Archaeology @ Newnham, Cambridge in 2019

Interview format

Essay questions; 2x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: analysing an object, personal statement; Interview 2: how to learn about an artefact

Best preparation

Practised talking about the subject.

Test preparation

Practise papers

Final thoughts

Demonstrate your genuine passion for the subject!

Remember this advice isn't official. There is no guarantee it will reflect your experience because university applications can change between years. Check the official Cambridge and Oxford websites for more accurate information on this year's application format and the required tests.

Also, someone else's experience may not reflect your own. Most interviews are more like conversations than tests and like, any conversation, they are quite interactive.

Interview Format

Test taken: Two archaeology essay questions
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 1 hour
Length of interviews: 30 minutes
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

In one interview, I was given physical objects to analyse and questioned on my personal statement.

The other interview proposed me more general archaeology questions. I was asked about an image of an artefact and a building and asked what questions would I ask to learn about them.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

Practised talking about my passion for the subject and my specific interests.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

Practise papers.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Be confident and be yourself. The interviewers don't want to see you trying to be someone you're not, they're trying to see if you as yourself will succeed and thrive at Cambridge, which will come through in a genuine passion for your subject.