IMG residency interview prep
Make your IMG story a reason to rank you.
Explain your USCE, career gaps and program fit without losing your point. Rehearse with an AI interviewer and put your experience into words.
For international medical graduates applying to US residency, from anywhere.
- Voice only, no camera
- Add the gap you dread, rehearse it
- Any hour, from anywhere
$12.99 a week or $29.99 a month. Cancel anytime in Settings.
“Walk me through the time since you graduated.”
- Clinical knowledge and reasoning
- Communication and patient-centeredness
- Judgment, ethics and professionalism
- Teamwork and leadership
“I was spending most of my answer apologizing for the gap after graduation. Hearing it back helped me explain the timeline and move on to what I’d learned.”
Questions you’ll practice
Common phrasings of what this interview asks, and what each one tests. An AI program director works from your own application, so expect follow-ups on what you say.
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“Walk me through the time since you graduated.”
Tests: an honest, forward-looking account of the gap
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“What did you do in your US clinical experience, specifically?”
Tests: your own role, not the hospital’s name
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“Explain this attempt on your record.”
Tests: ownership of a setback, then evidence of change
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“How would your attendings back home describe you?”
Tests: self-awareness backed by real feedback
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“Tell me about a time you had to adapt to a different way of working.”
Tests: adaptability, shown with one specific example
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“How would you respond to a patient who asks for a US-trained doctor?”
Tests: composure and patient-centered communication
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“How is practicing medicine here different from your home country?”
Tests: insight into the US health system
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“Where are you with ECFMG certification?”
Tests: a clear, confident status update
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“Tell me about a conflict with a colleague and how you handled it.”
Tests: teamwork and direct, respectful communication
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“Why our program?”
Tests: research into the program’s own strengths
Setup takes about two minutes.
In the 2026 Match, 56.4% of non-US-citizen IMGs matched to a PGY-1 position, against 93.5% of US MD seniors. Source: NRMP
Your scores and your visa status are set. The interview is the part you can still change.
The season in numbers
PGY-1 match rate for foreign-born IMGs who needed visa sponsorship, a five-year low
Source: NRMPPGY-1 match rate for foreign-born IMGs who did not need sponsorship (US permanent residents)
Source: NRMPKnow what to change before the real interview
See where your answer lost its point, what was missing and what to try next. Your own words, with feedback on each question and scores across four skills.
Honest, but the gap took a minute to explain.
“So, after graduation I was, um, preparing for my exams and also helping in my father’s clinic, and…”
Say what you did in your first sentence, then one thing it taught you that a first-year resident needs.
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“Walk me through the time since you graduated.”
Nothing to hide, but it sounded like an apology. Lead with what you did.
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“What did you do in your US clinical experience, specifically?”
You named the hospital and the rotation. Add one patient and your part in the plan.
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“Why our program?”
A real reason from the program’s page. Tie it to what you want to do next.
Illustrative example. Your scores will differ.
“I had the clinical experience, but my USCE stories needed structure. The follow-ups showed me where I was assuming the interviewer would fill in the gaps.”
One question, and what a strong answer does
An example of the kind of question you’ll be asked, and what the feedback looks for.
“Why did you choose to train in the United States?”
Follow-up: “What surprised you most about how US teams work?”
What a strong answer does
- Gives a positive, specific reason in the first sentence, about training, not about leaving home.
- Backs it with one moment from your US clinical experience: what you saw, what you did.
- Shows you understand how the team, the patient and the system work here.
- Turns back to this specialty and this program, and stops.
What a mock residency interview costs
A human mock is one hour with a physician, booked and paid per session. Here is how the options compare, from each service’s own site on October 4, 2026.
One hour with a physician mock interviewer: $500.
A week of Bossed interviews: $12.99.
