What interview format does University of Oxford use for medicine?

Shortlisted candidates are invited to at least one online interview, and Oxford says interviews are expected to take place in December. Each applicant is interviewed by two colleges: the college of preference or allocation, plus one other assigned at random by computer. Oxford's Medical Sciences Division says the composition of interview panels is arranged so that every candidate is interviewed by at least one practising clinician, and the university's guide for applicants says interviews are typically conducted by two tutors, although there may occasionally be more. Oxford does not use the term 'MMI' or 'multiple mini interview' anywhere in its published material..

University of Oxford Medicine: UCAT, A-Levels & Interview Requirements

Q: What UCAT score do I need for University of Oxford Medicine?

University of Oxford has not published a fixed minimum score for 2027 entry. Instead: Oxford establishes a numerical ranking from UCAT results and, where an applicant has completed them, GCSE results; that ranking forms the basis of an initial shortlist. For applicants with GCSEs, GCSEs and UCAT carry equal weight at the first stage of shortlisting. Double weight is given to the UCAT for applicants without GCSEs, for those who took GCSEs between summer 2020 and summer 2021, and for those who took five or fewer GCSEs. Only the overall cognitive subtest score is used. Because Oxford shortlists the same number of people every year using two variables that carry the same weight, it states there is no actual cut-off for either variable and that it is therefore impossible to advise on the exact UCAT score an applicant would need.

University of Oxford has not published a fixed UCAT cut-off for 2027 entry. Here's how UCAT, A-levels, SJT and the interview all fit together for medicine.

2027 UCAT cut off

Not published

How the UCAT is weighted

Oxford establishes a numerical ranking from UCAT results and, where an applicant has completed them, GCSE results; that ranking forms the basis of an initial shortlist. For applicants with GCSEs, GCSEs and UCAT carry equal weight at the first stage of shortlisting. Double weight is given to the UCAT for applicants without GCSEs, for those who took GCSEs between summer 2020 and summer 2021, and for those who took five or fewer GCSEs. Only the overall cognitive subtest score is used. Because Oxford shortlists the same number of people every year using two variables that carry the same weight, it states there is no actual cut-off for either variable and that it is therefore impossible to advise on the exact UCAT score an applicant would need.

SJT policy

Oxford states that it will not use an applicant's situational judgement score at the shortlisting stage; for UCAT results at that stage it looks only at the overall cognitive subtest score. Oxford does not say, on its pre-clinical requirements page, its application-process page or its shortlisting FAQ, whether the situational judgement band re-enters the process at any later point, and it publishes no band cut-off. Its description of what colleges review after interview refers to the candidate rank from the second college and the UCAT score, and does not mention the situational judgement band.

A-level requirements

A*AA in three A-levels, excluding Critical Thinking and General Studies, taken in one academic year. Candidates are required to achieve at least grade A in both Chemistry and at least one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics. Oxford's requirements page does not name Further Mathematics as an accepted alternative among those subjects, and does not exclude the international A-level in Thinking Skills; neither term appears on it. That page sets no GCSE requirement. Oxford's separate shortlisting material describes looking at the number and proportion of GCSE passes at the top grades of 8 and 9, related to the performance of all students at the school where they were taken, and states there is no actual cut-off for either GCSEs or UCAT.

Interview

Panel interview, online, December.

Oxford interview: full format, stations, dates and what is not published

Resits

A resit does not disqualify, but silence about one can. Oxford requires applicants applying on the basis of a resit to submit an explanation through its extenuating circumstances process, and lists failure to do so among the reasons applicants are judged not to meet the entry requirements at all. For 2026 entry, 60 of 1,156 applicants 'did not meet our requirements for entry', which Oxford attributes 'most often' to a set of causes including being too young, not submitting an explanation for a resit, not possessing suitable academic credentials, or not meeting the academic entry requirements for the qualifications taken.

Personal statement

Not part of the shortlisting algorithm, which gives equal weight to the UCAT cognitive score and to GCSE performance judged against the applicant's own school; the SJT band is not used at that stage. Tutors then review every non-shortlisted application to identify candidates the algorithm may have underrated, and 80 additional applicants were added back to the shortlist on that basis for 2026 entry. At interview the statement is in play: Oxford advises that 'when writing your personal statement you should bear in mind that tutors select students using the selection criteria', and after interview colleges rank candidates 'on the basis of all information available to them at that time'.

