Question 1

Tell me about yourself.

Accepted Answer

This sets the direction for the rest of a structured conversation, and it is the first test of the communication skills UMass says it assesses. Keep it to about a minute: where you come from, what you do now, and the two or three experiences that pulled you toward medicine. End on the experience you most want to be asked about.

Question 2

Tell me something about yourself that I haven't already read in your file.

Accepted Answer

Applicants report most UMass interviews are open-file. This checks whether you can add something real beyond the paper. Prepare one story, value or interest that isn't in your AMCAS or secondaries, and connect it briefly to how you work with people. One example told well beats a list.

Question 3

How would your friends describe you?

Accepted Answer

It tests self-awareness and interpersonal skills, which the school names as assessed. Give two or three traits and back each with a quick, concrete example. Include one honest trait that isn't purely flattering.

Question 4

Why medicine, specifically for you, rather than another helping or research profession?

Accepted Answer

Interviewers want a personal, tested reason for becoming a physician, not just for helping people. Applicants report (2010) it framed against other helping and research careers. Use one or two moments from clinical or service work and say what a physician did there that you want to do. Then say why that role, rather than another health or research career, fits you.

Question 5

Why UMass? Why do you want to come here?

Accepted Answer

Applicants report it in several forms, including "What brought you to UMass?" (2010). It checks whether you know the school beyond its name. Pick two or three real features: the Vista curriculum with its health systems science pillar and small-group teaching, the required pathway with a scholarly project, House Mentors in a Learning Community, or the PURCH and LEAD@Lahey regional tracks. Link each to something you have already done.

Question 6

What is your attachment to Massachusetts?

Accepted Answer

UMass Chan is a public school, and the Class of 2030 has 115 students from Massachusetts, half the class. The interviewer wants to know whether you would stay connected to the region. Give your real ties, whether family, school, work or communities you've served. If you're from out of state, be honest and point to specific reasons you'd train and possibly practice here.

Question 7

What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?

Accepted Answer

It tests whether you have thought about the kind of physician you want to be, and whether that fits a curriculum built to prepare physician leaders who care equitably for diverse populations. Describe the kind of work and patients you picture, without locking into one specialty. Mention how a Vista pathway or a scholarly project could get you there.

Question 8

What about the specialty you mentioned in your application appeals to you?

Accepted Answer

In an open-file interview the interviewer may pick up an interest you wrote about and test whether it is real. Say what you saw of that field and what drew you, then say you will keep an open mind through clerkships. Show interest without claiming certainty.

Question 9

Talk about your clinical experience. Tell me about your shadowing.

Accepted Answer

Interviewers want to hear what you actually did and learned with patients, not hours. Choose one setting and one patient or moment. Say what you did, what surprised you, and what it taught you about a physician's work.

Question 10

Tell me about your international experience.

Accepted Answer

Applicants report being asked about specific experiences abroad, such as an internship in South Africa. It tests reflection and the capacity to understand other perspectives. Describe what you did, what you learned about the people you worked with, and what you would do differently. If it fits, connect it to UMass Chan's Global Health Pathway with underserved international or immigrant populations.

Question 11

How do you think you can help with medical research?

Accepted Answer

Every UMass Chan student completes a pathway with a final scholarly project, so the interviewer wants to see curiosity and some idea of inquiry. Explain your own research role in plain words, or what question you'd want to study if you haven't done research. Tie it to a pathway or the Summer Research Program if relevant.

Question 12

Looking at your transcript, I see a B in this subject (or a weaker MCAT). Can you explain what happened?

Accepted Answer

Applicants report direct questions about weak spots, including one in 2010 about strong SAT scores and a weak MCAT. It tests honesty and maturity under mild pressure. State briefly what happened, take responsibility, and show what you changed and the evidence that it worked. Keep it short and calm.

Question 13

Why do you think you didn't get into UMass when you applied before?

Accepted Answer

For reapplicants this checks self-assessment and growth since the last cycle. Name the real gap honestly and describe what you did about it since. Point to what is new in this application.

