Oxbridge Medicine Interview Questions: Oxford vs Cambridge
How Oxford and Cambridge medicine interviews work, how they differ, and the kinds of questions tutors ask.
Oxford and Cambridge interview medicine applicants in academic conversations with tutors, not MMIs. For 2027 entry, Oxford's interviews are online in December 2026, and Cambridge's main interview period is 7 to 18 December 2026, online or in person depending on the College. Both use the UCAT to help choose who is interviewed. Tutors ask science, data and problem-solving questions to see how you think.
Oxford vs Cambridge medicine interviews (2027 entry)
- Interview style
- Oxford: academic conversations similar to a short tutorial, typically with two tutors. Cambridge: academic conversations about your subject with two or three interviewers, including questions on the vocational side of medicine.
- Online or in person
- Oxford: online, on Microsoft Teams, from home or school. Cambridge: set by the College. For example, Clare interviews Medicine in person and Jesus interviews UK-based Medicine applicants in person. Christ's, Downing and Girton are all online. Churchill, Emmanuel, King's and Selwyn are all in person.
- Number of interviews
- Oxford: at least one. In the 2025 round each applicant was interviewed by two colleges, and every applicant was interviewed by at least one practicing clinician. Cambridge: most applicants have 1 or 2 interviews lasting 35 minutes to an hour in total, and some have 3 or 4.
- Dates
- Oxford: online in December 2026. Its interview guide says interviews are expected in early to mid-December. Invitations usually come between mid-November and early December, sometimes with only a week's notice. Decisions on 12 January 2027. Cambridge: 7 to 18 December 2026, with winter pool interviews around mid to late January 2027. Outcomes in late January.
- Admissions test
- Both require the UCAT (2026 sitting, 13 July to 24 September). Both use the overall cognitive score, not the situational judgement score, to decide who is interviewed. Neither asks for written work. Medicine is not on Cambridge's list of College admission assessments.
- How shortlisting works
- Oxford: a numerical ranking from GCSE performance and the UCAT. In the 2025 round, tutors then reviewed the applicants who were not shortlisted and added some to the shortlist. About 425 people are interviewed each year, roughly 2.5 per place. Cambridge: UCAT results are part of selection for interview, with no minimum score, alongside your academic record and the rest of your application.
- Applying to both
- Usually not allowed. You can apply to only one course at either Oxford or Cambridge. The exception is some graduate applicants applying to Cambridge graduate medicine (A101). The UCAS deadline for 2027 entry was 18:00 UK time on 15 October 2026.
What an Oxbridge-style interview is
Oxford calls its interviews "academic conversations about your chosen subject" that work like a short tutorial.
- Like a tutorial. A tutorial is how Oxford teaches: a small group with a tutor.
- Cambridge says the same. It also calls its interviews academic conversations and says they help assess your potential for the course.
- It moves with your answers. Tutors often start with something simple, like your personal statement or why you chose medicine. Then they give you a problem, a graph or an idea you have not met before and talk it through with you.
Problems, not facts. Christ's College, Cambridge, says its aim is "to assess how you solve problems and apply your skills and knowledge, rather than testing you on facts."
How it differs from an MMI
An Oxbridge interview is longer and goes deeper than a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI). Neither Oxford nor Cambridge describes its medicine interview as an MMI.
- MMI: Many short, timed stations, many interviewers, scored station by station. Each station has its own scenario and a set mark scheme.
- Oxbridge: One or two longer conversations, two or three tutors, a problem you work through together. The same tutors stay with one topic and keep pushing with follow-up questions.
- More science, fewer role-plays. Motivation and what doctors do still come up. Cambridge says Medicine applicants may also be asked to explain their understanding of the vocational side of the course.
The kinds of questions you get
- New situations. Cambridge says you are likely to apply your knowledge to new situations, materials, problems or scenarios.
- Graphs, objects and logic. Oxford says you may be given a graph or an object to comment on, and that many questions test logic on ideas you have never seen before.
Five common types
- Scientific reasoning: Explain how something in the body works, or why it might fail.
- Data: Read a graph or table, spot what it shows and what it cannot show.
- Problem-solving: Estimate, design an experiment, or reason from first principles.
- Motivation: Why medicine, and what you know about a doctor's real work.
- Ethics: A dilemma with no single right answer, where you weigh both sides.
Your questions count. One of Oxford's published medicine sample questions asks applicants to rank four countries by crude mortality. The tutor explains that the point isn't what candidates know, "it's what questions they ask" to reach a conclusion.
Practice questions (our examples)
We wrote these practice questions to match the style above. They are not questions from Oxford or Cambridge.
- Scientific reasoning: "Why do we get a fever when we have an infection? Should a doctor always bring it down?" Follow-up: how would you test whether fever helps?
- Data: "A study finds that people who drink more coffee live longer. Should doctors tell patients to drink coffee?" Follow-up: what else might explain the link?
- Problem-solving: "Roughly how many times does a human heart beat in a lifetime?" Follow-up: which of your guesses changes the answer most?
- Science: "Why do antibiotics work on bacteria but not on viruses?" Follow-up: what happens if we use them when we don't need to?
- Motivation: "You could study disease as a research scientist. Why do you want to treat patients instead?" Follow-up: tell us about a time you saw what that work is really like.
- Ethics: "A new cancer drug gives patients three more months of life but is very expensive. Should the NHS pay for it?" Follow-up: who loses out if it does?
How to use them. Try each one aloud for five minutes, then ask yourself the follow-up.
