By Dr Sheldon, Science University Preparation Co-Ordinator 

Entry into most medical schools requires applicants to take part in a succession of 6-12 five minute long mini interviews in order to select the candidates who are offered places. This process has by and large replaced the traditional panel interview.

In order to help prepare our  Year 13 Medicine applicants, we set up a series of  multi mini interviews during a two hour session  in the Sixth Form Centre. There were various interview stations operating at the same time, each one probing a different aspect of the students. The interviewers included a number of alumnae and parents along with other guest interviewers.

The students benefited greatly from the experience and the feedback from the interviewers. It was also a great opportunity for them to network. 

We received some excellent feedback from participants and interviewers:

“I feel very confident going into MMI style interviews now, as I received very helpful feedback during the interviews. The event ran smoothly and it was easy to switch between rooms. I particularly liked the inclusion of current medical students, as it encouraged me to think more about the student-life aspect of joining a new university. “- Rameen A, Year 13

“To summarise, I found the MMI mock very useful due to the feedback given at the end of each station as well as the efficiency of being able to transfer between stations easily. The variety of questions was representative of what could potentially come up in the real interview, and I thoroughly enjoyed participating.” – Meher S, Year 13

“Participating in the MMI interview, with sessions ran by doctors and a medical student, was very useful in understanding what to expect in a medical interview and improving my answers. I got some general feedback: to pause before giving my answers, and some more specific improvements for some of my answers. For example, when asked why I wanted to be a doctor, not another healthcare profession, Dr Hunt explained to me that the main difference is that doctors are fully responsible for patients’ care and follow them all the way through their treatment (could be months/years). Whilst some questions were challenging, and I was not sure about my answers, overall, I was surprised at how much I could answer confidently, and at how nice the feedback was. It has been an invaluable experience.”- Maya S, Year 13 

“It’s always a pleasure to take part in this process.  I think it worked well from a practical standpoint, and I’m sure all the students will give a great account of themselves in their interviews.  You and the school should take great credit, as always, for providing the means to help them prepare themselves in this way, which will maximise the chances of them reaching their goals.” David Lefroy (interviewer, alumnae parent)

A huge thanks to all the interviewers for offering their services for this invaluable practice to our aspiring medics.