Medicine @ Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford in 2019

Interview format

BMAT; 2x interviews

Interview content

Case study, A-level biology questions, EPQ

Best preparation

Talking, mock interview videos

Test preparation

Practice papers, physics, short essays

Final thoughts

It’s okay if you don’t know the answer to a question, just tell them the things you do know and ask them to explain the other bits to you

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: 2
Time between interviews: Couple hours
Length of interviews: 30 mins
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

I was presented with a case study and was asked a series of questions about that part of medicine/the body, though none of the content went beyond A-Level biology. In one of the interviews I had some time left at the end so they asked me if there was any area of medicine I had found particularly interesting recently, at which point I explained to them the premise of my EPQ.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I made sure to talk to as many people as possible about my subject so I was prepared to talk about it in an interview setting. I also found videos online of mock interviews and read some tips from students who went through the same process.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

Lots of practice papers and going over my GCSE physics notes as that was included in the exam. I also practised writing short essays to prepare for part c in the exam

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Try to relax. It’s okay if you don’t know the answer to a question, just tell them the things you do know and ask them to explain the other bits to you. If you’re working through something in your head, say it out loud as they want to know what you’re thinking. Ask any questions you can think of, tutors want to know that you’re interested in the subject. If you feel something went badly, forget about it and move on quickly, don’t let it look over you for the rest of the interview.