The Student Room Group

How do ik when talk for 5mins vs 1.5-2mins in MMIs??

Hi, i have an mmi on the 2nd of december at UEA and im actually rlly worried. Idk when i shld aim for my answers to be 5 mins or when i shld aim for my answers to be 1.5-2mins. Ive been aiming for all my answers to be 1.5-2mins long but now i feel like if im met with a station that requires a 5 minute answer, i will just sit in silence for 3 minutes or so :/
How do ik which stations i shld aim for my answer to be 5 mins long??

(btw, UEA med mmi stations is abt 5 mins long)

Reply 1

Hey there, thanks for posting a question in the Medicine forum.

The Medicine forum gets a high volume of questions being posted, and some of these are already answered by the resources and Megathreads that members of the community and volunteers have created. This is an automatic post which is designed to highlight these resources. Below is a list of threads and articles that could answer your question (you should be looking in the original post of the megathreads). If one of the below threads is a more relevant place to ask your question, please post a reply in that thread to ask your question. If your query is answered by one of the Megathreads or articles linked below, and you would like us to close this thread for you, please reply to this thread with just the words "thank you". A member of our team will then get it locked.


Megathreads (Please read the first post before posting any further questions you have within that thread.)
The "Which Medical School Should I Apply To?" Uberthread
The Ultimate 'Am I Good Enough For Medicine?' Angst Thread
Medicine A-Level subjects queries
Work Experience and Voluntary Work
GANFYD's "Which medical schools accept retake A-Levels" list

2026 Applicants :
Official Thread: (Undergraduate) Medicine 2026 entry
Official Thread: Graduate Entry Medicine 2026 Entry
Medicine 2026 entry for resit/retake/gap year applicants
International Students for Medicine 2026 Entry (overseas students applying to the UK)
UCAT 2026 Entry Discussions Megathread
GAMSAT Megathread 2026/2027 entry
GAMSAT Megathread 2025/2026 entry
2026 entry A100/ A101 Medicine fastest and slowest offer senders
Medical Schools Index 2026 entry
Medical Schools Index 2025 entry

UCAS Extra and Clearing:
Medicine UCAS Extra for 2025
Medicine UCAS Clearing for 2025

Other application years:
Official Thread: (Undergraduate) Medicine 2027 entry
Official Thread: Graduate Entry Medicine 2027 Entry
Official Thread: Graduate Entry Medicine 2028 Entry

Current Medical Students and Doctors:
Guidance on posting in this subforum
So, you're going to medical school.... MKII
OSCE Tips and Advice
Increase in the NHS Bursary and expenses for placement
The postgraduate exams thread

Useful Articles:
Work Experience as a Graduate or Mature student
Medicine Personal Statement Advice
Medicine Personal Statement Advice (Graduate Entry)
Interview Frequently Asked Questions
MMI Medicine Interview Tips
What to do after an unsuccessful first application
Funding medicine as a second degree

Our Community:
Medicine Community Feedback and Suggestions
Medicine Gap Year Stories
Project: Minimum UCAT Score Trends

If your query is answered by one of the Megathreads or articles linked above, and you would like us to close this thread for you, please reply to this thread with just the words "thank you". A member of our team will then get it locked.

Reply 2

Original post
by Lucyyyyyyyyyyyyy
Hi, i have an mmi on the 2nd of december at UEA and im actually rlly worried. Idk when i shld aim for my answers to be 5 mins or when i shld aim for my answers to be 1.5-2mins. Ive been aiming for all my answers to be 1.5-2mins long but now i feel like if im met with a station that requires a 5 minute answer, i will just sit in silence for 3 minutes or so :/
How do ik which stations i shld aim for my answer to be 5 mins long??
(btw, UEA med mmi stations is abt 5 mins long)
I just had my interview at UEA! You have 1.5 mins to read about the station outside the room and then the 5 mins start once you sit down inside. They’ll ask you the question again when you’re inside and you have 5 mins to answer but it doesn’t just have to be that question, if (and you almost definitely will) you’ve finished they ask follow up questions until the time runs out. So just answer how you normally would and don’t really worry about how long it takes. Hope that makes sense!

Reply 3

Original post
by khads_07
I just had my interview at UEA! You have 1.5 mins to read about the station outside the room and then the 5 mins start once you sit down inside. They’ll ask you the question again when you’re inside and you have 5 mins to answer but it doesn’t just have to be that question, if (and you almost definitely will) you’ve finished they ask follow up questions until the time runs out. So just answer how you normally would and don’t really worry about how long it takes. Hope that makes sense!

how did you guys find it.... i also had mine on 2nd december??

Reply 4

Original post
by Lucyyyyyyyyyyyyy
Hi, i have an mmi on the 2nd of december at UEA and im actually rlly worried. Idk when i shld aim for my answers to be 5 mins or when i shld aim for my answers to be 1.5-2mins. Ive been aiming for all my answers to be 1.5-2mins long but now i feel like if im met with a station that requires a 5 minute answer, i will just sit in silence for 3 minutes or so :/
How do ik which stations i shld aim for my answer to be 5 mins long??
(btw, UEA med mmi stations is abt 5 mins long)

Hope it went well!!

Reply 5

Original post
by taq.t
how did you guys find it.... i also had mine on 2nd december??


I just had my interview too. Did you manage to answer all of their questions? I ran out of time on about 3 of my stations, or is it designed to ask as many questions as possible? 🥲🙏

Reply 6

Original post
by taq.t
how did you guys find it.... i also had mine on 2nd december??


Sorry for the late response. Originally i thought I did somewhat alright. 2 of the stations I fumbled on and the rest went decent enough. But after attending a mmi practice cobfernce idk if I did good so UEA might not be an option for me 😭. I hope you do well tho and good luck to any other interviews u have!!

Reply 7

Original post
by UEA Rep Daniel
Hope it went well!!


Thank you!!

Reply 8

Original post
by Keirapessoa1
I just had my interview too. Did you manage to answer all of their questions? I ran out of time on about 3 of my stations, or is it designed to ask as many questions as possible? 🥲🙏


I think there were about 2 or so stations where I didn't answer all their questions but I answerred a good enough chunk that it should be ok. One of the stations i fumbled completely and didnt rlly know what the interviewer wanted of me. That interviewer seemed frustrated with me so I doubt i did good on that one. But also, dont stress if u dont answer all the questions, time is an issue for everyone but as long as u could answer a few or large majority of em, u shld be good

Quick Reply

How The Student Room is moderated

To keep The Student Room safe for everyone, we moderate posts that are added to the site.