Architecture Admissions Assessment; 2x interviews
Interview 1: personal statement, portfolio; Interview 2: interests within architecture
Practised sketching buildings under timed conditions
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Make sure your portfolio demonstrates your entire creative process
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.
Test taken: Architecture Admissions Assessment on the day of interview
Number of interviews: 2
Skype interview: no
Time between interviews: 1 hour
Length of first interview: 30 minutes; Length of second interview: 30 minutes
The first interview expanded on ideas I had written about in my personal statement then I was asked to talk through my portfolio. The second interview was more focused on architecture in general and my interest in it. All the
I prepared for the admissions test by practising sketching buildings and writing essays, both under timed conditions.
Don’t worry too much about how much reading you have done relating to your subject - just make sure you can defend and expand upon everything on your personal statement. Try to keep an open mind and make sure your portfolio shows your creative process; the quality isn’t the main thing, it’s how you think and develop ideas.