UC San Diego School of Medicine MD program · 2026-27 MD applicants (entering fall 2027)

Your UC San Diego medical school interview

If UC San Diego invites you, your interview is a Multiple Mini Interview: you rotate through 8 stations, each built around a written problem, ethical dilemma or patient case, with 2 minutes to read and 8 minutes to discuss it with an interviewer. It runs online, and applicants describe the tone as friendly and often relaxed, though a few found prompts unclear or interviewers flat.

Sources (4)

UC San Diego School of Medicine: Application Process - UCSD School of Medicine · Admit.org: UCSD - Medical School Interviews · Reddit: Decided to break the trend: my worst interview did NOT become an A (2024) · YouTube: Rodrigo Gutierrez Jr., UCSD Admissions and Recruitment Specialist, explains the admissions process an

About 9%of applicants were interviewed for the class of 2026: 973 interviews from 10,874 applications. UC San Diego School of Medicine

140students matriculated from those 973 interviews. UC San Diego School of Medicine

Congratulations again: fewer than 1 in 10 UCSD applicants reached the interview for the class of 2026. A UCSD admissions specialist says the committee connects the interview with what it read in your application and assesses everything you submit. Still, with 973 interviews for 140 seats and offers spread across the year, an invitation is a strong start, not a promise.

Sources (4)

UC San Diego School of Medicine: By The Numbers - UCSD School of Medicine · UC San Diego School of Medicine: Application Process - UCSD School of Medicine · YouTube: Rodrigo Gutierrez, UCSD Admissions Recruitment Specialist, on admissions and the roughly 900 intervie · YouTube: Rodrigo Gutierrez Jr., UCSD Admissions and Recruitment Specialist, explains the admissions process an

FormatMMI with 8 stations: 2 minutes to read a vignette, then 8 minutes with an interviewer UC San Diego School of Medicine · Admit.org

WhereVirtual; joining instructions arrive by email about 2-3 days before your date UC San Diego School of Medicine · Admit.org · Admit.org

How longApplicants run in two groups, so expect about 90 minutes of down time on top of the stations UC San Diego School of Medicine

What they knowApplicants report a closed-file MMI: interviewers respond to how you handle the scenario, not your file Admit.org

4 more: when, odds, after, mcat

WhenInterviews scheduled through the end of March; applicants report out-of-state invites in mid-September and in-state in late September (2026) UC San Diego School of Medicine · Student Doctor Network Forums

Odds973 interviews from 10,874 applications for a class of 140 (class of 2026) UC San Diego School of Medicine

AfterAbout 4 weeks later: acceptance, unranked waitlist, or rejection; no offers before October 15 UC San Diego School of Medicine

MCATHidden from the screeners who decide interview invitations UC San Diego School of Medicine · Student Doctor Network · AAMC

How you get an interview

UCSD only sends its secondary once it has an MCAT score for you, and your AMCAS must be in by October 15 with no extensions. Applicants not invited to the secondary at first are looked at again in January.

Your MCAT is hidden at the interview screen. Screeners decide on interviews without seeing it, so your secondary carries real weight.
The secondary matters. Applicants report a 6,000-character autobiography, extra "most meaningful" experiences and a 400-character career goals answer (2025). They advise not repeating your AMCAS statement, and say the career pathway prompt is the place to name specific UCSD programs.
Holds are common. Applicants report three outcomes after review: invite, hold, or no further consideration, with holds reviewed again by early February (2023) and sent in batches around mid-October (2026). Many past admits were on hold first.
Don't send updates. UCSD says it does not consider updates outside the AMCAS and secondary, and applicants report hold emails ask you not to send new grades, letters or letters of intent.

Sources: UC San Diego School of Medicine: Application Process - UCSD School of Medicine · Student Doctor Network Forums: 2026-2027 University of California San Diego School of Medicine (2026) · Student Doctor Network: 2023-2024 UC San Diego (2023) · AAMC: MSAR Admission Policies and Information (2026) · Student Doctor Network: 2023-2024 UC San Diego (2023) · Student Doctor Network: 2025-2026 UC San Diego (2025)

The MMI day itself

UCSD runs 8 stations. At each one you get a written vignette (a problem, an ethical dilemma or a patient case), 2 minutes to read and think, then 8 minutes discussing it with an interviewer. Because of limited space and interviewers, applicants are split into two groups, which means about 90 minutes of down time.

Online, run in breakout rooms. A 2026 applicant reports Zoom breakout rooms that switch automatically, with part of each station spent on your answer and the rest on follow-up questions.
Confidential. Applicants report signing an NDA, so you will not find specific prompts online.
The tone. Applicants describe a friendly, supportive feel with an engaging introduction; some met bored interviewers or harsh prompts with few follow-ups.
Dress the part. One applicant's vlog notes formal attire (suit and tie) was expected.

