Interviews

Interviews will be held online or in person on campus.

Applicants selected for interview will select their preferred option of online via Zoom, or on campus.

Please note that there will be a limited number of spaces within each format, so dates/times will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

About the interview

The pre-interview screening process operated by the Medicine admissions team will already have ensured that all candidates called to interview appear to have sufficient academic potential. The purpose of the interview is to take a wider view of the applicant.

The interview itself is a formal, though friendly, process. The majority of the interviewers are drawn from both the University and clinical environments and all have undergone specific training for interviewing applicants including issues relating to equality and diversity. In addition, we also draw on the expertise of patient/lay representatives, current medical students and simulated patients.

We appreciate that some candidates will be nervous, so we ensure that interviews are conducted in as relaxed an environment as possible. However, applicants must be able to handle the stresses of their chosen career, and some elements of the interview will be necessarily challenging and/or stressful.

The interview is not a test of your academic knowledge. The aim of the interview is to determine if a candidate satisfies our non-academic criteria in terms of the values and behaviours expected of a medical student.

We will also encourage you to talk naturally about yourself, your studies and your experiences, to demonstrate that you have the interpersonal skills to be able to communicate effectively and show that you are a well-rounded individual.

For more information on the values and behaviours standards required, please see the GMC documentation on Good Medical Practice and the values enshrined in the NHS constitution.

Here are some examples of areas that could be tested in your interview.

Ability to communicate

Communication skills are essential to the practice of almost all aspects of medicine. We expect candidates to be able to express their ideas clearly and coherently and to be able to follow a reasoned argument.

Candidates who give spontaneous yet well-thought-out answers to questions are more likely to impress the interviewers than those who give obviously rehearsed and 'coached' responses.

Why do you want to be a doctor?

This is an obvious but vital question. It is also the question to which candidates most frequently reply with a coached and practiced answer.

We will seek specific evidence of the experiences that have influenced your decision to study medicine.

Previous caring experience

Your experiences in a caring role will be of great interest. These need not be in a traditional mainstream medical environment, and some online work experience can also be discussed.

The interview is an opportunity for candidates to relate not only the facts and details of their experiences, but also their emotional responses to them and what they have gained from them.

Matters of a medical interest

Candidates will not be expected to have detailed medical knowledge, but the interviewers will expect you to have an informed layperson's view on contemporary aspects of medicine, particularly those of current media interest.

Ethical and other issues

Ethical issues may be raised by the interviewers to assess your ability to coherently summarise the issues at stake.

There are often no right answers in an ethical debate, and our interviewers will not be looking for a specific viewpoint.

You will not be asked questions about your gender identity, sexuality, marital or parental status, race, religion or social background, although you may use some of your personal experiences to inform discussions if you wish.

You will be expected to be tolerant, accepting and understanding of others.

Interview format

The interview process will adopt a five-station multiple mini interview (MMI) format, with each station being marked by a separate interviewer.

Whether you choose for your interview to be in person or on Zoom, all candidates will be assessed and interviews conducted in exactly the same way – the only difference will be whether you attend campus in person, or online.

The interview in each station will be eight minutes long with a two-minute  gap between stations. No information will be provided in advance, and there will be no reading or writing component to any of the online or in-person interview stations.

The starting station is allocated at random, and applicants pass round in order from station to station until they complete them all.

All interviewees will be sent detailed information by email that explains the interview procedure and format of the interview process.

Interview preparation

We are often asked questions about how candidates can best prepare for a medical school interview. We offer the following advice.

Please be yourself. You should speak naturally and conversationally. Do not feel the need to be excessively formal unless required by the interview station scenario.

You should go into an interview having considered the information given above, but please don't fall into the trap of instantly listing all your work experience or trying to think of innovative ways of working the names of each of the principles of medical ethics into your answer.

Have a series of pointers in your mind, but remember not to over-rehearse. Our interview style at Manchester is conversational, and we're not looking for a monologue.

Take a look at the interview preparation resources available on the Medical Schools Council website.

We do not endorse or recommend any providers of commercial interview preparation courses, and there is no evidence that such courses are in any way useful.

Interview dates

Interviews will usually be held between December and early March.

Applicants who are selected for interview will receive interview information at the email address provided on your UCAS application.

You will not be offered a place at Manchester without an interview.

Please note that there will be a limited number of spaces within each format, so interview dates/times will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.