Last Updated on September 30, 2026
Quick answer: The AAMC VITA interview (Virtual Interview Tool for Admissions) was a one-way recorded video interview that some medical schools used during the COVID-19 pandemic. Applicants answered six text prompts on topics such as teamwork and ethics. The AAMC no longer offers VITA, but its preparation advice still applies to virtual interviews today.
What Happened to the AAMC VITA Interview?
If you have seen the AAMC VITA interview mentioned in older medical school advice, you may be wondering whether you will face it. You will not: the AAMC VITA interview was a temporary tool created during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the AAMC no longer offers it. MD programs make big cuts in candidates between secondaries and interviews, so if you make it to the coveted third stage, congratulations!
During the pandemic, the AAMC asked member institutions to conduct interviews virtually. The organization also introduced a standardized online tool to help member schools get to know applicants better: the AAMC Virtual Interview Tool for Admissions or the AAMC VITA interview.
The tool shaped how many schools think about virtual interviews, so it is still worth understanding. In this guide, we cover how the AAMC VITA interview worked, what its questions looked like, which schools used it, and how its preparation advice applies to the interviews you will face today.
How the AAMC VITA Interview Worked
The AAMC Virtual Interview Tool for Admissions (VITA) was a one-time interview that took place remotely. Applicants saw six questions as text prompts and recorded an audio and video response to each. There was no human interviewer. Applicants had one minute to read and reflect on each question and up to three minutes to record a response. They could complete all six questions in one sitting or spread them out, as long as every response was finished by the medical school’s deadline. Breaks between questions could be as long as the applicant wanted.
Who Took the VITA Interview
Applicants selected by a participating medical school were invited to take the AAMC VITA interview. Invitations came from HireVue, the platform used to conduct the interview. Applicants did not pay to take it.
How Invitations Worked
Medical schools started the scheduling process for the AAMC VITA interview. Selected applicants then received a series of emails:
- Participating medical schools invited applicants on a rolling basis, beginning in July 2020.
- HireVue sent invitation emails each week during the interview season.
- HireVue sent reminder emails until the applicant completed the interview.
AAMC VITA Interview Questions
The AAMC VITA interview consisted of six questions in the following categories:
- Personal experience questions, which ask you to describe your path and/or the experiences that led you to pursue a career in medicine.
- Example: Why did you decide to pursue a career in medicine?
- Past behavior questions, which ask you to describe previous experiences that demonstrate your level of knowledge and skills related to the various competencies.
- Example: Describe a time when you experienced a conflict with a classmate or a coworker. What did you do? What was the outcome?
- Situational questions, which ask you to demonstrate your level of knowledge and skills related to the various competencies by describing what you would do in different hypothetical situations.
- Example: Imagine you are working in a group project and one of your teammates is not doing their share of the work. What would you do?
Just like you would for an in-person interview, make sure that you practice answering different questions before sitting down for the actual interview process. Remind yourself what you wrote in your personal statement and secondary essays, and add detail that builds on what the medical school already knows about you. You can review 95 of the most common medical school interview questions to prepare for the interviews you will face today.
How to Prepare for Virtual Medical School Interviews
While VITA was in use, the AAMC offered a practice interview so applicants could see what the process would be like.
The practice interview allowed applicants to:
- Respond to six practice interview questions written by the AAMC VITA question developers.
- Complete the practice interview with the same time limits and countdown timer as the actual AAMC VITA interview.
- Become familiar with the video interviewing environment.
- Use unlimited practice attempts to repeat a practice interview, focusing on certain questions or refining how you respond to questions.
These preparation habits still work for any virtual or recorded interview:
- Practice with your peers and advisers: Conduct mock interviews to practice developing responses using specific behavioral examples from your life and experiences. Make sure that you detail the situation or task you’re describing, the actions you took, and the consequences of your actions.
- Practice with technology: Practice responding with the computer you’ll be using and without an interviewer, to experience what the actual process consists of.
- Find a distraction-free environment: Identify a private, quiet, and well-lit space in your home or office where you can complete the interview by yourself. Choose a spot where you are free of potential distractions and you can speak freely.
- Read the entire question before you begin responding: Make sure you respond to all parts of the question.
