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Medicine interviews, 2027 entry
Southampton Medicine Interview Questions (2027 Entry)
How Southampton's Faculty of Medicine runs its selection days for BM5, BM6 and BM4, why it is an interview and a group task and not an MMI, the January to February 2027 window, and 57 practice questions grouped by the five non-academic criteria Southampton publishes, with model answers.
Reviewed by Dr Akash Gandhi, NHS GP and a Cambridge and UCL graduate (GMC register) · Checked against Southampton's official pages: 24 October 2026
Southampton medicine interviews, 2027 entry
Southampton medicine interviews for 2027 entry are held at an in-person selection day: an interview that draws on your personal statement, plus a group task. Selection days run from January to the end of February 2027 for BM5, BM6 and BM4, with no online option, even for international applicants. For 2020 entry, 88% of home interviewees received an offer.
- Dates
- Selection days run from January to the end of February 2027; exact dates were not yet published when we checked on 24 October 2026University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Selection Procedure and Policy, BM4, BM5 and BM6 programmes (DOCX) (2027 entry or 2028 deferred entry)
- Invitations
- Home applicants 2 to 3 weeks before the selection day; international applicants 5 to 6 weeks beforeUniversity of Southampton, Medicine BM5 (BMBS) course page (A100) (2027/28 entry)
- Format
- Selection day: an interview, which draws on your personal statement, and a group task. Not an MMIUniversity of Southampton, Medicine BM5 (BMBS) course page (A100) (2027/28 entry)
- Delivery
- In person at the University of Southampton for every applicant, including international applicants; no online alternativeUniversity of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Selection Procedure and Policy, BM4, BM5 and BM6 programmes (DOCX) (2027 entry or 2028 deferred entry)
- Length
- Southampton does not publish the length of the interview, the group task or the dayUniversity of Southampton, Medicine BM5 (BMBS) course page (A100) (2027/28 entry)
- Routes interviewed
- BM5 (A100), BM6 widening participation (A102) and BM4 graduate entry (A101), all by the same selection day formatUniversity of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Selection Procedure and Policy, BM4, BM5 and BM6 programmes (DOCX) (2027 entry or 2028 deferred entry)
- Assessed on
- Five non-academic criteria, from self-motivation and resilience to the values of the NHS ConstitutionUniversity of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Selection Procedure and Policy, BM4, BM5 and BM6 programmes (DOCX) (2027 entry or 2028 deferred entry)
- How offers are made
- On selection day performance; UCAT is used only to separate tied scoresUniversity of Southampton, Medicine BM5 (BMBS) course page (A100) (2027/28 entry)
- Decisions
- Southampton aims to respond by the end of March 2027University of Southampton, Medicine BM5 (BMBS) course page (A100) (2027/28 entry)
- Post-interview success, home, 2020 entry
- 88% (587 offers from 667 interviewed)Admissions statistics as published on our Southampton profile, from Southampton's Freedom of Information disclosures (2020 entry (latest year with offer figures))
- Post-interview success, international, 2020 entry
- 31% (20 offers from 64 interviewed)Admissions statistics as published on our Southampton profile, from Southampton's Freedom of Information disclosures (2020 entry (latest year with offer figures))
Free: The Medicine Interview Guide 2027 (PDF)
An eight-week plan, the frameworks for ethics and role play, five full worked answers with the follow-ups to expect, every school’s interview format, and 20 practice questions with a self-marking sheet. Written by our doctors and dentists.
How does Southampton interview for medicine?
Southampton calls its interview stage a selection day. It is not a multiple mini interview (MMI). The selection day has two parts: an interview, at which the selectors draw on the information you gave in your personal statement, and a group task. Every applicant who is invited takes part in both, and Southampton's selection policy says all applicants are required to participate in the group task.
Southampton does not publish how long the interview or the group task lasts, how many selectors you will meet, or what the group task involves. It says it will email full event details before the day, so read the invitation closely. The selectors are drawn from clinicians, academics, healthcare professionals and lay members, and every new selector is trained, including in equal opportunities.
Searching for the Southampton MMI?
There is no Southampton MMI. Southampton describes its process as an interview plus a group task, so prepare to talk at length about your own experiences in the interview and to work with other applicants in the group task. Our MMI preparation guide is still useful for the scenario-style questions that any interview can include.
