Medical School Interviews

Medical School Interviews Explained

If you pass the first stage of the admissions process, you’ll get an invite to a Medicine interview. This is your chance to demonstrate your suitability for Medicine and showcase your personal qualities that are aligned with those of a good Doctor.

When Do Medical School Interviews Start?

The Medicine interview season can start as early as November and usually runs to March. The timeframe between receiving your invite and having your interview can be quite short, so it’s best to prepare in advance – instead of leaving prep until you’ve actually received an invite.

After you’ve submitted your UCAS application for Medicine, some candidates might be invited to interview relatively quickly in November or December. Don’t worry if you don’t though, because lots of invites will be sent in the new year. Remember that different universities work to different timescales and some won’t start running interviews until after the Christmas period.

When Will I Know the Outcome?

Some Medical Schools will let you know if you’ve been successful within a couple of weeks of your interview, while others will hold off until the deadline in March.

Two Types of Medicine Interviews

There are two main types of Medical School interview:

• Multiple Mini Interviews
• Panel interviews

MMIs require you to work your way around a series of stations, facing a different interviewer with a different question or task at each station. Panel interviews involve a panel of interviewers asking you questions over a longer period of time.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, most Medical Schools switched from in-person to online interviews, and some are still conducting their interviews online now. Make sure you check the details when you get your invitation to interview.

Medical School Interview Questions

Common interview questions include:

• Why do you want to study Medicine/become a Doctor?
• What did you learn from your medical work experience?
• Why do you want to study at this Medical School/university?
• What would you find most challenging about being a Doctor?
• How do you cope with stress/failure?

You can find lots more example questions in our Interview Question Bank.

School-by-School Interview Details

We’ve reviewed each Medical School to bring you information about their interview process. You can get all of our school-by-school interview tips here.

While we do our best to regularly review and update this page, details can change quickly. So please check with your chosen university before making any application decisions.

Aberdeen University Interview

Your interview accounts for 50% of the selection process at Aberdeen University. The other half is a combination of your academic performance (30%) and UCAT score (20%). Their MMIs are happening in-person for 2023 entry and you can find out more on their website.

Anglia Ruskin University Interview

To shortlist for interview, Anglia Ruskin University checks applications to ensure that they meet the minimum academic requirements. Those who pass this minimum requirement are ranked based on their UCAT score. Additional points are given to those living or studying in the East of England, with Essex being most preferable. Their MMIs will be taking place in-person for 2023 entry and you can find out more here.

Aston University Interview

Aston University ranks applicants by academic qualifications and UCAT score to shortlist for interview. Academic qualifications include GCSEs and A-Levels if already taken, and accounts for two-thirds of the overall score. The UCAT score is allocated points, depending on the decile that it falls into. They’re holding MMIs online for 2023 entry and you can get more information on their website.

Barts (Queen Mary) Interview

Barts (Queen Mary) shortlists candidates for interview by scoring you based on your UCAS tariff and UCAT score, weighted 50:50. The panel interview lasts 20 minutes and is comprised of two parts. During the first 10 minutes, you will be asked questions on an article sent to you prior to the interview. During the second 10 minutes, the panel will conduct a more traditional medical interview.

Birmingham University Interview

To shortlist for interview, the Birmingham University gives applications a score based on GCSEs, UCAT score and contextual factors. The weighting is 45% academic, 35% UCAT and 20% contextual. MMIs are being held in-person for 2023 entry and you can find out more here.

Brighton and Sussex Medical School Interview

Brighton & Sussex Medical School ranks applications based on the BMAT, predicted A-Level grades and GCSEs. For 2023 entry, they have confirmed MMIs will take place online via Zoom and you can get more information on their website.

Bristol University Interview

Bristol University assesses applications based on academic record, with all candidates needing to meet minimum GCSE and A-Level requirements. However, A-Level and GCSE grades are not involved in the weighting process for interview shortlisting, with 100% of weighting relying on UCAT scores. Interviews are held online through Zoom and you can find out more here.

