- Most UK medical schools use MMIs: a circuit of short, timed stations, each marked separately. Others use panels or selection days with group tasks.
- For 2027 entry there is no national rule: some schools interview online, some in person, some both. Your invitation is the only reliable guide.
- Stations test motivation, ethics, role play, the NHS, teamwork, data and your own qualities. Every station also marks how clearly you communicate.
- Most interviews run between November and March, mainly in January and February. Some schools decide on the interview alone; others add UCAT and grades.
- Each station is a fresh start. The next examiner does not know how the last one went, so leave a bad station behind.
The formats you might meet
Most UK medical schools use multiple mini interviews (MMIs): a circuit of short stations, each testing something different and marked separately. Medical Schools Council guidance (2019) describes 7 to 10 stations of 3 to 10 minutes, usually with a little reading time at each door. Circuits vary, so check your own schools.
- MMI: Birmingham's 2027 circuit has six or seven 8-minute stations, each including 2 minutes to prepare.
- Panel: two or more interviewers for about 20 to 30 minutes, following up your answers. Glasgow's 2027 interview is a 30-minute online panel.
- Selection day: a longer event, up to a full day, that can add group work, written tasks or a panel interview.
- Oxbridge: academic interviews that test how you think through problems. Cambridge's main period is 7 to 18 December 2026, online or in person by College.
Online or in person
For 2027 entry there is no national rule. Birmingham interviews home applicants in person and international applicants on Zoom. Glasgow interviews everyone online. Read your invitation as soon as it arrives: format, platform or address, timings, ID and anything you must prepare.
- Online: test the platform days before, sit alone in a quiet room, raise the camera to eye level and look into it when you speak.
- Online: pause for a beat before answering, because a delay on the line makes people talk over each other. Never read from a script.
- In person: plan the journey, arrive early, bring the ID you were asked for, and allow up to half a day, or longer for a selection day.
- Either way, prepare the same content. The format changes the logistics, not the qualities being tested.
Who you meet and what they test
Examiners may be doctors, academics, admissions staff, medical students or members of the public. In a role play, an actor plays the other person. The Medical Schools Council's mock MMI guide (2019) says every station is likely to assess communication: clear, logical answers, and your tone of voice, eye contact and posture.
- Motivation: why medicine, and whether you understand the job, including its hard parts.
- Ethics: a dilemma where you weigh both sides and reach a safe, reasoned decision.
- Role play: a conversation with an actor, such as explaining a mistake to someone who is upset.
- The NHS and health news: an intelligent lay view, not expert detail.
- Teamwork and personal qualities: real examples, and what you learned from them.
- Data and calculations: a graph or a short sum. Birmingham's calculation station uses simple calculations with clinical data.
How your interview score is used
Schools shortlist using UCAT, grades or both. Newcastle, for example, ranks home applicants on a combined academic and UCAT score. Most interviews then run between November and March, mainly in January and February.
After the interview, schools differ. Glasgow decides on interview performance alone (2027 entry). Birmingham offers places on the interview plus the UCAT situational judgement test, not academic merit. Newcastle ranks applicants on academic score and interview, weighted 50:50. So every station counts.
Your checklist for the day
- The night before: re-read the invitation, and pack your ID, water and anything you were asked to prepare.
- At each door: read the task twice. What exactly is being asked, and who are you in the scenario?
- In the room: greet the examiner, hear the whole question, then answer that question rather than the one you prepared.
- Expect a mix of examiners: some smiley, some poker-faced. A neutral face is not a bad sign.
- If your mind goes blank, take a breath before you answer. A short pause reads as thinking.
- Afterwards: jot down what you were asked to help with later interviews, and keep station content to yourself.
How this comes up on the day
- "Why do you think we use MMIs?" — several short samples by different examiners: give the reason, one honest limitation, then your view.
- "Why medicine?" and "Why this school?" — likely at almost any interview; the Common Questions module teaches both.
- "Talk me through this graph." — say what it shows before explaining why, and reason out loud.
- "Discuss as a group which patient should be seen first." — bring quieter people in, build on ideas and help the group decide.
- "How do you think today went?" — honest and balanced: one thing that went well and one you would do differently.
The words to use
- Multiple mini interview (MMI)
- A circuit of short, timed stations. Each has its own task and is marked separately, so several examiners see you instead of one.
- Station
- One task in an MMI, such as a role play, an ethics question or a calculation, with its own time limit and mark sheet.
- Panel interview
- Two or more interviewers asking questions for about 20 to 30 minutes. Semi-structured panels follow up your answers rather than sticking to a fixed list.
- Shortlisting
- How a school chooses whom to interview, usually by ranking applicants on UCAT, grades or both.
Model answer
“Why do you think medical schools use MMIs rather than one long interview?”
Mainly because it gives a fairer picture of someone. In one long interview you're judged by the same people the whole time, so if you start badly or just don't click with them, that can colour everything. In an MMI I'm seen by several examiners, each looking at something different, so one bad station doesn't decide it. The Medical Schools Council says MMIs are more reliable than older styles of interview, and that makes sense to me. It's like taking lots of short samples instead of one long one.
It also tests things a conversation can't. A role play with an actor shows how I actually talk to someone who's upset, not just how I say I would. A calculation station shows whether I stay accurate under time pressure, which matters when you're working out a dose.
There are downsides. Eight minutes isn't long, so a station can feel rushed, and someone who's thoughtful but slow to warm up might not show their best. A panel lets you go deeper into one topic.
On balance, though, I think MMIs suit medicine. Doctors have lots of short, important conversations with people they've only just met, and each one deserves their full attention. And honestly, knowing every station is a fresh start makes me a bit less nervous.
Sources 8
- How to run a mock MMI — Medical Schools Council, 2019-07
- Interviews — Medical Schools Council (Studying Healthcare), 2026
- Types of interview — Medical Schools Council (Studying Healthcare), 2026
- Medicine interview preparation — Medical Schools Council (Studying Healthcare), 2026
- Medicine interviews (2027 entry) — University of Birmingham, 2026
- MBChB interviews (2027 entry) — University of Glasgow, 2026
- Cambridge interviews — University of Cambridge, 2026
- School of Medicine MBBS Admissions Policy 2027 Entry — Newcastle University, 2026
Content reviewed 2026-10-24