Source: University of Southampton, Medicine BM5 (BMBS) course page (A100) (2027/28 entry); University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Selection Procedure and Policy, BM4, BM5 and BM6 programmes (DOCX) (2027 entry or 2028 deferred entry)
When are Southampton medicine interviews for 2027 entry?
| Stage | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Invitations sent | November 2026 to February 2027 | Home applicants 2 to 3 weeks before their day; international applicants 5 to 6 weeks before |
| Selection days | January to the end of February 2027 | In person, BM5, BM6 and BM4; exact dates not yet published |
| Decisions | Late March 2027 | Southampton aims to respond by the end of March |
| Offer days | April and May 2027 | For applicants who receive offers |
Southampton's course pages say the dates for the 2027 cycle will be made available in the autumn. They had not appeared when we checked on 24 October 2026, so treat January to the end of February as the window and wait for your invitation for the exact day. The selection policy calls this calendar provisional. Compare the Southampton window with every other school's in our UK medical school interview dates table.
Source: University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Selection Procedure and Policy, BM4, BM5 and BM6 programmes (DOCX) (2027 entry or 2028 deferred entry); University of Southampton, Medicine BM5 (BMBS) course page (A100) (2027/28 entry)
Which Southampton medicine routes interview?
All three of Southampton's Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (BMBS) programmes interview, and all three use the same selection day: an interview and a group task, in person, in January and February.
| Route | Who can apply | Route to the selection day |
|---|---|---|
| BM5 (A100), five years | School leavers, graduates, mature non-graduates; home and international | Ranked by UCAT once academic criteria are met; home and international applicants are considered separately |
| BM6 (A102), six years with a Year 0 | UK applicants who meet three of six widening participation criteria; not open to international or graduate applicants | An eligibility form, sent in November, must be returned by its deadline; then ranked by UCAT. Some selection day places go to local applicants from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Dorset or Wiltshire |
| BM4 (A101), four years graduate entry | Graduates with a 2:1 in any subject; not open to international applicants | Ranked by UCAT. Some selection day places go to University of Southampton graduates |
Graduates can apply to both BM4 and BM5, but Southampton treats them as two separate applications that use two of your four medicine choices. If you are applying as a graduate, our Southampton graduate entry medicine guide covers BM4 in more depth.
Source: University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Selection Procedure and Policy, BM4, BM5 and BM6 programmes (DOCX) (2027 entry or 2028 deferred entry); University of Southampton, Medicine BM5 (BMBS) course page (A100) (2027/28 entry); University of Southampton, Medicine BM6 Widening Participation (BMBS) course page (A102) (2027/28 entry); University of Southampton, Medicine BM4 Graduate Entry (BMBS) course page (A101) (2027/28 entry)
How does Southampton decide who to interview?
Southampton checks that you meet the academic entry requirements, then ranks applicants by UCAT score and invites the top candidates to a selection day; your reference is not used in selection. Past scores and the full entry requirements are on our Southampton medical school profile, which is the page for that question.
Source: University of Southampton, Medicine BM5 (BMBS) course page (A100) (2027/28 entry); University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Selection Procedure and Policy, BM4, BM5 and BM6 programmes (DOCX) (2027 entry or 2028 deferred entry)
What does Southampton assess at the selection day?
Southampton publishes five non-academic criteria. During the selection day you must show that you:
- Are self-motivated and resilient.
- Have reflected on and learnt from life experiences, which Southampton says may include work experience, paid employment and personal experiences both in and outside health and social care settings.
- Can communicate effectively.
- Are able to interact successfully with others.
- Can demonstrate an understanding of the values of the NHS Constitution.
Southampton adds that it expects your behaviour during the whole application process to match these standards, the student charter and the NHS Constitution. The five themes below follow the five criteria in order. The questions are practice questions written by TheUKCATPeople from Southampton's published criteria and course pages. They are not real or leaked Southampton questions, and nothing here comes from students reporting what they were asked.
Source: University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Selection Procedure and Policy, BM4, BM5 and BM6 programmes (DOCX) (2027 entry or 2028 deferred entry); University of Southampton, Medicine BM5 (BMBS) course page (A100) (2027/28 entry)
Southampton medicine interview questions, by theme
Grouped by what Southampton says it assesses. Each question has a note on what a strong answer covers, and the Southampton-specific ones have a full model answer. These are practice questions written by TheUKCATPeople from Southampton's published guidance, not real or leaked questions.
- Self-motivation and resilience (1 to 12)
- Reflecting on and learning from life experiences (13 to 23)
- Communicating effectively (24 to 34)
- Interacting with others and the group task (35 to 45)
- The values of the NHS Constitution (46 to 57)
Self-motivation and resilience
What Southampton says: Southampton's first non-academic criterion: applicants must be able to show they are self-motivated and resilient. University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Selection Procedure and Policy, BM4, BM5 and BM6 programmes (DOCX)
Self-motivation means you have chosen medicine yourself and done the work to find out what it involves. Resilience means you can keep going when things go wrong, and that you know how to look after yourself while you do. The interview draws on your personal statement, so expect the selectors to test both qualities through the experiences you wrote about.
