UK Medical School Interviews: MMI, Panel & Online Formats
Nearly every UK medical and dental school interviews before making an offer. Formats vary more than most applicants expect: here's what to know before yours.
Interview format is one of the biggest differences between UK medical and dental schools, and it changes how you should prepare. The two dominant formats are the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) and the panel, or structured, interview. A smaller number of schools run interviews fully online, and at least one runs a fully asynchronous format where you record answers rather than speaking to a live assessor.
Multiple Mini Interview (MMI)
The most common format nationally. You rotate through a circuit of short, independent stations, each testing something different: an ethical scenario, a role-play with an actor, a data or prioritisation task, or a direct question about your motivation and experience. Stations are usually 5 to 8 minutes each, with a new assessor at each one, which means one weak station rarely sinks your overall result the way one bad answer can in a single long interview.
Panel and structured interviews
A smaller number of schools use one continuous interview with two or three interviewers, typically 20 to 30 minutes, working through a fixed or semi-fixed set of questions. This format rewards a coherent, sustained conversation more than the ability to reset quickly between unrelated tasks, so preparation should focus on connecting your answers into a consistent narrative about why you want to study medicine or dentistry and what you've done to test that.
Online and asynchronous formats
Some schools interview over video call rather than in person, particularly for international applicants or as a standard policy. A small number go further: Brunel, for example, runs a virtual asynchronous MMI, where you record video responses to pre-set prompts on your own time rather than interacting with a live interviewer at all. If you're applying somewhere with this format, the preparation is closer to a timed written task delivered on camera than a conversation.
How to prepare
- Check the specific format for every school you're interviewing at, in our school directory, rather than assuming one format applies everywhere.
- Practise answering out loud under time pressure, not just thinking through answers silently. MMI stations in particular reward a clear, structured answer delivered in under 5 minutes.
- Keep a running log of your own work experience and reflect on what it actually taught you, not just what you did. Interviewers probe for insight, not a list of activities.
- Follow current healthcare ethics and NHS news. Most stations are built around real-world scenarios, not abstract hypotheticals.