Question 1

Tell me about yourself.

Accepted Answer

The interviewer knows only your name. This answer sets what they'll ask about for the next 25 minutes. 60-90 seconds. Where you're from, what you do now, the two or three experiences that led you to medicine, and one line on what you want. End on the experience you'd most like them to ask about.

Question 2

Why medicine? Why a physician, rather than a PA, nurse or public health career?

Accepted Answer

GW's admissions dean names it as one of the two things every applicant must be able to answer. With your public-health experience on the table, they want to know why you need to be the doctor. One or two moments from clinical work, what you saw a physician do that you want to do, and why that requires an MD (diagnosis, responsibility for the plan). If you work in public health, say why that isn't enough for you.

Question 3

Tell me about where you grew up, or your family.

Accepted Answer

Interviewers with no file often start here to get context, and conversations drift here once the list is done. Share what you're comfortable with, through one concrete detail (a place, a job, a routine) and how it shaped what you care about in medicine.

Question 4

Why GW? Why do you want to come here?

Accepted Answer

The admissions dean says interviewers are trained to judge fit, and that applicants underprepare by not knowing what GW offers. It's the question SDN applicants report most. Two or three things about how GW teaches (Clinical Public Health for everyone, a scholarly concentration you'd join, the HEALing Clinic, training in DC's policy world), each tied to something you've already done. One sentence on why DC, if you have a real reason.

Question 5

What can you bring that is unique to GW?

Accepted Answer

GW builds a class of physician citizens with very different backgrounds; this asks where you'd fit and what classmates would gain. One specific skill or experience (a language, years in a community, a job before medicine) and how you'd use it at GW, in a clinic, a concentration or a student group. Be modest and concrete.

Question 6

What draws you to training in Washington, DC?

Accepted Answer

Location is part of GW's pitch (policy, federal agencies, a diverse patient population), and GW students say a real tie to the area helps. A real connection (work, family, the patients you want to serve) or a concrete use of the city (health policy, a population, a clinical site). Say if you'd like to stay.

Question 7

Tell me about your clinical experience. Which experience mattered most to you?

Accepted Answer

The dean says GW looks for sustained clinical exposure you can reflect on, not hours. Interviewers ask to hear what you actually did. Pick one setting and one patient or moment. What you did, what surprised you, and what it taught you about being a physician. Keep the hours out of it unless asked.

Question 8

Tell me about your research. What was your question and what did you do?

Accepted Answer

A 2026 admit says research gets "grilled" to make sure the work was really yours. GW values scholarly curiosity but doesn't require research. The question in one sentence, your part in plain words, one thing that went wrong and what you changed, and what you'd do next. If you have no research, say what you'd want to study in a scholarly concentration.

Question 9

How do you lead others? What makes a good leader in health care?

Accepted Answer

Sustained leadership is on GW's list, and the dean says it's about skills, not titles. One example where you moved a group without being in charge, or ran something small well: what the group needed, what you did, how you handled disagreement. Then one sentence on what you think good leadership is.

Question 10

Tell me about working with people whose background or culture is different from yours.

Accepted Answer

Experience with diverse populations is one of GW's stated criteria, and its curriculum is built around communities. A specific person or group, something you misunderstood at first, and what you now do differently. Show curiosity and humility, not just exposure.

Question 11

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

Accepted Answer

The most-reported "difficult" GW question in recent SDN reports. It tests integrity and how you reason when the right thing isn't obvious. A real situation where two goods or duties conflicted (not a clear rule-break). Say what was at stake for each person, what you did and why, and what you'd do the same or differently.

Question 12

Tell me about a time your performance was criticized. How did you respond?

Accepted Answer

The dean says GW looks for applicants who can accept constructive feedback and learn from mistakes. Applicants list it as a hard one. Real criticism you deserved, how it felt for a second, what you changed, and the result. Keep the critic sympathetic.

Question 13

Tell me about a time you disagreed with a team or challenged someone in authority.

Accepted Answer

Teamwork and handling disagreement are part of how GW defines leadership; medicine runs on teams with hierarchy. What the disagreement was about, how you raised it (privately, with evidence), what you learned from the other side, and how it ended. It's fine if you were partly wrong.

Question 14

Tell me about a failure or the hardest challenge you've faced. How did you handle it?

Accepted Answer

Resilience in the face of challenges is on GW's list. The dean encourages applicants not to be afraid of mistakes. A real one, in about a minute: what happened, your part in it, what you did next, and what you do differently now. A setback in grades or a test is fine if you own it.

Question 15

How do you handle difficult and stressful situations?

Accepted Answer

SDN applicants flagged it as GW's most interesting question. It checks whether you'll hold up in medical school. One stressful stretch, what you actually did to get through it (a plan, asking for help, protecting sleep), and how it went. Then one line on what you'd do in medical school.

Question 16

What do you do to decompress, and how will you take care of yourself in medical school?

Accepted Answer

Balance is one of GW's stated attributes, and GW stresses wellness support. It's also a real question about how you'll last. Something specific and real (a sport, cooking, a weekly call), how often you do it, and why it works for you.

Question 17

What's one thing you would change about yourself, or your biggest weakness?

Accepted Answer

Self-awareness, and whether you're working on it. A real, non-fatal weakness, one example of it costing you, and what you do about it now.

Question 18

What would you change about the US health care system, or to help health in your community?

Accepted Answer

GW teaches health policy and systems to every student. They want to see that you've thought about a real problem, not memorized a talking point. One specific problem you've seen yourself (a referral that never happened, a coverage gap), why it happens, one realistic change, and what a physician can do about it.

Question 19

What challenges will you face as a physician in a changing medical field?

Accepted Answer

Whether you see medicine as it is now (burnout, cost, workforce, technology), not as it looked on TV. Name one or two real challenges, how you've seen them, and how you'd prepare. Show you've thought about it without sounding cynical.

Question 20

Do you use AI tools like ChatGPT? How, and where do you draw the line?

Accepted Answer

Applicants report being asked this at medical school interviews in 2026 (not yet at GW). GW's secondary makes you attest that no part of your application was written with AI, and its MD program now has AI rules. Be honest and specific about how you use it (studying, summarizing papers, practice questions), what you never use it for (your essays, patient information), and how you check its output. Fits GW's own rule that AI supports but doesn't replace your thinking.

Question 21

How do you think AI will change medicine, and your career as a doctor?

Accepted Answer

Reported at other medical school interviews, not yet at GW. But GW teaches an AI elective, its admissions dean sits on an AAMC advisory committee on AI in selection, and its MD program's AI guidelines (April 2026) came from a task force he chaired. One concrete use you've seen or read about (note drafting, imaging, triage), one risk (bias, errors, privacy), and what stays human (judgment, responsibility, the conversation with the patient). Tie it to how you'd want to train.

Question 22

Is there anything else you'd like me to know that we haven't covered?

Accepted Answer

In a blind interview, this is your last chance to put an experience on the record. Have one story ready that you haven't told yet, ideally one that shows something the committee will value (service, a setback you handled). Keep it under a minute.

Question 23

What questions do you have for me?

Accepted Answer

Many GW interviews end with a few minutes for your questions, and it's how you learn who they are. One applicant didn't get the chance, so don't count on a long one. Two questions about their own work at GW or what they've seen students do well, tied to your interests. Follow up on the answer.

Questions GW applicants report

Opening

GW

Your experiences

Tell me about a time

Who you are

Health care and current topics

Closing