- 1
Why do you want to be a doctor, and what have you done to check that the job suits you?
What to cover: Give your reason in a sentence or two, then spend most of the answer on the steps you took to test it. Self-motivation is shown by what you went and did, not by how strongly you feel.
- 2
Why Southampton?
What to cover: Pick two features of the Southampton course and link each to something about you. Clinical experience from the first few weeks and shifts as a healthcare support worker are both on the course page, and both are good starting points.
- 3
Southampton students attend shifts as healthcare support workers. What do you expect to learn from that?
What to cover: Talk about the work support workers do, such as personal care, observations and helping patients eat, and what it teaches a future doctor about the rest of the team. Show respect for the role.
- 4
Tell me about a time you kept going with something when you wanted to give up.
What to cover: Choose a real example where the difficulty lasted, then explain what kept you going and what you changed. Resilience is about adapting, so say what you did differently, not only that you carried on.
- 5
What is the biggest setback you have had, and what did it teach you?
What to cover: Pick a setback that mattered to you, describe it briefly and spend most of your time on what you learned and how you have used it since. Avoid a setback that is really a boast.
- 6
How do you look after yourself when you are under pressure?
What to cover: Describe what you actually do, such as sleep, exercise, time with friends or talking to someone, and a time it helped. Then say why a doctor's own wellbeing matters for patient safety.
- 7
Medicine involves long training and exams long after you qualify. How do you know you will stay motivated?
What to cover: Show you know what the training pathway involves, then point to evidence that you sustain effort over years, such as a long-term commitment. Our guide to the medical training pathway explains the stages.
- 8
Tell me about something you learned to do on your own, without anyone teaching you.
What to cover: Describe how you went about it: where you found information, how you practised and how you knew you were improving. Medical school expects a lot of independent learning, so the method matters.
- 9
What do you think will be hardest about studying medicine at Southampton, and how will you prepare for it?
What to cover: Name something specific, such as clinical work from the start of the course or evening and weekend placements, and describe a step you have already taken towards it.
- 10
If you are applying to BM6: what would you most want to get out of the Year 0?
What to cover: Southampton's introductory year builds skills and confidence through small-group teaching, including anatomy practicals. Say which skills you want to strengthen and why, without apologising for your route.
- 11
If you are a graduate applying to BM4: why medicine now, and why not when you finished school?
What to cover: Tell the story of how the decision formed, and show what your first degree or career gives you. Southampton accepts any 2:1 degree, so explain how your subject will help in a small graduate cohort.
- 12
If you are not offered a place this year, what will you do?
What to cover: Give a realistic plan that keeps medicine as the goal, such as building more experience and reapplying, and show you have thought about it before today.
Model answer
Why Southampton?
The first reason is how early the clinical work begins. Southampton puts students in clinical settings from the first few weeks, and the early years are built around clinical topics such as heart valve disease, stroke and diabetes. I learn best when I can see why something matters, and meeting patients from the start would give the science that reason.
The second is the healthcare support worker shifts. At my care home job I saw that the carers often knew first when a resident was becoming unwell, because they were with them all day. Working those shifts as a student would teach me how a ward runs and what the rest of the team does, which I think makes for a better doctor.
I also like that the placements spread across Wessex in the later years, including GP surgeries, the ambulance service and community organisations. I want to see medicine outside the hospital, and that range of settings suits me.
Go deeper: How to answer "Why medicine?"
Reflecting on and learning from life experiences
What Southampton says: Southampton's second non-academic criterion: applicants must have reflected on and learnt from life experiences, which may include work experience, paid employment and personal experiences both in and outside health and social care settings. At the interview, Southampton draws on the information you gave in your personal statement. University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Selection Procedure and Policy, BM4, BM5 and BM6 programmes (DOCX)
This is where your personal statement is most likely to come up. Southampton is clear that reflection can come from anywhere: a part-time job, caring for a relative or a sports team counts as much as a hospital placement. The selectors are listening for what you noticed, what you took from it, and what you now do differently.
- 13
Pick one experience from your personal statement. What did you learn from it that you could not have learned from a book?
What to cover: Describe one moment in detail, then the lesson. A precise example of something you saw or did is worth more than a summary of the whole placement.