Buckingham University Interview

Buckingham University shortlists applicants based on academic achievements (no BMAT or UCAT required) and then uses a computer-based exam to test suitability for being a Doctor. Candidates are then invited to MMI selection days.

Brunel University Interview

Brunel University interviews will be held online via Zoom for 2023/24 entry and you can learn more about them here. The call them vMMIs (virtual MMIs) and candidates will face six stations, each designed to assess a different attribute.

Cambridge University Interview

Cambridge University takes the following into consideration to shortlist for interview: academic record, reference, Personal Statement, BMAT, contextual data. Panel interviews are expected to be held online for 2023 entry. Find out more on their website.

Cardiff University Interview

To shortlist candidates for interview, Cardiff University scores applications. Points are awarded for nine GCSE subjects, and the UCAT score may also be used as part of the interview shortlisting or offer selection process. Find out more here.

University of Central Lancashire Interview

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) checks all applications to ensure that they meet the minimum academic requirements. The Personal Statement and reference, as well as any information in the UCAS form, will be considered at this stage. They say that a strong Personal Statement will significantly increase your chances of being offered an interview.

University College London Interview

Candidates who meet minimum academic requirements will be ranked based on their BMAT score. University College London (UCL) will hold in-person interviews for 2023 entry and you can find out more on their website. They are using MMIs this year, which is a change from the panel interviews they have used in the past.

Dundee University Interview

All academic achievements including UCAT will be used to generate a pre-interview score. Dundee University is holding in-person MMIs for 2023 entry and you can get more details here. International applicants will have an online panel interview instead.

Edge Hill University Interview

At Edge Hill University, applicants who meet the minimum eligibility and academic criteria will be ranked according to their UCAT scores. A UCAT threshold will be set depending on the number of interviews to be held.

Edinburgh University Interview

Edinburgh University scores applicants based on their academic achievements. The cut-off UCAT score for 2023 entry will be 2470. Interviews at Edinburgh are called assessment half-days and involve the MMI interview followed by a group task.

Exeter University Interview

Exeter University first ranks applicants into deciles by their predicted/achieved A-Level grade combinations. Those who meet the entry requirements will have their UCAT and academic qualifications weighted to assign a total score. The usual weighting is 25% UCAT and 75% academic achievement.

Glasgow University Interview

Glasgow University checks all applications to ensure that they meet the minimum academic, Personal Statement and reference requirements. Those who pass this initial academic screening are ranked based on their UCAT score. There are usually two panels: Panel A focuses on being a Doctor and Panel B focuses on ethical scenarios and discussion. You can find out more on their website.

Hull York Medical School Interview

To shortlist for interview, Hull York Medical School scores candidates based on GCSEs (up to 30 points), UCAT (up to 40 points), UCAT SJT band (up to 15 points) and contextual data (up to 15 points). Find out more on their website.

Imperial College London Interview

Imperial College London uses an MMI-style interview split into two parts: an online-synchronous part (find out more about this here) and a live interview. They shortlist candidates for interview via consideration of A-Levels, UCAS and BMAT scores.

Keele University Interview

Keele University shortlists candidates, who meet academic requirements, for interview based on a roles and responsibilities form. Learn more about this here.

Kent and Medway Medical School Interview

Kent and Medway Medical School first considers applicants based on minimum GCSE requirements and a UCAT threshold, before ‘contextualising everyone’. Find out what this means here.

King's College London Interview

Medicine interviews at King’s College London take place between November and May, which is one of the longest interview periods of all Medical Schools. They shortlist candidates via consideration of GCSEs, A-Levels, UCAT, Personal Statement and references. Interviews will be held online for 2023 entry.

Lancaster University Interview

Lancaster University checks all applications to ensure that they meet the minimum academic and aptitude test requirements. Those who pass this initial academic screening are ranked based on their BMAT scores.

Leeds University Interview

Leeds University first checks applications to make sure they meet minimum academic requirements and then assesses candidates based on achieved grades (e.g. GCSEs), predicted grades (e.g. A-Levels) and the BMAT score.