What the UCAT had to be, 2026 entry

Out of 2,700. University of Oxford's own published figures.

Every figure below is 2026 entry.

Average of those interviewed: 2,377.5/ 2,700; where you actually need to be
Average of offer holders: 2,407.1/ 2,700

Current-scale figures, so these compare directly with a score sat now, and Oxford is unusually forthcoming. For 2026 entry the mean UCAT of those shortlisted was 2377.5 and of those holding an offer 2407.1, a gap of only 30 marks, which says the interview rather than the test decides the outcome once you are through the door. International shortlisted applicants averaged 2537.2, some 160 marks above the home figure. Oxford received 1,156 applications, of which 1,026 were eligible and had sat the UCAT; about 41.4% were shortlisted, roughly 425 interviews for around 2.5 applicants per place, and 175 offers were made. Shortlisting combines the UCAT with GCSE performance judged against the applicant's own school, and 80 additional candidates just below the cut were added back by the Shortlisting Committee, so the algorithm is not the last word. Colleges interview blind of UCAT score.

Earlier cycles are not shown because the UCAT maximum changed from 3,600 to 2,700 when Abstract Reasoning was removed. A threshold from before that is a different unit, not a higher standard. University of Oxford application data, checked .

Your actual chances, 2026 entry

University of Oxford's own published figures, not an estimate.

These are 2026 entry figures.
Applicant	Applied	Interviewed	Offers	Offer rate
International	Not published	32	8	Not published
All applicants	1,156	425 (37%)	175	15%

Oxford does not publish a home/overseas split of applications for A100. 1,156 UCAS applications were received in the 2025 round for 2026 entry (1,164 in 2024); 1,087 successfully registered for and sat the UCAT; 60 did not meet the requirements for entry and 16 withdrew. Approximately 41.4% of complete applications were shortlisted. The number called for interview 'is usually fixed at 425, in other words about 2.5 applicants per place available'. Offers comprised 158 quota offers, 1 deferred offer and 16 open offers, 175 in total. Of those, 32 international fee-status applicants were shortlisted and 8 received an offer.

Offer rate is offers as a share of applications, so it already accounts for everyone cut before interview. University of Oxford application data, checked 2026-09-13.

National benchmark, for context

For context, the UCAT Consortium's own 2026 statistics report a mean cognitive score of 1918 (out of 2,700) across 42,359 tests, with the median (5th decile) at 1920 and the top decile at 2250+. This is a national figure, not University of Oxford's own threshold, since University of Oxford doesn't publish one for the current cycle.

UCAT Consortium, Test Statistics 2026

Standard A-level offer: A*AA in three A-levels, excluding Critical Thinking and General Studies, taken in one academic year. Candidates are required to achieve at least grade A in both Chemistry and at least one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics. Oxford's requirements page does not name Further Mathematics as an accepted alternative among those subjects, and does not exclude the international A-level in Thinking Skills; neither term appears on it. That page sets no GCSE requirement. Oxford's separate shortlisting material describes looking at the number and proportion of GCSE passes at the top grades of 8 and 9, related to the performance of all students at the school where they were taken, and states there is no actual cut-off for either GCSEs or UCAT. SJT policy: Oxford states that it will not use an applicant's situational judgement score at the shortlisting stage; for UCAT results at that stage it looks only at the overall cognitive subtest score. Oxford does not say, on its pre-clinical requirements page, its application-process page or its shortlisting FAQ, whether the situational judgement band re-enters the process at any later point, and it publishes no band cut-off. Its description of what colleges review after interview refers to the candidate rank from the second college and the UCAT score, and does not mention the situational judgement band. Worth knowing: Figures are for the standard undergraduate (A100) route; Oxford also runs a separate Graduate Entry Medicine course with different criteria not covered here. Always confirm against the official page before applying, since this is the most recent published position rather than a guarantee for the live cycle.

Source: University of Oxford's own admissions page. Last checked 13 September 2026.

Every figure above is taken from that page. Where University of Oxford publishes nothing, this page says so rather than quoting a number reconstructed from student reports.

See the full directory or the admissions hub.

Interview season runs November to MarchFrom Invite to Offer: medicine and dentistry interview preparationThree live MMI seminars, recorded guides and a practice question bank, starting Monday 19 October.See the programme

What the UCAT had to be, 2026 entry

Your actual chances, 2026 entry

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