- 14
Tell me about your paid job. What has it taught you that will be useful in medicine?
What to cover: Southampton names paid employment as a source of reflection. Talk about reliability, dealing with the public, working under a manager and handling a difficult customer, and link each to patient care.
- 15
What did you see during your work experience or volunteering that surprised you?
What to cover: Choose something that changed your view of the job, explain why it surprised you and what you think now. Surprise shows you were paying attention.
- 16
Tell me about a time you got something wrong. What did you do about it, and what do you do differently now?
What to cover: Choose a real mistake with a consequence. Spend most of the answer on how you put it right and on the habit you changed afterwards.
- 17
Describe an experience outside health care that has prepared you for medicine.
What to cover: Pick something such as coaching, a part-time job or caring for a family member, and draw out a skill or value that transfers. Southampton explicitly counts experiences outside health and social care.
- 18
What have you learned about yourself from caring for, or supporting, another person?
What to cover: Be specific about what you did and how it felt, including what was hard. Then say what it showed you about the kind of doctor you want to be.
- 19
Tell me about a patient, client or customer who stayed with you after you met them. Why?
What to cover: Keep any details anonymous. Explain what you noticed about their situation and what it taught you about care, communication or dignity.
- 20
What is one piece of feedback you have been given, and what did you do with it?
What to cover: Choose feedback that was hard to hear, show that you listened, and give the change you made. Reflection means acting on what you learn.
- 21
How would you describe the difference between describing an experience and reflecting on it?
What to cover: Describing says what happened; reflecting asks why, what it meant and what you would do next time. Use a short example of your own to show the difference.
- 22
Southampton students keep up personal and professional development throughout the course. How do you keep track of what you are learning now?
What to cover: Mention anything you actually do, such as a diary after placements or a note of goals. If you have no system, say what you would start with and why.
- 23
What did your work experience teach you about the limits of what doctors can do?
What to cover: Talk about a situation where medicine could not fix the problem, such as social isolation or a terminal illness, and what the team did instead. It shows a realistic view of the job.
Model answer
Tell me about your paid job. What has it taught you that will be useful in medicine?
I have worked weekends at a supermarket for nearly two years, mostly on the tills and at customer service. The first thing it taught me is reliability. If I do not turn up, a colleague covers a double shift, and I saw how much that matters to a team that is already stretched.
The second is dealing with people who are upset. One Saturday a man came to customer service angry about a refund, and I could tell after a minute that he was worried about money, not about the item. Once I stopped defending the policy and listened, we found a solution. I think of that whenever I read about patients who seem difficult, because there is usually a worry underneath.
And it taught me to know my limits. When a customer collapsed in the queue last year, my job was to call for the first aider and keep people back, not to try to treat him. In medicine I will need to know when to act and when to get someone more experienced, and that day showed me why.
Go deeper: Medicine work experience guide
Communicating effectively
What Southampton says: Southampton's third non-academic criterion: applicants must be able to show they can communicate effectively. University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Selection Procedure and Policy, BM4, BM5 and BM6 programmes (DOCX)
Southampton assesses communication across the whole day: how clearly you answer in the interview, and how you speak and listen in the group task. In the interview, answer the question you were asked, give one example, and stop. The questions below include explanation and difficult-conversation scenarios, which test the same skills.
- 24
Explain to me something you know well, as if I had never heard of it.
What to cover: Choose a topic you can explain simply, start with the big picture, use one comparison, and check that the listener is following. The selectors are marking the clarity of your explanation, not the topic.
- 25
Tell me about a time you had to explain something to someone who found it hard to understand.
What to cover: Say what made it hard, such as age, language or anxiety, and how you adapted: simpler words, a drawing or a demonstration. Then say how you checked they had understood.
- 26
A patient's relative is upset because they have not been told what is happening. As a medical student, what do you say?
What to cover: Acknowledge their worry, listen, and explain what you can and cannot share without the patient's consent. Offer to find the doctor or nurse who can talk to them.
- 27
How would you explain to an elderly neighbour why they have been invited for a flu vaccination?
What to cover: Use plain words, explain the benefit for them in particular, answer their worries about side effects truthfully and leave the choice with them.
- 28
Describe a time you had to deliver news someone did not want to hear.
What to cover: Say how you prepared, how you said it plainly without delay, and how you dealt with their reaction. Our guide to breaking bad news shows the framework doctors use.
- 29
How would you talk to a patient whose first language is not English?
What to cover: Talk about professional interpreters, why family members are a poor substitute, short sentences and checking understanding. Mention written information in other languages.
- 30
What makes someone a good listener? Give an example of when you listened well.
