Sheffield Medical School: Overview

With its history dating at least 1828, Sheffield is one of the oldest medical schools in the UK. Sheffield offers an integrated, 5-year course, taught with the patient-centred approach.

Sheffield is notable for its famous Student Union, which has been voted number one student union in the UK for the past ten years! Sheffield’s Student Union is also one of the largest in the UK in terms of societies, students involved and facilities.

Furthermore, located in South Yorkshire, medical students at Sheffield have access to first-class academic and sports facilities on the campus.

Pre-interview Selection:
🔢 How Sheffield selects for interviews?

GCSEs & A-levels: Sheffield doesn’t rank candidates based on the GCSE scores or predicted grades. These are not used beyond checking if you meet minimum entry requirements.

Personal Statement: Not used when shortlisting candidates, but may be brought up and discussed during interviews.

UCAT: UCAT interview cut off is set each year depending on the number of applications and average scores. The top-scoring 1000-1200 candidates are invited for an interview at Sheffield.

📊 What is the lowest required UCAT score to get an interview at Sheffield?

🇬🇧Home Students: In the past 4 years the interview UCAT cut off at Sheffield averaged around 2660-2780, while the average score of those invited to interviews is usually above 2800, so in the top 10%.

🌏International Students: The interview UCAT cut off for international students historically averaged around 2700-2760

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📤 When does Sheffield send out interview invitations?

Sheffield starts sending out interview invitations as early as mid-November. For 2022 entry, all candidates were informed about the interview/rejection on one day (19th of November).

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 How many candidates get interviewed for Medicine at Sheffield?

🇬🇧Home Students: For 2022 entry, 1728 applications from the UK resulted in 1144 interviews at Sheffield, which is 66% of all candidates who applied.

🌏International Students: For 2022 entry, out of 251 international students who applied 96 were offered an interview (38% of all internationals who applied).

Interviews at Sheffield:
🗓️ Sheffield Medicine Interview dates:

Interviews at Sheffield Medical School take place between the end of November and mid-February.

💬 What’s the interview format at Sheffield?

Pre-Covid, interviews at Sheffield used to be in the MMI interview format. There were always 8 stations, each 7-8 minutes in length.

In the last two years, however, interviews at Sheffield were virtual and in the panel format. They lasted for 30-40 minutes and involved two interviewers. Below you’ll find the scoring system used in interviews at Sheffield.

📊 Sheffield Interview Scoring System:

Each station/question on the Sheffield interview is scored out of 5, with 5 being the best possible score. You’ll be graded on what you say and how you say it. You can get up to 5 points extra from UCAT SJT according to the following conversion system (table taken from Sheffield’s website):

The total score you can get is 45 points. In the past two years, the minimum interview score to get an offer from Sheffield was 36/45 in 2020 and 37/45 in 2021.

🏆 How likely is it I’ll be given an offer after an interview at Sheffield?

🇬🇧Home Students: Last year, after 1144 interviews, Sheffield has given out 770 offers. This means you had a 68% chance to receive an offer if you’ve been invited to an interview at Sheffield!

🌏International Students: For 2022 entry, Sheffield has given out 40 offers after 96 interviews (42%).

💅 What to do before the interview at Sheffield Medical School?

• Prepare your interview attire prior to the interview, checking if you feel comfortable and confident in it and if it isn’t stained.
• Find a quiet space, with good lighting (best if it’s natural), plain background and good wifi. Conduct at least one mock interview in that place to test everything and get your brain to associate the location with an interview mindset.
• Check your internet connection, microphone, camera and speakers.
• Prepare your ID

🤵‍♀️ What are the interviewers like at Sheffield?

Interviewers at Sheffield come from a varied set of backgrounds. In your Sheffield interviews, you can face lecturers, medical staff, biomedical scientists, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, medical students, patients and laypeople.

⏳ How long does it take to hear back from Sheffield?

Sheffield sends replies to all candidates in bulk, usually during the first half of March.

