What to expect at your Cambridge interview (original) (raw)

Interviews at Cambridge can be online or in-person. They’re an academic conversation about the subject that you’re interested in studying.

We invite many applicants to attend an interview. Not everyone interviewed will be offered a place. But everyone who is made an offer will have been interviewed.

The number of interviews you have depends on how your College assesses in your subject. It is not connected to the strength of your application.

You’ll most likely have either 1 or 2 interviews with a total of around 35-50 minutes of interview time. Some candidates at some Colleges may have 3 or 4 interviews. If you receive an invitation to interview, this will include details of how many interviews you can expect. You'll always be told this information upfront. If you are put into the winter pool after your first interview(s), you may then be invited to a further interview with a different Cambridge College in mid/late January. We'll tell you about this before you receive a final decision on your application.

Find out how to prepare for your interview.

When and where interviews take place

We usually send interview invitations out in November. If you’re invited to interview, you’ll typically have your interview(s) in December.

Your interview invitation will include details of when and where your interview is, what you’ll need on the day, and how to attend.

If you're invited to interview, the date and time of day has no bearing on how strong a candidate the College thinks you are.

Interview format for 2024

If you’re invited to interview, you’ll usually be interviewed online. There are some exceptions to this.

Check this page for information on which Colleges have different interview arrangements.

If your College isn’t listed, interviews will take place online.

Support for interviews

Colleges interviewing in-person are able to provide help with travel expenses. This will be for all students currently eligible for free school meals, though some Colleges may also be able to offer assistance to other students in financial need.

Accommodation and meals may also be provided for in-person interviews. You should contact the College to find out what may be available and any eligibility criteria.

If you have a disability, you can request any adjustments you might need at interview by completing a Request for Adjustment at Interview form. The College that is interviewing you will provide you with the form. Complete the whole form as soon as you can and return it by the relevant deadline. This will help the College to support you. Find out more about support for disabled students.

Why we have interviews

Interviews give us the opportunity to get to know more about your strengths, abilities, and potential, as well as your motivation for applying for your chosen course. They also give you the chance to get to know more about us.

During the interview we’ll explore your understanding of your chosen subject area. We’ll want to see that you are:

• ready to study at a very high level
• comfortable with the learning environment at Cambridge
• able to think in a critical and independent way
• curious about the world and open to new ideas
• passionate and enthusiastic about your chosen subject

What happens in the interview

Each interview is different, depending on the course and College you’ve applied to. Most people who apply will have at least one subject-specific interview. Some people will also have a more general academic interview.

Watch our video about what happens during the interview.

Subject-specific academic interview

During your interview you're likely to be asked to:

• have a discussion with two to three interviewers
• apply your existing knowledge to new situations and discuss material, problems or scenarios that you may not have previously thought about
• explain your understanding of the vocational aspects of your course if you've applied to a vocational course such as Medicine or Veterinary Medicine

You may also be asked to:

• answer questions about why you want to study at Cambridge and how you chose your subject
• explore important developments and issues to do with your chosen subject
• discuss topics you've recently covered at school and what you said in your personal statement, if relevant to your chosen course

You may be asked to share your workings if the interviewers ask you a problem-solving question. This usually happens if you’ve applied to a Science or Mathematics course. There are several possible ways of sharing your workings. The College interviewing you will confirm arrangements in your invitation to interview.

If you're being interviewed online and are normally entitled to Free School Meals, you can speak to the College interviewing you about whether they can help you to access relevant technology. If you're being interviewed in-person and are normally entitled to Free School Meals, you can speak to the College interviewing you about whether they can help with travel expenses or overnight accommodation in Cambridge.

General academic interview

Sometimes, you'll have a more general academic interview as well as a subject-specific one.

This will still assess your ability and potential as a student of your chosen subject, but the questions might take a broader view. Interviewers may also be from a related discipline, rather than subject specialists (as you'd usually expect in your subject-specific interview).

We may ask you questions about:

• your other academic work and interests
• your future plans and any thoughts about what you’d like to do when you graduate. It's okay if you don’t have any clear plans yet. If you've applied for a vocational course, like Medicine, you should be prepared to talk about why you're interested in that profession
• why you want to come to Cambridge, and why you're interested in your subject
• your personal statement, so it’s useful to keep a record of what you wrote in it

What happens after the interview

In January you’ll hear from us and UCAS about the outcome of your application. Find out more about how we decide who gets a place.

Commercial services

We're aware of private companies who offer 'tutoring' on our interviews and admissions assessments for a fee. We do not support or encourage any of these enterprises. The advice they provide cannot be verified and they do not have access to any information that's not freely available from us via this website and other University sources.