What to cover: Describe the behaviour: letting people finish, asking open questions, summarising and noticing what is not said. Then give one example from your own experience.
- 31
A friend on your course seems withdrawn and has stopped coming to lectures. How do you start that conversation?
What to cover: Choose a private moment, say what you have noticed without judging, and listen. Point them to their personal academic tutor or student support, and be clear you would get help if you thought they were at risk.
- 32
How do you change the way you speak when you talk to a child compared with an adult?
What to cover: Give practical examples: simpler words, getting down to their level, using play or pictures, and including the parent. Being truthful still matters with children.
- 33
What is the difference between empathy and sympathy, and why does it matter for a doctor?
What to cover: Empathy is understanding how someone feels from their side; sympathy is feeling sorry for them. Our empathy and sympathy guide explains why patients value the first.
- 34
Tell me about a misunderstanding you caused. How did you put it right?
What to cover: Own your part, describe how you discovered the misunderstanding and what you did to fix it, and say what you now do to avoid it.
Model answer
A patient's relative is upset because they have not been told what is happening. As a medical student, what do you say?
I would start by making time for them. "I'm one of the medical students on the ward. I can see you're worried. Would you like to sit down and tell me what's happened?" Then I would listen without interrupting, because often people need to be heard before they can take anything in.
I would be clear about what I can do. "I'm not able to share details about your father's care unless he's agreed to that, but I can find out who's looking after him and ask them to come and talk to you." I would not guess or reassure them about things I do not know, because if I am wrong it makes things worse.
Then I would follow through: find the nurse in charge or the doctor, explain that the family are waiting and worried, and go back to tell the relative when someone will come. If there was a pattern of families not being kept informed, I would mention it to my supervisor, because it is something the team could fix.
Go deeper: MMI role-play stations
Interview preparation
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Interacting with others and the group task
What Southampton says: Southampton's fourth non-academic criterion: applicants must be able to interact successfully with others. Every selection day includes a group task, and every applicant must take part in it. University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Selection Procedure and Policy, BM4, BM5 and BM6 programmes (DOCX)
Southampton does not publish what its group task involves, so these questions practise the behaviour any group exercise rewards. Contribute early, build on what others say, bring quieter people in, keep an eye on the time and the goal, and be willing to change your mind. Dominating the group scores as badly as staying silent. Practise a few of the discussion prompts below with friends, and take turns watching each other.
- 35
Group prompt: as a group, agree the three most important qualities for a new doctor, in order.
What to cover: Offer one idea with a reason, then listen to the others and look for overlap. Help the group reach a decision in the time, and summarise it at the end.
- 36
Group prompt: a GP surgery has money for one new service. Should it be a weekend clinic, a mental health worker or a diabetes education programme? Agree a choice.
What to cover: Ask who the surgery's patients are before choosing. Weigh the options aloud, accept that there is no perfect answer, and help the group commit to one.
- 37
Group prompt: plan a one-day health awareness event for a local secondary school.
What to cover: Make sure someone takes on timing, safety and how you will know whether it worked. Volunteer for a role and give others space to take theirs.
- 38
Tell me about a time you worked in a team that did not get on. What did you do?
What to cover: Focus on your own actions: what you noticed, what you said and what changed. Blaming others uses up the time you need to show insight.
- 39
What do you do when you disagree with the rest of your group?
What to cover: Say you would state your view once, with the reason, listen to the reply and accept the group's decision unless safety is at stake. Give an example.
- 40
Someone in your group is not speaking. What do you do?
What to cover: Invite them in by name with an open question, and make room for their answer. It is one of the clearest signs of good teamwork that selectors can see.
- 41
One person in your group keeps talking over everyone. How do you handle it?
What to cover: Acknowledge their point, then bring others in and steer back to the task. Stay polite; the aim is a better group decision, not winning an argument.
- 42
Tell me about a time you led a group. What would the others say about your leadership?
What to cover: Describe what you did to involve people and share the work, and include one thing you would do differently. Leading includes listening.
- 43
Tell me about a time you were a team member, not the leader. What did you contribute?
What to cover: Show you can follow, support and do your share well. Most of a doctor's work is in teams led by someone else.
- 44
How do the different professions on a hospital ward depend on each other?
What to cover: Give examples: nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, support workers and doctors each hold information the others need. The multidisciplinary team guide explains who does what.
- 45
Your group project partner has done almost none of the work and the deadline is in two days. What do you do?
What to cover: Talk to them first to find out why, because there may be a problem in their life. Agree a plan, and tell the tutor if the work is at risk.