Question 14

What do you do when you're over-stressed? What is your support system?

Accepted Answer

Interviewers want evidence you can handle a demanding program and know when to use support. Describe a real stressful period, what you did that worked, and who you relied on. You can mention you'd use resources like the Student Counseling Center or your House Mentor.

Question 15

Residency is very difficult. Tell me about a challenge in your life and how you overcame it.

Accepted Answer

It tests resilience and reflection, and applicants advise preparing resilience and failure stories. Pick one specific challenge, explain what you did step by step, and end with what you learned and how you use it now. Keep the setup short and the reflection longer.

Question 16

Give an example of a time you had to make a split-second decision. How did you deal with it and what was the outcome?

Accepted Answer

This behavioral question tests judgment and critical thinking under pressure. Use a clear structure: the situation, what you decided and why, the result, and what you'd keep or change. Be honest if the outcome was mixed.

Question 17

What are your strengths and weaknesses?

Accepted Answer

It tests self-awareness and honesty. One strength with an example, and one real weakness with what you are doing about it. Keep both connected to how you work with people.

Question 18

What personality types do you not get along with?

Accepted Answer

The school assesses teamwork and the capacity to understand other perspectives; this checks how you handle friction. Name a working style you find hard, then describe how you work with such people anyway and what you've learned from them.

Question 19

How do you deal with difficult patients?

Accepted Answer

It tests interpersonal skill and empathy when someone is upset or hostile. Use a real example from clinical or service work. Show how you listened, tried to understand their view, and kept care on track.

Question 20

After the SARS outbreak, many hospitals restricted visitors. Discuss the competing viewpoints on these policies.

Accepted Answer

This is the school's own published example of a scenario. It tests critical thinking and whether you can see more than one side. Lay out each side: infection control and staff safety against patients' need for family, support and advocacy. Then give a reasoned position and practical middle steps, such as limits with exceptions.

Question 21

Is it ethical for doctors to be overly optimistic during consent for an experimental therapy that may not help the patient? How would you handle that consent?

Accepted Answer

It tests ethical reasoning about honesty and informed consent; applicants advise reviewing bioethics principles. Name the tension between hope and honest information. Say how you'd explain realistic benefits and risks, check understanding, and respect the patient's choice.

Question 22

What is the biggest problem facing health care today, and how would you resolve it?

Accepted Answer

It tests whether you follow health care issues and can think critically about them without scientific knowledge being the point. Choose one problem you understand, such as access or cost, explain why it matters with an example you've seen, and give one realistic step. Admit what you don't know.

Question 23

As a doctor, you may face limits imposed by HMOs or insurers. How will you deal with that?

Accepted Answer

Applicants report (2010) this question, along with one on doctors no longer being the leaders. It tests realism about medicine as a career. Acknowledge the frustration, then explain how you'd advocate for patients within the system and work with the team. Show you chose medicine knowing these limits.

Question 24

What's wrong with health care in Massachusetts?

Accepted Answer

Applicants report questions about Massachusetts health care and its insurance movement. It checks local awareness. Read up on Massachusetts health insurance and access issues before the interview. Give one balanced point, with what works and what still falls short.

Question 25

I'm curious what your age group thinks about the shortage of primary care physicians.

Accepted Answer

UMass created its accelerated three-year track partly to address a growing physician shortage in Massachusetts. The interviewer wants a thoughtful view. Give your honest view of why fewer people choose primary care and what might change that. If relevant, mention the three-year aMD with a preselected generalist residency match.

Question 26

If you could tell the admissions committee one thing about your application, what would it be?

Accepted Answer

It gives you a last chance to make your case and shows what you think matters most about you. Pick one point, ideally something not fully captured in your file, and say it in two or three sentences with one example. Then have two or three school-specific questions ready to ask.

Questions UMass Chan applicants report

Opening

Why medicine and why UMass Chan

Your application and experiences

Character and judgment

Ethics and scenarios

Health care today, and closing