Interviewer Guide

Thank you so much joining us for our 2025 interview season with the Class of 2029!  

We appreciate your time and commitment to our program. We would not be able to do this work without you. 

Please review the information provided below and contact us at medadmis@umn.edu regarding any questions you may have.

Interview Program

For our candidates, their interview consists of two parts: an asynchronous component submitted online via video recording and a 30 minute Mission specific interview conducted via Zoom.

Your role will be to interview one candidate in a 30 minute panel interview with questions provided by the Office of Admissions. Each candidate will be paired with one Medical School faculty or staff member and one current student. You will then submit your evaluation scores for the candidate following the interview. 

This application cycle our candidates selected which University of Minnesota Medical School mission they would like to be considered: General Admission, Rural Health, or Indigenous Health & Community.

You will be interviewing applicants that selected General Admission and will most likely be placed on the Twin Cities campus. For the General Admission program, our mission is Discovery & Innovation:

Discovery is finding something new that was not known before. Innovation is to do something in a new way; to have new ideas about how something can be done, make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods and ideas. They differ from growth mindset in that growth mindset is more of an internal process of self-discovery and insight while innovation and discovery are more outwardly focused and measured by uncovering new information, making change and having impact. A spirit of Discovery & Innovation should ultimately lead to improvement in the human condition. 

AMP

AMP is the software system used by the Office of Admissions to process candidate applications. As an interviewer, you will use AMP to sign up for interview dates* and submit your candidate evaluations.

To access AMP, login at amp.medadmissions.umn.edu. Use the Faculty/Admin Login tab and click on Faculty Sign In to enter your UMN account credentials.

Detailed instructions on how to use AMP are available on the AMP Instructions tab.

*Student Interviewers: Please use the Cycle 2025 Student Interviewer Dashboard to sign up for interview dates.

Interview Sign-up

To sign up for interview dates*, login to AMP at amp.medadmissions.umn.edu. In the left hand menu, select General Admission Interview and then Availability in the sub-menu. Detailed instructions on how to use AMP are available on the AMP Instructions tab.

To view a full list of interview dates and times, please refer to the Interview Dates tab. Interviews will take place at 9 AM, 12 PM, or 3 PM (CST). Additional dates for Spring 2025 will be added in the coming months.

*Student Interviewers: Please use the Cycle 2025 Student Interviewer Dashboard to sign up for interview dates.

Cancellations

Faculty/Staff:

If you are no longer able to interview after signing up, please send an email with your cancellation to medadmis@umn.edu within 24 hours of your interview, when possible.

Students:

If you are no longer able to interview after signing up, please do ALL of the following as soon as possible: 1) remove your name from the Cycle 2025 Student Interviewer Dashboard, 2) update your RSVP to "No" on the Google calendar invitation, AND 3) email your cancellation to Nedy Windham at windh003@umn.edu.

Conflict of Interest (COI) & Confidentiality Attestations

When you first login to AMP we will ask you to review and confirm your receipt of the University of Minnesota Medical School Office of Admissions Conflict of Interest (COI) & Confidentiality Attestations. The annual attestations are required for all individuals involved with applicant review.

Conflict of Interest at the Interview

As many of our interviewers also serve as application reviewers, you may recognize your interviewee from their application. If this happens, you should proceed with the interview and make note of it in your comments. 

However, if you personally know the candidate, please notify us at medadmis@umn.edu as soon as possible and we will reassign you to another candidate. If you are already in the Zoom interview, please contact an Admissions staff member via private chat message.

Interview Platform (Zoom)

Interviews will all take place via Zoom. The Zoom login link will be shared with you through an email reminder and Google calendar invite 48 hours prior to your interview.  

We strongly encourage that you become familiar with the requirements needed to use Zoom in addition to reviewing Zoom's frequently asked questions, troubleshooting, and training videos if you are not familiar with participating in Zoom meetings with breakout rooms. 

Additionally, you should check for any Zoom updates and test your internet connection, camera, and microphone prior to your interview. 

We encourage both candidates and interviewers to use a virtual background. Please consider using a virtual background if your computer system allows. Access University of Minnesota virtual backgrounds and instructions. 

Zoom Troubleshooting & Back-up Plan

If you encounter any technical difficulties during your interview, please utilize the private chat functions to contact an Admissions staff member. If you are in a breakout room, use the Ask for Help option, which can be found at the bottom of your Zoom breakout room window. If you have become disconnected or are experiencing other technical difficulties, we encourage you to use the Zoom call in feature or to contact us at medadmis@umn.edu.