Model answer
Someone in your group is not speaking. What do you do?
First I would make sure it is not because the rest of us are taking all the space, including me. If two or three people have been going back and forth, I would stop adding my own points for a moment.
Then I would bring them in by name with an open question about the task. Something like, "Priya, we've talked a lot about the weekend clinic. What do you think the surgery's patients need most?" I would make sure the group actually listened to the answer and built on it, because inviting someone in and then talking over them is worse than not asking.
Quiet people often have useful ideas they have been thinking through. At my school's charity committee, the person who barely spoke in the first meeting turned out to have run an event like ours before, and her one suggestion saved us a lot of money. In a hospital team the same applies: the person who has not spoken may be the one who noticed something important.
Go deeper: The multidisciplinary team
The values of the NHS Constitution
What Southampton says: Southampton's fifth non-academic criterion: applicants must demonstrate an understanding of the values of the NHS Constitution. Southampton also expects applicants' behaviour throughout the process to align with the student charter and the NHS Constitution. University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Selection Procedure and Policy, BM4, BM5 and BM6 programmes (DOCX)
The NHS Constitution lists six values: working together for patients; respect and dignity; commitment to quality of care; compassion; improving lives; and everyone counts. Southampton asks you to understand them, which means more than listing them. Expect to apply them to real situations, including ethical ones where two values pull in different directions.
- 46
Which value of the NHS Constitution matters most to you, and when have you seen it in action?
What to cover: Choose one value, give a concrete example of someone living it, and say what you learned. Our NHS core values guide lists all six.
- 47
What does "everyone counts" mean in practice for a hospital?
What to cover: Make it practical: interpreters, accessible information, adjustments for people with learning disabilities and making sure nobody is left out of care because they are hard to reach.
- 48
Tell me about a time you saw someone treated without dignity. What did you do?
What to cover: Describe the situation calmly, what you did or would do now, and why dignity matters for trust. If you did nothing at the time, say what you would do differently.
- 49
A patient with capacity refuses treatment that could save their life. What should happen?
What to cover: Check they understand the consequences, explore their reasons, offer alternatives and record the conversation, then respect the decision. Our capacity guide covers how capacity is judged.
- 50
A friend asks you to look up their relative's results on the hospital computer. What do you say?
What to cover: Say no, kindly and without hesitation. Viewing records without a clinical reason breaches confidentiality and the law. Our confidentiality guide explains where the line sits.
- 51
You notice a nurse has not washed their hands between patients. What do you do?
What to cover: Patient safety comes first, so speak up politely at the time or straight afterwards. If it keeps happening, tell your supervisor. Raising concerns is part of a commitment to quality of care.
- 52
Why does the NHS Constitution put "working together for patients" first?
What to cover: Explain that care is delivered by teams and that patients are harmed when teams do not share information. Link it to an example of good teamwork you have seen.
- 53
A 15-year-old asks for contraception and does not want her parents to know. What are the issues?
What to cover: Consider whether she understands enough to consent, her right to confidentiality, and any signs she is at risk. Our Gillick competence guide sets out the test.
- 54
Should patients who miss several hospital appointments be removed from the waiting list?
What to cover: Weigh fairness to other patients against the reasons people miss appointments, such as cost, caring duties or illness. Show that "everyone counts" pushes you to find out why first.
- 55
What does compassion look like on a busy ward when there is no time?
What to cover: Give small examples: using a patient's name, explaining what you are doing, sitting down for a minute. Compassion is in how the time is used, not only how much there is.
- 56
Why do people in the poorest areas live shorter lives, and what has that to do with a doctor?
What to cover: Explain the social causes and what doctors can do, from prevention to referral and advocacy. Our health inequalities guide covers the evidence.
- 57
A student on your course posts a photo from a placement, and a patient can be identified in it. What do you do?
What to cover: Treat it as a confidentiality breach whatever was intended. Speak to them and ask them to remove it, and escalate if they refuse. Professional standards apply from the first day of the course.
Model answer
What does "everyone counts" mean in practice for a hospital?
It means nobody should get worse care because of who they are, and nobody should be left out of care because they are harder to reach. Fair treatment sometimes means doing more for the people the system usually misses.
In practice that looks like booking a professional interpreter when a patient's English is limited, not asking their child to translate. It looks like longer appointments and easy-read letters for someone with a learning disability, and a ward that thinks about how a patient who is homeless will manage after discharge.
I saw part of this when I volunteered at a community lunch club. A man there had stopped going to his GP because he could not use the online booking system. One of the volunteers rang the surgery for him and they set up phone booking. It was a small thing, but without it he was being left out of care altogether.