🧠 Sheffield Medicine Interview Questions:

Sheffield is the only medical school to send students questions they will be asked during their interview alongside the invitation. The questions at Sheffield are usually around the following topics:

Communication skills

• What makes for good communication skills in medicine?
• How can medical students learn to be better communicators?
• Take us through your today’s journey from your home to the interview.

Depth and breadth of interests (achievements in specific fields)

• How will your extracurriculars help you become a better doctor?
• Burnout rates are one of the highest in medicine among all professions. How will you manage the stress, pressures and emotional toll that you’ll likely experience as a doctor?

Evidence of commitment for caring

• What motivates you in medicine?
• Tell us about a situation where you showed empathy.

Knowledge of and interest in study in Sheffield

• What made you apply to Sheffield Medical School?
• How will you contribute to Sheffield?
• What societies would you like to join or establish at Sheffield?

Medical work experience/Extended Project Qualification

• What has been the most challenging thing about doing your EPQ and how have you overcome it?
• Have you witnessed any examples of inappropriate behaviour during your work experience?
• What’s the single most important lesson you took away from your work experience?

Motivation for medicine

• What steps have you taken to find out if medicine is the right path for you?
• Why would you make a good doctor?

Information processing skills

• A 14-year old boy is rushed into A&E after a car crash. The patient is unconscious and has sustained huge blood loss as a result of the accident. Together with your team, you decide the boy requires an urgent blood transfusion. As you are about to take the boy into the OR, his parents arrive and forbid you to carry on with the blood transfusion on religious grounds. How would you proceed, and what factors should you consider?
• Imagine you are on a raft and swimming towards a deserted island. Luckily you have a backpack with a few necessary items for survival. Suddenly your raft starts to sink. You need to get rid of five out of the ten items listed below. Which one's would you choose and why? Items: Box of matches, Water repellent jacket, Hammock, Sunscreen, Box of sardines, Mirror, Cell phone, Encyclopedia, Flip flops, Knife.

Understanding the nature of medicine

• What are the largest challenges doctors face nowadays?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a GP and the first point of contact for a patient?
• What are the long-term consequences of Covid-19 on the NHS and its patients?

Values and attitudes

• How would your friends describe you?
• What are the 3 most important qualities for a doctor?
• Empathy vs sympathy - what’s the difference, which one is more important in medicine and how can they be cultivated among medical students?
• If you could choose to allocate an additional £20 million to either of the following areas of healthcare, which one would you choose and why? Cancer research, mental health, Covid-19 research, palliative care, prolonging life research.

Outside interests

• What do you like doing in your spare time?
• What’s the one thing you are most proud of?
• Tell us about a book you’ve read recently that made a lasting impact on you.

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Please note that these aren’t questions that have been asked at Sheffield Medical School in past years. Publishing such information would be against Sheffield’s policy. The above questions are adjusted for the interview style at Sheffield and are meant to give you a broad sense of the questions you may face.

✅ Sheffield Medical School Interviews: 3 Tips

Get strangers to interview you

Practically anyone can interview you at Sheffield - from doctors to medical students to academics and patients. The more variety you’ll get during your interview practise the better prepared you’ll be to be interviewed by people from various backgrounds at Sheffield. Reach out to your friends, family, teachers, fellow candidates - the more variety the better.

Study the NHS Constitution and GMC’s Good Medical Practice

The NHS Constitution and GMC’s Good Medical Practice are not only a great insight into doctors’ work in the NHS but are also among advised pre-interview reading by Sheffield. The NHS Constitution outlines what the patients and staff working in the NHS can expect from the NHS and what the NHS expects in return. GMC’s Good Medical Practice sets out guidelines for doctors working in the NHS and will help you understand what it means to be a “good doctor”. These documents aren’t the easiest reads, but they may come in handy for your interviews and help you make a good impression on the interviewers at Sheffield and beyond.

Take advantage of the questions you are sent

It’s quite unique for a medical school to send interview questions to candidates beforehand. Therefore, you don’t want to miss out on this opportunity. Prepare bullet-point answers to each of the questions you are sent, as it’s literally guaranteed they’ll come up during your Sheffield interview.

🤞 Good luck with preparing for the Sheffield Medicine interview! Fingers crossed!