Question 1

What’s the best way to prepare for an interview?

Accepted Answer

The best way to prepare for an interview is practice. Everyone who has been offered a med school interview will have the requisite grades and exam scores - the whole point of the interview is to differentiate the top candidates. While this is something you can prepare for, it’s not achieved by making notes or flashcards - the best preparation is being asked questions and answering them! If that sounds stressful - our interview tutoring packages are specifically designed to prepare you in the most efficient and thorough way. We give you as much practise as you need, so when you’re in the interview, you are completely confident.

Question 2

What should I wear for an interview? What should my hair/makeup look like?

Accepted Answer

Most interview invitations will have a dress code, but if in doubt go smarter (think suits). While they are mainly looking to see how well you answer their questions, it is naive to think that presentation doesn’t play a role. Go in looking smart, in something that you feel confident in, and all the odds are in your favour. We would personally advise to keep hair and makeup smart and natural. It is a job interview of sorts, so treat it like one!

Question 3

Should I ask a question during the interview?

Accepted Answer

This is dependent on the context of the interview, and will really vary from situation to situation. For example, in an MMI situation it is unlikely that it would be appropriate to ask a question to the examiner - it is not a conversational format. Conversely, it is recommended during an oxbridge interview to ask questions to further your understanding. Interview tutoring with our medical students is an excellent way to understand the nuances of the situations and help you get to grips with what exactly you should be doing in your interviews.

Question 4

What type of questions come up during the interview?

Accepted Answer

The types of questions that come up during interviews tend to be very standard which is good because it allows preparation. They are likely to ask about motivations, ethics, work experience and your personal experiences. With our course, we have sessions that are specifically dedicated to different areas that are likely to come up within the interview, with mock questions and answers. This means that you will be prepared for any likely scenario. This is including for students preparing for oxbridge interviews which are slightly different - here the questions are a little more off the wall, but our tutors can teach you the way to answer the questions successfully.

Question 5

What does the interview tutoring involve? What do I get?

Accepted Answer

1-1 tutoring with an experienced medical student, with a comprehensive and focussed plan tailor made to you. We focus initially on building confidence and answering questions, and then moving on to refining via mock interviews.  The interview tutoring package allows you access to over 100 different tutorial videos that have been curated to allow you to learn in your own time as well.

Question 6

How quickly can I start my interview tutoring?

Accepted Answer

We are ready when you are! Once the package has been confirmed (after an initial consultation which you can book here), we will look for a tutor and then assign one to you - the process usually takes around 2-3 days, and then depending on your and the tutors availabilities, tutoring can start right away! We completely understand that there is often a quick turnaround between being offered a medical interview and the actual interview, and so we work to make our process as quick as possible.

Question 7

Will my tutor be able to help during the break/holiday/weekend?

Accepted Answer

Yes - we can work to your schedule. During an initial consultation (which you can book here), we can find  out your schedule and then assign one of our many talented med school students to work with you who has a complimentary schedule. The interview tutoring includes a 1-1 whatsapp group so communication is effective and easy, and you don’t have to waste any time.

Question 8

Who is my tutor - are they medical students and are they experienced?

Accepted Answer

The tutors at Aspiring Medics are all hand-picked medical students from a wide variety of med schools and backgrounds. All have been selected because of their passion and experience, and we can personally guarantee your satisfaction with the experience of your tutor - we offer a 30 day money back guarantee if you are not happy. Many of the tutors have specific experience tutoring medical school applicants, and all have themselves experienced the med school interview process, and therefore among the most qualified candidates to teach.

Question 9

Are your tutors enthusiastic about helping me?

Accepted Answer

One thing that sets the Aspiring Medics apart is our ethos - dedicated to giving back to those that have high aspirations but are held back by their circumstances. We are unique in that we give a sizeable amount of free resources out to underprivileged schools and students, and many of our tutors have chosen to work at Aspiring Medics because of that community spirit. Many have volunteered previously and as such they are passionate about increasing the diversity of the medical community. This belief and drive means that they are enthusiastic tutors that often go above and beyond, as reflected in our testimonials.

Question 10

What package would you recommend?

Accepted Answer

We are committed to getting you the best package that is tailor made for you - you are welcome to book a consultation here to speak personally to one of our consultants and get a personal recommendation. For most individuals, I would recommend a 25- hour package. Our interview tutoring is based around ten areas of questions that are likely to come up - COVID, motivation and work experience etc - and I would recommend at least two hours per topic. On top of this, the extra hours allow for specific tutoring to your weaknesses, as well as mock interviews that are essential for doing well in the real interviews.

