Architecture @ Trinity Hall, Cambridge in 2019

Interview format

Pre-interview tests; 2x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: portfolio, questions about given buildings; Interview 2: portfolio, personal statement

Best preparation

Spoke to school for advice

Test preparation

Reading around own interests within architecture

Final thoughts

Being calm is more important than anything

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: A drawing test and a written paper
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: A couple of hours
Length of interviews: They were meant to be 35 minutes but both ended up being much longer
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

We looked over my portfolio and they asked me about my inspirations in both interviews. I was also shown some pictures of buildings and asked questions about them. I couldn’t actually name any of them or their architects but gave opinions on their layout and design features. I was asked a little about the two books in my personal statement but they were open ended questions. I was pretty calm (because I thought I had no shot at all and getting in) and the interview was actually very casual and fun overall. It was a good chance to discuss something I was interested in in depth.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I spoke to my school for advice and a teacher helped organise one practise interview for me. I think that helped me stay calm more than anything. My portfolio contained mostly portrait paintings and my A level sketchbooks.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

I didn’t really prepare at all accept a little background reading into buildings and art styles I was interested in

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Don’t be afraid to make a joke! Being calm is more important than anything. It’s best to have less in your personal statement and for it all to be accurate, than to add things that aren’t entirely true. Go in with no expectation and you can’t be disappointed.