Go deeper: The six NHS core values
How does Southampton decide offers after the selection day?
Southampton makes offers on selection day performance. All applicants are judged against the five non-academic criteria based on how they perform across the selection day, so the group task and the interview both count. Where selection day scores are tied for a limited number of places, Southampton may use your UCAT score to separate candidates. It does not publish how the interview and group task are weighted against each other.
Southampton does not offer online interviews or extra time at the selection day, and every applicant must take part in the group task. It will do its best to make reasonable adjustments, and asks you to tell it before the day about any physical disability, sensory impairment or health condition that may need venue access adjustments, by emailing AdmissionsUG.MED@southampton.ac.uk.
Source: University of Southampton, Medicine BM5 (BMBS) course page (A100) (2027/28 entry); University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Selection Procedure and Policy, BM4, BM5 and BM6 programmes (DOCX) (2027 entry or 2028 deferred entry)
What happens on a Southampton selection day?
- Where: in person at the University of Southampton. Your invitation email gives the full event details.
- What: an interview, at which the selectors draw on your personal statement, and a group task. Southampton does not publish the order, the timings or the content.
- Who: Southampton's selectors come from a range of backgrounds, including clinicians, academics, healthcare professionals and lay members, and all are trained.
- Prepare by rereading your personal statement, thinking of examples for each of the five non-academic criteria, and practising group discussions with friends.
- Behaviour counts throughout: Southampton expects applicants to behave in line with its student charter and the NHS Constitution during the whole application and selection process.
Source: University of Southampton, Medicine BM5 (BMBS) course page (A100) (2027/28 entry); University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Selection Procedure and Policy, BM4, BM5 and BM6 programmes (DOCX) (2027 entry or 2028 deferred entry)
What happens after the Southampton selection day?
Southampton aims to respond with a decision by the end of March 2027, and its selection policy lists late March for decisions on BM4, BM5 and BM6 and offer days in April and May. Offers are conditional on your qualifications, health clearance and an enhanced DBS check. Applicants under 18 at the start of the course may be offered a deferred place.
Southampton runs a wait list for applicants who have been through selection and met its criteria, and tells those placed on it. It is used to fill places later in the cycle; it is not an insurance place, and anyone holding a medicine offer from another school is removed from it. Southampton says that, because of the number of applications, it cannot give reasons why an individual application was unsuccessful.
For 2020 entry, 587 of the 667 home applicants interviewed received an offer (88%), and 20 of 64 international interviewees (31%). These are the latest offer figures on our profile; later years record interview numbers only.
Source: University of Southampton, Medicine BM5 (BMBS) course page (A100) (2027/28 entry); University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Selection Procedure and Policy, BM4, BM5 and BM6 programmes (DOCX) (2027 entry or 2028 deferred entry); Admissions statistics as published on our Southampton profile, from Southampton's Freedom of Information disclosures (2020 entry (latest year with offer figures))
Practise a Southampton-style interview
A timed mock in the format Southampton uses, built from the themes Southampton publishes. Record yourself, then mark it against the pointers above.
Common mistakes at the Southampton interview
- 1
Preparing only for an MMI
Southampton's selection day is an interview and a group task. Practise talking in depth about your own experiences and working through a discussion with other applicants, not only short scenario stations.
- 2
Not knowing your personal statement
Southampton says it draws on your personal statement at interview. Reread it and be ready to go deeper on every experience you mention.
- 3
Treating the group task as a competition
The criterion is interacting successfully with others. Talking over people or pushing your idea through scores badly; bringing others in and helping the group decide scores well.
- 4
Staying silent in the group
Selectors cannot mark what they do not see. Contribute early, even briefly, so they can assess you.
- 5
Listing the NHS values without understanding them
Southampton asks you to understand the values of the NHS Constitution. Have an example ready for each and be able to apply them to a dilemma.
- 6
Hoping to move your date
Southampton says it cannot offer an alternative date to the one on your invitation. Keep January and February as free as you can and check your email, including junk, from November.
- 7
Missing the BM6 eligibility form
BM6 applicants are sent an eligibility form in November. An incomplete form, or one returned after its deadline, ends the application before any selection day.
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FAQs
Southampton medicine interview: common questions
Does Southampton interview for medicine?
Yes. Southampton invites shortlisted applicants to an in-person selection day, made up of an interview that draws on your personal statement and a group task, and makes offers on how you perform there.
This applies to all three routes: BM5 (A100), BM6 (A102) and BM4 graduate entry (A101). Selection days run from January to the end of February.
