Medical School Interviews: Will They Be Online or In Person? - Future Doc (2023)

There are several steps to the admissions process in order to enter medical school and begin your training in the medical field. Once you submit your UCAS application and make it through the first stage of the process, you will be invited to attend the interview stage. If you are applying from the UK then this interview will either be in person at the university or in rare cases online. If you are applying as an international student, the interview can take place at the university, online, or in another country closer to your place of residence.

The interview stage can be a very stressful one with students often being confused about what prep they should do and what style of interview their university of choice might be holding. We recommend that you don’t wait to get interview invites and begin prep as soon as possible. You can do this by going to the specific university’s website and looking at what exactly they want from their applicants and what they will be assessing.

There are two types of interviews that take place:

• Multiple Mini Interviews: This involves the students going through various stations (usually 5-8) that assess different skills such as problem-solving, communication, team working, etc. These stations have different examiners, are timed (usually 5-10 mins) and are individually marked.
• Traditional (Panel) interviews: In this, the student is asked various questions by a panel of people over a longer period of time. This type of interview assesses similar skills as the MMIs but can take place over a day or two.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several medical schools had switched to doing their interviews online and some are still continuing to do so. When you get your interview invite, it would be good practice to ensure whether it is online or in person.

When do interviews start?

Each university has a different process for conducting interviews. Some can start as early as November, and some don’t start till January. Very few universities still do interviews after March. The general overall timeline is usually from November-March. If, however, it comes to Christmas time and you still haven’t received an interview offer, don’t stress! Some universities do their interviews in different batches spread out throughout their interview timeline and keep sending interview invites throughout. Whereas some universities like doing all of their interviews together and sending out invites in a lump sum. It is important to have a thorough understanding of how your chosen university does things and set your expectations accordingly.

When are the decisions made?

Again, with this as well, different universities do things differently. Some would let you know of the interview outcome and the application decision within a couple of weeks whereas some can take months. A few others wait for the entire interview timeline to be over before letting everyone know of the outcome together.

To make the whole process a little easier, we have compiled a list of all the universities below with some important starting bits relating to their individual interview processes. This list can either help you in making your selections when deciding which university to apply to or can help you get a starting point when preparing for the interviews.

We have tried to be as up-to-date and accurate as possible with this list but would recommend that you check with your chosen university by either contacting them or going to their website to ensure you get the best information.

University of Aberdeen Interview

The admissions procedure at Aberdeen involves the detailed assessment and scoring of a range of aspects of an application, including academic attainment/predictions (30%), UCAT (20%), and then subsequent interview performance (50%).

Applications are ranked against all the others received for that year’s entry and those who score sufficiently well achieve an interview.

Anglia Ruskin Interview

If invited to interview, you’ll face six MMI stations that last six minutes each. You’ll be scored in three domains on each station, and the scores added together. The three domains include:

• communication and interpersonal skills
• initiative and problem solving
• personal integrity and moral reasoning.

Each domain is marked out of five, so each MMI station carries a maximum score of 15. The maximum score across eight stations is 90.

Our interviewers will also give you a ‘Global Score’ which could be:

• poor
• unsatisfactory
• satisfactory
• good
• excellent.

The score is not used as part of the ranking of candidates, but provides further useful information in the event of needing a ‘tie-breaker’ decision. If a candidate is suspected of providing false information, it may result in immediate disqualification from your application being considered.

Aston Medical School Interview

The MMIs will consist of 7-10 eight-minute stations which will be mapped to the General Medical Council’s Promoting Excellence and the NHS Constitution Framework. They’re holding MMIs online for 2023 entry and you can get more information on their website.

Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry Interview

Barts shortlists candidates for interview by scoring you based on your UCAS tariff and UCAT score. From over 2,500 applicants, they shortlist 800 for interview and make roughly 440 offers. Panel interviews were online last year – check their website for the most up-to-date information.

University of Birmingham Interview

The interview process is designed to help assess your suitability for a career in medicine aside from academic excellence so that we can train students to become doctors who will embrace the values of the NHS including respect, compassion, resilience and commitment to quality of care.

