Medical school interviews are the final step in your road to acceptance—and regardless of how impressive your primary and secondary applications are, a bad first impression can make or break your chances of success. Fortunately, many schools now hold multiple mini interviews (MMIs), where you have the opportunity to interact with many different interviewers.
With MMIs, your chance of medical school acceptance doesn’t ride on a single first impression; instead, it’s based on an objective average of how you perform in each multiple mini interview.
For a complete breakdown of the multiple mini interview format, why medical schools use MMIs, how to prepare, and common MMI FAQs, read our Medical School Interview Guide.
In this guide, we offer specific guidance on how to dress to impress for your multiple mini interviews.
How Are Multiple Mini Interviews Different?
As opposed to the traditional interview format where you sit down with one interviewer and they ask you a series of questions, multiple mini interviews are several short interviews led by a variety of different interviewers.
MMIs typically feature six to ten stations applicants circulate through over the course of a morning or afternoon. While the exact structure of MMIs will vary from school to school and could change from year to year, generally speaking, you can expect the following:
- You will rotate between 6 to 10 stations, and each will likely have a different format. One station may focus on behavioral questions, another on personal questions, another on written prompts, and another may have acted out scenarios with patient actors.
- Before you enter each station, you will receive a new prompt and be given 2 minutes to prepare a response before entering the room.
- Station times are generally 8 minutes each.
- Interviewers likely won’t provide you with any feedback. They’ll just ask you questions.
- Some schools may run virtual multiple mini interviews.
As you can see, MMIs require a great deal more moving around than the traditional interview.
This means the comfort of your outfit becomes all the more important. You must ensure you can move around in your interview attire easily and comfortably while still looking sharp and professional.
Ideal Multiple Mini Interview Attire
1 | Professional Clothes Are Expected
Wearing a conservative, tailored suit is your best bet for MMIs. You want to make it easy for your interviewers to see you as a mature young professional who is taking this process as seriously as they are.
For ladies, a pantsuit is your best option. That’s not to say you can’t wear a dress or skirt, but if you do, ensure it’s not too short and that you feel comfortable moving around in it. A button-up shirt will also keep you covered up top, as a low cut shirt is not appropriate for med school interviews.
You’ll be doing lots of moving around, and you do not want to risk any kind of wardrobe malfunction. Don’t let a tight fitting skirt or popped button throw you off your game.
As far as accessories go, keep it simple. Do not wear anything too clunky or anything that dangles. Jingling bracelets and large hooped earrings are distracting, and you want to keep the focus solely on your answers. Small necklaces, studs, or a conservative watch are all good choices. Bring a simple purse or business bag with you to store extra copies of your resume and keep any handouts you may be given.
For men, invest in one or two medium-to-high quality suits. While one suit could run you at least several hundred dollars, that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to your soon-to-be exorbitant tuition costs.
Make sure the clerks at the store take your measurements and tailor the suit appropriately, as it’s much more important to have a well-tailored suit than an expensive one that doesn’t fit properly.
You’ll also need a tie, socks, shoes, and belt. The shade of your shoes and belt must match, and it’s imperative you know how to properly tie a necktie or a bowtie. Choose colors that contrast well against the color of your dress shirt and suit. Avoid bright colors like pink, orange, or yellow.
As far as accessories go, bring either a stylish leather portfolio or suitcase to store extra resumes and keep any handouts. You could also wear a pocket square, cufflinks, a tie bar, or a watch. If your watch has a leather strap, this should also match your belt and shoes. Pocket squares must also complement both your shirt and tie, but they don’t need to match exactly.
Regardless of the gender you identify as, the color of your suit or dress should be one of three widely-used neutral colors: gray, charcoal black, or navy blue. Your pants need to match your jacket. Your dress shirt should be solid-colored and contrast well with your suit. Go with white, light blue, or dark blue, depending on the color of your suit.
Learn more: Suit Colors for Medical School Interviews—Options and Pairings.
