2027 entry
How Imperial interviews work this year
Most Imperial departments interview shortlisted applicants, usually between November and February; Medicine runs Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs) in January and February.
1
Shortlisting
After the admissions test
2
Interviews
November to February
3
Medicine MMIs
January and February
4
Decision
Through UCAS by 31 March 2027
- -Most departments interview applicants whose UCAS application and admissions test show potential; Mathematics, Medical Biosciences and Biological Sciences generally do not.
- -Interviews usually take place between November and February, and some departments run them into March.
- -Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, for example, interview online for about 25 to 30 minutes with a member of academic staff.
- -Medicine uses Multiple Mini Interviews, typically held throughout January and February.
- -Decisions come through UCAS; universities aim to reply by 31 March 2027.
- -Imperial Medicine uses Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs), typically held throughout January and February.
Checked against official university sources on 26 October 2026: Imperial: interviews, Imperial Medicine: MMI timeline, Imperial Mechanical Engineering: interview, Imperial Aeronautical Engineering: interview. Your invitation email has the details for your own course and college.
Mock interviews
How our Imperial mock interviews work
Real length, real questions and strict marking, with a rotating panel of Oxford and Cambridge interviewers, so the real interview is never the first time you face someone new.
01
Real conditions
Two interviews of 25 to 30 minutes in one hour, with a strict cut-off. Standard questions, unseen material and real past interview questions we keep for our mock interview students.
02
A rotating panel
On the day you meet people you have never seen before. So you meet a different interviewer each time, never more than four mocks with the same person, and nothing is asked twice.
03
Strict marking
Every interview is scored on the same three criteria and written up on a feedback sheet in your portal, so you can see exactly where you are improving and what to fix next.
What we mark
- 50%
Academic thinking
Breaking an unfamiliar problem down, testing ideas, using what you know in a new setting and spotting where an assumption fails.
- 30%
Communication
Thinking out loud, stating your assumptions, answering the question actually asked and making good use of a hint.
- 20%
Resilience under pressure
Not whether you are nervous, but whether you recover: after a correction, a dead end or a deliberately vague question.
How to start
- Tell us your course, your colleges and two or three times that suit you.
- We match you with an interviewer for your course and confirm who it is.
- You have two full interviews, live feedback, then the written sheet in your portal.
- Each next mock picks up where the last one left off.
Some of our Engineering interviewers
Some of the best at Oxford and Cambridge: a First with Distinction, a top-ten finish and PhD researchers.
Jason
MEng Engineering, Trinity College, Cambridge, and founder of Oxbridge Mentors
MEng, First with Distinction, Cambridge, and a PhD in Computer Engineering
First in Natural Sciences (Physics), Cambridge, now a PhD researcher in electrical engineering
Top 10 of the cohort
First in Chemical Engineering, Cambridge, top ten of the cohort
Sam
First in Engineering (MEng) and a PhD, Cambridge, aerospace engineering
Richard
First in Engineering (MEng) and a PhD, Cambridge, machine learning and information engineering
Katsu
MEng Engineering, Cambridge, then PhD research at the Max Planck Institute
DPhil candidate in Engineering Science, Oxford, after a First in Mathematics at Manchester
Interviewers are confirmed with you before each session. Oxbridge Mentors is not affiliated with the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge.
Imperial interview questions by subject
One question from each subject guide. Try answering aloud, then open the guide for more questions with hints.
Aeronautical Engineering
Sketch two curves on the same axes and compare their gradients.
Imperial Aeronautical Engineering questions →Biochemistry
An enzyme obeys Michaelis-Menten kinetics with a Vmax of 60 micromol/min and a Km of 4 mM. What is the initial reaction rate when the substrate concentration is 4 mM, and what does that value tell you physically?
Imperial Biochemistry questions →Biological Sciences
A population of 10,000 people is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for a recessive allele. 1 in 100 individuals shows the recessive phenotype. Without a calculator, estimate the frequency of heterozygous carriers.
Imperial Biological Sciences questions →Biomedical Engineering
You are shown a stress-strain graph for two candidate implant materials. Which material would you choose for a load-bearing implant and why?
Imperial Biomedical Engineering questions →Chemical Engineering
Imagine you are in a desert and have to split a full, open-topped cylindrical can of water equally between yourself and another survivor. How could you split the water in half equally?
Imperial Chemical Engineering questions →Chemistry
How many different molecules can be made from six carbon atoms and twelve hydrogen atoms?
Imperial Chemistry questions →Civil Engineering
A uniform horizontal beam of length L and weight W rests on two supports, one at each end. A point load P is placed a distance a from the left support. Without a calculator, find the vertical reaction at the left support.
Imperial Civil Engineering questions →Computer Science
You have a 3-litre jug and a 5-litre jug, an unlimited water supply and no other measuring marks. Describe a procedure that leaves exactly 4 litres in the 5-litre jug, and convince me it terminates.
Imperial Computer Science questions →Design Engineering
Estimate the total length of all the hairs on someone's head if laid end to end, explaining your assumptions.
Imperial Design Engineering questions →Economics, Finance and Data Science
A coffee shop raises its price by 10% and weekly sales fall by 6%. Estimate the price elasticity of demand and explain what should happen to total revenue.
Imperial Economics, Finance and Data Science questions →Electrical Engineering
A 12 V battery drives current through two resistors, a 4 kΩ and a 2 kΩ, connected in series. Work out the current in the loop and the voltage dropped across each resistor. Now what happens to the current if I put the two resistors in parallel instead?
Imperial Electrical Engineering questions →Mathematics
Sketch the graph of y = x^x for x > 0. Where does it attain its minimum, and what happens as x tends to 0 from above?
Imperial Mathematics questions →
Find your Imperial subject
- Imperial Aeronautical Engineering interview
- Imperial Biochemistry interview
- Imperial Biological Sciences guide
- Imperial Biomedical Engineering interview
- Imperial Chemical Engineering interview
- Imperial Chemistry interview
- Imperial Civil Engineering interview
- Imperial Computer Science interview
- Imperial Design Engineering interview
- Imperial Economics, Finance and Data Science interview
- Imperial Electrical Engineering interview
- Imperial Mathematics guide
- Imperial Mathematics and Computer Science interview
- Imperial Mechanical Engineering interview
- Imperial Medical Biosciences guide
- Imperial Medicine interview
- Imperial Physics interview
Questions families ask
Does Imperial interview every applicant?
No. Most departments interview applicants whose UCAS application and admissions test show potential, usually between November and February; Mathematics, Medical Biosciences and Biological Sciences generally do not.
How long is an Imperial Engineering interview?
Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, for example, interview online for about 25 to 30 minutes with a member of academic staff. Other departments set their own format.
What is the Imperial Medicine interview?
Imperial Medicine uses Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs), typically held throughout January and February.
When are Imperial decisions?
Decisions come through UCAS; universities aim to reply by 31 March 2027.
How do your Imperial mock interviews work?
Each session is one hour with two interviews of 25 to 30 minutes, at the real length and with a strict cut-off, then live feedback and a written feedback sheet in your portal. You meet a different interviewer from your subject each time.
Who are the interviewers?
Oxford and Cambridge graduates matched to your course, many of them at or near the top of their year. Interviewers are confirmed with you before each session.
How much do mock interviews cost?
Our admin team explains the options and prices on a short free call, along with a plan that fits your interview dates.