UK Medical School Interview Format 2021-2022

By now, you’ve sent in your UCAS applications as per 15th October deadline. Some of you have also completed the BMAT exam. At this stage, you must be wondering, what are the interviews going to be like this year? When will I be shortlisted? When will the interviews be conducted? What is the format going to be like? This article covers some of the top medical programs in the UK and the interview requirements.

Given the continuation of COVID-19 pandemic, all interviews will be held online. However, the exact format will vary depending on the university. Some universities adopt a recorded-style interview format, whereas others will be conducted live via videoconferencing platforms. 

Oxford, similar to Cambridge, adopts a different interview format compared to the other universities in the UK. Their interviews are designed to assess your academic potential, and can delve deep into subject-specific questions. A sample question is as follows: 

The viruses that infect us are totally dependent on human cells for their reproduction; is it therefore surprising that viruses cause human diseases?

Their interviews are held quite early and you will receive a letter or an email indicating whether or not you have been invited for an interview, usually between the middle of November and early December.

Each shortlisted candidate will be interviewed by two colleges, with the interviews being either on Friday 10 and Monday 13 December 2021, or on Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 December 2021.

The interview is panel-style, with two members of senior academic or clinical staff, a medical student and sometimes a lay selector.  

Unlike the Oxbridge interview, QMUL takes a holistic approach and will evaluate you on the following:

• Motivation and realistic approach to medicine as a career
• Show initiative, resilience and maturity
• Work well as part of a team
• Be well organised and demonstrate problem solving abilities
• Likely contribution to university life
• Communicate effectively in a wide range of situations

Interviews are expected to be held between January and March 2022.

The online interview is broken down into stations, each with a fixed time limit. You will encounter a different interviewer at each station, and will have a few minutes of preparation time before providing your response.  

• There are two 6-minute interview stations, one of which is a role-play station and the other is a personal and ethical challenges station.
• There will also be a separate online calculation station test which will assess your mathematical abilities and will take place on a separate date from your interview. 

All interviews will take place in January and February 2022, online via Zoom.

Imperial adopts a pre-recorded Multiple Mini Interview format. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to choose their preferred interview date.

On this date, your Imperial Panopto account will activate to allow you to record your video and upload it on the system.

You have 5 minutes to answer each question and these are the main topics that you will asked questions on:

• Teamwork and leadership
• Motivation to study medicine
• Understanding the role of a doctor
• Empathy and breaking bad news
• Ethics scenarios
• Imperial and contribution to school of medicine
• Resilience

Shortlisted candidates will be notified of their interview date. 

The interview session will last around 30 minutes in total, divided into two sections – panel A and panel B. Two interviewers will cover both panels.

• Panel A will explore what being a doctor means and related topics around this.  
• Panel B 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.

Online interviews are anticipated to take place from December onwards.

For more information on how you can prepare for the different types of medical interviews across medical schools in the UK, you may drop us a chat or contact our hotline at +65 6812 9999.

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