Medical School Interview Preference in the Post-COVID-19 Era - A Single Institution Experience

Q: What was the study’s primary objective in the post-COVID-19 era?

To assess changes in medical school interview preferences and experiences after the COVID-19 period.

Q: How were participants grouped for the comparison?

A retrospective survey compared the class of 2024 using in-person interviews with the class of 2025 using virtual interviews at an allopathic medical school.

Q: What differences were found between virtual and in-person interview cohorts?

The virtual cohort more often needed to reschedule MCAT, while the in-person cohort reported higher travel-related expenses and a stronger preference for the in-person format.

Q: How did students rate their ability to understand school culture from the interview trail?

Most in-person interview students felt they could gather a clear impression of atmosphere and culture, while only a smaller proportion of virtual interview students reported the same.

Oct 3, 2026

Uploaded by Maya Linwood

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic introduced major obstacles for prospective medical students, including MCAT scheduling postponements and technical challenges during virtual interviews. A retrospective survey compared the 2024 in-person interview cohort with the 2025 virtual interview cohort at an allopathic medical school. Findings showed differences in MCAT rescheduling, travel-related expenses, and interview format preferences, with both cohorts perceiving school atmosphere and culture differently.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Introduction

Materials and Methods

Open Access Original Article DOI: 10.7759/cureus.51042 Review began 09/28/2023 Review ended 12/24/2023 Published 12/24/2023 © Copyright 2023 Mamaril-Davis et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CCBY 4.0. , which permits unrestricted use , distribution , and reproduction in any medium , provided the original author and source are credited. Medical School Interview Preference in the PostCOVID-19 Era: A Single Institution Experience James C. Mamaril-Davis 1 , Mary Nguyen 2 , Jonathan Yasmeh 2 , Emily Leyva 2 , Ran Li 3 , Hongyi Wang 4 , Tejal Parikh 2 1. College of Medicine, The University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson, Tucson, USA 2. College of Medicine, University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson, Tucson, USA 3. Department of Educational Psychology, University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson, Tucson, USA 4. Department of Disabilities and Psychoeducational Studies, University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson, Tucson, USA Corresponding author: James C. Mamaril-Davis, [jmamarildavis@arizona.edu](jmamarildavis@arizona.edu) Abstract Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic presented unforeseen obstacles to prospective medical students such as Medical College of Admission Test (MCAT) scheduling postponementsand technical challenges during virtual interviews. Students were also faced with difficult decisions postsubmission such as having to choose a program without ever visiting a school in person. The primary objective of the present study is to assess the changes in medical school interview preferences and experiences in the post-COVID-19 era. Methods: A retrospective survey of the class of 2024 (in-person interview group) and class of 2025 (virtual interview group) at an allopathic medical school was conducted in the Fall of 2021 via the Qualtrics XM online survey software (Qualtrics, Provo, UT, USA) . Results: There were 195 survey respondents: 77 students from the in-person interview group and 89 students from the virtual group. More students in the virtual cohort had to reschedule their MCAT compared to the in-person cohort (56 . 1% versus 14.3%; p<0 .001) . The in-person group had higher travel-related expenses (>$500) compared to the group who interviewed virtually (65 . 1% versus 2.4%; p<0 .001) . More students from the in-person cohort preferred the in-person interview format compared to the virtual cohort (85 . 7% versus 22.5%; p<0 .001) . Lastly, 87% of the in-person group and 24 . 7% of the virtual group felt they were able to gather a clear impression of the atmosphere and culture of a school from the interview trail alone (p<0 .001) . Conclusion: Matriculated medical students at an allopathic medical school who applied during the COVID- 19 pandemic had more pre-application hurdles when compared to the cohort who applied just prior to the pandemic. Students who primarily had virtual interviews during the pandemic had less travel-related costs but felt more limited in their experience of a school’s culture and ability to establish rapport with interviewers. Despite this, however, the virtual group still expressed a preference for virtual interviews. Categories: Medical Education Keywords: virtual interviews, admission process, medical school interview, medical school applicant, covid-19 Introduction The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had irrevocable effects on healthcare organization and society at large [1] . The effects, positive and negative, on medical school admissions were no different. The pandemic ushered in new obstacles and considerations for candidates applying to medical school such as Medical College of Admission Test (MCAT) postponements, financial barriers, and disruptions in clinical, volunteer, and/or research experiences. From the start of the pandemic in March 2020, potential candidates studying for the MCAT faced both changes to the forma

FAQs

What was the study’s primary objective in the post-COVID-19 era?

To assess changes in medical school interview preferences and experiences after the COVID-19 period.

How were participants grouped for the comparison?

A retrospective survey compared the class of 2024 using in-person interviews with the class of 2025 using virtual interviews at an allopathic medical school.

What differences were found between virtual and in-person interview cohorts?

The virtual cohort more often needed to reschedule MCAT, while the in-person cohort reported higher travel-related expenses and a stronger preference for the in-person format.

How did students rate their ability to understand school culture from the interview trail?

Most in-person interview students felt they could gather a clear impression of atmosphere and culture, while only a smaller proportion of virtual interview students reported the same.

Oct 3, 2026

Uploaded by Maya Linwood