If you’re feeling overwhelmed thinking about preparing for your MMI, don’t fret—an MMI prep book can help you by providing MMI tips, sample questions and detailed answers—and prepare for interview day! An MMI prep book is a great way to ensure you approach each MMI interview station with complete confidence, and a well-rounded understanding of what admissions committees are really looking for in your response to each unique, situational question you are presented with.
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The Multiple Mini Interview, or MMI, is a standard assessment tool used by many universities, for graduate and professional programs, and most notably, medicine, to evaluate candidates' non-academic traits, such as interpersonal skills and professional behavior, as they relate to a potential career and graduate or professional program.
The MMI interview is used by admissions committees to see what skills, behavior and traits are innately exhibited by each candidate when they are put ‘on the spot’ and asked situational judgement test questions. These, of course, cannot be communicated or displayed through a student’s GPA or MCAT scores, so it’s imperative that you strive for excellence during your MMI. SJT’s are used to assess your ability to make decisions in complex situations. Contrary to what some may have suggested in the past, the CASPer Test and Multiple Mixed Interview (MMI) seem to be highly coachable, so that is why we so highly recommend practicing thoroughly, studying the appropriate materials, and reviewing an MMI prep book before your interview!
Why We Recommend an MMI Prep Book
It’s no secret that MMI questions can put candidates in a unique position that they’ve never been in before, and we believe that each student should complete an adequate amount of reading, understand what each question is asking them (and why it’s being asked), know exactly how to construct their response, and have the opportunity to practice, too. But, it’s vital that students are reviewing the correct materials, from a reliable source, in order to understand current practices and the best methods to approach each MMI question and answer. An MMI prep book is a great one-stop-shop with reliable information in one single resource, and is highly recommended, as many students who opt to scour the internet for MMI prep and advice may unknowingly find themselves reviewing misinformation, or feel entirely overwhelmed.
SJT’s, like the MMI and the CASPer test, are designed to test your ability to approach difficult scenarios through a professional and critical lens, and the ability to do so isn’t entirely inborn. As you continue to learn and thrive in your respective field, your understanding and approach to unique situations will develop further, and your MMI is an opportunity for you to show the admissions team how you think, and demonstrate your promising, professional qualities.
Being given a great score on your MMI could help you stand out, and too often, candidates underestimate the importance of answering each question thoughtfully and concisely. It's important to be prepared for your MMI because you'll have limited time to complete it, and you’ll be put on the spot with only one opportunity to prove yourself and respond. Of the 7 different types of MMI questions the MMI ethical questions that often require an “if-then” approach, as well as any ‘acting’ stations, are the ones that tend to stump interviewees, resulting in a lower score and hurting their chances of admission, but there are several components and questions that may arise during your MMI that can really throw you off, so, you must practice and understand the variety of questions you may face before your interview date. Your MMI prep book would, ideally, highlight each type of question, explain it in detail, and provide samples questions and answers.
An MMI is comprised of 8-12 stations, each lasting 4-8 minutes—in that short amount of time, you’ll have to demonstrate your ability to think logically, ethically, with integrity, and professionally. That is why an MMI prep book that encompasses all details and components of the interview is a great resource to add to your studying materials as you prepare for your MMI interview. Not only should you know which questions to anticipate, but you should know why you should respond to a particular question in a specific way, and reviewing an MMI prep book ahead of time can help ingrain that information in your mind.
Looking for help preparing for your MMI? Check out these tips:
What Should My MMI Prep Book Include?
An MMI prep book can help familiarize you with structure of the interview, as well as help you understand what questions may be asked, how you should approach them, and why you should approach them from a specific standpoint. Remember, SJT’s aren’t meant to encourage a response that demonstrates what comes to mind first, but rather, your ability to breakdown a question and respond in the most logical, ethical, and professional way…even when the scenario presented is difficult, or, if the question is simple and personal.
While it has been suggested that MMI’s don’t have a “right or wrong” answer, this is, arguably, untrue, as you won’t score highly if your responses aren’t well thought out, original and professional.
That is why an MMI prep book should be an integral part of your interview prep process, and why your chosen MMI prep book should include the following:
There are several types of MMI questions that could be presented to you during your interview, and it’s important that you choose a prep book that outlines each in great detail, especially the 7 most common MMI questions, which can be categorized as: scenario, policy, acting, personal, quirky, MMI writing stations, and collaborative. Within these questions, you’ll be required to answer in a way that is professional, structured, concise, and ethical. You may have to think-outside-the-box and will have to think on-the-spot, which can be difficult to do well without adequate preparation and guidance. With adequate preparation, and an MMI prep book on-hand, you should feel confident organizing your answers and providing them efficiently.