Should an applicant lose power, internet access, etc., please be prepared to finish the interview via phone. Should you need to finish the interview via phone, the applicant's phone number will be listed on your evaluation form. Please also use the Ask for Help option at the bottom of the Zoom breakout room to request that the host come to your room. This will allow us to adjust for additional time, if needed.

Interview Schedule

You can view the name of your candidate in your interview queue 48 hours prior to your interview. To find your interview queue, log into AMP and select General Admission Interview in the menu. Click on the View link next to the candidate's name to open the evaluation form. The form will include the candidate's name, preferred first name, pronouns, and phone number. 

These are blind Interviews and no additional information about the candidate will be provided.

9:00 AM / 12:00 PM / 3:00 PM Login to Zoom

• Admissions staff will admit all interviewers and candidates into the Zoom meeting. Candidates will move directly to a breakout room for their welcome presentation. Staff will verify your attendance and provide an overview of instructions. 

9:10 AM / 12:10 PM / 3:10 PM Breakout Room Assignments

• All interviewers and candidates will be in the main Zoom meeting space together, therefore, any questions you may have during this time should be communicated via private chat message to Admissions staff. The breakout rooms will open and you will move yourself to the breakout room labeled with your candidate's name. If you need assistance, staff can also move you to your breakout room.

9:15 AM / 12:15 PM / 3:15 PM  Candidate Interview

• You will be in a breakout room with your candidate and your interview partner.* You will have 35 minutes to introduce yourselves (name, pronouns, role, and affiliation to the medical school), welcome the candidate, and take turns asking the 5 interview questions. You will receive a notice when 2 minutes remain and the breakout room will automatically close after 35 minutes. All interviewers and candidates will automatically move back into the main Zoom meeting space.

Please note that you will not meet with your interview partner after the candidate interview is complete. Each interviewer will have their own evaluation form to complete in AMP. 

*Possible interviewer combinations may include:

• Faculty/Student

• Faculty/Staff

• Faculty/Faculty

• Staff/Student

• Staff/Staff

9:45 AM / 12:45 PM / 3:45 PM  Log-off Zoom

• You will be instructed by Admissions staff to log-off Zoom and complete your candidate evaluation in AMP by 10:00 AM.

Interview Questions

The 5 interview questions were developed to evaluate the following Competencies for Entering Medical Students: Service Orientation, Intellectual Inquiry, and Critical Thinking. The Mission Focus questions evaluate the candidate's potential to contribute to our mission of Discovery & Innovation.

Please note that candidates will not have access to these questions in advance. They will be hearing these questions for the first time when you ask in their interview. 

Question #1 (Mission Focus)

Medical students have varying degrees of clarity as to their futures within this profession. If you were to look 10 years into the future, what do you see clearly for your career? What does a typical day look like for you (specialty or geographic location, joys and challenges)?

Question #2 (Mission Focus)

Name a pressing healthcare issue in the United States. If you were to receive $5 million dollars in funding, how would you approach this problem?

Question #3 (Mission Focus)

What does “Discovery & Innovation” mean to you? How have you demonstrated an interest in this through your own experiences?

Question #4 (Service Orientation)

Describe something you have done that is service to others. How did you choose it, what impact did you have, and what did you learn about yourself?

Question #5 (Intellectual Inquiry & Critical Thinking)

How do you handle situations where there is conflicting information or multiple possible solutions?

You're welcome to ask follow-up questions as well, however, please remember that the following topics are OFF-LIMITS during an interview unless they are brought up by the candidate.

Candidates are also encouraged to ask you questions if time allows. If you are asked a question and do not know the answer, it is alright to say “I do not know the answer to that question, but I would encourage you to follow up with a member of the Admissions team.” There will also be a brief Q&A following the candidate's interview and they could ask their question at that time.

Candidate Evaluation

Following the interview, you will complete your candidate evaluation in AMP. On a scale of 1-5, you will be asked to provide a score for each competency assessed in the interview. The scoring rubric for each competency is available on the Scoring Rubrics tab.

You will also have the option to submit additional comments. All comments will be included in the candidate's application reviewed by the Admissions Committee and will assist them in providing additional context to your numerical scores. We encourage you to include your opinion of the candidate in your comments, however, any comments should be within the context of what the candidate shared with you in their interview. Please note these comments will be read by Committee members and/or the applicant.

Detailed instructions on how to access and submit your candidate evaluation form are included on the AMP Instructions tab.

Resources & Tips

*Please note, we have advised applicants to prepare so that some of the above can be prevented but depending on an individual’s resources and accessibility some of these things are still possible.