Following a rigorous shortlisting process, we invite applicants to attend an interview, in person, at ARU's School of Medicine. The information contained here is very important. Please read it carefully.
We use Multiple Mini Interviews, or MMIs, as part of our admissions process. They give us a broad view of the skills you need to become a competent doctor.
This page has more information about MMIs and how you can prepare.
We hold a number of interview days. Interviews will be held between 6–16 January 2025 and current availability can be found in your Applicant Portal. Here you will be able to accept or decline your interview invitation and select your interview day. Please book your interview within 14 days of receiving your email invitation.
Once you have booked your interview there is very limited availability to change this date, please ensure that you will be available for time and date selected.
If you are unable to attend, please contact us immediately at [email protected].
As well as selecting your interview day on the Applicant Portal, you will be asked to upload copies of various documents, which must be done before the interview. These documents include your passport, visa/residence permit (where applicable), and educational certificates for all qualifications you already have that you are using for entry to the course, such as GCSEs and A levels, Access Diploma, degree certificate and transcript. If your name is now different to that on your certificates you must also provide proof of this, eg marriage certificate, deed poll. The Applicant Portal will list everything we need you to upload.
On the day of your interview, we will complete an online verification of any completed qualifications, such as GCSEs, Access Diplomas & A Levels, using the Government Learning Records Service. The Learning Records Service is a permanent online record of your qualifications and achievements. It’s held by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) which is an executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE). Original certificates are not required at interview, however, please ensure that you upload your certificate copies to your Applicant Portal. If you experience any difficulties with this, please email your document copies to [email protected] before your interview. It is important that you do this as failure to do so may cause a delay in processing your application any further if you are successful at interview.
On occasion we are unable to verify some qualifications. If this is the case, we will notify you and make arrangements to see your original documents in person on campus, if successfully interviewed.
All documentation will be checked for authenticity. If found not to be genuine, applicants will be immediately withdrawn and will not be able to reapply. All relevant authorities, funding bodies and professional bodies will be informed accordingly.
If you cannot find any of your certificates please let us know straightaway by emailing [email protected]. If you are successful at interview and we offer you a place you will be required to apply for replacement certificates. Details of examining bodies can be found on the internet. Please note that this process can take in excess of six weeks and a charge is involved.
As well as being academically capable, successful doctors need the ability to remain calm in stressful situations, to adapt to and work well in unfamiliar circumstances, and to listen and communicate effectively – not only with individual patients, but within a team.
MMIs are designed to gain insight into your personal qualities and cognitive skills. It's a style of interview that's commonly used by medical schools, and consists of a series of six mini-interviews ('stations'), each lasting seven minutes with one minute reading of instructions outside each station.
After completing each station you move straight onto the next and follow a pre-arranged circuit, until you have completed all the stations.
The mini-interviews will be carried out by members of our Medicine course team, healthcare professionals, junior doctors and service users. We don't directly use your personal statement in the selection process, but you should be prepared to discuss or use aspects of it at the MMIs.
Typically, there is one interviewer per station, but be prepared for more than one, as some stations may involve ‘actors’, who you will interact with. For example, you may be given a scenario to read and then discuss and play a role with the actor in front of an interviewer.
The interviewer will give you a mark for your performance at each station.
The six stations can be seen as independent of each other, so in effect you have six fresh starts. We believe MMIs offer a fair way to assess your thinking and communication skills, and the personal values which will shape the kind of doctor you will become.
Please bring the same photo ID you uploaded to the portal as proof of your identity; this will be checked by our Admissions Team. ID can be:
You must bring at least one of these proofs of ID to your interview.
If you are unable to provide any of these please contact [email protected] as soon as possible .
Please report to the School of Medicine foyer, Ground Floor, School of Medicine Building where you will be met by one of our colleagues.
Interview days can be nerve wracking and we would encourage you to allow plenty of time to arrive at your interview venue early.
Due to the tight schedules we work to, if you are delayed and arrive late, we will not be able to interview you, and are unable to confirm if a new date will be offered.
The Interview Day will consist of Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs), which are designed to gain further insight into your personal qualities and cognitive skills. They are comprised of a series of six mini-interviews, each lasting seven minutes with one minute reading of instructions outside each station. MMI questions will test your preparation and motivation to study medicine.
The object of the interviews is to assess your ability to respond spontaneously to various scenarios, without coaching. Areas that are tested will include:
The interviews will be undertaken by School of Medicine staff, healthcare professionals, junior doctors and service users.
You'll be expected to answer questions or respond to scenarios candidly and to the best of your ability. A good place to practise MMI questions is on The Medic Portal website.
Offers to study are based solely on MMI ranking, as all applicants who have reached this stage will be considered to be academically able to complete the course.
If someone is going to accompany you to your interview, they will be able to wait for you in our central seating area which has a coffee/canteen outlet.
Prospective students are tested at interview under clinical conditions. This is a competency standard so no adjustments will be given at the interview stations. However, the stems to the questions are less than 100 words to aid disabled students. The physical environment will ensure that the interviews stations are accessible to all students.
If you have any specific requirements in relation to the interview place or the process on the day, please contact [email protected] at least five days before your interview.
You'll be scored in three domains on each station, and the scores added together. The three domains include:
Each domain is marked out of five, so a station carries a maximum score of 15.
Two stations are domain double-weighted, carrying a maximum score of 30.
The maximum score for the six station MMI is 120.
If you’re offered a place on the course you will have to apply for an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate; this will be one of the conditions of your offer. After you have firmly accepted our offer we will contact you with details of our DBS application process, from April 2025 onwards.
You will also be required to be Occupational Health (OH) checked. Our OH providers will be in touch with you directly to arrange this once you have firmly accepted our offer, from April 2025 onwards.
It is important that you reply promptly to DBS and OH requests as failure to do so can delay your registration on to the course and you will not be able to begin your first practice placement until you have received clearance for both DBS and OH.
Places on our Medicine degree are limited, and we will make our decisions following the completion of all interviews. You should expect to receive our decision via your UCAS Hub by the end of February 2025.
Unfortunately, if you are unsuccessful at interview, you will not be able to reapply to our medical school in the current application cycle, including Clearing. You may apply in the next cycle, ie for entry in 2026. Decisions are based solely on performance in the MMIs. We do not provide feedback to unsuccessful candidates.
Please note: the offer of a place in a previous application cycle or on a waiting list does not guarantee a place or interview if you reapply for another intake. We do not accept deferrals.