Leicester University Interview

Candidates who pass minimum academic requirements are allocated a score, obtained through a 50:50 weighting given to the UCAT score and GCSEs. Leicester University‘s MMI interviews are expected to take place online for 2023 entry and you can find out more here.

Liverpool University Interview

Liverpool University ranks you by academic performance and UCAT score then invites the top candidates to interview. Interviews are expected to be in-person MMIs for 2023 entry.

Manchester University Interview

Manchester University starts by screening all applications to ensure academic requirements meet their threshold for that year. A threshold is also set for the UCAT. Applicants can select their preferred interview option of online via Zoom, or in-person on campus. A limited number of each option is available. Find out more here.

Newcastle University Interview

Applicants who pass initial academic screening are ranked based on their UCAT score alone. Newcastle University doesn’t consider any other factors such as the Personal Statement or references at this stage.

Norwich Medical School Interview

At Norwich Medical School, everyone who passes minimum academic requirements will be interviewed, unless there are too many applicants for the number of available interviews. In this case, eligible candidates will be ranked based on their UCAT score. Their website states that MMIs for 2023 entry will be in-person.

Nottingham University Interview

If you’re invited to interview at the Nottingham University, you should expect online MMIs this year via Microsoft Teams. To shortlist for interview, they will typically score your eight highest GCSEs as well as your UCAT. You can find out more on their website.

Oxford University Interview

For Oxford University, shortlisting is done by ranking your GCSE performance and BMAT score. You’ll have an online panel interview with two academics, one of which will be a practising clinician.

Plymouth University Interview

Plymouth University interviews will be online for 2023 entry and follow an MMI structure. All applicants are assessed based on their academic record, including GCSE, A-Level and UCAT.

Queen's University Belfast Interview

Queen’s University Belfast shortlists candidates for interview by ranking based on academic achievements, including UCAT score. Their website says that interviews will be held online via Zoom for 2023 entry.

Sheffield University Interview

Sheffield University is unique from other Medical Schools because it provides you with the interview questions at the time of invitation. You can get more information about their MMIs here.

Southampton University Interview

Southampton University holds selection days for shortlisted candidates. This includes a panel interview and a group discussion. For 2023 entry, all selection days will be held in Southampton and you can find out more about them here.

St Andrews University Interview

To shortlist for interview, all applications are checked to ensure that they meet the minimum academic and reference requirements. St Andrews University expects strong achieved grades, a positive reference and work experience relevant to Medicine. Those who pass these requirements are then ranked based on their UCAT score.

St George's University Interview

St George’s University checks all applications to ensure they meet the minimum academic requirements. Those who pass this initial screening are then ranked based on UCAT score.  Learn more about their MMIs.

Sunderland University Interview

Sunderland University shortlists for interview based on academic requirements and the UCAT score. Applicants will also fill out a survey about their work experience. In addition to the MMI, candidates will be asked to complete an online numeracy test.

Swansea University Interview

To shortlist for interview, all applications are checked to ensure that they meet the minimum academic and reference requirements. Swansea University then ranks candidates based on GAMSAT score for interview selection. Shortlisted candidates will face a Situational Judgement test and two panel interviews.

Warwick University Interview

For Warwick Medical School, applicants must have a 2:1 degree, a UCAT score, an appropriate UCAS reference and 70 hours of work experience across at least two placements. Candidates who have met the initial criteria are then scored based on UCAT score and academic achievement. You can find out more here.

How To Prepare For Medicine Interviews

These tips will help you to prepare for your Medical School interview:

• Make sure you know how to prepare for interviews
• Practise answering lots of common interview questions
• Revise the hot NHS topics – and science topics – that you’re expected to know about
• Get comfortable talking about medical ethics
• Keep up-to-date with current news in Medicine
• Look at the MSC’s info sheet about what makes a good Doctor
• Read the course information and research the Medical School
• Get university-specific interview tips
• Book your place on our MMI Circuits, Interview Course, or Interview Bootcamp
• Work with a Medicine Interview Tutor to refine your performance