They interview around 1,300 of our highest-scoring applicants and make up to 850 offers to the highest performing candidates. The weighting is: 45% academic, 30% UCAT and 25% contextual. The MMI circuit will comprise six or seven 8-minute stations (each including 2 minutes of reading time) and will be a mix of interviews, role-play and calculation tasks. MMIs are being held in-person for 2023 entry and you can find out more here.

Brighton and Sussex Medical School Interview

They expect to have 193 places for new UK entrants in September 2023. Applicants meeting or predicted to meet their academic requirements will be ranked by the BMAT score, with the top ranking candidates invited to interview. The interviews will be taking place remotely via the Zoom video conferencing software, as they did in 2021 and 2022.

Zoom’s breakout rooms function allows us to run MMIs in a similar manner as we would ordinarily in-person, consisting of five discussion stations with a variety of interviewers.

The BSMS interview usually includes five MMI circuits of 10 minutes each, with the whole thing lasting an hour. MMI results will be considered by the Admissions Review Group, with decisions being made from January until April 2023.

University of Bristol Interview

This year’s interviews will be hosted remotely via the Zoom platform. The formal interview will last approximately 30 minutes in a structured interview format, with four assessors in total. Each assessor will assess your response separately; these independent scores will form an average for each question, which will produce your final interview score. The highest-scoring interviewees will be given an offer of a place, with UCAT scores used as a tie-breaker when necessary.

University of Buckingham Interview

Our admissions process consists of three stages: the first stage is to submit an application with all supporting documents (either via UCAS or directly to us), via the Apply button.

If the applicant meets or is predicted to meet, our entry requirements, they are invited to the second stage to complete the Multiple Mini Assessment, a computer-based test made up of a series of tasks intended to test students’ analysis, interpretation and judgement abilities.

Applicants that achieve a satisfactory grade in the Multiple Mini Assessment, are invited to the third stage which is the Multiple Mini Interview, consisting of a number of observed structured selection examinations.

Exceptionally high performing students may receive an offer after stage 2 in the process, all other offers are made after the multiple mini interview events

We hold numerous selection days during each admissions cycle.

Brunel University London Interview

They use a Virtual Multiple Mini Interview (vMMI) format – designed so that candidates engage in a number of short interviews, using a range of different interviewers.

There will be a series of three vMMIs taking place in December 2022, February 2023 and March 2023. An additional series of interviews may take place later in the cycle if places are still available.

The vMMIs will be conducted online with candidates and assessors participating remotely. An online interview pack will be provided to invited candidates in advance to explain the process.

Each candidate will be assessed at 6 mini-interview ‘stations’, each designed to assess a different attribute, blueprinted to Good Medical Practice.

University of Cambridge Interview

The University of Cambridge uses traditional interviews for its selection process, but there isn’t much information on their website about the process. Interviews for 2023 entry (or deferred entry in 2024) will take place online, except for UK-based applicants to Trinity College.

Your invitation to interview will confirm:

• what you need for your interview
• what platform we’ll be using (Zoom or Whereby)
• details of how to access your interview on the day

Cardiff University Interview

It isn’t specified on their website whether interviews will be online or in-person for 2023 entry. They focus on exploring the personal qualities and attributes that are important to your future career development.

University of Central Lancashire Interview

• Applicants who are successful in being invited for interview will be asked to participate in Multiple Mini Interviews.
• No applicant will be made an offer without interview which is normally held at the UCLan Preston campus between December and May
• Applicants who have passed at least 6 out of 8 MMI stations will be ranked according to score and offers made to the top ranking applicants
• After the MMI applicants will receive a decision within 2 to 3 weeks

University College London Interview

• For applications received for 2023 entry onwards, they will no longer be using the Personal Statement as part of the selection procedure.
• From 2023 entry onwards, they will be using BMAT scores alone to select eligible students for interview. Selection will be based upon the ranked sum score of Section 1 and Section 2, plus meeting a minimum of 2.5B in Section 3.
• The MMI will consist of up to 8 ‘stations’ that candidates will rotate around, and each station will be 5 minutes in length. You will have one minute before the station begins to read some basic instructions relating to the content of the station, and you will then be instructed to enter the station and begin. The interviewer will ask you 2-3 questions during the 5 minutes. More details on their website.

