Hospital-based medical laboratory science programs interview before they admit, and the interview often counts for a set share of your score. Some add a written exercise or a panel. Here is what named programs say about their interviews for 2027, from their own pages.
From MLS programs’ own admissions pages2027-2028 program yearChecked October 28, 2026
Practice with a mock interviewOne-on-one on Zoom with Julie Cunningham, MA, CCC-SLP.
Jump to:FormatsWhat they assessPractice questionsHow to prepareFAQ
Interview formats at named programs
| Program | Format | What their page says |
|---|---|---|
| Mayo Clinic (Florida and Minnesota) | Panel plus faculty one-on-ones | For the July 2027 start: “The interview process includes a behavioral style panel interview followed by individual faculty interviews. It includes a tour of the program facilities and typically lasts about three hours.” Source |
| University of Nebraska Medical Center | Virtual, with a written exercise | Priority interviews November 9, 12, 16, and 19, 2026 (virtual); final interviews January 2027. “Interviews consist of program overview, individual interview with admissions committee members and written exercise.” Source |
| Cleveland Clinic | In person, 25% of score | For 2027-2028: “Admissions interviews are conducted in-person at Cleveland Clinic’s main campus”, with a virtual option for distance or a disability accommodation. The interview is 25% of the total score. Source |
| Vanderbilt University Medical Center | In person or Teams | “All applicants who meet the minimum requirements of coursework and GPA will be granted an interview.” “Online interviews take approximately 1 hour, and in person interviews take up to 2 hours.” Source |
| Penn State Health | Interview | For 2027-2028, interviews start around September. The interview evaluates “accountability, teamwork, time and resource management, self-confidence, communication and interpersonal skills, maturity and motivation for the field of medical laboratory science.” Source |
What MLS interviews assess
Mayo evaluates “academic performance, written and verbal communication, panel interview, individual interviews with faculty, two letters of recommendation, life experiences, and career awareness (knowledge of the profession).” (Mayo)
Vanderbilt’s interview evaluation covers “interest and knowledge of the Medical Laboratory Science profession, career goals, and personal attributes”, including “an ability to make decisions based on sound knowledge, strong ethical and moral attitudes, and a commitment to quality patient care.” Its interviewers are the program director, educational coordinator, and clinical coordinator (Vanderbilt).
Notice “patient care” and “career awareness”. Lab scientists rarely see patients, so interviewers want to hear that you understand how your results reach one. Be ready to explain a lab error and what it could mean downstream.
Practice questions
Most programs don’t publish their questions. These are my practice prompts, not questions any program has published:
- What does a medical laboratory scientist do, and how do your results affect patient care?
- Tell us about a time you caught an error, yours or someone else’s.
- How do you manage several tasks with deadlines at once?
- Tell us about a time you worked on a team that wasn’t working well.
- Which lab department interests you most, and why?
- What would you do if a coworker skipped a quality control step?
- Why our program?
How to prepare
- Learn the profession’s vocabulary: chemistry, hematology, microbiology, blood bank, and quality control.
- Prepare behavioral stories. Mayo’s panel is behavioral: describe the situation, what you did, and the result.
- Practice a short written response if your program includes a written exercise, as UNMC does.
- Know your timeline. UNMC holds priority interviews in November 2026, and Penn State starts around September.
- Ask good questions about clinical rotations and certification exam pass rates.
Your interviewers may have your application in front of them, so reread your own medical laboratory science personal statement before the interview. If you haven’t submitted yet, see our medical laboratory science personal statement examples, or work with Lauren Hammond, PhD, our personal statement editor.
For sonography, radiation therapy, and other professions, see our allied health interview guide.
For a panel interview, see panel interview tips from Julie Cunningham, a licensed speech-language pathologist, on speaking clearly to several people at once.
Practice with a real interviewer before the real one. My wife, Julie Cunningham, MA, CCC-SLP, is a licensed speech-language pathologist who runs mock interviews on Zoom for medical laboratory science applicants. She coaches every format: one-on-one, panel, MMI, and recorded video interviews such as Kira Talent. She works on how your answers come across: clear key words, pace, voice, filler words, organizing an answer so it has a point, staying steady when you’re nervous, and how you look and sound on camera. It’s $250 an hour.
Frequently asked questions
Do MLS programs interview?
Most hospital-based programs on this page do. Vanderbilt grants an interview to every applicant who meets its minimum coursework and GPA requirements.
How much does the MLS interview count?
At Cleveland Clinic, the interview is 25% of the total score.
What is the Mayo MLS interview like?
A behavioral-style panel interview followed by individual faculty interviews, plus a tour of the program facilities. It typically lasts about three hours.
Is there a written part to an MLS interview?
At UNMC, yes. Its interviews include a program overview, an individual interview with admissions committee members, and a written exercise.
Related guides: Allied health, Perfusion, Radiation therapy, Sonography, Respiratory therapy, Dietetic internship, and Genetic counseling. See all interview guides by program.
Every date and quotation on this page comes from the program’s own admissions page or admissions document, linked where it appears. Vanderbilt’s page gives no cycle year; we used it only for its standing process. Last checked October 28, 2026.