Every MMI question is unique, and some may prove to be more challenging than others for each individual. For policy questions, you will need some background knowledge on the field/topic, so your MMI prep book should at the very lease, outline where and how you can obtain relevant knowledge that can help you tackle policy questions with ease. For personal questions, you may be asked something as straightforward as, “Why do you want to be a doctor?”, or “Why do you want to attend this school/program?”. This may feel like a ‘no brainer’, but you still must craft your response in a way that is concise, genuine and detailed. For quirky questions, you may be asked a fun question, such as “if you could speak to any historical figure, who would you want to speak to and why?” but you should still try to produce an educated, authentic and interesting response, and reviewing examples of such responses is imperative in ensuring you understand what is expected of you during your MMI.
For scenario questions, you may be presented with a difficult scenario, and you’ll have very limited time to structure a response that demonstrates your ability to think ethically, and understand the premise of “if-then”—that is, focusing on what you don’t know, but stating that “if” something were to be true, “then” you would proceed with a specific action. This can be key in certain scenario questions that may arise during your MMI. For instance, you may say, “If A were to be true, then I would go ahead and do B. However, if C were to be the case, then I’d have to opt for D, because... (etc.)”.
For acting questions that may arise during your MMI, you would be interacting with an actor and instructed to treat them and correspond with them as you would in a real-world situation. This may be a doctor-patient scenario, or student-professor one (or any number of other possibilities), depending on your chosen field. It’s important you practice and understand what is expected of you during your acting test, and an MMI prep book can help you do just that.
And, finally, for collaboration and writing stations, you may be met with any type of question, but will be expected to relay your response differently. In collaborative stations, the key is to perform well together, rather than compete, and your MMI prep book should outlined strategies that you can keep in mind when collaborating with other people during your MMI. For a writing station, you’ll be expected to write your response down in a timely manner and communicate your thoughts clearly. Your MMI prep book should, for these reasons, discuss nuances, like ensuring you’re able to read over your answer, and maintain the same structure as you had in your verbal answers.
It can be very easy to overthink or even underestimate the power of your response to each type of question, and while there may be several “right” answers, your MMI prep book should provide you with an in-depth understanding of how to approach and respond to each question well. And, your MMI prep book must include answer strategies and tips for each type of station, and examples of great answers to each question type, so that students who review the material will understand the ‘golden standard’ to approaching and responding to MMI questions. Ideally, once you’ve learned an effective and strong strategy for (for example) personal questions, you’ll understand how to stick with your response structure, regardless of if you’re doing so through verbal communication or writing!
Overall, your MMI prep book should give ample information about each type of question, why it is asked, suggest strategies for answering, and demonstrate the type of response(s) that would be considered suitable for each. Along with this, prep books that include expert tips, information on follow-up responses, and additional advice is always worthwhile and makes for a useful MMI preparation resource!
Check out this video for more tips on preparing for your MMI:
Which MMI Prep Book Do We Recommend?
If you're looking for a book that will help you achieve the highest score possible on your MMI, we highly recommend checking out the top-rated BeMo’s Ultimate Guide to Multi Mini Interview: How to Increase Your MMI Score by 27% without Memorizing Any Sample Questions, which is available on Amazon!
Of all the MMI prep books available, this one includes ample information about a wide variety of question types, sample responses, and also addresses common myths about the MMI and shares proven strategies. It has also been well-reviewed and received by many hopeful applicants, who moved onto being successful ones!
The BeMo Ultimate Guide MMI prep book was written to help students prepare for—and complete—their MMI with confidence, and provides them with the best information in order to do so. The BeMo Ultimate Guide is considered to be the most comprehensive resource for MMI preparation, meaning you’ll have all of the information you’ll need to prepare in one book. Written by former MMI evaluators, admissions committee members and award-winning scientists, this book truly is a guide and can benefit any graduate or professionals school applicants who are required to take the MMI. The guide includes proven strategies and BeMo’s own proven formula for acing the MMI, sample questions and answers, and 2 full length practice mock interview questions. It also includes pro-tips about how the MMI is scored, 23 possible types of questions and details on how to best answer each, 20 difficult MMI practice questions, with a detailed analysis of potential answers, and free access to BeMo’s revolutionary mock interview simulator. BeMo’s guide not only shares important tips and information that can help prepare you for a successful MMI, but serves as a resource through all steps of an applicant’s preparation! Upon completing the guide, and utilizing its practice questions, applicants should be able to confidently respond to a wide array of MMI questions and understand what types of answers are expected of them, and why.