- Understand what the questions look for: Keep in mind that questions are designed to measure your skills unrelated to medical experience. They do not evaluate your medical knowledge. You do not need to have prior medical experience to answer the questions; your life experiences should serve as inspiration for your answers.
- Provide detailed responses: Be as specific as possible. One solid example is better than several weak or tangential examples.
What Medical School Interviews Look Like Now
With VITA retired, medical schools run their own interviews. Most use a traditional one-on-one or panel format, Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs), or a combination, and many continue to offer some interviews online. Check each school’s admissions website for its current format before interview season starts.
The AAMC still helps schools assess professionalism through the AAMC PREview exam, an online assessment of how well applicants understand effective and ineffective professional behavior. [1] A growing number of medical schools use it in admissions, and it tests many of the same qualities VITA was built to measure. Virtual interviewing has also lasted well beyond the pandemic in medical training more broadly: the AAMC has recommended that residency and fellowship programs consider virtual interview formats. [2] The skills you build for a recorded interview, such as speaking clearly to a camera and using specific examples, will serve you now and later in your career.
Which Schools Used the AAMC VITA Interview?
The list below shows MD programs that used the AAMC VITA interview during its first year. These schools now run their own interviews, so check each school’s admissions website for its current format.
Participating MD programs included:
- Baylor College of Medicine
- California Northstate University College of Medicine
- Carle Illinois College of Medicine
- Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
- Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science
- Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
- Duke University School of Medicine
- East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine
- Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
- Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
- Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine
- Morehouse School of Medicine
- New York University Long Island School of Medicine
- Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
- Nova Southeastern University Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Medicine
- Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
- Rutgers, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
- Saint Louis University School of Medicine
- San Juan Bautista School of Medicine
- Stanford University School of Medicine
- State University of New York Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine
- UCLA/Drew Medical Education Program
- University of Alabama School of Medicine
- University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix
- University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine
- University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine
- University of Central Florida College of Medicine
- University of Florida College of Medicine
- University of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine
- University of Illinois College of Medicine
- University of Louisville School of Medicine
- University of Maryland School of Medicine
- University of Massachusetts Medical School
- University of Michigan Medical School
- University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth Campus
- University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine
- University of New Mexico School of Medicine
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
- University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio (MD-PhD program only)
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical School (MD-PhD program only)
- University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
- Wake Forest School of Medicine of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center
- Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine
- Wayne State University School of Medicine
- Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine
- Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine
Whether or not a school on your list used VITA, you may still interview online at some programs. You must understand what an online interview process entails as well as the dos and don’ts of a successful interview.
VITA Section Breakdown and Timing
The table below shows the time allotted for each component of the AAMC VITA interview:
| Section | Time Allotted |
|---|---|
| Interviewee Agreement | Unlimited |
| Introductory Video (optional) | 3 minutes |
| Technology Check | Unlimited |
| Practice Attempt(s) (optional) | Unlimited |
| Question 1 | 1 minute to read | 3 minutes to respond |
| Question 2 | 1 minute to read | 3 minutes to respond |
| Question 3 | 1 minute to read | 3 minutes to respond |
| Question 4 | 1 minute to read | 3 minutes to respond |
| Question 5 | 1 minute to read | 3 minutes to respond |
| Question 6 | 1 minute to read | 3 minutes to respond |
| Post-Interview Survey (optional) | 10 minutes |
| Total Content Time | 24 minutes |
| Total Seated Time | Appx. 35-40 minutes |
What Interview Day Looked Like
Applicants reached the interview platform through a personalized email invitation from HireVue. After they logged in, the system ran an automatic technology check. Applicants could test their audio and video, respond to sample questions, and review their camera position and sound quality.
The official AAMC VITA interview began when the applicant selected “Start Now.” Each question allowed up to one minute to read and think and up to three minutes to record a response. After each answer, applicants pressed “Finished/Done Answering.” The platform then sent an automated “Interview Complete” email once the videos were uploaded. Applicants who did not receive it within 24 hours were told to contact the AAMC.
VITA is part of medical school admissions history now. The tool itself is gone, but the qualities it tested still decide interview day. Practice recording yourself, study the types of medical school interviews, and prepare questions to ask your interviewers so you are ready for whatever format your schools use. Good luck!
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