Question 1

So, tell me about yourself.

Accepted Answer

Dean Ratts compares the closed-file interview to meeting a patient for the first time in an ER: it tests presence, communication and how you introduce yourself. In the open-file interview it is the warm-up before the file questions. Applicants advise about 60 seconds: where you come from, what you do now, the two or three experiences that led you to medicine, and what you want next. Have two versions. A fuller one for the closed-file interviewer, who needs the backstory, and a shorter one for the open-file interviewer, who has read your application.

Question 2

What would you like me to know about you? Is there anything that isn't in your application?

Accepted Answer

An open prompt that shows what you think matters most about yourself. One interviewer simply asked, "So, what do you want to talk about?" Pick one thing with depth that the file shows poorly: a long commitment, a family role, a skill. Tell it as a short story with a point about the kind of doctor you'll be. In the open-file interview, choose something not already in your essays.

Question 3

What are you up to these days? What have you done since graduation?

Accepted Answer

A WashU admissions panel said interviewers ask about gap-year activities to gauge real interest and depth. Describe your current role in concrete terms: what a typical week looks like, what you're responsible for and one thing you've learned. Link it to medicine without forcing it.

Question 4

Why medicine? How did you become interested in it?

Accepted Answer

Motivation for studying medicine is one of the traits WashU's Committee on Admissions says it evaluates. Both interviews cover it. Tie your reason to one or two real moments, then say what those moments showed you about a physician's work. Explain how later experiences tested and confirmed that reason. Applicants suggest showing a sincere desire to help others through what you've actually done.

Question 5

Why WashU? Why did you apply here?

Accepted Answer

Dean Ratts calls the interview a two-way street to assess fit. Applicants report interviewers are eager to hear why you're motivated to go there. Name two or three features of the Gateway Curriculum and tie each to your past: Phase 1 clinical immersions, an EXPLORE pathway (Research, Advocacy & Global Health, Education or Innovation), the Gateway Coaching Program, or community work focused on health equity. Add St. Louis if you have a real reason. Watch the Welcome and Gateway Curriculum videos the school asks you to watch first.

Question 6

What will you bring to WashU? Why should we pick you over other applicants?

Accepted Answer

They want to know what your classmates and patients would gain from you, beyond your numbers. Offer one specific strength backed by evidence, such as a language, years in a community or a skill from a job, and say where you'd use it at WashU (a coaching cohort, an EXPLORE pathway, community engagement). Stay modest and concrete.

Question 7

Have you ever seen a physician work? What did you learn from shadowing?

Accepted Answer

It checks that your picture of the job comes from watching it, not from imagination. Describe one moment you watched closely: how a doctor delivered news, handled uncertainty or worked with a team. Then say what you'd copy and what surprised you.

Question 8

Do you have any reservations about going into medicine?

Accepted Answer

It tests authenticity, a trait WashU says it evaluates, and whether you know the hard parts of the job. Name one real concern, such as long training, burnout or emotional weight. Then say what you've seen or done that prepares you for it. Honesty plus a plan beats a claim of zero doubts.

Question 9

Tell me about your research. Why does it matter for medicine?

Accepted Answer

Dean Ratts lists research as an open-file topic and says research means asking a question and gathering data, much like a doctor turning complex science into words a patient understands. Applicants report technical follow-ups. Give the question in one sentence, your own part in plain words, one thing that went wrong and what you changed, and how the work connects to patients. Research isn't required at WashU, though more than 95 percent of students complete a project, so link yours to an EXPLORE pathway.

Question 10

Tell me about your clinical experience. What have you learned from it?

Accepted Answer

They want proof that you've seen patient care up close and thought about it. Choose one setting and one patient or moment. Say what you did, what you noticed and how it changed the way you think about care. Show empathy through the details you remember.

Question 11

Tell me about this activity on your application.

Accepted Answer

A WashU panel said interviewers probe your activities to gauge real interest and depth. Unusual hobbies get asked about too. For every entry, be ready with what you did, why you kept doing it, one challenge and one result. Applicants say to know your activities well, because the open-file interviewer has read them.

