Equity in medical school interviews: a cross-sectional analysis of school type, gender, and widening participation status
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Moorjani, Umika
Brown, Celia A
Bonomi, Lidia
Sam, Amir H
Khan, Shahid A
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background: Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs) are widely used in medical school admissions to assess non-academic attributes. While MMIs are designed to promote fairness, questions remain about how applicant background may influence performance. In 2015, a single-institution UK study found no significant impact of school background or socioeconomic status on MMI scores. A decade later, this study re-examines those associations in a similar UK context.
Methods: In this cross-sectional observational study, we analysed data from 545 home applicants to Imperial College School of Medicine during the 2025 admissions cycle. Using multiple linear regression, we explored the relationship between total MMI score and applicant gender, school type, and widening participation (WP) status. Station-level regressions were also conducted.
Results: The regression model was significant and explained 7.6% of score variance. Out of a maximum score of 70, female applicants scored on average 3.2 points higher than males (95% CI: 2.1 to 4.2, p < 0.001). Applicants from independent and state-selective schools scored 2.4 (95% CI: 1.0 to 3.9, p = 0.001) and 1.3 points higher (95% CI: 0.0 to 2.7, p = 0.046), respectively, than state non-selective peers. WP status was not a significant predictor. Station-level analyses revealed no consistent disadvantage for WP applicants.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that, unlike earlier UK research, school background and gender now show modest associations with MMI performance. WP applicants, however, perform comparably to their peers, indicating progress towards equitable access. Future work should explore the potential impact of coaching and familiarity with interview formats to inform MMI design.
Methods: In this cross-sectional observational study, we analysed data from 545 home applicants to Imperial College School of Medicine during the 2025 admissions cycle. Using multiple linear regression, we explored the relationship between total MMI score and applicant gender, school type, and widening participation (WP) status. Station-level regressions were also conducted.
Results: The regression model was significant and explained 7.6% of score variance. Out of a maximum score of 70, female applicants scored on average 3.2 points higher than males (95% CI: 2.1 to 4.2, p < 0.001). Applicants from independent and state-selective schools scored 2.4 (95% CI: 1.0 to 3.9, p = 0.001) and 1.3 points higher (95% CI: 0.0 to 2.7, p = 0.046), respectively, than state non-selective peers. WP status was not a significant predictor. Station-level analyses revealed no consistent disadvantage for WP applicants.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that, unlike earlier UK research, school background and gender now show modest associations with MMI performance. WP applicants, however, perform comparably to their peers, indicating progress towards equitable access. Future work should explore the potential impact of coaching and familiarity with interview formats to inform MMI design.
Date Issued
2026-12-01
Date Acceptance
2026-06-22
Citation
BMC Medical Education, 2026, 26 (1)
ISSN
1472-6920
Publisher
BMC
Journal / Book Title
BMC Medical Education
Volume
26
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2026. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
10.1186/s12909-026-09790-8
Subjects
Medical school admissions
Multiple mini-interviews
Widening participation
Socioeconomic status
Educational equality
Gender
School selectivity
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 1391
Date Publish Online
2026-07-07