How to think out loud
Oxford's advice is to keep explaining what you are thinking, "almost as if you are thinking out loud."
If you don't know an answer, work through it aloud so tutors can see how you think. Cambridge says interviewers are interested in how you work out your answers.
- Start with what you know. Say it first, even if it is basic.
- State your assumptions. Say them out loud ("I'll assume the person is an adult").
- Simple case first. Try a simple case, then make it harder.
- Change your mind openly. Do it when a hint or new fact shows you were wrong.
- Ask for a repeat. Ask for a question to be repeated or explained if you need it. Both universities say that is fine.
Tutors are on your side. Oxford says interviewers are "not trying to make you feel ignorant or catch you out." If a tutor offers a new way to look at a problem, take it and build on it.
What tutors say they look for
Oxford
Oxford says students are selected "for their scientific ability and for their aptitude for Medicine." It also wants a realistic understanding of what a medical career involves.
- Same criteria everywhere. All Oxford colleges use the same selection criteria.
- Personal criteria: Empathy, motivation, communication, honesty and integrity, ethical awareness, working with others, capacity for sustained and intense work, and values that match the NHS Constitution.
- Academic criteria: Problem-solving, intellectual curiosity, and communication skills, including the ability to listen and fit the tutorial format.
Cambridge
Cambridge says you "must be a keen scientist with a sound scientific understanding."
- Its interviews look at: Your understanding of the subject, readiness for high-level study, critical and independent thinking, curiosity and enthusiasm.
How interviews turn into offers
Oxford
- Interviews without your UCAT. In the 2025 round, colleges interviewed without seeing your UCAT score or your college choice.
- Then the full picture. After interviews, colleges saw the second college's ranking and your UCAT score, including your situational judgement band, before final rankings.
- Keep UCAT off UCAS. Oxford asks applicants not to put their UCAT score on the UCAS form.
Cambridge
- The winter pool. A College that likes you but has no place can put you in the winter pool for other Colleges to consider.
- How often it happens. Around 18% of applications received in October 2025 went into the winter pool. In January 2026, 20 pooled applicants were invited to a second interview.
How to prepare
Both universities publish free guidance.
- Use Oxford's free material. It has medicine sample questions and demonstration interview videos.
- Re-read your personal statement. Tutors often start there.
- Read beyond your A levels. Go past the syllabus in a few areas you genuinely like, and be ready to explain one in depth.
- Have a practice interview. Do it with a teacher or someone who doesn't know you well, as Cambridge suggests.
- Practice graphs and estimates. Work through them aloud, with paper and pen next to you.
- Interviewing online? Test your camera, microphone and connection, and pick a quiet room.
Oxford's code of conduct. Interviewees agree not to use AI or transcription tools during the interview, record it, or share what was asked. Breaking it puts any offer at serious risk.
Paid tutoring is not endorsed. Cambridge warns that paid interview tutoring services have no access to exclusive information.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Oxford medicine interview an MMI?
No. Oxford describes its interviews as academic conversations, similar to a short tutorial, usually with two tutors. In the 2025 round every medicine applicant was interviewed by two colleges.
Are Oxford and Cambridge medicine interviews online for 2027 entry?
Oxford's are online on Microsoft Teams. At Cambridge it depends on the College. Clare and Jesus (for UK-based applicants) interview Medicine in person, while Colleges such as Christ's and Downing are online.
How long is a Cambridge medicine interview?
Most applicants have 1 or 2 interviews lasting 35 minutes to an hour in total. Christ's College, for example, usually runs two Medicine interviews of 35 to 50 minutes in total.
Do Oxford interviewers see my UCAT score?
No. Oxford says tutors conducting interviews will not know your UCAT score. In the 2025 round, colleges saw it after interviews, before they finalized their rankings.
Can I apply to both Oxford and Cambridge for medicine?
Usually not. UCAS says you can only apply to one course at either Oxford or Cambridge. Some graduates applying to Cambridge graduate medicine (A101) are the exception.
When will I hear back after an Oxbridge medicine interview?
Oxford tells shortlisted applicants the outcome on 12 January 2027 through UCAS. Cambridge applicants who applied in October find out in late January.
Sources
Official pages only, read on the date shown. Schools change their process every year, so check the school's own page before you apply.
- University of Oxford: Medicine (course page, 2027 entry) · read October 23, 2026
- University of Oxford: Interviews (guide for applicants) · read October 23, 2026
- University of Oxford: Sample interview questions · read October 23, 2026
- Oxford Medical Sciences Division: Medicine Shortlisting Process and Admissions Statistics · read October 23, 2026
- Oxford Medical Sciences Division: Medicine, UCAT · read October 23, 2026
- Oxford Medical Sciences Division: Medicine Selection Criteria · read October 23, 2026
- University of Cambridge: What to expect at your Cambridge interview · read October 23, 2026
- University of Cambridge: Preparing for your Cambridge interview · read October 23, 2026
- University of Cambridge: Medicine, MB and BChir (2027 entry) · read October 23, 2026
- University of Cambridge: University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) · read October 23, 2026
- University of Cambridge: College admission assessments (2027 entry) · read October 23, 2026
- University of Cambridge: How we make a decision on your application · read October 23, 2026
- Christ's College, Cambridge: Medicine · read October 23, 2026
- UCAS: Filling in your UCAS application · read October 23, 2026
- UCAS: 2027 entry deadline for Oxford, Cambridge and most courses in medicine · read October 23, 2026
- UCAT: UCAT 2026 Test Dates · read October 23, 2026