About Aston Medical School (2023 Edition)
Aston offers an innovative MBChB degree; fostering the skills, knowledge and critical thinking required for the evolving world of medicine.
Students receive first class support, teaching and clinical experience throughout the degree, ensuring that they reach their full potential and become leading doctors of the future.
Student feedback is prioritised by staff, allowing students’ voices to be heard, as well as making an impact on patient care of the future.
Aston University Interview Information
🔍 How does Aston University select candidates for interviews?
GCSEs/A-levels/Highers: Applicants sitting GCSEs are required to sit maths, English, biology, chemistry and two other subjects. These grades are converted to a score out of 24, from grade 9/8 scoring 4 points to grade 5 scoring 1 point. This is used to rank applicants, then the top ranked students are invited to interview. This means even if you achieve minimum entry requirements you may not receive an interview. You are expected to achieve AAA at A-levels. Subjects of such must be biology, chemistry and any third subject. Scottish students must achieve AAA at advanced higher in chemistry and biology.
Personal Statement: Aston university have specific information which they look for in a personal statement, these aid in ensuring you stand out. The following are unique points to include: “acknowledge a gap in skills and actively working on it, being a prefect at school or mentoring younger students, volunteering and reflections”.
UCAT: Aston usually prefers a high UCAT score, however there is no cut off score. Even those with an SJT band 4 can be accepted. Your UCAT score is converted to a score from 0-12, for example if you score 3500= 12 points, 3500-3400 = 11.5 and so on.
Your UCAT and GCSE grades are converted to scores with accumulate to 36 points. The higher number of points the higher the chance of getting an interview. Historically scoring 28 or above will put you in a good position to receive an interview offer.
🧬What is the interview format?
Aston university use MMI interview format. This stands for multiple mini interviews. These interviews are conducted online.
There are 7-10 different stations which students will rotate round. Each station will last between 5 and 8 minutes, with a 1 minute preparation time in between stations, making the whole interview process lasting just over an hour.
Each station assesses a different area, these areas are kept the same for each interview round to ensure equality. The stations can be traditional question style or role-play style situations. The format of each station can vary.
📆 When will you get interview invitations?
Invitations to interview are sent out reasonable quickly, they begin to be sent out in November and continue until January or February. Interviews are sent out in bundles. You will be sent an invitation to interview via email therefore it is important to keep a look out in your emails for this, including junk mail.
👩💼 When are the interviews usually held?
Interviews run from December until March and once receive an invite to interview you can choose a date that suits you.
📝 What are the main topics I will be asked at the interview?
Oral and written communication
Empathy, compassion wand emotional intelligence
Problem solving
Role play
Motivation
Team-working
Ability to lead, as-well as follow
Knowing limitations and knowing when to ask for help
☑️ How will my interview be marked?
The interviewers are scoring your performance according to a checklist. Each station has the same number of marks available.
Each station is marked independently therefore you can score poorly in one but still end up ranking high overall.
All scores are added together to give you a total score which is then used for ranking. You are ranked compared to other applicants and your ranking is a considerable aspect in influencing who receives an offer.
🏠How many applicants are there per interview? (Home)
2.9 home applicants per interview
🌎How many applicants are there per interview? (International)
2.5 international applicants per interview.
✨How likely is it that I will be given an offer after an interview?
Home students: 202 applicants were interviewed and a total of 152 offers were made to home students. This is approximately a 75% chance of getting an offer after interviews!
International students: Out of the 78 international students interviewed, a total of 59 offers were given to international students. Again, a 75% chance of receiving an offer!
Applicants to Aston university have a high chance of being given an offer post interview, with a huge 75% of applicants being successful.
Make sure to read the GMC’s Good Medical Practice, as a topic relating to medical ethics is certain to appear at some stage.
When practising interview scenarios, it’s far more effective to do so with a friend. This is required to develop the vital skill of being able to think clearly and logically on your feet.
Ensure that you have completed The Aspiring Medics Experience bank beforehand. Don’t rush into questions, it’s better to pause and logically consider an answer, rather than going off on a tangent that will gain little points.
Most importantly, approach the interview with confidence!
Dress code is formal.
Check out our Medicine Interview Course!