When are Southampton medicine interviews for 2027 entry?
Southampton's selection days for 2027 entry run from January to the end of February 2027. The exact dates had not been published when we checked on 24 October 2026; Southampton says they will be made available in the autumn.
Compare other schools in our interview dates table.
When will I hear whether I have a Southampton medicine interview?
Home applicants are invited 2 to 3 weeks before their selection day, and international applicants 5 to 6 weeks before. Southampton's timetable has invitations going out between November 2026 and February 2027, after it receives UCAT scores in early November.
If another applicant cancels, Southampton sometimes sends invitations at shorter notice, so keep checking your email.
Are Southampton medicine interviews online or in person?
In person. Southampton holds every selection day at the University of Southampton for all applicants, including international applicants, and says it does not offer online alternatives because of the format of its selection process.
What happens at a Southampton selection day, and how long is it?
A Southampton selection day has two parts, an interview and a group task, and Southampton does not publish how long either one or the whole day lasts.
At the interview the selectors draw on your personal statement. Southampton does not describe the group task, but every applicant must take part in it. Full event details come in your invitation email.
Is the Southampton medicine interview an MMI?
No. Southampton does not use multiple mini interviews. Its selection day is an interview, which draws on your personal statement, and a group task, for BM5, BM6 and BM4 alike.
What does Southampton look for at interview?
Southampton assesses five non-academic criteria: that you are self-motivated and resilient, have reflected on and learnt from life experiences, can communicate effectively, can interact successfully with others, and understand the values of the NHS Constitution. Life experiences can include paid work and personal experiences, not only health care.
How does Southampton choose who to interview for medicine?
Southampton checks that you meet the academic entry requirements, then ranks applicants by UCAT score and invites the top candidates to a selection day. Past scores and entry requirements are on our Southampton medical school profile.
How competitive is the Southampton medicine interview?
For 2020 entry, 88% of home applicants interviewed by Southampton received an offer (587 of 667), and 31% of international interviewees (20 of 64). These figures come from Southampton's Freedom of Information disclosures as recorded on our profile, and 2020 entry is the latest year with offer figures.
International applicants compete with each other for a limited number of BM5 places, which is why their figure is so different.
Are international applicants interviewed differently at Southampton?
No, the format is the same: international applicants attend the same in-person selection day, with an interview and a group task, at the University of Southampton. There is no online option.
International applicants are invited 5 to 6 weeks ahead, are considered separately from home applicants, and can apply only to BM5, not to BM6 or BM4. If your fee status changes before the selection day, Southampton may withdraw the invitation.
When will I hear from Southampton after my interview?
Southampton aims to send its decision by the end of March 2027. Its selection policy lists late March for decisions and April and May for offer days.
Applicants who meet the criteria but miss an offer may be placed on a wait list, and Southampton tells those it places there. It does not give individual reasons for unsuccessful applications.
Can I reschedule a Southampton medicine interview?
No. Southampton says it is unable to offer an alternative date to the one on your invitation. If you have a problem, contact the Faculty of Medicine admissions team straight away using the details in your invitation.
Southampton also says that an applicant who is invited to a selection day and does not attend in two or more admissions cycles will not be considered in any later cycle, except in cases it reviews individually.
Do BM6 and BM4 applicants have the same selection day as BM5?
Yes. BM6 and BM4 applicants attend the same kind of in-person selection day, an interview and a group task, in January and February, and are invited 2 to 3 weeks ahead.
BM6 applicants must first return an eligibility form, sent in November, showing they meet three of six widening participation criteria. Some BM6 places at selection days go to local applicants from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Dorset or Wiltshire, and some BM4 places to University of Southampton graduates.
Where these facts come from
- University of Southampton, Medicine BM5 (BMBS) course page (A100) (2027/28 entry)
- University of Southampton, Medicine BM6 Widening Participation (BMBS) course page (A102) (2027/28 entry)
- University of Southampton, Medicine BM4 Graduate Entry (BMBS) course page (A101) (2027/28 entry)
- University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine, Selection Procedure and Policy, BM4, BM5 and BM6 programmes (DOCX) (2027 entry or 2028 deferred entry)
- Admissions statistics as published on our Southampton profile, from Southampton's Freedom of Information disclosures (2020 entry (latest year with offer figures))
Last checked: 24 October 2026. Universities change interview arrangements during the cycle, so confirm on Southampton's own page before you travel or book. The questions above are practice questions written by TheUKCATPeople from Southampton's published guidance; they are not real or leaked interview questions.
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