Source for the $500| Compared on | Bossed | MedSchoolCoach | Confetto |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $29.99 a month or $12.99 a week, up to two hours of interviews a day | $500 for one mock interview; $1,400 for four source | $299 for 1 month of access; $149 for 1 week source |
| A session | You pick 10, 15 or 20 minutes, at any hour, up to two hours a day | One hour: questions in the first half-hour, feedback in the second source | A video call with an AI interviewer that asks follow-ups source |
| Who asks, and how | An AI program director, out loud and voice only, built from your CV and the program’s page | A physician interviewer and former admissions member or interviewer, online by video source | AI interviews, with video, tone and body-language analysis source |
Price
A session
A MedSchoolCoach mock is an hour with a physician interviewer and detailed verbal feedback: use Bossed for the reps, and a human for the final polish if you can. Confetto adds video and body-language analysis. Bossed is voice only, built from your own application, at about a tenth of Confetto’s monthly price. Details for other services are as each publishes them on its own site, checked October 4, 2026.
Spoken interview sessions, up to two hours of interviews a day
A week of focused preparation when your interview is just days away.
Need more than a week? Two weekly payments total $25.98. From three weeks on, the monthly plan costs less.
Cancel anytime in Settings, with no cancellation fee. You keep access until the end of the period you paid for.
Before you ask
Can I use it from outside the US?
Yes. It runs in your browser from anywhere, at any hour. Rehearse at the time your real interview is booked, Eastern time or yours.
Will it understand my accent?
Your answer is transcribed, and your feedback quotes what it heard, word for word, so you can check it. You’re scored on the words you said, not on the sound of your voice.
Does it cover visa or Step questions?
It gives no visa advice and teaches no USMLE content. Add a Step attempt or a gap to your background during setup, and you can rehearse explaining it calmly before a program director asks.
Is an AI good enough?
For the reps, yes. It asks, listens and follows up on what you actually said, up to two hours a day, at 2 a.m. or the night before. Then it scores four skills and quotes your own words back, so you know exactly which answer to fix.
How it works
Set up in about two minutes, then interview out loud and see your scores.
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Add your CV and the program
Upload your CV or paste your personal statement, then paste the program’s page. Add a gap or a Step attempt you want to rehearse. No account needed, about two minutes.
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Interview out loud
Pick 10, 15 or 20 minutes, at whatever hour your real interview is. One AI program director with an American accent asks, listens and follows up.
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Get scored on four skills
Clinical reasoning, communication, judgment and teamwork, each scored, with your own words quoted back and a note on every question.
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Go again before the next program
Swap in the next program’s page and practice the questions that interview will bring. Up to two hours of interviews a day on either plan.
The night before
The same evening, two ways.
Without rehearsing
- Your interview is on Eastern time, early morning where you are, and you’ve never said your answers out loud at that hour.
- The years since graduation still come out as a long apology.
- Your US clinical experience is a list of hospitals, not one story.
After practicing out loud
- You’ve already rehearsed at the hour of the real slot, in your own time zone.
- The gap is two calm sentences and the reason it makes you a better first-year resident.
- Your USCE story runs short and ends on what you’d do on their wards.
The season’s dates
From the organizations that set them, so you can plan your sessions backwards.
- Feb 1, 2027
Rank order list entry opens, 12 p.m. EST
Source: NRMP - Mar 3, 2027
Rank order list certification deadline, 9 p.m. EST
Source: NRMP - Mar 15, 2027
Match Week and SOAP begin, 10 a.m. EDT
Source: NRMP - Mar 19, 2027
Match Day, 12 p.m. EDT
Source: NRMP
By October 31, 2025, Thalamus had already scheduled more than 500,000 residency interviews across more than 45 specialties for the 2026 season. Source: AAMC
Good to know
15 minutes by default
Choose 10, 15 or 20 minutes. A real interview day has several of these.
Voice only
Voice only: no camera and no video. Your spoken answers are transcribed so they can be scored on what you say.
Your interviewer’s accent
Your interviewer speaks with an American accent. You can change it in Settings.
Practice before each interview, so the American style feels familiar by the first one.
Questions
What to know before you start practicing.
Is the interviewer a real person?
Can I use it from outside the US, in my own time zone?
Will it ask about my USCE, my gap or a Step attempt?
Can I practice for a specific program?
Does it use my camera or record video?
How long is a session, and what does it cost?
What doesn’t it cover?
Related interview practice
Updated on
Every program gets one interview with you. Make each one your best.
Rehearse tonight, at the hour of your real slot. 10, 15 or 20 minutes, voice only, scored on four skills.