Example questions
Example interview questions
Oxbridge medicine interviews can include scientific, ethical, and personal questions. The exact content varies, but each type is designed to reveal how you reason, communicate, and respond when the interviewer introduces new information. The examples below show how to approach each type.
Updated 24 October 2026
Scientific reasoning questions
Scientific questions may be presented verbally or alongside a figure, diagram, graph, table, or unfamiliar experimental scenario. They often draw on A-level principles, but may extend beyond the syllabus; the emphasis is on using core knowledge logically rather than recalling a pre-learned model answer.
Example: What are the mechanisms by which bacteria may evolve antibiotic resistance?
A strong approach would be to begin by identifying mechanisms that create or acquire variation, then explain how antibiotic exposure selects resistant bacteria:
- Random mutations can alter a drug target, reduce drug entry, or increase drug efflux from the cell.
- Horizontal gene transfer can spread resistance genes between bacteria through plasmids, bacteriophages, or uptake of DNA from the environment.
- Antibiotics create selective pressure: susceptible bacteria are more likely to die, while resistant bacteria survive and reproduce.
- Resistant bacteria can therefore become a greater proportion of the population over successive generations.
Consider how inappropriate prescribing, incomplete courses, agriculture, or poor infection control can accelerate selection and spread.
Interviewers may then probe your reasoning with follow-up questions, such as whether resistance benefits bacteria when antibiotics are absent, why combination therapy can help, or how resistance at the individual level differs from resistance in a population. Aim to state your assumptions, build a mechanism step by step, and adapt when challenged.
Figures, graphs, and data
A graph or figure is usually a starting point for discussion, not a hidden test of whether you recognise a familiar diagram. First, describe the evidence before interpreting it:
- Identify the x-axis and y-axis, including their units.
- Clarify what each line, bar, point, colour, or group represents.
- Describe the pattern: increase, decrease, plateau, threshold, peak, or lack of association.
- Comment on uncertainty: scatter, overlap, error bars, sample size, and outliers.
Distinguish clearly between observation and explanation.
For instance, if bacterial growth falls as antibiotic concentration rises, first state that relationship. Then ask whether the result could reflect reduced replication, bacterial death, resistance in a subgroup, differences in starting cell number, or limitations in the experimental design. Try our free trial for a question involving a graph.
Ethical questions
Ethical questions assess whether you can recognise competing duties, reason respectfully, and appreciate that clinical decisions are rarely made in isolation. Avoid treating ethical principles as a checklist: use them to structure a balanced discussion.
The four pillars of medical ethics are:
- Autonomy: Respecting a person’s informed choices about their own care.
- Beneficence: Acting in the patient’s best interests.
- Non-maleficence: Avoiding or minimising harm.
- Justice: Treating people fairly and allocating limited resources equitably.
A useful response structure is to identify the relevant facts, consider each stakeholder’s perspective, apply the principles in tension, and explain what further information or senior support would be needed. For example, if a patient refuses a treatment that clinicians believe is lifesaving, autonomy may conflict with beneficence. Capacity, informed consent, coercion, immediate risk, and legal/professional guidance would all matter.
Personal questions
Personal questions may explore motivation for medicine, teamwork, resilience, communication, reflection, leadership, or a setback. They are stronger when supported by a specific, truthful example rather than a broad claim such as “I am resilient” or “I work well in teams.”
Use a concise situation-action-reflection structure:
- Situation: Briefly set the context.
- Action: Explain precisely what you did and why.
- Reflection: State what you learned, what you would do differently, and how this is relevant to medicine.
For example, if asked about teamwork, focus on how you listened, handled disagreement, shared responsibility, or changed your approach—not simply that your group achieved a good result. Which category would you find hardest to answer under interview pressure, and what is one real experience you could use for it?
Common questions
More answers on personal statements, written working, and the feedback report are in the FAQ.