Question 12

What do you do outside of class? How do you spend your free time?

Accepted Answer

A friendly question that shows who you are and whether you'd fit a collaborative class. Give one or two real interests with a detail that makes them yours. If asked how a hobby like baking or music helps you as a doctor, have a short, honest link ready.

Question 13

Have you worked with disadvantaged populations? How will you care for the patient population in St. Louis?

Accepted Answer

WashU builds community learning focused on health equity into all three phases of the curriculum, and applicants report questions about service and St. Louis patients. Describe a sustained service experience and what it taught you about the barriers patients face. Then say how you'd keep that work going in St. Louis.

Question 14

Tell me about a time you failed or were unsuccessful.

Accepted Answer

The secondary asks this to assess grit and resilience, and interviewers follow up on it. Resilience is on WashU's list of evaluated traits. Pick a real failure that you caused, not a disguised strength. Spend a short time on what happened and most of your answer on what you did next and what you do differently now. Make sure it fits what you wrote in the secondary.

Question 15

Tell me about working on a team under stress.

Accepted Answer

It tests how you act when pressure is on and others depend on you. One specific moment: the stakes, your role, a disagreement or problem, and what you did to keep the team working. End with what you learned about yourself.

Question 16

Tell me about a time you stepped up into a leadership role or stepped down from one. How did you handle the transition?

Accepted Answer

It looks for maturity: taking responsibility, and also handing it over well. Describe what made the change necessary, how you prepared others, and what you'd do differently. Stepping down for a good reason can be a strong answer.

Question 17

Tell me about an ethical decision you had to make.

Accepted Answer

Ethical responsibility is one of WashU's evaluated traits. WashU's interview advice says interviewers may ask your beliefs on ethical issues and want to see how you reason. Lay out the competing duties, who would be affected, what you chose and why. Admit what was hard about it. If you aren't sure, it's fine to take a moment to think.

Question 18

How do you handle stress? Describe a time you faced adversity.

Accepted Answer

It checks resilience and whether you can sustain yourself through training. Give one real hard period, what you did to get through it, and the habits you rely on now. Applicants advise showing grit and determination through how you got past difficult moments.

Question 19

Tell me about a time you changed your mind.

Accepted Answer

WashU's advice says interviewers want people who are open to being taught. This asks whether you update your views when you get new information. Describe your original view, what new information or person changed it, and how you acted differently afterward. Choose something meaningful but not divisive.

Question 20

What do you think is the biggest problem facing health care today?

Accepted Answer

It shows whether you follow health care beyond your own experiences and can argue a position calmly. One interviewer asked for three challenges. Name one or two issues you can discuss with substance, such as access, cost or workforce, ideally ones you've seen up close. Give a reasoned view and admit what you don't know.

Question 21

What is the most important public health issue today, and what should we do about it?

Accepted Answer

It tests whether you can move from naming a problem to a realistic response. Applicants report it in 2010 and more recently. Pick an issue, explain briefly why it matters, then propose one or two concrete steps, including what a physician can do. Linking it to the Advocacy & Global Health pathway can show fit.

Question 22

How do you think AI will change the practice of medicine?

Accepted Answer

No source reports this question at WashU. WashU's interview advice does say interviewers may ask about modern medical care, and this is one likely form of it. Give a balanced view: one way AI could help patients or doctors, one risk such as errors or bias, and why a physician still holds responsibility for care. Draw on anything you've actually used or seen.

Question 23

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Accepted Answer

It checks whether your goals are thought through and match what WashU offers. Give a direction rather than a locked plan: the kind of patients, setting or work you hope for, and the role research, teaching or advocacy might play. Show how EXPLORE or Phase 3 electives would help you get there.

Question 24

What questions do you have for me?

Accepted Answer

A good question shows real interest. Dean Ratts calls the interview a two-way street. Ask your interviewer about their own experience at WashU, the coaching program or student culture. A 2021 applicant says you can ask about culture directly. You get your interviewers' names about two business days before, so you can prepare.

Questions WashU applicants report

Opening

Why medicine and why WashU

Your experiences

Character and judgment

Current issues in health care

Closing