Sources: UC San Diego School of Medicine: Application Process - UCSD School of Medicine · Admit.org: UCSD II (MMI) Tips (2026) · Admit.org: UCSD - Medical School Interviews · Reddit: Decided to break the trend: my worst interview did NOT become an A (2024) · Student Doctor Network: University of California San Diego School of Medicine Interview Feedback & Stude (2026) · YouTube: a medical student's vlog about his UCSD MMI interview experience

What they're looking for

UCSD trains doctors in eight core competencies: medical knowledge and scholarship, compassionate patient care, communication and interpersonal skills, practice-based learning and improvement, professionalism, health systems science-informed practice, health equity, and wellness. Its curriculum aims at "equity-driven, person-centered care."

Dedication and passion for medicine. A UCSD admissions specialist says interviewers evaluate this, and that doing what you actually like comes across better than doing what you think you must.
Consistency with your file. The committee links your interview to your written application and assesses everything you submit.
Applicants report recurring themes: conflict resolution, communication under stress, health equity, barriers for underserved and immigrant populations, teamwork across disciplines, and ethics (2026).

Sources: UC San Diego School of Medicine: MD Degree & Combined Programs - UCSD School of Medicine · UC San Diego School of Medicine: Core Curriculum - UCSD School of Medicine · YouTube: Rodrigo Gutierrez, UCSD Admissions Recruitment Specialist, on admissions and the roughly 900 intervie · YouTube: Rodrigo Gutierrez Jr., UCSD Admissions and Recruitment Specialist, explains the admissions process an · Admit.org: UCSD II (MMI) Tips (2026) · Admit.org: UCSD - Medical School Interviews

How to prepare

Practice timed MMI stations. Applicants recommend working through standard MMI prompts with a timer and recording yourself to catch stumbles. One reports CASPER prep was useful.
Have your stories ready. Keep short anecdotes about your research, clinical work and character that you can drop into a scenario answer so interviewers remember you.
Don't fill silence. A 2026 applicant warns against rambling to use up leftover time.
Stay sharp when it feels easy. A 2024 applicant says a laid-back station made them careless; answer exactly what is asked.
Expect ethics and health policy. Reported prompts include counseling a patient who prefers alternative medicine and choosing between two patients with equal survival odds.
Know why UCSD. Applicants have long been asked "Why UCSD?" and what makes it a good fit; tie your answer to specifics below.
Pace your season. One applicant advises against more than two interviews in a row.

Sources: Admit.org: UCSD II (MMI) Tips (2026) · Student Doctor Network: University of California San Diego School of Medicine Interview Feedback & Stude (2026) · Reddit: Decided to break the trend: my worst interview did NOT become an A (2024) · Admit.org: UCSD - Medical School Interviews · Student Doctor Network: University of California San Diego School of Medicine Individual responses · YouTube: a medical student's vlog about his UCSD MMI interview experience

After the interview

UCSD makes no offers before October 15. About 4 weeks after your interview you hear one of three decisions: acceptance, placement on the unranked waiting list, or rejection. The school uses rolling admissions and spreads a small number of offers throughout the year instead of filling the class in October and November, so a quiet stretch is normal.

Waitlist. UCSD's waitlist is unranked. Applicants report the office contacts waitlisted applicants by the end of the first week of May to check continued interest, and that this is the time for updates (2017).
No letter of intent needed. Applicants report staff say they assume you want to attend (2017).
Movement. Applicants estimate waitlist movement at around 10-20% (2023).

Sources: UC San Diego School of Medicine: Application Process - UCSD School of Medicine · Reddit: [Question][Help] Waitlisted to UCD, USC, & UCSD. How/Should I send a letter? (2017) · Student Doctor Network: 2022-2023 UC - San Diego (2023)

PRIME and other tracks

PRIME-HEq is a five-year MD/master's program for under-resourced communities in California, open to all applicants, admitting 12 students a year.
PRIME-TIDE is a five-year MD/master's for care of American Indian/Alaska Native populations. You opt in with a checkbox and one-page essay on the secondary; selected applicants interview with PRIME-TIDE faculty and students, and up to six are chosen each year. MD admission is decided independently of the track.
Timing. Applicants report that a track interview comes after regular MD acceptance (2023).

Sources: UC San Diego School of Medicine: PRIME - Health Equity - UCSD School of Medicine · UC San Diego School of Medicine: Admissions - UC San Diego School of Medicine · UC San Diego School of Medicine: PRIME Programs - UCSD School of Medicine · Student Doctor Network: 2022-2023 UC - San Diego (2023)

Your interviewer

Karen Nakashiro, PharmD Fictional interviewer

Get a briefing on your own interviewer

Know who's interviewing you? Their LinkedIn profile is the best source.

Use a computer if you can. Open their LinkedIn profile in a web browser, click More (or ⋯) under their name, then Save to PDF.
On a phone: the LinkedIn app can't save a profile. Open linkedin.com in your phone's browser instead, switch to the desktop site, and use More → Save to PDF.
Upload the PDF here, or paste what you know about them (a bio, a profile page).

