Asian And Middle Eastern Studies @ Fitzwilliam, Cambridge in 2013

Interview format

2x interviews (30 mins)

Interview content

1st interview: general arts-based questions; 2nd interview: reading aloud in French, reading

Best preparation

Know content; mock interviews

Final thoughts

Try your best & accept you won't know everything

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

2 interviews, 1 at college and 1 at faculty. Both under half an hour I think. College interview with 2 interviewers, faculty interview with 1.

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

College interview: was asked about contents of personal statement by two college interviewers. Neither interviewer was a specialist in my subject so they asked general questions about the arts to try and gauge my way of thinking.

Faculty interview: I was first asked to read some French aloud and then attempt to translate it (everywhere apart from Cam I applied for French and Chinese). Afterwards we discussed my reading and the pros and cons of Wikipedia articles.

How did you prepare?

Made sure I knew my reading list inside out, thinking of potential things I could be asked about and researching them. Kept up to date with all current events and news relating to my topic.Practice intervieworganised by school.

Looking back, what advice would you give to your past self?

Just try your best and accept that you won’t know everything. They’re not trying to catch you out, they just want to see how you think.