Oxbridge Interview / The Cambridge interview / Medicine
Cambridge Medicine interview questions: what a 'keen scientist' gets asked
Cambridge's stated requirement is 'a keen scientist with a sound scientific understanding', and its interviews ask you to apply science to new problems and explain the vocational side. This page is the questions; the format page is in the medical school lane.
Updated September 2026Cambridge Medicine had 6 applications per place in the 2025 cycle and accepted 270, with 22 places for overseas fee status. Shortlisting uses your academic record and UCAT cognitive score (no SJT for 2027 entry, no minimum threshold), no written work is required, and Cambridge's selection requirement is 'a keen scientist with a sound scientific understanding', informed by the Medical Schools Council's guidance on what makes a good doctor. This page is about the questions. Interviews are run by the college assessing you: main period 7 to 18 December 2026, online or in person depending on the college, most applicants having one or two interviews totalling 35 minutes to an hour with two or three interviewers. Cambridge says it assesses your understanding of the subject, readiness for high-level study, critical and independent thinking, curiosity and enthusiasm. For Medicine specifically, Cambridge says subject interviews ask you to apply your knowledge to new situations, materials, problems or scenarios and to explain your understanding of the vocational aspects of the course. Format, college table and dates are on the medical school lane's Cambridge page.
Merra is not affiliated with the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, any college or UCAS.
Merra: practise it out loud before it counts
Merra's Cambridge Medicine practice is a spoken mock in the college-interview style: five questions mixing science reasoning and vocational understanding, one follow-up each, about fifteen minutes, then spoken feedback and a written report. No workings, no pre-reading, one interviewer.
- 1Sign up free — no card, 2 free coaching sessions available until used.
- 2Practise out loud — answer unseen discussion questions with an AI tutor.
- 3Get readiness feedback — see how you reasoned and how you handled the push, with a recording and transcript.
No card details required. Your first 2 coaching sessions are free.
Practise an Cambridge-style Medicine interview
An AI tutor asks an unseen discussion question out loud, pushes once with a follow-up, then moves on — the same shape as the real thing, minus the science problems on paper.
Practise an Cambridge-style Medicine interview2 free coaching sessions · available until used · no card needed · no subscriptionHow this interview works
- 1Shortlisting on academic record and UCAT cognitive score; SJT not used for 2027 entry; no threshold. Full detail: /medical-school-interview/university-of-cambridge.
- 2Interviews 7 to 18 December 2026 by college (some colleges interview UK Medicine applicants in person; many online). One or two interviews, 35 minutes to an hour in total, two or three interviewers.
- 3Expect science questions that start from A-level biology or chemistry and go somewhere new, with you thinking aloud and possibly sharing workings.
- 4Expect vocational questions: what you understand about being a doctor and a medical student, and why Cambridge's science-heavy first three years.
- 5Pre-reading is possible; the college will say. A general academic interview may follow at some colleges.
- 6Outcomes 27 January 2027.
Interview questions
Cambridge does not publish interview questions for this course. The questions below are Merra practice questions written to the course as Cambridge describes it and to what Cambridge says interviews assess; they are not Cambridge's.
“Why does breathing faster make you feel dizzy? Walk me through it and tell me where you're unsure.”
“A patient's blood is too acidic. Give me three organs that could be responsible and how you'd tell them apart.”
“If a virus mutated so that it no longer caused symptoms, would it spread more or less? Why?”
“Why do antibiotics kill bacteria but not us?”
“A screening test is 99% accurate for a disease that affects one in ten thousand. You test positive. How worried should you be?”
“What do you think a medical student at Cambridge spends most of their first year doing, and how do you know?”
“What's the hardest thing you've seen a clinician do, and what would you have found hardest about it?”
“What's a piece of medical science you've read about that you didn't fully understand? What was the sticking point?”
Pricing
FAQs
Does Cambridge publish medicine interview questions?
No. Cambridge publishes what it assesses and how interviews run; the practice questions here are Merra's, written to that.
What does Cambridge say it looks for in medicine applicants?
'A keen scientist with a sound scientific understanding', with decisions informed by the Medical Schools Council's guidance on the role of the doctor.
How competitive is Cambridge Medicine?
In the 2025 cycle there were 6 applications per place and 270 students were accepted, with 22 places for overseas fee status.
Is the Cambridge medicine interview an MMI?
No. It is one or two college interviews totalling 35 minutes to an hour with two or three interviewers. Full format is on the medical school lane's Cambridge page.
Does Cambridge use the UCAT SJT?
Not for 2027 entry. It uses the overall cognitive score with no minimum threshold.
Official information
For the official course page and admissions details.
More Oxbridge interview guides
Merra is not affiliated with the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, any college or UCAS. Merra’s feedback is advisory only — it is not a guarantee of any offer or admission outcome.
The Oxbridge interview is spoken. Practise it that way.
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Practise an Cambridge-style Medicine interview2 free coaching sessions · available until used · no card needed · no subscription