Make sure everything is dry cleaned before your interview, and iron your shirt and pants the morning of your interview.
You do not want your outfit to stand out more than the quality of your answers.
While it may seem antiquated, cover up any tattoos and keep any piercings to a modest minimum.
2 | Make Sure You’re Comfortable
While it’s imperative you look sharp and professional, your attire must be comfortable. You’ll be doing a lot of moving around during your MMI.
Closed-toe shoes are required. If you love to wear heels, you can, but keep in mind you’ll need to walk through 6 to 10 different interview stations, on top of a campus tour. This translates to standing for hours on end. For this reason, flats are your best option. If you’re wearing uncomfortable shoes, that discomfort will show through your attitude and answers.
Make sure nothing is too tight, as you’ll be sitting and standing multiple times a day.
3 | Test Your Clothing Thoroughly
And the only way to make sure your outfit is comfortable is by testing it first. Do not, under any circumstances, wear an outfit for the first time to your interview. Try it on at home. Walk around, sit down, stand up, and repeat. Practice answering interview questions in your outfit.
How does it feel? Does the material breathe? Is it easy to sit down or is the outfit too tight? Does it bunch anywhere? Is there anything about it that could distract you or get in the way on the big day? Does it make you feel confident or self-conscious? If something about your outfit isn’t working, it’s best to determine this long before your actual interview so that you can make the necessary adjustments.
How long does it take to put the outfit on? If you struggle with tying your own tie, practice, practice, practice, and consider tying your tie the night before your interview.
This also goes for any makeup or hair products you’ll be using during your MMI. Do not try out a new kind of makeup, hairspray, gel, or after shave for the first time on interview day.
Leave nothing to chance. Test out everything you’re wearing to ensure there are no mishaps or wardrobe malfunctions on the day of your MMI.
4 | Don’t Try to Stand Out
Your multiple mini interviews are not the time to experiment with your funky fashion sense. You may have your own unique style, but MMIs are not the time to put it on display.
You want to stand out for your exceptional interview skills and mature, professional demeanor—not your hot pink polka dot tie and matching socks.
This goes for perfume and cologne as well. While a little is fine, keep it to a minimum so that it’s not distracting. You don’t want your interviewer to associate you with an annoying aroma.
Keep the focus on the quality of your answers, not on flashy colors, dangling jewelry, or overpowering smells.
Dress to impress, but keep it conservative and professional.
Success on Multiple Mini Interviews
Of course, your professional attire is far from the only thing you need to prepare before facing your MMIs. You must start early and be proactive by building consistent prep habits. Practice answering common interview questions so that you can enter every station with confidence.
Build foundational answers to common interview questions and practice answering them in front of the mirror and on camera. Practice answering questions within a short, inflexible amount of time. Stations are typically 6 to 8 minutes, so practice getting your points across within this time frame. And be sure to do this for each different type of MMI format, from policy questions to scenarios with patient actors to writing stations.
Simulating the pressured environment will build your adaptability and problem solving skills. Surprise yourself with random questions so that you can get comfortable being uncomfortable.
You won’t know what questions will come up on interview day, but by practicing under pressure, you will build your interview skills and ensure nothing throws you off.
Take your MMI prep to the next level with our Med School Interview AI Course, which combines comprehensive guidance with an advanced, hyper-realistic AI model that offers immediate and unlimited personalized evaluation of your answers.
You’ll receive tailored, actionable insights on content, tone, body language, eye contact, filler words, and more to ensure you are prepared for any question come interview day. You can even interact with our AI coach, Indigo, who will help guide you on the specific ways you can improve through one-on-one dialogue.
So many more questions and scenarios will be thrown at you during an MMI than a traditional interview. You need to practice thinking on your feet, and our interview course is just the tool you need to hone these crucial skills.
For more tips, check out 10 MMI Prep Strategies to Conquer Your Multiple Mini Interviews.