Question 11

Is this suitable for all interview types (MMI, oxbridge, panel)?"

Accepted Answer

Yes! In your consultation you can specify this before you select a tutor but we do also offer within the interview tutoring package university specific tutoring. This includes specific tutoring to the universities interview style, as well as practicing questions such as ‘Why do you want to apply to this university?’ We also offer oxbridge specific tutoring with a current oxbridge student, and this allows specific teaching of oxbridge type questions, which are slightly less formulaic and require a certain problem solving approach. Please speak to us (you can book your consult here) and we can make sure that you can as specific of an experience as possible!

Question 12

Can I get a tutor from the medical school I want to apply to? Is it specific to universities?

Accepted Answer

Yes you can. We have tutors from almost every med school in the UK, and so if being tutored by a student from your dream uni is a high priority for you, we can 100% make that happen. We also have a wide tutoring support network, and therefore even if your tutor is from a different university, they will have knowledge on how to make your tutoring specific for the university that you are applying to.  We also offer specific tutoring for oxbridge students as well, which you can specify during booking.

Question 13

What happens if I’m not happy with my tutoring?

Accepted Answer

We hope that you will be thrilled with your tutoring, however we understand that it may not be the case. We offer a 30-day money back guarantee, as well as the opportunity to switch your tutor, free of cost, if you are not satisfied with them. Because of the 1-1 and tailored nature of the tutoring, we hope to avoid miscommunication and as such we have only received positive reviews, such as that from [insert positive review here specifically to flexibility etc/ the money back guarantee reassured me and I had nothing to worry about].

Question 14

Should I shake their hand during an interview? What should my body language be like?

Accepted Answer

The best way to answer this question is to think about the most welcoming and friendly people that you have met in your life - part of being a medical professional is interacting and helping many different people and it is key that you have an open and inviting demeanour. Part of this includes smiling, open body language - you are more likely to think positively of someone if they are welcoming and friendly towards you. Depending on the context of the interview, it may or may not be appropriate to shake their hands - in times of COVID it may be best not to, but the most important thing is that you are smiling and open with them. You have nothing to fear, and allowing yourself to be open lets them see your best characteristics and really let your personality shine.

Question 15

What type of questions come up during the interview?

Accepted Answer

Luckily, because of the sheer volume of medical school candidates that are interviewed, many of the questions, especially in MMI interview formats, are predictable. They will aim to cover certain topics that you will be familiar with - including motivation for medicine, your previous work experience and proof of certain skills. There will undoubtedly during your interview process be a number of really broad questions that you can predict - ‘Why do you want to do Medicine?’ ‘What makes you think you would be a good doctor?’ ‘Why do you want to be a doctor rather than a nurse?’ There will also be a number of questions based around your personal statement, based around ethics and based around news events. These are a little harder to predict exactly, but in our interview tutoring we teach you the fundamental principles of how to answer these questions and show you that it is nothing to be afraid of.

Question 16

What happens in an Oxbridge Medical Interview?

Accepted Answer

Contrary to popular opinions, walking into an oxbridge medical interview is not walking into a hellish pit of completely random high level questions. Many of the interview questions will be relatively similar to those seen elsewhere - questions about ethics, questions about your personal motivations and your experience. Where it differs is there is more emphasis on science - and you will be asked to problem solve based around a scientific problem. This is not as scary as it seems - and during our oxbridge specific tutoring, we can teach you the fundamentals of how to answer these questions competently and be successful in your interview!

Question 17

How do I stand out during a medical school interview?

Accepted Answer

At medical school interviews, they are looking for two things. Will you be a good doctor, and will you be a good student. The qualities of both of these individuals often overlaps, and one of the ways to stand out (in a good way!) at interview is to clearly display these. Make sure that you are friendly and open - many of you will already have these characteristics intrinsically, it is just a question of making sure that they are shown to the interviewers. Confidence in yourself and your answers is a great way to stand out at interview. If you feel that this is one of the areas that you lack, interview tutoring and the practice that it brings may be a good option for you.

Question 18

How long should med school interview answers be?

