A guide for students · Autumn and winter of Year 13
University interviews: what to expect
Most university courses make offers from the application alone, but Oxford, Cambridge, medicine, dentistry and some other courses interview the applicants they shortlist. Medical schools often use a set of short timed stations called an MMI, while Oxford and Cambridge hold academic conversations about the subject, and for both the preparation that helps is practice at thinking out loud rather than learning answers.
Which courses hold interviews?
Oxford and Cambridge interview most of the applicants they shortlist, in December, and the Oxford and Cambridge interview guide covers those in detail. Most medicine and dentistry courses interview before they make an offer too, and some other courses have a step of their own, such as an audition or a portfolio review in the performing and creative arts.
The course page says whether there is an interview. If it does not mention one, the decision is usually made from the UCAS application: the grades, the reference and the personal statement.
Panel interview or MMI: what is the difference?
A panel interview is one conversation with two or three interviewers, who usually start from something in the application and then move to questions or material you have not seen before. It is the format Oxford and Cambridge use, and some medical schools use it too.
A multiple mini interview, or MMI, is a circuit of short stations with a different interviewer or task at each. The Medical Schools Council describes MMIs as normally having seven to ten stations, each lasting between three and ten minutes, on themes such as why you want to study medicine, what you know about the NHS, teamwork, ethical questions, a role-play with an actor, and interpreting some data. Because each station has its own interviewer, one that goes badly does not decide the rest, so it is worth letting it go and starting the next one fresh.
Online or in person?
It depends on the university and the year, and the invitation says which. Cambridge, for 2027 entry, leaves it to each college: some interview everybody online, some in person, and some decide by where the applicant lives, and applicants cannot usually choose.
For an online interview, test the camera, microphone and connection beforehand, find a quiet room where nobody will walk in, and keep paper and a pen nearby if the subject might involve working something out. Cambridge says the use of AI during an interview is prohibited and that interviewers check for it at random, which is worth knowing before anybody suggests having a second screen open.
How to prepare, and what does not help
Know your personal statement well enough to talk about anything in it for a few minutes, since interviewers often start there and push on whatever sounds vaguest. Then practise explaining your reasoning out loud on problems you have not seen, which feels awkward the first few times and much less so by the fourth; a mock interview or two with somebody who will ask follow-up questions is the closest thing to the real one.
Memorised answers help very little. Interviewers can usually tell when an answer has been learnt, and at Oxford and Cambridge in particular the questions are chosen to be unfamiliar, so the thing being assessed is how you think about something new rather than what you have rehearsed.
Where to check
- Medical Schools Council: how to run a mock MMI
- University of Cambridge: interviews
- University of Cambridge: AI and undergraduate applications
Checked against these on . The rules change from year to year, so the pages above are the ones to trust if anything here disagrees with them.
Common questions
Do all universities interview?
No. Most courses decide from the UCAS application. Oxford, Cambridge, most medicine and dentistry courses, and some others interview, and the course page says so.
How long is a university interview?
It varies. Cambridge says most of its applicants have one or two interviews lasting 35 minutes to an hour in total. An MMI is usually seven to ten stations of between three and ten minutes each.
What if I cannot answer a question in an interview?
Say what you do know and think out loud about how you would approach it. At Oxford and Cambridge the questions are often meant to be unfamiliar, and taking a hint and changing direction counts for more than getting the answer at once.
Can you prepare for an MMI?
Yes. The station themes are well known (motivation, the NHS, ethics, teamwork, role-play and data), so timed practice on each kind, with somebody playing the interviewer, makes the format familiar.
Can I use AI during an online interview?
No. Cambridge says it is prohibited and that interviewers check for it at random, and other universities treat it as cheating too.