University of Dundee Interview

• Face-to-face interviews will involve moving from one station to another and meeting a different interviewer at each station. Remote interviews will take the form of a panel interview, with the same panel interviewing for all stations.
• In both formats, you will discuss five scenarios during your interview.
• There will be a short break in between each scenario where you will have time to read the briefing material for the next station before answering the questions.

Edge Hill University Interview

Edge Hill University ranks candidates by their UCAT score and invites everyone who meets the threshold to interview.

During the process there will be a total of 8 interview stations (plus 2 rest stations), as above, with each station being 7 minutes in duration.

You will have a total of 2 minutes to read and digest the presented scenario immediately before each MMI station. The station at which you start will be selected at random, and at each station, you will discuss a scenario or perform a task. You will then rotate to the next station in the sequence using a 1-minute gap. As such, each station will take 10 minutes in total.

You should allow approximately 3 hours for the process. Below is the general programme for the day:

• Arrival – please report to the University’s Main Reception. This is building 1 on our Campus map. From here you will be directed to the registration point where you will be signed in and your qualifications will be checked.
• Your photograph will also be taken and passed to the interview team so that they are able to check the person that has been signed in is the same person that enters the interview.
• Introduction and overview of the programme
• Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI’s)
• Candidate evaluation of the day
• Student-led campus tours

Family and friends are welcome to accompany candidates for the introductory session and the campus tour. A designated waiting area will be provided.

The University of Edinburgh Interview

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an assessment half-day, during which they will have an opportunity to find out more about studying medicine in Edinburgh, as well as undergoing a series of short interviews. Candidates invited for assessment day will be provided with more information about the structure of the day.

University of Exeter Interview

The interview style will be Multiple Mini Interview (MMI). The interview may take place either in person or online.

Assistance for travel is available to those who meet certain eligibility criteria.

All applications are considered on an individual basis and offers will be made by the end of MarchTo be successful, you need to get a yes in at least five of the seven stations. If there are too many people for places, your UCAT score will be used as the tie-breaker. To look at further information about their admissions process for 2023, please go through this document.

University of Glasgow Interview

For 2023 entry, The interviews will take place online via Zoom.

The interview session will last around 30 minutes in total, divided into two sections – a panel A and a panel B. Panel A will explore what being a doctor means and related topics around this. The panel B section will focus more on the applicant as a future doctor and will include discussion of an ethical scenario – applicants choose one from two given scenarios.

The interviews are conversational, with no writing required at any stage of the process. The only part of the interview that requires reading is the panel B section, where the applicant reads two ethical scenarios and chooses one for discussion. We have included additional time in the time allocated for this task in order to be inclusive of applicants who have additional needs. The scenarios are also very brief, only two or three sentences.

Applicants will be interviewed by two interviewers, who cover both Panel A and Panel B.

Hull York Medical School Interview

Their MMI format involves three mini-interviews, a group work scenario, an individual scenario and a student station exploring why you want to be a Doctor. You get five minutes, plus two minutes of preparation time, for each station. Their website currently doesn’t say whether MMIs will be online or in-person this year.

THREE MINI-INTERVIEWS

15 points each

The mini-interviews will each focus on:

• Your understanding of current issues in medicine
• Insight into, and motivation for, a medical career
• Your critical thinking skills

Imperial College London Interview

For 2023 – 24 admission year, the MMIs have been split in two parts:

One online-asynchronous section: this will take part in January 2023

One face-to-face part: this will happen on an online platform in February/March 2023

Keele University Interview

Interviews are usually held at the School of Medicine building on the Keele University campus. Each candidate will have a similarly structured multiple mini-interview. The format for interviews for 2023 entry is currently to be confirmed, and will be detailed here once verified.

Interviewers are drawn from the University, local healthcare settings (hospital and community) and the wider local community. All interviewers have undergone specific training for interviewing prospective medical students.

We reserve the right to alter the form of the interview to allow all interviews to be conducted on an equitable basis under any restrictions that may be imposed. This may include conducting interviews remotely by video call.

Interviews are likely to take place during the period from December 2022 to March 2023.

