Medicine @ Peterhouse, Cambridge in 2019

Interview format

Biomedical Admissions Test; 3x Interviews.

Interview content

Interview 1: ethics-based; Interview 2: numbers-based; Interview 3: science-based.

Best preparation

Do mock interviews with friends/family, and read around the subject in areas that interest.

Test preparation

Use Medify and books with practice questions.

Final thoughts

Enjoy the interview and think out loud!

Remember this advice isn't official. There is no guarantee it will reflect your experience because university applications can change between years. Check the official Cambridge and Oxford websites for more accurate information on this year's application format and the required tests.

Also, someone else's experience may not reflect your own. Most interviews are more like conversations than tests and like, any conversation, they are quite interactive.

Interview Format

Test taken: Biomedical Admissions Test (BMAT)
Number of interviews: 3
Time between interviews: A few hours
Length of interviews: Around 15-20 minutes
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

One interview focused on ethics, another was numbers-based, whilst the third one was entirely science-based with off-the-wall questions. The interviewers didn't expect me to know all the answers, but the point was that we had a discussion and they wanted to see how quickly I reached certain conclusions and if I gelled well with their teaching style.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I did mock interviews with friends, family members, and teachers - anyone I could get to practice with me! Reading around the subject in areas that interested me and staying up to date with news stories related to medicine was also helpful, as was doing multiple MOOCs.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

I used Medify and books, like the 1000+ BMAT questions book.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Try to relax and treat the interview as a learning experience - you should enjoy it if you have a true interest in your subject! Think out loud and don't be afraid to suggest ideas as you'll probably regret what you don't say more than what you do.