Interview by university
The UNSW interview, and how to prepare for it.
University of New South Wales interviews with a panel. This page is what is particular to UNSW: the shape of the interview, when it falls, who is invited and what the school says it marks. The method for the format is on its own page, linked below.
The facts
- Program
- Bachelor of Medical Studies / Doctor of Medicine
- Length
- 6 years
- Campus
- Kensington
- Interview format
- Panel interview. A structured interview with two interviewers, who are academic staff, medical practitioners or community representatives, across a wide range of topics.
- Delivery
- In person
- UCAT
- Required.
- Who is invited
- A combination of ATAR and UCAT ANZ. For general entry the ATAR threshold is 96.00 without adjustments and the UCAT threshold is the 50th percentile; rural entry sits lower on both.
- When
- Late November for rural entry, then mid December and mid January for everyone else.
- Invitations, 2027 entry
- 16 December 2026 for applicants whose results are final, 7 January 2027 for late results.
- Interviews, 2027 entry
- Rural entry: 23 to 27 November 2026. General entry: 17 to 22 December 2026, and 12 to 13 January 2027 for late results. All face to face.
- Offers, 2027 entry
- 8 January 2027 in UAC’s January Round 1, then 21 January in January Round 2 and 4 February in February Round 1.
- What they say they mark
- The university does not publish the areas covered. It does say that applicants who have obviously been coached were likely to have been at a disadvantage.
Checked against unsw.edu.au (opens in a new tab) on 3 October 2026. Thresholds and dates move between cycles, and the school's own page for this year is the one to trust. Every school's dates.
When will I hear back from UNSW?
Offers for 2027 entry: 8 January 2027 in UAC’s January Round 1, then 21 January in January Round 2 and 4 February in February Round 1. The offer is the answer. UNSW publishes no date for telling you how the interview went, so hearing nothing in between is normal.
Every school's offer dates, and why the wait is so long.
My note on UNSW
UNSW says on its own page that obviously coached applicants were likely to be at a disadvantage. I agree with the warning. An answer that sounds rehearsed reads badly in a conversation with two people, and this interview is a conversation. With UNSW students we work out what you think first. Then we practise saying it in your own words, under follow-up questions, until it holds.
Preparing for a panel interview
One conversation, with the same people for the whole of it, so the answers have to be yours and have to survive a follow-up question. Reading a prepared answer out is the one thing I would tell you not to do.
What to work on
UNSW does not publish a list of qualities. These are the marking domains its stations most often turn on.
- Self-awareness When you talk about a failure, is it a real one, and do you know what it taught you?
- Motivation for medicine Is your reason yours, is it specific, and does it survive the follow-up question?
Expect to be asked why UNSW in particular. How to answer “why do you want to study here?”
Question themes to know for UNSW
Stations to run first
These cover the areas UNSW says it marks, or the areas its stations most often turn on. Thirty seconds to read each question, two minutes to answer it out loud.
Other schools that interview with a panel
Other guides
- Start here What the interview is testing, and how the cycle runs.
- Timeline planner Put in your interview date and get a week by week plan.
- Pathway planner The whole road from school to consultant, drawn around your choices.
- Practice stations Real MMI stations with a two minute reading phase and a station clock.
- By university The interview at every undergraduate-entry school: format, timing, and what is marked.
- What is marked The six things every station marks, and how to practise each one.
- How to answer The questions every panel asks, what each is testing, and the follow-ups to expect.
- Question themes The subjects questions come from, from rural health to the profession, with prompts.
- Interview dates When each school sends invitations, holds interviews and makes offers this cycle.
- When you hear back Every school’s offer dates, and why the wait after the interview is so long.
- Formats What an MMI and a panel interview each are, and how to prepare for each.
- Interview soon? Days to go? What you can still book at short notice, and the prices.
- For parents Who your child is working with, and what I will not promise.
If you want a session
Thirty minutes, $40, online, and it comes off any package you go on to book. Tell me where you are applying and when the interviews are.