Roles & Responsibilities (R&R) form

The Roles and Responsibilities form is our main tool for selecting applicants with a UK/Home fee status for interview. It provides an opportunity for applicants to tell us about:

• experiences they have undertaken that demonstrate their direct engagement with people in a supportive, assistive or caring role
• their ability to handle responsibility
• their understanding of how somebody has benefited from help, support or care they have provided

Kent and Medway Medical School Interview

• Shortlisted applicants are invited via their KentVision account to book into an available appointment for Multi-station Mini Interviews (MMI).
• KMMS Multi-station Mini Interviews are considerably different to the majority of UK medical schools, so interview preparation courses might be less useful; previous applicants have commented that some of these preparation courses organised at school or commercially were positively disadvantageous for the KMMS process. We do not recommend any particular preparation, but advise applicants to be alert, organised, and in good form to show us the best version of yourself. We communicate extensively with our applicants to prepare them for the process, please see MMI section on our website.
• There were six short stations were labelled as data handling, problem analysis, situational judgement, roleplay, task, and values-based stations. The six short stations were 7 minutes each, with 2 minute intervals, followed by a 42 minute group station, in which applicants were individually assessed. These ran in person in 2020 and 2022. In 2021, and for international applicants in 2022, KMMS ran remote interviews, with 3 short stations and a group station KMMS does not commit to the same number or type of stations for 2023 entry, although we will likely retain the same time formats.

King’s College London Interview

When drawing up their shortlist, King’s looks at everything: your GCSEs and A-Levels, your UCAT score, and your Personal Statement. All applications are carefully considered and therefore you should not expect a decision post-interview until the cycle has completed in May.

Information regarding interviews will be detailed in the information communicated via King’s Apply to those who are invited to an interview.

They operate a “fit-to-sit” policy for interviews, therefore, we are unable to take into account mitigating circumstances for the interview performance. If there are any issues within the interview which you consider affected your performance, you should ensure these are raised with the Admissions team at the time.

Lancaster University Interview

The MMI consists of 12-15 different ‘stations’, most of which will be five minutes long. Some stations will consist of a short interview, where you may be asked questions about your career choice, work experience or suitability for a medical career. At others, you may be asked to read a short paragraph or watch a short video clip, take some notes and then discuss at a subsequent station. An additional 20 minute station will involve group work and will assess your suitability for our problem-based learning curriculum. Applicants who are selected for interview will be sent detailed information prior to their interview. The applicant’s performance at each station is assessed by trained interviewers, against clearly defined criteria. Interviewers include members of University staff, NHS clinicians, local GPs, patients and public representatives, and medical students.

University of Leeds Interview

They take into account your BMAT score, academic record, and Personal Statement when shortlisting for interview. Please note that a student cannot be interviewed twice for the medical undergraduate programme in any given year: this means theyu would not be able to accept an application from a candidate for both the Gateway to Medicine programme (6 years including the Gateway year) AND the standard 5 year MB ChB programme.

They typically have eight six-minute MMI stations and their website currently mentions online interviews.

Leicester Medical School Interview

They rank by UCAT score and academic record and the highest-ranked candidates will get an invite to interview. Around 1,000 people are interviewed and roughly 850 offers are made for the 290 places available. Where two or more applicants are equally ranked, your UCAS form score may be used as a tie-breaker.

University of Liverpool Interview

The University of Liverpool’s School of Medicine admissions process is fully in line with the General Medical Council’s Selecting for Excellence Report and Values Based Recruitment. Therefore, no candidate will be made an offer without interview. For E2023 online semi-structured interviews will be offered and the interviews are scheduled for 9th January 2023 until the 10th February 2023. Any applicant who is invited to interview will be advised of further details when issued with their interview invitation.

The University of Manchester Interview

The interview process for 2023 entry will adopt a five-station multiple mini interview (MMI) format, with each station being marked by a separate interviewer.

Whether you choose for your interview to be in person or on Zoom, all candidates will be assessed and interviews conducted in exactly the same way – the only difference will be whether you attend campus in person, or online.

The interview in each station will be eight minutes long with a two-minute gap between stations. No information will be provided in advance, and there will be no reading or writing component to any of the online or in-person interview stations.

Newcastle University Interview

Each station lasts for seven minutes with an extra two-minute ice breaker question in the first station. One of the stations involves a role-play scenario.

For applicants classed as “International”, for fees purposes, a panel interview involving two selectors will be arranged. For convenience, this can be carried out via Zoom in the applicant’s home country. If international applicants would prefer to visit Newcastle University, we welcome them to have their panel interview on campus. The same categories as mentioned above will be assessed and graded by our selectors during the panel interviews.