See the sample briefing

Ambulatory care clinical pharmacist in south San Diego (diabetes and blood-thinner clinics) and a veteran MMI rater who says she reads nothing about applicants beforehand

Karen is a clinical pharmacist at a community health network. Under agreements with physicians, she adjusts insulin and blood-thinner doses for about 400 patients, many of whom speak Spanish, Tagalog or Vietnamese and deal with work and insurance pressures. She has rated MMI stations since 2018 (about 8 years). She states plainly that she does not read applicant files and cares about how you reason through a hard situation in eight minutes. That matches UCSD's closed-file format. You probably won't know which station is hers, and she is one of eight raters. Her profile does suggest what a strong answer looks like to her: practical, aware of real-world barriers like cost, language, insurance and what pills a patient actually takes, and respectful of the whole care team, not only doctors. Prepare for the scenario, not for her.

Their path

BS, Biological Sciences, UC Davis (2005)
PharmD, UC San Francisco (2009)
Night-shift inpatient staff pharmacist, Harbor Point Medical Center, 2009-2014; served on the medication safety committee
Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner, Mesa Linda Community Health Network, 2014-present (about 12 years); runs diabetes and anticoagulation clinics
Board Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist (2015)
Volunteer MMI rater for medical school admissions, 2018-present
Saturday volunteer pharmacist at a student-run free clinic, 2016-2020; health fair medication reviews with a Japanese American community center, 2011-present
Started a continuous glucose monitor loaner program in 2022 for patients waiting on insurance approval

What it means for your conversation

She will not know your file and says she does not want to. Don't open with your resume. Answer the prompt, and use a short personal example only when it actually helps your reasoning.
She is experienced: about 8 years of rating. Polished buzzwords and stock MMI frameworks recited mechanically will likely be obvious to her. Clear, honest reasoning matters more.
Her daily work involves practical barriers: insurance prior authorizations (approvals insurers require before covering a drug), benefits that change every January, language differences, and patients not taking pills as prescribed. If a station involves an underserved patient or nonadherence, she may value an answer that asks why, such as cost, access, work schedule or language, before assuming the patient doesn't care.
She is not a physician. In teamwork scenarios, answers that treat pharmacists, nurses and medical assistants as real partners may land well with her. Answers that treat the doctor as the sole decision-maker may not.
She served on a medication safety committee. She may notice whether you handle errors by owning them and fixing the system, rather than hiding them or blaming one person. This is an inference.
You likely cannot tell which station is hers, and a breakout room gives few clues. Use this as a general reminder that some raters are non-physician clinicians, not as a script.

Questions they may lean toward

Follow-up questions that push you to make your plan concrete: who you would involve, what you would actually say to the patient, and what happens next. She describes valuing how someone reasons through a hard situation, and her own work is hands-on problem-solving. This is an inference.
Probing whether you considered the patient's circumstances (cost, language, insurance, jobs) before judging them. Her About section centers these barriers, and UCSD applicants report health equity and barriers for immigrant and underserved populations as recurring themes.
Interest in how you work with other professionals or handle a disagreement with a team member. She is a non-physician clinician who teaches medical assistants and precepts residents. Interdisciplinary teamwork is also a reported UCSD theme.
Little personal small talk and a focus on the case. Her stated approach is about reasoning in the eight minutes, not your background.

Honest common ground

If you have volunteered at a student-run free clinic or with patients who speak languages other than English, that is real overlap. Use it only if it fits the scenario naturally.
If you have seen insurance or cost barriers firsthand, for example at a pharmacy, clinic or with family, a brief concrete mention in a relevant station is genuine common ground.
Otherwise, don't manufacture overlap. In a closed-file MMI, common ground matters little.

Questions to ask them

If there's a moment at the end: 'Is there anything about how I approached this case you'd have wanted me to consider more?' It is focused on the scenario and fits her stated interest in reasoning. Only ask if time and tone allow; many stations end on a timer.
If the conversation opens up: 'In your experience, what helps a patient most when insurance or cost gets in the way of treatment?' It is a genuine question tied to work she describes publicly. Ask it only if the station's topic makes it relevant, and don't use it as flattery.

Avoid

Don't mention her taiko drumming, swimming at La Jolla Cove, tomatoes, mystery novels or her LinkedIn. It signals you researched the interviewer, which is odd in a closed-file format.
Don't pretend an interest in pharmacy or diabetes care.
Don't dismiss pharmacists, nurses or other team members, or cast the physician as always having the final word on everything.
Don't blame patients for not taking medications without exploring the reasons.
Don't ramble to fill the 8 minutes. Answer what is asked, and stop when you're done.
Don't get careless if the station feels relaxed.

A sample, to show what the briefing looks like: Karen Nakashiro, PharmD and their employers are invented.

Based on: The sample interviewer's profile (fictional) · UC San Diego School of Medicine: Application Process - UCSD School of Medicine · Admit.org: UCSD - Medical School Interviews · Reddit: Decided to break the trend: my worst interview did NOT become an A (2024) · YouTube: Rodrigo Gutierrez Jr., UCSD Admissions and Recruitment Specialist, explains the admissions process an

All sources · 34 plus 10 applicant threads

Applicant threads are linked under each question.