10 Tips to Prepare for U of T’s Modified Personal Interview (MPI)

Are you preparing for the Modified Personal Interview (MPI) at the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine (U of T)?

This article outlines 10 strategies you can use to bring your best self to your interview:

1) Know yourself. Why are you applying to medical school? What brought you here? Take some time to practice articulating your journey to applying to medical school.

2) Read about the University of Toronto and the goals and objectives of their curriculum. As you should do when preparing for any of your medical school interviews, be able to discuss how the structure of the medical school suits you. If you are accepted into this school, how would you thrive in this environment? What opportunities would you take advantage of?

3) Read the CanMEDS roles developed by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Be able to identify how your background, extra-curricular activities, studies, and other aspects of your life have allowed you to develop traits in each of the categories. Come up with personal experiences that exhibit each of these characteristics.

4) Read up on medical ethics. It is useful to read books such as Doing Right and practice explaining what you would do in key scenarios in this book. Be able to discuss various medical and controversial topics and argue for both sides. Also know your stance and be able to discuss it. To reinforce this, you can read ethical articles on the CMAJ editorial.

5) Start thinking about everyday issues in the world and their implications on the health of different populations. How will various socioeconomic factors affect your future practice? Read The Economist and the health section on CBC.ca to get some ideas. Know about controversial issues like determinants of health, and key events happening in Canada’s healthcare system.

6) Incorporate interview prep into your everyday life. One can listen to podcasts on White Coat Black Art while eating or getting dressed in the morning. (White Coat Black Art is a radio show by Brian Goldman and the podcasts feature various health practitioners or patients who can share their experiences with medicine.)

7) Review your responses to the essays and ABS (Autobiographical Sketch) that you submitted as part of your original application to U of T. Be familiar with what you wrote in your application.

8) Find some practice questions online (for MMI, standard interviews, anything really!) and practice with friends and family on the phone, on Skype, or in person. Practice the questions in a timed manner and then give each other feedback. For any interview, it is good to practice talking about yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses.

9) Practice with mock interview(s) before your actual interview to assess your performance and identify weak areas for improvement.

10) Finally, have questions for your interviewers! There are questions you will have unanswered even after reading the website and going on school tours, so have some questions that you can ask your interview to see if the school is a good fit for you.

We hope these tips are useful for preparing for the Modified Personal Interview. Good luck!