Norwich Medical School Interview

Their website states that MMIs for 2023 entry will be in-person.

University of Nottingham Interview

Your GCSE and UCAT scores will be added together. There is no fixed threshold score when selecting for interview.

For 2023 entry, all interviews will be online using Microsoft Teams.

You’ll need access to IT equipment with a webcam and microphone, reliable Wi-Fi and a private and quiet space where you’ll be alone and not interrupted.

The interview is designed to assess the personal qualities usually considered important for the practice of medicine. You’ll be expected to have:

• good communication and listening skills,
• an understanding of professional issues such as teamwork
• respect for patients and the contribution of those working in professions allied to medicine.

University of Oxford Interview

Shortlisting is done by ranking your GCSE performance and BMAT score, with the top candidates getting an invite. Those shortlisted will be interviewed by two colleges: where possible, one will be your college of choice (or allocation, if you made an open application), the second will be allocated to you randomly.

The order in which colleges see you will be arbitrary, and therefore the college interviewers will not be aware of your college choice (or allocation) at the time of the interviews, and you should not reveal it to them.

The number and format of interviews at each college may vary but the selection criteria are common to all colleges. You will be interviewed by at least two academics at each college and by at least one practising clinician. You cannot predict whether your application has been successful by counting the number of interviews you receive, so don’t become anxious if you receive either more or fewer than you expect!

University of Plymouth Interview

The interviews follow a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) structure. You will be assessed across four single assessor stations, which takes approximately 50 minutes.

Queen’s University Belfast School of Medicine

The interviews will still be in an MMI format though the number of stations may be changed. All applicants will be interviewed in the same process.

The University of Sheffield Interview

Their MMIs comprise a series of eight sections and you will receive questions with your invitation. You can get more information here.

University of Southampton Interview

They hold selection days for shortlisted candidates. For 2023 entry, all selection days will be held in Southampton and you can find out more about them here.

University of St Andrews Interview

For 2023 entry, the interviews will be online using Microsoft Teams (for overseas applicants) and in-person in St Andrews (for all other applicants). Check their website for more information.

St George’s University of London Interview

An MMI consists of six interview questions, which take around four minutes each. The interviewers sit at ‘stations’ and the interviewees move around them. Each ‘station’ may involve answering a question, completing a practical task, or participating in a role play, for example, dealing with a challenging situation.

University of Sunderland Interview

For September 2023 entry, our multiple mini-interviews (MMIs) will take place in-person, where candidates undertake a series of short interview stations. The stations will examine a range of skills and aptitudes. The format of stations may vary from a 1:1 traditional interview through to a role-play.

Swansea University Medical School

The entry interview process is structured to take account of these qualities needed as a doctor, as set out in ‘Good Medical Practice’, and the capacity to meet the outcomes of ‘Outcomes for Graduates’

Warwick Medical School Interview

In preparation for your MMI you may wish to reflect on your work experiences and the core values that medical schools are looking for as set out in the NHS Constitution and explained in the MSC guidance core values and aptitutes needed to study medicineLink opens in a new window.

Please see this document for a guide to our expectations regarding communication at the MMI and this document for a brief guide to reflection.

How to Prepare For Medicine Interviews

• Get lots of practice!! This cannot be stressed enough. The more you practice the better you will be! You can join several courses such as the FutureDoc’s own Elite course where we run weekly sessions to talk about Hot topics and get students to practice their skills. You can find out more about the Elite Programme here.
• Have a look at some of FutureDoc’s free resources to help with interview prep.
• Read through our blog to get some tips to help you ace your interview.
• Revise the NHS hot topics such as organ donation, impact of BREXIT, abortion etc.
• Keep up-to-date with current news and any changes to law in Medicine such as any recent or upcoming strikes, NHS staff shortages, increased wait times, etc.
• Have a read-through and a very basic understanding of the GMC’s Good Medical Practice for medical students.
• Look at the Medical School Council’s website and MSC’s guide to interview prep which talks about what medical schools want to see.
• Review the course information and research the Medical School.
• Join our Elite or Academy course to get 1-on-1 tutoring and increase your chances of getting into your first-choice medical school.

Written by Muskaan Sharma