University of California, Irvine interview: format, dates and how to prepare for 2027

University of California, Irvine interviews with a traditional interview, held virtually. What to expect and how to prepare.

Sandbox teamUpdated 1 min readHow we check facts

Key facts

  • University of California, Irvine interviews with a traditional interview, held virtually.
  • University of California, Irvine requires the MCAT.
On this page
  1. The interview
  2. Tests and requirements
  3. Key dates
  4. How to prepare
  5. Sources

The interview

For 2027 entry, University of California, Irvine interviews applicants with a traditional interview, held virtually.1

Tests and requirements

  • Requires the MCAT.2

Key dates

Nov 1, 2026
AMCAS primary deadline
Dec 1, 2026
Secondary deadline
Jul 1, 2027
Commit to enroll deadline for UCI

Dates from official admissions sources.3

How to prepare

A traditional interview is a conversation about your background, your motivation for medicine and your experiences. For questions that start with “tell me about a time,” the AAMC recommends the STAR method: the situation, the task, the action you took and the result, with one situation per answer.4

For a virtual interview, the AAMC recommends a computer or tablet over a phone, with the camera at eye level.5

Expect to be asked why University of California, Irvine. Its mission is a good place to start: “Discover. Teach. Heal. Through excellence in research, education, patient care and community service, we seek to advance individual and population health in Orange County and beyond.”6 Connect it to something specific you’ve done.

For requirements, statistics, deadlines and tuition, see the full University of California, Irvine profile in Sandbox Atlas.

Sources

  1. AAMC. Interview format and datesstudents-residents.aamc.org · Accessed October 2026
  2. University of California, Irvine. MCAT requirementmedschool.uci.edu · Accessed October 2026
  3. University of California, Irvine. Admissions datesmedschool.uci.edu · Accessed October 2026
  4. AAMC. Preparing for your interviewsstudents-residents.aamc.org · Accessed October 2026
  5. AAMC. Preparing for a virtual interviewstudents-residents.aamc.org · Accessed October 2026
  6. University of California, Irvine. Missionmedschool.uci.edu · Accessed October 2026

Schools in this post

University of California, Irvine

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