When Do Medical Schools Send Interview Invites?

When Do Medical Schools Send Interview Invites?

Medical schools send interview invites on a rolling basis from July or August until late in the cycle. Of the 11 MD and DO school pages below, the earliest month named is July (UC Davis invites) and the latest runs through May (TouroCOM). Every window that states an end runs to January or later.

That changes what a quiet November means. A single national calendar hides it: schools publish their own windows, and their end dates differ by four months. This page puts each school's window in its own words, then gives you a procedure for the wait. When the wait ends, our guide to replying to a medical school interview invite covers the email.

Every school page quoted below was checked on November 7, 2026. Several pages give a month range with no year, and the table says so. Windows can shift during a cycle, so reread the school's page before you plan around a date.

Interview windows by school, 2026-2027

Each row quotes the school's own admissions page. "Year stated" says whether that sentence names the cycle.

Two schools publish two different end months. Wake Forest says invites run to February, while its timeline ends the interview season in January 2027. OHSU says February/March in one place and February in another. Plan to the earlier date, and do not read the later one as a promise.

What the table tells you about a November wait

Six of the 11 pages describe invites or interviews running into February or later: Wake Forest, Kaiser Permanente, OHSU, UC Davis, Rowan-Virtua and TouroCOM (our count from the table). PCOM runs "through the spring term". The three DO rows that give an end month run to January (KCU), April (Rowan-Virtua) and May (TouroCOM).

Our view: no invites by mid-November is early at most schools on this table, not late. The schools that interview through spring are still filling interview days, and rolling review means your file can come up in any week of that window. Spend November on the things you can still change: unsent secondaries, a real update where a school accepts one, and interview practice.

The countercase: early-decision and early-window schools work on a shorter clock. UGA's early decision timeline lists interviews in "Mid-September 2026" and final decisions on "October 1, 2026". If your list leans on schools whose windows end in January, such as KCU and UGA, a quiet December means more. Our page on no medical school interviews by December covers that case.

How many interviews do you need?

No official source we checked publishes how many interviews an applicant needs. None of the 11 school pages above gives a number, and neither does AACOM's admissions interview page. AAMC's applicant pages returned HTTP 403 when we tried them on November 7, 2026, so this page quotes nothing from AAMC.

A number you read online is someone's estimate. What you can check is whether your list matches your file: how many of your schools are mission fits for your record, and how many secondaries you finished early. That is a school list question, and it is a better use of the wait than counting.

Still waiting: a procedure for November

Run these steps once, in order. Each one has a pass condition.

If a school on your list takes one, our guide to a letter of interest before a medical school interview shows which schools accept it and a constructed example.

1. Confirm every file is complete. Log into each school portal. Pass: each one shows complete, with letters received. Wake Forest says "Applications marked complete will be reviewed continuously through the interview season (August through February)." An incomplete file is not in that review.
2. Finish any open secondary. Pass: none open. If some are, our guide to late medical school secondaries in November and December covers how to prioritize them.
3. Read each school's update rule before you write one. Pass: you know which schools accept updates and how. Stanford says "no application updates are accepted prior to an interview invitation." UC Davis says "No application updates are accepted after submission", with exceptions for "major changes". Wake Forest "does not accept grade or coursework updates after the AMCAS application has been submitted"; other updates go "through your applicant portal to be placed in your file, but we cannot guarantee that it will be reviewed by the Committee on Admissions." Our list of medical schools that accept update letters collects these rules.
4. Send an update only where the school takes one, and only with real news. Pass: the letter names something that changed since you applied. Our guide to a medical school update letter before an interview shows the structure.
5. Add the schools' sender addresses to your contacts. Pass: no invite can land in spam. PCOM, for example, names its three invite addresses and asks you to add them "so they will not be captured in any email filters."
6. Prepare for the format you will get. Pass: you know whether each school runs an MMI or a traditional interview. See medical schools that use the MMI and DO school interview formats by school.

After the invite: how long the rest takes

Some of the same pages say how long decisions take after the interview. UC Davis gives "Final decisions: within 30-45 days post-interview". PCOM says interviewed candidates "are usually notified within four to six weeks of their interview date." ATSU-KCOM gives early-decision applicants status "within two weeks of interview". Our guide to how long it takes to hear back after an interview covers more schools.

Questions about medical school interview invites

When do medical schools start sending interview invites?

In July or August at the earliest schools on this table. UC Davis says invites start "in July", and Stanford's earliest go out "in August". ATSU-KCOM's interviews typically begin in October.

Is it bad to have no interview invites in November?

At most schools on this table, no. Every window that states an end runs to January or later, and six run into February or later. A December with nothing is a stronger signal at schools whose windows end in January.

Do DO schools send invites later than MD schools?

On this table, DO schools do not start later: KCU starts in August, Rowan-Virtua in early September and TouroCOM in September. Two DO windows run longest, Rowan-Virtua to the end of April and TouroCOM to May, while KCU's typically ends in January.

How long after a secondary do invites come?

None of the 11 school pages gives a time from secondary to invite. Rolling review means it depends on when your file is complete and when the committee reaches it.

Review the writing you send next

While you wait, the document you can still send is an update letter, and only where the school accepts one. Get a free Quick Review of your update letter against GradPilot's medical school update letter rubric, which checks that the letter names what changed since you applied and what that adds. When an invite or a first choice comes, the letter of intent and interest rubric checks whether your letter ties a stated feature of the school to your own reason for attending.

More interview and letter guides are on the medical school essays hub and the medical application review page.

Sources

Retrieved November 7, 2026, except where noted.

• Stanford Medicine, MD Admissions: How to Apply (entering class of 2027): invite timing; no updates before an interview invitation.
• Wake Forest University School of Medicine, How to Apply (2027 Admission Timeline): invite window, interview season, update rule, virtual interview.
• Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Application Process (2026-2027 cycle): interview dates and format.
• OHSU School of Medicine, M.D. Program Admissions (2027 cycle): interview window, key dates, remote MMI.
• UC Davis School of Medicine, How to Apply (no cycle year on the timeline): invite start, interview window, decision timing, update policy.
• University of Georgia School of Medicine, Admissions Process (timeline for 2027 matriculants): interview window, early decision dates.
• Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine, Interview Process (2026/2027 DO cycle): invite and interview window, virtual format.
• Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, DO Admissions (2026-2027 AACOMAS cycle; format line names 2025-2026): interview window.
• Kansas City University, How to Apply: College of Osteopathic Medicine (no year stated): interview window and format.
• Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, DO Program: Apply (2027 admission): interview terms, invite sender addresses, decision timing.
• A.T. Still University KCOM, Application Process (no year stated): interview start, early decision notification.
• AACOM, Admissions Interview (no year stated): checked for an interview-count figure; none given.