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Clinical and Biomedical Sciences

What happens at the interview?

So, what will happen today?

We are really disappointed that we will not be able to welcome you to our campus this year, but look forward to seeing you, virtually, at your interview. When you first enter the Zoom meeting you will receive a general briefing with up to four other candidates. In the briefing you will be required to show your photographic ID so that we can confirm who you are.

Following your briefing, you will allocated to your first station in the Break-out room, and moved on to each of the next stations automatically after your time has finished. You will only need to click Yes to enter your first station, and click Leave Break-out Room at the end of your five stations, please do not click any other buttons whilst you are in the interviews.

A multiple mini interview consists of a series of short, structured interview stations used to assess non-cognitive qualities. You will be assessed individually on your personal qualities such as your communication skills, empathy, insight in to your own strengths and weaknesses, and motivation to study medicine.

If you do have a query please speak to the Student Recruitment and Admissions team who are on hand for you.

Read more from Aku Clemmet

Aku Clemmet

Student Recruitment and Admissions Manager

Before the day

Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) requirements

In line with DBS recommendations we are undertaking face-to-face visual identification checks at your interview.

To avoid postage of important original documents to support a DBS application at a later date, please can you bring along three original documents and photocopies of these documents to your interview. List of valid documents we can accept.

We recommend a passport, driving licence (provisional is acceptable) and birth certificate. All photocopies will be destroyed if an applicant is not made a conditional offer or does not accept our offer of a place as their Firm choice. If you do not provide DBS supporting documents at your interview you will be expected to post DBS original documents at a later date if you are offered a conditional place to study at University of Exeter.

To try and reduce our plastic waste we will not be providing single-use bottles of water to applicants. Please bring a bottle of drink or refillable bottle with you. There will be access to water to refill your bottle on the day.

Dress code

There is no specific dress code for our interviews but applicants do tend to come in smart attire.

Although the sun does shine frequently in Exeter, we occasionally have some rain, so please ensure that you bring a coat and an umbrella with you. We also recommend sensible and comfortable shoes.

On the day of your interview

We recommend accessing your interview through a computer, laptop or tablet rather than a mobile device, as well as with a stable internet connection. If you foresee any issues in advance of your interview please contact us to let us know, and we will endeavour to support you in any way we can.

You will be assessed through Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI). Our MMIs have been designed to determine whether applicants have the non-academic qualities such as the communication skills, reflectiveness and empathy required to become a successful doctor.

There will be an Interview Briefing on the day to talk you through the process and any further information.

The University of Exeter Medical School is committed to recruit using the values based on NHS Constitution and the qualities outlining the personal and professional attributes of doctors in the General Medical Council document, Good Medical Practice.

Our programme is delivered over two main campuses; the St Luke’s Campus in Exeter and the Truro Campus in Cornwall. At both campuses you will have access to modern teaching facilities with all of the resources that you will need as you progress through your studies.

Find out more about our campuses.

On campus

St Luke's campus has Cross Keys, a cafe bar serving coffee and morning pastries, grab'n'go lunches from the relaxed cafe area. Eat in, or take away and enjoy on the quad!

Near campus

Across the road from the campus on Heavitree Road is Waitrose; this store is located between the campus and St Luke's Halls, which has an in-store café.

On the South side of the campus is Magdalen Road, and a row of shops known locally as 'the village'. These shops are about 2 minutes walk from campus, heading west towards the city centre, and include:

Food and Drink

Convenience stores

  • Spar
  • Lavis News – newsagent

In the city centre

Only 10 minutes walk from St Luke's Campus, the Princesshay shopping complex offers dining to suit a variety of tastes and budgets, including Byron Burgers, Café Rouge, Costa, Yo! Sushi, Nandos, Giraffe, Wagamama and Carluccio's.

At the end of Princesshay is the beautiful Cathedral Green which offers Tea on the Green, Pizza Express, ASK, Côte Brasserie, Al-Farid, and the Cathedral itself has its own cafe complete with vaulted stone ceiling.

Across the road from the Cathedral Green is Queen Street where there is Boston Tea Party, Turtle BayAbsurd Bird, Pho, The Stable, the Terrace and Comptoir Libanais.

Alternatively, just behind Queen Street is Gandy Street which is said to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley. There you will find Bills and Zizzi.

"The time went very fast; I even found myself enjoying the interview. My advice would be to relax and be yourself as it does not have to be a scary process."

Kayleigh

Studying BMBS Medicine

What happens next? 

The process for selecting students to join us at the University of Exeter Medical School is competitive because the number of students applying far exceeds the number of places. We have selected you for interview primarily on your academic performance and being called for interview indicates that you have met or have the clear potential to meet our academic standard. We anticipate that around half of you will receive an offer from us.

The interviews take place over an extended period starting in December and going through until March.

All decisions regarding interview performance will be sent to students by mid-May if not before. This is our official deadline given by UCAS: we can appreciate that this will seem like a long time to wait so we will keep you informed on what is happening, as much as possible. It is important that we make the best decision for both ourselves and for you.

We do know that you are feeling very anxious so we will always seek to keep you informed of our progress with decision making.

For those of you who receive an offer, it will be conditional on achieving the entry offer and on completing the “non-academic conditions” which are; satisfactory Occupational Health assessment, satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance and signing the student agreement.

The student agreement is a contract between you and the Medical School confirming that, as a medical student and potential doctor, you have been honest and truthful in your application and that you agree to conform to standards of behaviour and code of conduct whilst at the University of Exeter Medical School. You should read it through carefully before you sign it so that you understand your obligations and are clear about our expectations of you. We would urge you to read the GMC guidance on this.

Once you have completed all the academic and non-academic conditions, your offer will be made unconditional.

Month Activity
September UCAS application window opens (www.ucas.ac.uk).
October BMBS deadline to submit applications via UCAS (15 October).
November

UKCAT and GAMSAT results received by the University.

Successful candidates invited to interview.

December Interviews take place
January Interviews take place
February Interviews take place
March

Deadline to submit all decisions to students via UCAS.

Offers start to go out.

April -
May

Deadline to submit all decisions to students via UCAS (19 May).

June

Deadline to confirm your decision on UCAS (9 June).

July

Deadline to return documents as part of non-academic conditions of offer

August Confirmation and Clearing week.

For those of you who have been placed on a waiting list post-interview, we will endeavour to let you know further information regarding your application status as soon as possible. Your waiting list position will not appear on your UCAS account.