Accepted Answer

A quality that is required in medical professionals that are under pressure is an ability to be concise without sacrificing the quality of the communication. As such, your answers should fall into the category of being long enough that all the relevant experience and evidence for your answer is communicated, but not too long in that the interviewers lose interest and you begin to repeat yourself. The answer is not precise and depends on the context, but for many questions this will be around 1-5 minutes. The exact timing can be very difficult to get right - as we know, but with practice this will become much easier. If in doubt, er towards a more concise answer.

Question 19

I’m really shy - will I still be able to do well at interview?

Accepted Answer

100% yes! The skill of interviewing well is one that can be learnt and can be taught. If you have the ability to practice and learn from others, you will absolutely be able to do well. Confidence is something that comes with practice and time, and as such has nothing to do with natural disposition. If you are already at interview stage, you are a competent and competitive interviewee, and so you need to trust yourself - you have every right to be there. Practise is the single most effective thing to increase confidence and your ability to do well at interview, and as such we would recommend interview tutoring as a good way to achieve this.

Question 20

Should I apply to universities with panel or MMI interviews? Is one easier than the other?

Accepted Answer

While panel and MMI interviews appear on the surface to be very different, essentially underneath they are similar. The same skills that will allow you to do well at a panel interview will make you successful at an MMI interview, and vice versa. While the format is slightly different and they have different positives - MMI allows you to reset when you move if you have a bad station, while panel allows you to build a relationship with your interviewer - essentially they will ask the same questions, and will look for the same things. Therefore, neither is easier than the other - it depends on your personality and what you personally prefer. We would recommend not choosing your university based on this, and rather focussing on other qualities such as location, strength of teaching and facilities etc.

Question 21

Should I ask a question after the interview?

Accepted Answer

This is dependent on the context of the interview, and will really vary from situation to situation, and depend on the question that you want to ask! If the question is illustrating a deeper interest in a scientific or ethical principle that has been brought up, then asking a question can be a great way to illustrate understand and curiosity. Conversely, we would never recommend asking 'how did I do?' Or a question that asks for immediate feedback - it doesn't give a confident impression and is likely to undermine your answers. Ultimately, there is no one answer and rather the way forward would be to increase your confidence in interview situations through practise, so you will be able to judge for yourself if or if not it is an appropriate time to ask a question.

Question 22

I need help with interviews

Accepted Answer

👋 Hi, thanks for getting in touch!

🏹 Absolutely, our highly trained medical student tutors will know exactly which medical schools you are applying so you can be confident that you will reach your full potential.

📈 Did you know that our award-winning tutoring can improve your chances of getting into medicine by 3x? Our students have a 98% success rate of getting into medicine with the UK average being 32%.

📖 We'd recommend showing your parents our Personal Statement Review Booklet which you can find here - shorturl.at/eiEO5(shorturl.at/eiEO5)

🆓 If you're looking for free resources, we'd recommend checking out our Medicine Personal Statement Page - https://www.theaspiringmedics.co.uk/medicine-personal-statement(https://www.theaspiringmedics.co.uk/medicine-personal-statement) and our brand new YouTube Channel - shorturl.at/gkxBY(shorturl.at/gkxBY)

Question 23

💬 I need help with medical school interviews

Accepted Answer

👋 Hi, thanks for getting in touch!

👑 We are the Number 1 Platform for Aspiring Medics with top medical student tutors at the UK's top universities including Oxford, Cambridge and UCL!

📈 Did you know that our award-winning tutoring can improve your chances of getting into medicine by 3x? Our students have a 98% success rate of getting into medicine with the UK average being 32%.

📖 Check out our Medicine Interview Tutoring Booklet - shorturl.at/bpuRS,(shorturl.at/bpuRS,) our students love receiving tutoring specific to their universities and our online interview course with over 200+ videos and 250+ exemplar answers!

✨ In the last 4 years, we've worked with over  100+ schools and charities as well as with UK and international students!

✅ If interested in our tutoring packages, don't miss out and book you free consultation here (https://www.theaspiringmedics.co.uk/booking-calendar/free-consultation) to speak to one of our expert tutors where we can design a package tailoured to the universities that you're applying to you and your strengths and weaknesses.

Question 24

I need help with interviews

Accepted Answer

fsd

The Aspiring Medics

Extra Reading

👐Community-driven.

💭A pool of knowledge and insight.

✊ Free for everyone and anyone.

Public Health

Public Health

NHS

NHS

COVID-19

COVID-19

Science

Science

COVID-19 Extra Reading

Public Health Extra Reading

NHS Extra Reading

Science Extra Reading

🚀 Excel with our Online Interview Course