Example interview questions
🔥 Motivation Interview Questions
What motivated you to consider medicine to begin?
Why may self-discipline be a more important characteristic than motivation in the life of a med student/doctor?
How do you combat demotivation for work/study when you are tired/going through a hard time?
Why Medicine?
Why do you think Medicine is the right degree for you?
🤯 Values and Skills Interview Questions
A medical student has cheated on his final exam. What would you do?
Discuss your thoughts on what should be done when a doctor makes a mistake.
📰 NHS Interview Questions
If you were given the role of health secretary, what would you change about the NHS?
Why do the NHS values resonate with you?
🏢 Teamwork Interview Questions
A scenario where five students were put in a group and required to build a cube with various shapes of blocks under time pressure. Communication and teamwork were assessed. Unknown to the applicants, the shapes were purposefully chosen such that it was actually impossible to construct a perfect cube.
A medical student has cheated on his final exam. What would you do?
🎭 Roleplay Interview Questions
Student asked to interview an actor who was pretending to be a student who wanted to take time off school in the middle of the term to go on a holiday as they were stressed. The overall task was to encourage the student during the conversation not to go on holiday in a sensitive manner, trying to understand what was making the student feel stressed, and trying to empathetically explain how not going on holiday was better in the long run, while offering advice to combat stress and coping mechanisms. The examiner then asked at the end, what went well during the conversation, and how one could improve their technique for next time.
How would you handle this situation: your friend is telling you that he is upset because one of your mutual friends has stopped talking to him.
A fellow medical student has been struggling a lot at home, and this has let to them smoking cannabis to relieve their stress. Speak to them about their situation.
🏥 Work Experience Interview Questions
What you saw?
What you learn?
When have you seen someone displaying the NHS values?
❤️ Medical Ethics Interview Questions
Scenario-med student revealing certain patient identifying details about a day on the ward on a social media post. Another student accosts him for this. "What actions should this student take if any?"
A patient is refusing life-saving treatment. If they are going to die without the treatment, can a doctor still go ahead with treating them and why?
A man has just found out that he is a carrier of a genetic abnormality and that there is a high probability his daughter may also have inherited it, who happens to be 2 months pregnant and has the same doctor. Can the doctor still inform the doctor of this, if the father refuses for her to be told?
Aston places a strong emphasis on clinical exposure from the beginning, with placement beginning as early as six weeks into first year. Also in fifth year, students get to choose their final six week elective placement from a suitable location anywhere in the world. Students are given the opportunity to conduct research with the Research Institute. Aston also allows students to carry out dissections. Integrated problem based learning in groups takes place on a daily basis making it far easier to address any difficulties people have with subjects early on, as well as reinforcing topics.
Aston Medical School is located right in the heart of Birmingham City; a bustling, diverse and vibrant city. Most students live on campus, which boasts modern apartments with state of the art facilities. On campus accommodation is guaranteed in advance for those who if accepted, firm their medical school offers. There are many societies and clubs to get involved in, meaning that whether you are a drinker or non-drinker, introverted or extroverted, you will have a wide range of socials to enjoy. The proximity to the city centre makes it easy to maintain a maintainable work-life balance. Students can easily experience fine dining, to amazing performances, to the world famous Bullring and Grand Central shopping centre, all just a five minutes’ walk from their room!
The atmosphere on campus at Aston is very welcoming, with over 3000 students living on the campus itself; and medics sharing accomodation with both medics and non-medics from first year. The friendly, community atmosphere at Aston makes it easy to settle in, especially for those living away from home. There are plenty of opportunities for students to mix with non-medics as well, thanks to the wide spectrum of clubs and societies that hold a large number of events each year. The Student Union building recently won a national award. It’s the perfect area to relax after a long day of lectures with friends, be it in the restaurant or games area, and integrate with the wider Aston community.
Medical events are known to be the best events you will attend. With all your colleagues and Barts family there, you feel an immense sense of community. Events to note include the Boat Ball in first year, the half-way ball in third year and the Rites of Passage where you graduate in St Pauls Cathedral. Others include the annual association dinner where you celebrate society and sports achievements with staff and students as well as regular shows by dance and drama in Laird Hall. Tradition is considered incredibly important at Barts and these events are at the heart of them.
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