Test taken: Custom Archaeology assessment

Number of interviews: 2

Skype interview: No

Time between interviews: Consecutive (no time in between)

Length of first interview: 20 minutes; Length of second interview: 20 minutes

First Interview: I was presented with some archaeological material and asked to talk about what we could find out from it (such as function, form, shape, material, etc).

Second Interview: The interviewer gave me the choice of talking about two different topics from my personal statement, which we then discussed. I talked a lot about what I found interesting in those topics and what else I would like to know about them. We also discussed my future plans for study and my career. Both interviews took from my personal statement and I was required to expand on topics I had discussed within it. For example, I mentioned a particular book and was asked to summarise its argument and my opinion of it.

I didn't prepare for the test.

Before the interview, I asked one of the teachers at my school to give me a mock interview. I would recommend choosing a teacher who you don’t know very well since you won’t have met the interviewer beforehand when you meet them. If you don’t know who to choose, ask one of your teachers who would be a good interviewer for you.

I also attended a few access talks and conferences; each Cambridge college has an outreach area within the UK where they give advice to students about applying. These are usually conducted by the Schools Liaison Officer. Ask your head of year/progress leader whether they have been in contact with the SLO for your region or if they know about any events taking place near you.

The best advice I could give to an applicant is that Cambridge academics really love their subject and what they do, so if you show them how excited you are about the idea of studying that subject at a high level, they’ll feel a connection with you. They’re much more likely to see you as a successful student when you come to Cambridge if you’re obviously excited to be talking to them about your subject. Talking about future plans is always a good idea too, particularly if you want to continue your studies after your undergraduate degree. Also, when I was preparing for my interview, I was really concerned that my accent would make me seem stupid or something (I’m from the North), but it turns out that neither of my interviewers were British so they probably couldn’t even hear the difference between my voice and a Southern one. Even if your interviewers turn out to be British, it really doesn’t matter about accent because they’re not paying attention to that, they want to see how your mind works and what you’re saying about your subject.