Park Shows who you are outside the file; she asks about the version that didn't fit.

The angle

With about 6,800 hours of research and 380 pantry hours, the question is what threads them. Your thread is practical: fixing things for people, from bikes to the SNAP form timeout to text timing. Pick one to call most important and say why it beats the others.

Talking points

Name the one that matters most and why it beats the others
Trace the thread from fixing bikes at Spoke & Chain to the nine bikes for pantry families
Scribing at Northgate in Yonkers as where you saw the pace of medicine, briefly
End on Friday challah with your father, a person not a credential

To think about

If forced to keep one, research or the pantry, which would it be and why?

Avoid: Don't recite the whole list in order; with eight entries you'll run out of time. Choose two or three and go deep.

From: Noam's application · the question and its sources

I see you lived in a particular dorm in college. Tell me about that.

A preview, based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to preview your own.

Material

Health Professions Living-Learning Community, Dickinson Community, first and second year The dorm she will likely ask about.

The angle

Talking points

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Tell me about your community service. Which work meant the most to you?

A preview, based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to preview your own.

Material

Sedgwick Avenue Community Pantry: about 150 households Saturdays, intake since 2024, SNAP table with two donated laptops, 61 applications Your clearest service with a problem you spotted and fixed.

The angle

Talking points

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I see you took this course and got this grade. Tell me about that.

A preview, based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to preview your own.

Material

C in Organic Chemistry II, spring 2020, then A- in Biochemistry that fall The grade she'll most likely raise, with a recovery to point to.

The angle

Talking points

Unlock to read the rest, for every question.

Tell me about a time a team you were on wasn't working well.

A preview, based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to preview your own.

Material

2023 conflict between two enrollment sites over follow-up calls; retention fell to 71%, then back above 85% in four months A clear team breakdown with numbers and your fix.

The angle

Talking points

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Character and judgment

What is the best advice you have ever been given? Sample applicant

Based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to get this from your own background.

Material

Mr. Ortiz: 'You talk like the pamphlet.' Advice you didn't ask for, and you acted on it by changing the study's text times.
The PA's diagram your father kept in his toolbox Shows who shaped your idea of explaining things plainly.
MCAT 501 to 511 Your own lesson about discipline without honesty about weak spots, which you put into practice.

The angle

The question tests whether you act on what you hear. Your strongest case is that a participant's blunt comment led to the Saturday call and to reminder times set by participant choice. Dr. Shulhof runs bilingual diabetes group visits, so she will recognize the pamphlet problem.

Talking points

Name the advice-giver: Mr. Ortiz, 64, and his pamphlet line
The Saturday call: texts at 7 a.m. while he was on the truck
What you changed: participant-chosen reminder times after March 2023
Where you still use it: the long story before the short question, at the pantry intake line
Is there a person, maybe your father or Dr. Marchetti, who gave you advice directly? Decide which framing is truthful.

To think about

Did anyone ever give you advice in so many words, rather than you drawing a lesson from a moment? Which one do you actually return to?

Avoid: Don't retell the personal comments essay word for word. She has read it. Add something new, like what that Saturday call felt like.

From: Noam's application · the question and its sources

If you could change anything about your life, what would it be? Sample applicant

Based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to get this from your own background.

Material

C in Organic Chemistry II, spring 2020 A real, honest regret with context: your father lost his job and you shared a laptop with your sister.
First MCAT, 501, taken working full time without a plan A choice you would make differently, and you can show the fix.

The angle

Maturity here means owning a choice without blaming circumstances. The 501 fits best because it was your decision, and you changed your method: five months of study, mornings before work. Expect Dr. Shulhof to ask about the grade anyway, since she says she asks about grades.

Talking points

Pick one: taking the MCAT in August 2023 unprepared
Own it plainly, without leaning on the full-time job
What changed: five months of mornings, honesty about your weak sections, 511
If she asks about Orgo II: give the family context briefly, then the A- in Biochemistry
Would you really change it? Say what the delay gave you, such as more time at Mosholu.

To think about

Is there a regret outside academics, such as how you handled a person? Choose the one you would honestly name.

Avoid: Avoid a fake regret that turns into a humblebrag. Also avoid sounding bitter about 2020.

From: Noam's application · the question and its sources

Tell me about a time you faced an ethical dilemma. What did you do?

A preview, based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to preview your own.

Material

Secondary: the colleague completing follow-up surveys in under four minutes A real dilemma between friendship and data integrity, with a concrete outcome.

The angle

Talking points

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Tell me about a setback and how you handled it.

A preview, based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to preview your own.

Material

Sleep and Stress Lab thesis: in-person collection stopped in March 2020 A setback you solved by rebuilding the study around mailed actigraphy watches.

The angle

Talking points

Unlock to read the rest, for every question.

I'm not sure I agree with you. Why do you think that?

A preview, based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to preview your own.

Material

Your view that research is about whether a man believes you're worth forty minutes A firmly held view she may test.

The angle

Talking points

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Closing

What questions do you have for me? Sample applicant

Based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant - not on you. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to get this from your own background.

Material

Why Einstein essay: Scholarly Paper requirement and community research with Montefiore primary care sites Gives you a real question about how students actually carry community research through four years.
Secondary plan: work at ECHO free clinic and recruit classmates for the Sedgwick Avenue pantry SNAP table Lets you ask how students balance service commitments they already have with the curriculum.
Mr. Ortiz and the 7 a.m. texts; Dr. Shulhof's Spanish/English diabetes group visits and Saturday walk-in clinic She runs work close to yours, so a question about her clinic is genuine, not flattery.

The angle

You already live the Bronx work Einstein values, so your questions should sound like someone planning to keep doing it, not someone learning about it. Ask about the practical parts of continuing Mosholu-style community research and your pantry Saturdays as a student. Asking about her diabetes group visits also turns the close into a real conversation with a peer.

Talking points

Ask how students keep a long-running community commitment like your Saturday SNAP table going through the first two years
Ask how the Scholarly Paper works with Montefiore primary care sites, mentioning your trial with Dr. Marchetti
Ask what she has learned running diabetes group visits in two languages, tied to what Mr. Ortiz taught you about timing
Possibly ask how the new data science institute reaches students doing community research, given your REDCap work
Which question do you actually not know the answer to after reading Einstein's site?

To think about

Have you checked whether a medical student can keep a fixed Saturday commitment, and what you'd do if you couldn't?

Avoid: Don't ask things the website answers (tuition-free, ECHO exists) or questions that are really another pitch for yourself; keep two or three genuine ones and let her talk.

From: Noam's application · the question and its sources

What other schools have you applied to? Where have you been accepted?

A preview, based on Noam, our fictional sample applicant. Upload your AMCAS application and Einstein secondary to preview your own.

Material

Why Einstein: four years ten minutes from campus, 'the Bronx is not a rotation but the place' Explains a pattern of schools rooted in community care rather than prestige.

The angle

Talking points

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