MMI interviews for medicine

A multiple mini interview replaces one long interview with a circuit of short ones. UWA describes its MMI as “8 numbered stations, each focussing on one question”, with a different interviewer at each station. ScotGEM says each station “is independent of the others”, and that it does not matter where on the circuit you begin.

The interview assesses personal qualities. GEMSAS says interviews are run by trained interviewers and that academic results are not discussed. UWA lists the attributes it assesses: accountability, ethical and moral judgement, communication, management skills, problem solving, self-awareness, teamwork, conflict resolution, empathy and resilience.

• UWA: 8 stations of 7 minutes. You get 2 minutes to read and consider the question, then 5 minutes to answer. The whole process takes about 70 to 75 minutes including registration.
• Melbourne: 8 stations of 5 minutes, with a single assessor at each.
• Wollongong: 8 stations, online.
• Deakin: up to 6 stations, online.
• UEA: 6 stations of 5 minutes, with 1.5 minutes to prepare for each.
• Chester: 6 stations over about 1.5 hours, with two assessors at each.
• Brunel: 6 recorded stations online. You get 30 seconds to think and up to 5 minutes to answer, about 40 minutes in total.
• ScotGEM: stations of 7 minutes, with 30-second breaks between them.

At UWA, each question is given to you in writing. Interviewers may or may not ask follow-up questions, and are not required to read the question out.

International applicants are sometimes interviewed differently. UWA interviews them with a panel of two, for about 50 minutes, with typically five MMI-style questions. Notre Dame Fremantle uses a panel interview for international applicants.

Ireland is different. RCSI and UCC state there are no interviews for EU graduate-entry medicine applicants, and the EU route at all four Irish schools ranks on GAMSAT. Non-EU applicants are interviewed. The details are on GAMSAT in Ireland.

Schools use one ranking to decide who gets an interview and a second ranking to decide who gets an offer. Interview selection runs on GPA, GAMSAT and, at some schools, Casper. The interview score then enters the offer ranking.

Most UK courses use GAMSAT to choose who is interviewed, then make offers on the interview. Swansea says the results of admissions tests are “considered no further” after interview selection. ScotGEM, Plymouth, Surrey, Brunel and Liverpool also rank on the interview score. UEA is the exception: it ranks interviewed applicants on interview and GAMSAT (or UCAT), equally weighted.

Through GEMSAS you get one interview offer at most. Your score is standardised and may be used by the schools lower on your preference list. How that works is on GEMSAS explained. Shortlisting on GPA is covered on medical school GPA requirements.

Australian interview offers go out in early September. Interviews run from early September to early October, and the main round of offers follows from late October to early November. Check your invitation for your exact date: GEMSAS says interview dates, format and identification requirements come with it, and you pay any costs of attending.

Flinders charges a non-refundable $65 interview administration fee, and your interview is not confirmed until you pay it.

UK interviews for 2027 entry run from December to March. Sunderland interviews from the week starting 7 December 2026. Plymouth Medicine interviews between December and February, Exeter between December and March, and UEA between February and March. Brunel has provisional home interview windows of 16 to 21 February and 9 to 14 March 2027. ScotGEM expects most offer decisions by mid-March 2027.

The schools’ own advice:

• Prepare examples. UWA suggests you think of times you have shown each attribute it assesses, and practise describing them out loud.
• Practise against the clock. Time yourself speaking for five minutes, so you can give a structured answer in the time. Practise reading a question quickly and picking out the key issues.
• Work on how you speak. Speak clearly and without rushing. UWA asks you to notice facial expression, body language and tone, and to ask friends and family for feedback.
• Know what a doctor does.UWA’s questions need no health or science knowledge, but it says some awareness of the career helps. Keele expects you to have read the GMC’s guidance for medical students before one of its two interviews.
• Know why this school. ScotGEM says to expect questions on your motivation, your work experience, your personal attributes and why you chose ScotGEM.
• Explain your reasoning. UWA says there are no trick questions and no single correct answer. Back up your opinions.

On coaching, UWA says it does not endorse commercial coaching organisations, that its questions change each year and are not disclosed to course providers, and that “the interviewer wants to hear what you have to say, not what someone else told you to say”.

Casper is a separate online situational judgement test, used at Notre Dame and Wollongong to rank applicants for interview. It does not replace the interview. The format, cost and dates are on Casper test Australia.