FAQ
1. What is the purpose of SJT’s, like MMI?
Graduate and professional programs want to get to know students’ qualities, beyond what they see reflected in their GPA’s, and, they want to assess how students respond to timed questions that are entirely situational, unique, and designed to test a students’ moral, ethical, professional, and personal approach to specific scenarios. MMI’s exist for the purpose of examining and scoring a student’s ability to respond to a unique array of questions under pressure and in a short period of time, as this can give evaluators and admissions’ a clear idea of how the student interacts and reacts to situations as an individual.
2. Can I study for my MMI?
Yes! While some may contradict this, it is entirely possible to study, practice and prepare for your MMI, and we highly recommend you do so!
Some people feel that they will be able to curate adequate responses to MMI questions based on their own knowledge and innate ability to respond to unique questions on-the-spot, however, we strongly recommend reviewing MMI resources that can provide tips, clarify and explain the purpose is behind specific questions, share what admissions committees are actually hoping to hear, and explain how you can best structure your answer. We also recommend practicing potential answers, especially for difficult questions, and ensuring that you’re able to speak clearly and confidently—and deliver your response—in 4-8 minutes.
3. Why is a MMI prep book a worthy investment and a recommended first-step?
A MMI prep book is a worthy investment (and ours only costs 0.99 cents!) and a great first-step that can serve as a resource while you prepare to ace your MMI! A test prep book should, ideally, outline the structure and format of questions, and give you examples and analyses of potential responses, as well as share expert advice and tips on how to best prepare, and/or what to avoid saying. It also serves as a single, organized resource written by vetted professionals—rather than having to search the internet, you’ll have everything you need at your finger tips!
4. What should be included in my MMI prep book?
- Your MMI prep book should only be authored by credible individuals, such as evaluators, admissions committee members (current or former), scientists, academic consultants, and/or anyone else with direct affiliation to the MMI.
- Include proven strategies, statements and advice. Remember, any advice mustn’t be taken unless it is backed by proof/evidence that it works!
- Include sample questions and answers—the more detail, the better!
- A formula or set instructions for crafting your response. It’s crucial to look for an MMI prep book that not only encourages students to practice their response to sample questions, but tells them how they should consider responding, and why.
- A practice test, or tips for practicing, are always useful!
- Alternate answers for each sample question—there are many possible questions that will be asked during your MMI, however, sharing a formula also means sharing more than one way of responding, because each student taking the test may interpret questions differently, and that isn’t a bad thing.
- Analyses of at least a few questions and answers so students understand what they should and should not say.
- Any additional bonus content, including tips for follow-up questions that may arise, is always great…you can never be over-prepared for an important assessment like the MMI.
5. How long does the MMI take the complete?
Your MMI will include 8-12 stations, with 4-8 minutes being allowed at each station. Students will usually have 1-2 minutes to review their question and prepare a response, and should aim to deliver their response within 4 minutes to allow additional time for follow-up questions. It’s important to note that some MMI interviews are conducted in-person, and others are virtual. This varies by institution and program, but the test structure and times remain consistent!
6. How long will my MMI preparation take?
This depends on YOU! Some students may find that after reviewing a prep book and practicing a few sample scenarios that they are confident, whereas others will practice for a few hours each week, or for several months leading up to their MMI date! Additionally, many students find that practicing in front of friends or family, and/or recording themselves so they can evaluate their own response and body language, is helpful. And, some may opt for MMI interview coaching in order to best prepare. Overall, it is recommended that you spent at least a few hours, over a couple of weeks, thoroughly reviewing your MMI practice questions, prep book, and practicing your responses.
7. What test prep book do you recommend?
We highly recommend our own comprehensive resource, the top-rated BeMo’s Ultimate Guide to Multi Mini Interview: How to Increase Your MMI Score by 27% without Memorizing Any Sample Questions, which is available on Amazon! This book is written by experts and was designed specifically to prepare students for their MMI and help them achieve the highest score possible.
8. I require additional support preparing for my MMI, where can I start?
BeMo Academic Consulting is here to help! BeMo offers 1-on-1 preparatory services for students at the undergraduate, graduate, and medical school level. Helping students get into their chosen school is what we do best, and we can help you prepare for your MMI interview, as well as for any other components of your application process!
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