UCL Medicine Interview 2026-27: Format, Dates, Rates
By Michael Thompson · Education Specialist; 10 years teaching the IB at Bromsgrove School · Published 26 October 2026 · Updated 28 October 2026
University College London interviews for Medicine MBBS BSc with multiple mini interviews (MMI): up to eight stations of five minutes, with one minute to read each one. Interviews run from December to March, with invitations sent on a rolling basis and normally at least a week's notice. On the most recent figures released (2025 entry), 58% of applications led to an interview and 69% of interviewees received an offer. This page sets out the UCL medicine interview from the University's own course page and published figures: who is shortlisted, the format and timing, what the interviewers assess, how UCL compares with other UK medical schools, and the questions applicants have reported.
Key Takeaways
- Format: multiple mini interviews (MMI): up to eight stations of five minutes, with one minute to read each one; online or in person.
- Dates: interviews run from December to March, with invitations sent on a rolling basis and normally at least a week's notice.
- Numbers: 58% of applications led to an interview; 69% of interviewees were offered a place.
In This Article
- The UCL medicine interview at a glance
- Who is invited
- The format: stations, timing and interviewers
- What UCL assesses
- How UCL compares
- Questions reported at UCL medicine interviews
- How this page was built
- What to do next
1. The UCL medicine interview at a glance
University College London interviews for Medicine MBBS BSc with multiple mini interviews (MMI): up to eight stations of five minutes, with one minute to read each one. Interviews run from December to March, with invitations sent on a rolling basis and normally at least a week's notice. For 2025 entry, 58% of applications led to an interview (862 of 1,496), and 69% of those interviewed received an offer. That puts UCL in the middle of UK medical schools at the interview stage: the median school interviews 53% of its applications.
Everything on this page is what University College London publishes on its course and admissions pages or has released under freedom of information, read on 18 October 2026. The page on medicine interview dates by school puts UCL beside every other school, and medicine interview rates compares the figures.
2. Who is invited
How UCL chooses who to interview, as its pages describe it:
- After checking minimum academic requirements, eligible candidates are ranked on total UCAT score (SJT breaks ties) and the top scorers invited
- Access UCL (contextual) applicants' UCAT scores reviewed separately
- Overseas applicants selected separately for 24 places
- Invitations are sent on a rolling basis from December to March
The other steps it describes:
- UCAT (year of application, once) total score used to rank for interview
- GCSEs and A levels are not scored beyond the minimum requirements
- Personal statements not scored for interview selection (may be used at interview under Medical Schools Council guidance)
- Work-experience reflections may be assessed at interview and a small selection may be asked for evidence
- Interviewers' scores reviewed by the Admissions Tutor
- DBS check
3. The format: stations, timing and interviewers
| What the course page says | |
|---|---|
| Format | multiple mini interviews (MMI): up to eight stations of five minutes, with one minute to read each one |
| Length | up to eight stations of five minutes, one minute reading before each; interview approximately 50 minutes (arrive 30 minutes early) |
| Mode | online or in person |
| Interviewers | clinical staff from local hospital and community sites, professional services staff, academics, current medical students and teachers from local schools |
| Dates | December to March (rolling invitations, normally at least one week's notice) |
The course page does not state whether there is a task before the interview.
An MMI is a circuit: you move from station to station, each with its own interviewer and its own task, and each is scored on its own, so a poor station does not follow you to the next.
4. What UCL assesses
University College London lists the qualities the interview assesses:
- Academic curiosity and interest in healthcare
- Motivation for and understanding of a medical career
- Problem solving and reasoning
- Professional attitudes and values
- Teamwork, leadership, resilience and individual strengths
- Communication skills
- NHS values-based questions (patients first, respect and dignity, quality of care, compassion, improving health, everyone counts)
These are the criteria the stations score against, and the reason to prepare examples from your own experience that show each one, rather than a speech about wanting to be a doctor.
5. How UCL compares
| UCL | Lowest UK school | Median UK school | Highest UK school | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share of applications interviewed | 58% | 14% | 53% | 95% |
| Share of interviewees offered a place | 69% | 14% | 68% | 88% |
The comparison is across the 32 UK medical schools that publish or have released interview counts for their standard-entry course (27 of them also give offers); the figures are applications, not people, because every applicant has up to four medicine choices. The nearest schools by interview share are Glasgow (56%) and Hull York (56%).
6. Questions reported at UCL medicine interviews
No question reported at UCL can be traced to a university page or a first-hand account; our dataset holds 95 attributed to UCL by preparation companies, which are not reproduced for that reason. The station types are the same across UK MMIs, so the sourced examples on MMI questions and medicine interview questions are the ones to practise with.
7. How this page was built
The format, timing, dates, shortlisting and assessment criteria come from the University College London Medicine MBBS BSc course page, and the applications, interviews and offers from the school's freedom of information response. Each page was read on 18 October 2026 and the figures exported on 21 October 2026; nothing is estimated, and where the school does not publish a figure the page says so. Interview arrangements change between cycles, so the course page is the final word and this page is the comparison.
8. What to do next
Check the dates and the notice UCL gives, then prepare for the format named above and nothing else: five-minute stations reward a clear first sentence and an example, not a build-up. Work through the assessment list and write one example from your own experience against each criterion. Then practise out loud and timed, with someone who will play the interviewer. The guide to how to get into medicine covers the UCAT and the four-choice rule, and the hub page on Oxbridge and medicine interviews 2026 links every interview page on this site.
FAQ
What is the UCL medicine interview format?
Multiple mini interviews (MMI): up to eight stations of five minutes, with one minute to read each one; online or in person. The course page gives the length: up to eight stations of five minutes, one minute reading before each; interview approximately 50 minutes (arrive 30 minutes early).
When are UCL medicine interviews?
Interviews run from December to March, with invitations sent on a rolling basis and normally at least a week's notice.
What percentage of applicants get a medicine interview at UCL?
For 2025 entry, 58% of applications led to an interview, and 69% of those interviewed received an offer.
What does UCL look for at interview?
University College London says the interview assesses academic curiosity and interest in healthcare, motivation for and understanding of a medical career, problem solving and reasoning, professional attitudes and values, and teamwork, leadership, resilience and individual strengths, among other qualities.
References
- University College London: Medicine MBBS BSc course page - https://www.ucl.ac.uk/study/prospective-students/undergraduate/courses/medicine-mbbs-bsc
- University College London: medicine admissions figures - https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/a100_medicine_admission_statisti_120