Oxbridge and Medicine Interviews 2026: Dates to Questions

By Michael Thompson · Education Specialist; 10 years teaching the IB at Bromsgrove School · Published 26 October 2026 · Updated 1 November 2026

Oxbridge interviews run in December and medicine interviews from November to April, and the questions that get asked are better documented than most applicants realise. This hub links every interview page on this site, all built from the universities' own course pages and published statistics: dates and invitations for Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL and every medical school, what the interview is like, how many applicants are interviewed and offered a place, and the questions reported for each subject and school.

Key Takeaways

In This Article

  1. Oxbridge interviews and medicine interviews in 2026: at a glance
  2. Dates and invitations
  3. What the interview is like
  4. Your chances: interview and offer rates
  5. Questions reported, subject by subject
  6. Medicine, school by school
  7. How this page was built
  8. What to do next

1. Oxbridge interviews and medicine interviews in 2026: at a glance

Oxbridge interviews, in figures: grid of interview months from November 2026 to April 2027. Oxford: November 0 courses, December 48 courses, January 0 courses, February 0 courses, March 4 courses, April 0 courses. Cambridge: November 0 courses, December 34 courses, January 33 courses, February 0 courses, March 0 courses, April 0 courses. Imperial: November 17 courses, December 16 courses, January 15 courses, February 18 courses, March 5 courses, April 0 courses. UCL: November 7 courses, December 8 courses, January 8 courses, February 9 courses, March 20 courses, April 16 courses. Medical schools: November 6 schools, December 27 schools, January 32 schools, February 25 schools, March 14 schools, April 6 schools.
Oxbridge interviews, in figures: grid of interview months from November 2026 to April 2027. Oxford: November 0 courses, December 48 courses, January 0 courses, February 0 courses, March 4 courses, April 0 courses. Cambridge: November 0 courses, December 34 courses, January 33 courses, February 0 courses, March 0 courses, April 0 courses. Imperial: November 17 courses, December 16 courses, January 15 courses, February 18 courses, March 5 courses, April 0 courses. UCL: November 7 courses, December 8 courses, January 8 courses, February 9 courses, March 20 courses, April 16 courses. Medical schools: November 6 schools, December 27 schools, January 32 schools, February 25 schools, March 14 schools, April 6 schools.

Oxford interviews online from 7 to 18 December 2026 across 48 courses; Cambridge between 7 and 18 December at the College you applied to, with the winter pool in mid to late January 2027; the 45 UK medical schools run from November to April, 36 of them with multiple mini interviews. Oxford interviews between 18% and 95% of applicants depending on the course, and medical schools between 14% and 95% of their applications.

Every page linked below is built from the universities' own course pages and published statistics, read in October 2026, and says where each figure came from.

2. Dates and invitations

3. What the interview is like

4. Your chances: interview and offer rates

5. Questions reported, subject by subject

What interviewers ask: bar chart of 9,028 reported Oxbridge and medicine interview questions by kind. Discussion 6,272 (69%), motivation 1,089 (12%), ethics and scenarios 991 (11%), problems, data and texts 676 (7%).
What interviewers ask: bar chart of 9,028 reported Oxbridge and medicine interview questions by kind. Discussion 6,272 (69%), motivation 1,089 (12%), ethics and scenarios 991 (11%), problems, data and texts 676 (7%).

The subject pages draw on 9,028 reported interview questions: the universities' own 390 sample questions, applicants' accounts of their interviews, and published lists, with 864 reported by more than one source.

Most of them, 6,272, are discussion questions about the subject. Another 1,089 ask why you want the course or the university, and 991 are ethical questions or scenarios, 717 of them from medicine interviews. The remaining 676 hand you something to work on: 291 a text to read, 182 a problem, 141 an estimate and 62 a set of data.

Each page gives the format for that subject at each university, what the tutors say they assess, and the questions that can be traced to a university page or an applicant's own account:

6. Medicine, school by school

One page per school for 15 of the most applied-to medical schools, with the format, dates, who is invited, what is assessed and how the school compares:

7. How this page was built

Every figure on every page comes from the university's own course page in the Oxford or Cambridge course listing or the medical school's prospectus, or from published admissions statistics and freedom of information responses, and each page links its sources. The questions shown are only those published by a university or reported first-hand by an applicant; lists compiled by preparation companies are counted but not reproduced. Each page was read on 18 October 2026 and the figures were exported on 21 October 2026; nothing on this page is estimated, and where a university does not publish a figure the page says so. Universities change interview arrangements between cycles, so treat the course page you are applying to as the final word and this page as the way to compare courses side by side.

8. What to do next

Start with the dates page for your university and put the window in your diary, then read the format page so you know how many interviews to expect and what you will be handed. If you are applying for medicine, open your four schools' pages and compare the two numbers on each. Then practise out loud, timed, with someone who will ask you why: the guides to how to prepare for an Oxford interview, how to prepare for a Cambridge interview and how to get into medicine in the UK cover how, and the mistakes Oxbridge interviewers see most what to avoid.

FAQ

When are Oxbridge interviews in 2026?

Oxford interviews from 7 to 18 December 2026, online; Cambridge between 7 and 18 December 2026 at the College you applied to, with the Graduate Course in Medicine on 1 and 2 December and the winter pool in mid to late January 2027.

What percentage of Oxbridge applicants get an interview?

At Oxford it depends on the course, from 18% to 95% of applicants. Cambridge does not publish interview counts by course but interviews most applicants.

When are medicine interviews?

Between November and April, with most schools interviewing in December, January and February; 36 of the 45 schools use multiple mini interviews.

References