2026 entry · Medicine interview
Varies by applicant type · format, dates and preparation
Interview timeline
| Invitations released | November to December |
|---|---|
| Interviews held | January to February |
| Delivery | In person (home); online (overseas) |
Interview invitations are not sent in one batch. Schools release them in waves across the cycle, so the date you hear back depends as much on when your application was processed as on how strong it is.
The biggest change year to year is delivery mode. Many schools moved online during the pandemic; some have stayed online (Bristol, Glasgow, Keele, Nottingham, Plymouth, Aston), while others returned in person (Aberdeen, Leeds, Anglia Ruskin, St George's). Exact calendar dates move by a few weeks each cycle, but the month-level windows below have stayed stable.
Indicative, from a single guide for 2026 entry. Windows are month-level and describe the most recent (2026-entry) cycle. Exact dates shift by a few weeks each year and are confirmed only in a candidate's official invitation email. Always treat the invitation as the source of truth. Blue Peanut interview guide (2026 entry)
The interview day
Home applicants
in-person at Hull or York (Jan 2026): 4 stations worth 73 points, a group exercise (up to 10 candidates, 22 pts), two mini-interviews (2 interviewers, 2 questions each, 5 min prep, 17 pts each), a student-led station (17 pts), and a pre-recorded individual scenario station (17 pts)
International applicants
online (Dec 2026): 4 stations worth 60 points, three mini-interview rooms (1 question each, 2 min prep, 15 pts each), a scenario station (15 pts), and a group exercise for up to 6 candidates (15 pts)
Real experiences
Gathered from applicant forums, weighted by how many independent sources agree. These are unverified community reports, not official university information, and can shift between cycles.
7 insights · 1 widely reported
Applicants crowd-track a points formula every cycle. Older cohorts describe UCAT decile times 4 (max 40) plus top-6 GCSEs on a grade scale (max 30) plus 15 points for SJT band 1. For 2026 entry, applicants report the weighting was rebalanced to roughly 35 GCSE plus 35 UCAT plus 15 SJT plus 15 contextual points, a deliberate move away from the older UCAT-heavy model.
"paraphrase (search snippet): scoring by UCAT decile x4 (max 40) and top 6 GCSEs scored (max 30), SJT band 1 = 15 points"
The Student Room, Hull York Medical School UCAT requirements"paraphrase (search snippet): historical cutoff of 77 points discussed for a prior year"
The Student Room, UCAT Cutoff"paraphrase (search snippet): 2026 entry scoring described as 35 points GCSEs, 35 points UCAT, 15 points SJT band, 15 contextual points, a shift from the previous UCAT-weighted approach"
The Student Room, Guaranteed interviewsThe interview runs as a roughly ten-station MMI circuit spread over about two hours. One recurring station has candidates wait outside the door reading a short article or prompt, then go in to answer seven unrelated short questions, one per assessed theme, rather than a single deep discussion.
"paraphrase (search snippet): candidates wait outside the interview room, then answer seven unrelated questions, one corresponding to each assessed section"
TSR-hosted community applicant guide, Interview advice for applicants to Hull York Medical School (PDF attachment)"paraphrase (search snippet): MMI consisting of several short practical stations, usually less than 10 minutes each, around 10 stations across about 2 hours"
The Student Room thread Hull York Medical Interview- QuestionsOne station drops you straight into a live scenario with an actor and two assessors, around five minutes long, such as breaking bad news or gathering information as part of a team. No medical knowledge is expected, but at least one applicant described the questions as wacky and unpredictable, making it hard to judge your own performance afterwards.
"paraphrase (search snippet): questions were wacky and unexpected, hard to judge performance"
The Student Room thread HYMS interview questions I don't really understand"paraphrase (search snippet): scenario may involve actors, e.g. breaking bad news or gathering specific information as a team"
TSR-hosted community applicant guide PDFInterview days are scheduled in geographic batches by campus rather than mixed together: the 2024 cycle ran in-person interviews 9-12 January in York then 23-26 January in Hull, and the 2025 cycle again split into a York date (14 Jan) and a separate Hull date (28 Jan). Invitations also require registering for a mandatory Zoom briefing ahead of the actual interview day.
"paraphrase (search snippet): interview invites for 14/1 in York and 28/1 in Hull; mandatory Zoom briefing registration required"
The Student Room, Official: Hull York Medical School A100 2025 Entry Applicants"paraphrase (search snippet): in-person interviews held 9th-12th January 2024 in York and 23rd-26th January 2024 in Hull"
The Student Room, Official: Hull York Medical School A100 2024 Entry ApplicantsInvites go out in batches from mid-to-late November, and the waitlist genuinely stays live deep into the cycle, with one reported year keeping candidates on it until 19 May and some offers only arriving off the back of the waitlist.
"HYMS - 17.11.23 (posted in a historical list of interview invite dates for the 2023 cycle)"
Mumsnet, Medicine 2026 part 2 megathread (direct fetch)"paraphrase (search snippet): waitlist remains active until 19 May, offer emails observed arriving around 16:42"
The Student Room, Official: Hull York Medical School A100 2025 Entry Applicants (waitlist discussion pages)Applicants consistently describe HYMS interview staff as unusually warm for an MMI circuit, giving candidates time to talk before and after stations and treating people individually rather than rushing them through, which leaves a close-knit first impression of the course.
"paraphrase (search snippet): staff described as 'so friendly', gave candidates time before and after interviews, got a super friendly vibe from the day"
The Student Room thread HYMS Offer Holders 2016There is a guaranteed-interview fast track for widening-participation applicants who complete the Realising Opportunities programme and hold a UCAT decile above 4, letting some candidates skip the normal points-based scoring competition entirely.
"paraphrase (search snippet): as long as applicants meet fast-track requirements (decile, predicted grades, Realising Opportunities/widening participation criteria, UCAT decile above 4) they are guaranteed an interview"
The Student Room, Hull York Fast track to interviewFree prep guide
Verified against the university's own admissions page.
Hull York Medical School: official Medicine Interviews page (2026 entry)Researched 2026-07-03 for 2026 entry. Formats can change year to year: next check due 2026-09-01.
10 free practice questions with full AI feedback: no card required.
Same interview format, different school.
See all 32 universities →