Cambridge Medicine: the interview
A panel interview (two college interviews, subject-heavy). Below: the numbers, what the interview looks for, your personal statement and SJT band, and questions to practise.
- Format
- Panel interview · Two college interviews, subject-heavy
- When
- Most invitations go out in November, some in early December. For 2027 entry the main interviews are 7 to 18 December 2026; winter pool interviews mid to late January 2027; the January round for mature applicants mid-March to early April. Keep the period free: missing the interview ends the application.
- In detail
- At least two interviews for every medical applicant, by your college, with at least one current practitioner taking part. Most applicants have one or two interviews totalling 35 minutes to an hour; some have three or four. A winter-pool applicant may be interviewed again by another college in January. Online or in person depends on the college.
Without the counts there is no share to work out; what decides offers is below.
- Science: sixth-form Chemistry (and Biology, Maths or Physics as needed) applied to new problems, an interest in the science behind medicine, and reasoning through a problem without jumping to conclusions
- Personal qualities: maturity and motivation, listening and empathy, explaining clearly to anyone, teamwork, seeing ambiguity for what it is, and relating experience to medical issues
- Professional understanding: a realistic view of medicine and a medical degree, real-world and ethical dilemmas, self-awareness, and the major issues facing the NHS
Subject interviews with two or three interviewers: applying what you know to new material, problems and scenarios, the vocational side of medicine, why Cambridge and the course, current developments, and topics from school or your personal statement. You may be asked to share your workings, or given material to read beforehand. Some applicants also have a general academic interview about other interests, plans and fit for the course.
Used at interview
Read before interview and used to steer it; the shortlist is academic.
It does not count at the interview. Cambridge publishes the mean SJT band of applicants and offer holders but states no rule that uses it.
Questions to practise
Written by MedOffr in the style of an Oxford or Cambridge interview. None is taken from Cambridge or claimed to have been asked there.
01 · Reasoning from data
Here is a graph of a person's blood glucose over the four hours after a meal. Talk me through what is happening.
02 · Biology
Why might a drug that works well in mice fail in people?
03 · Experiment design
How would you find out whether caffeine changes reaction time? What could go wrong with your experiment?
04 · Thinking aloud
Why do we have two kidneys but only one heart?
05 · Applying an idea
Antibiotics do not work against viruses. Why not, and what does that tell you about how they work?
06 · Motivation
Why do you want to be a doctor, and why here?
07 · Your statement
You wrote about volunteering at a care home. What did you learn there about communicating with patients?
08 · Insight
What makes a good doctor? Which of those qualities do you still need to work on?
Where this comes from
- Cambridge's interview pages for 2027 entry, supplied by the site owner on 9 October 2026.
- Cambridge's Key Criteria for Medical Admissions, the guidelines its colleges agree for interviewers and selectors, supplied by the site owner.
Compiled 9 October 2026. The figures are reproduced as tables and charts so nothing has to be downloaded. Check Cambridge’s current pages before you apply; they win if anything here differs.
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