Medical School Online Interview Guide
🔎 Many medical schools have confirmed that they will be interviewing online for 2022 entry. We can speculate the reasons for this. There are still a larger number of cases of COVID19 infection in the UK and this is likely the public reason for undertaking online virtual interviews.
⚠️ However, medical schools now have experience of online interviews from last year and they simply may well be easier to administer from a logistics viewpoint. Virtual interviews may even become the normal way a medical school interviews in future.
Virtual Medical School Interviews
Due to the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, medical schools moved to the virtual format last year and the majority will be conducting them online for 2022 entry.
✉️ The medical school will send you an invite so keep an eye on your email, your spam folder, and in the post. The UCAS system also has the option of notifying students of interviews, although in our experience this is not the preferred method of informing students.
👉 Some medical schools will be interviewing all the way from November 2021 to March 2022, so do not be disappointed if your friends start getting interview notifications (and you have not) for the same medical schools. Last year, our students had informed us of interviews beyond March 2022. The UCAS official date when all decisions are due from universities is currently 19 May 2022.
What is the software used for Online Medical School Interviews?
💾 Most medical schools will tend to use either Teams (which seems to be the preferred method in education in the UK), Zoom or Blackboard Collaborate.
👉The medical school will send you a link that lets you join a virtual meeting. Make sure you have your computer setup up in advance with the software that is needed to start the interview.
🎙 You should test that the microphone, camera, and speakers are all working, and you do this way in advance of your interview. Whilst there may be the option of running through a web browser, it is often better to download the app onto your computer purely in terms of stability through your interview.
🕸 Make sure you have a good stable internet connection.
How Are Online Interviews Different?
Whilst the topics that you will be assessed are likely to be the same as in person interviews, there are a few points that you need to note.
We advise that you should dress as you would for an in-person interview. That is have a smart appearance. Dr. Mannan has created a video on how to appear amiable in your interview – have a look below.
You need to pay attention to your surroundings as well. You don’t want any bold artwork or distractions in the background.
Remember, the first impression that the interviewer has of you may well affect your marking in the interview. You don’t want to be instinctively marked down.
If you do not have a suitable place at home or the required equipment and internet connection, you can ask you school and see if they can set up a room and PC for you.
Check the lighting in your room with your webcam. The university may ask you to hold up some ID, so have this with you.
Students that were applying to dentistry last year informed us that they received items through the post that were then used in manual dexterity tests. We have no reports of this happening to medical school interviews.
How can you prepare for virtual medical school interviews?
📚 The preparation in terms of the knowledge you need will be the same as an in-person course. Have a look at our Medical School Interview Course which will save you hours (if not days) of research and allow you to practice your skills with other students.
📲 You can practice recording your answers with a friend or relative using your mobile phone. Watch back and get feedback on your performance. Pay attention to your body language.
🕸 You can also test your internet connection by getting your friends to video call you using Whatsapp or Facetime.
⚠️ Do not record your actual interview unless you have specific consent to do so. Don’t use post it notes stuck to your monitor (or your wall) during your interview. This may cause you to break eye contact with the interviewer and this would create a negative impression.
✍️ Don’t take notes during the interview – you can scribble some recollections straight after the interview. I know you will not feel like doing this, especially if your interview did not appear to go well, but remember you may have further interviews coming up and it is important to learn from your mistakes.
🏆 One of our Blue Peanut Alumni, Ruksana, who is now a first year medical student at Leicester, has recorded a video of her experience through the process.