Question 1

Tell me about yourself and your family.

Accepted Answer

Applicants report talking about everything from family to school and activities. Your opening answer sets the topics for the rest of a long conversation. Take 60 to 90 seconds: where you grew up, the family context that shaped you, what you do now and what drew you to medicine. The interviewer usually has your file, so add what the file cannot show. If your upbringing connects to serving communities like the Bronx, say so plainly.

Question 2

What do you do for fun?

Accepted Answer

Applicants report (2010) this question. It checks whether you have a life outside your CV and can talk easily. Name one or two real interests with a concrete detail, and be ready for follow-ups. Interviewers at Einstein often enjoy a tangent, so let it become a real exchange.

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

School is one of the topics applicants report covering in the conversation. The interviewer wants to see how you think about your own choices. Say what you studied, why you chose it, and one course or project that changed how you think. Link it briefly to medicine without forcing it.

Question 4

What brings you to medicine?

Accepted Answer

It is the core motivation question. A 2010 applicant described the first 30 minutes as standard questions like this before open conversation. Use one or two concrete experiences: what you did, what you saw physicians do, and why you need to be the doctor. If service is central to your story, make that link explicit, since applicants say Einstein values it.

Question 5

Why Einstein?

Accepted Answer

No report here quotes this question, but SDN's 2026 prep briefing tells applicants to practice school-specific fit answers, and Reddit posters say mission fit is crucial. Tie two or three real features to your own record: the community service graduation requirement applicants report, the student free clinic, or the new data science institute if your work is data-driven. End with why the Bronx specifically.

Question 6

What do you know about the population of the Bronx?

Accepted Answer

Applicants report (2009) this question. It tests whether you understand the community Einstein serves; a 2026 poster notes the Bronx has historically low health outcomes in New York State. Read about Bronx health and the neighborhoods around campus before the day. Say what you learned, where you learned it, and how it connects to work you have done. Admit what you don't know.

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

A 2025 Reddit poster says the interview centers heavily on how you would push service forward in the Bronx. Another reports a community service graduation requirement. Start from service you have actually done and what it taught you. Then name a concrete way to continue it as a student, such as the free clinic students are reported to be enthusiastic about.

Question 8

Tell me about your research.

Accepted Answer

Applicants report a number of follow-ups asking for details and clarifications. The interviewer is checking that you understood the work and your part in it. Give the question in one sentence, your role, the method in plain words, the result and its limits, and what you'd do next. Expect to be drilled. A 2025 poster says service-focused applicants without research are still admitted, so don't apologize if your strength lies elsewhere.

Question 9

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

Accepted Answer

Activities are a standard part of the conversation applicants describe. The interviewer wants to see what you care about, not what you listed. Pick two or three and go deep: what you did, a specific moment, and what changed in you. Put your service work near the front.

Question 10

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

Accepted Answer

Applicants report (2010) questions based only on the application, one about a dorm of open-minded people, and an interviewer reading the file aloud. Small file details become topics. Reread your AMCAS and secondary before the interview, as 2010 applicants advise. For each minor item, have one sentence on why you did it and what you got from it.

Question 11

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

Accepted Answer

Not quoted as a question here, but SDN's 2026 briefing tells applicants to practice service examples, and Reddit posters say Einstein's interview and mission center on service. Choose sustained work with real people, describe one person or moment, and say what you learned about the community's needs. Connect it to how you'd serve at Einstein.

Question 12

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

Accepted Answer

Applicants report (2010) an interviewer reading the file aloud, noting specific courses and grades. It tests honesty and self-awareness. Be calm and factual: what happened, what you changed, and the evidence that it worked. Keep it short and move on.

Question 13

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

Accepted Answer

Not reported as asked here, but SDN's 2026 prep briefing tells applicants to practice clear teamwork examples for this interview. Set the scene briefly, say what you did to fix it, and what happened. Name what you learned about working with people who think differently.

Question 14

What is the best advice you have ever been given?

Accepted Answer

Applicants report (2010) this question. It shows who influences you and whether you act on what you learn. Name the advice, who gave it, and a specific time you used it. Keep it personal rather than a famous quote.

Question 15

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

Accepted Answer

Applicants report (2010) this, framed as what regrets you have. It tests honesty and maturity. Choose a real but manageable regret, say what you learned, and what you now do differently. End forward-looking.

Question 16

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

Accepted Answer

Not reported as asked here, but SDN's 2026 briefing tells applicants to practice ethical reasoning examples. Explain the competing values, the options you considered, what you chose and why. Say what you'd do the same or differently now.

Question 17

Tell me about a setback and how you handled it.

Accepted Answer

Not reported as asked here, but SDN's 2026 briefing lists resilience among the examples to practice. Describe a real failure, your part in it, the specific steps you took, and the result. Show you can talk about it without defensiveness.

Question 18

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

Accepted Answer

A 2024 forum post says some interviewers purposely disagree to see how applicants handle pressure. Stay calm, restate your reasoning, and engage with their point. Change your view if their argument is good, and say why.

Question 19

What questions do you have for me?

Accepted Answer

Applicants report that your questions can fill much of the time and keep the conversation going. They also show how much you know about Einstein. Bring several, including two that a website scan can't answer, as the SDN briefing advises. You might ask how students are using AI after the school's May Davidoff Education Day on AI in medical education, or how students get involved with the new data science institute. Save student-life questions for the optional student session.

Question 20

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

Accepted Answer

Applicants report (2010) an interviewer asking about acceptances and rejections and commenting on them at the end. Answer honestly and briefly, without listing everything. Then say clearly why Einstein is a place you want to be.

Questions Einstein applicants report

Opening

Why medicine and why Einstein

Your application and experiences

Character and judgment

Closing