How many traditional interviews will I sit?

At Oxford typically 2-3 (sometimes 4) interviews across one or two days, at different colleges. At Cambridge usually 2 interviews at your chosen (or pooled) college. Each is 20-30 minutes.

What kind of questions do traditional interviewers ask?

Mostly academic problem-solving — graph interpretation, biology mechanisms, ethical scenarios with no clear answer, sometimes A-Level extension material (e.g. asking you to derive a formula). Personal-statement questions are typically <20% of the interview.

Can I prepare for traditional interviews if I have not done one before?

Yes. The most useful prep is supervised practice with academic problem-solving — working through unfamiliar BMAT/UKCAT-style problems out loud with a tutor who can replicate the interviewer dynamic. Reading round your A-Level syllabus and engaging with current biomedical news helps too.

Do traditional interviewers care about my personal statement?

They will read it but rarely quiz you on it directly. Where personal statement comes up, it is usually a single follow-up question testing whether you actually engaged with what you wrote — so be prepared to discuss any specific paper, book or experience you mentioned.

How should I prepare for Oxbridge interviews?

Plan 60-100 hours. Practice thinking aloud through unfamiliar scientific problems, do mock interviews with current Oxbridge medical students or tutors, and read round your subject (Bad Science, Being Mortal, current Lancet headlines). Our Oxbridge-specific interview prep covers all of this.

2027 Entry · 4 schools

UK Medical Schools That Use Traditional Interviews

Q: Which UK medical schools use traditional interviews?

4 of the 51 UK medical schools in our catalogue use a traditional, non-MMI interview: Oxford, Cambridge, Dundee and Keele. Oxford and Cambridge run the classic academic college interview; UCL uses the format for international applicants, and Dundee and Keele run structured one-to-one interviews rather than a station circuit.

Q: Can I prepare for traditional interviews if I have not done one before?

Yes. The most useful prep is supervised practice with academic problem-solving — working through unfamiliar BMAT/UKCAT-style problems out loud with a tutor who can replicate the interviewer dynamic. Reading round your A-Level syllabus and engaging with current biomedical news helps too.

Q: Do traditional interviewers care about my personal statement?

They will read it but rarely quiz you on it directly. Where personal statement comes up, it is usually a single follow-up question testing whether you actually engaged with what you wrote — so be prepared to discuss any specific paper, book or experience you mentioned.

Q: How should I prepare for Oxbridge interviews?

Plan 60-100 hours. Practice thinking aloud through unfamiliar scientific problems, do mock interviews with current Oxbridge medical students or tutors, and read round your subject (Bad Science, Being Mortal, current Lancet headlines). Our Oxbridge-specific interview prep covers all of this.

A traditional interview is an unscripted academic conversation with one or two interviewers, most familiar from Oxford and Cambridge. This page lists the UK medical schools that still use one; how college interviews run and how to prepare are in the full Oxbridge interview guide.

What to expect Browse the schools

Schools: 4Schools
Interviews: 2–3Interviews
Per interview: 20–30 minPer interview
Academics each: 1–2Academics each

New to the format? Read the Oxbridge interview guide first, then come back to choose your schools.

Which UK medical schools use the Traditional?

4 UK medical schools use the Traditional for 2027 Entry. Every card links to that school's full how-to-get-in guide — UCAT cut-offs, selection methodology and Traditional-specific prep — and the purple badge opens its NGMP TrueScore prediction.

Nation

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Showing 4 of 4 schools

TrueScore2150
Cambridge
Cambridge · est. 1209
Traditional panel interviews with academic focus
See guideHow to get in
Cambridge — how to get in
TrueScore1700SCOT
Dundee
Dundee · est. 1967
Two-part selection (~1h40m): observed 30-minute group discussion, then a structured traditional one-to-one discussion with an assessor
UCAT 2025+How to get in
Dundee — how to get in
TrueScore1900
Keele
Staffordshire · est. 1978
Two 15-minute structured online interviews (traditional format, not MMI; Microsoft Teams), usually around two hours apart
UCAT 1700+How to get in
Keele — how to get in
TrueScore2230
Oxford
Oxford · est. 1096
Traditional or Panel Interviews
UCAT 2026+How to get in
Oxford — how to get in

Campus photo credits

Campus photographs are used under free Creative Commons or public-domain licences and have been resized and cropped for display.

Cambridge: photograph by Dmitry Tonkonog (User:Heuschrecke) — CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Dundee: photograph by Ydam / Wikimedia Commons — CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Keele: photograph by Jonathan Hutchins / Geograph Britain and Ireland — CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Oxford: photograph by Julian Herzog — CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How does the Traditional differ from the other UK interview formats?

Most applicants sit more than one format across their four choices. Knowing which you face changes how you prepare — and which of your practice habits transfer.

How the MMI, panel and traditional interview formats compare
Aspect	MMI	Panel	TraditionalThis page
Shape	6–10 short stations on a timed circuit	One continuous interview in a single room	2–3 separate academic interviews, often on different days
Who assesses you	A different assessor at every station	The same 2–4 panellists throughout	1–2 academics per interview, subject specialists
Length	5–8 minutes per station, 80–120 minutes total	20–40 minutes in total	20–30 minutes each
Recovery from a bad moment	Excellent — each station is scored in isolation	Limited — the same people hear everything	Good across interviews, limited within one
What it rewards	Breadth, structure and quick recovery	Depth, coherence and rapport under follow-up	Reasoning aloud, curiosity and teachability
Preparation that works	Timed single stations plus full mock circuits	Mock panels with hostile follow-up questioning	Supervised practice on unseen academic problems

Shape: 2–3 separate academic interviews, often on different days
Who assesses you: 1–2 academics per interview, subject specialists
Length: 20–30 minutes each
Recovery from a bad moment: Good across interviews, limited within one
What it rewards: Reasoning aloud, curiosity and teachability
Preparation that works: Supervised practice on unseen academic problems

The other UK interview format guides

Frequently asked questions

4 of the 51 UK medical schools in our catalogue use a traditional, non-MMI interview: Oxford, Cambridge, Dundee and Keele. Oxford and Cambridge run the classic academic college interview; UCL uses the format for international applicants, and Dundee and Keele run structured one-to-one interviews rather than a station circuit.

Master the Traditional with NextGen MedPrep

Structured prep, mock circuits with current medical-student tutors, and a question bank covering every common station type.

Book a mock Traditional Traditional prep guide

Reviewed by Isaac Butler-King, medical student at the University of Glasgow. Last reviewed: 14 September 2026