3x interviews (2 at Clare, 1 at Trinity Hall); 1x test (1 hr).
First interview: focused on my responses in the written tests and on the content of my personal statement; Second interview: general discussion of relevant contemporary issues; Third interview (Trinity Hall): translation and general discussion
Knowing my personal statement inside out.
Eventually succeded at another college (Caius) via the Winter Pool.
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.
I arrived the day before my interviews were scheduled to complete an hour-long
The second interview was a 'general' interview with a professor, in the late morning.
As for the third, it was standard when I applied for Classics hopefuls to have second interviews arranged at another College as part of the interview process. I went to Trinity Hall, where I spoke with two Fellows there in a more wide-ranging interview.
The whole thing was wrapped up by about 2pm the day after I had arrived.
The 'academic' interview at Clare focused on my responses in the written tests and on the content of my personal statement. These were selective explorations, rather than comprehensive ones. I'd mentioned that I had read a book on Roman history, so that was a substantial part of the conversation, and I had the opportunity to revise my attempted translation of a chunk of Ovid. This first interview was very comfortable, largely because my interviewer was very easy-going: he put me at ease.
I remember distinctly in the second interview that I was asked about an exhibition which was happening at or around the time. Not having read the news I had little idea of what the interviewer was on about, but he clarified for me and we had some discussion about the controversies associated with it. For most of the 'general' interview I was taking in the features of the room in Clare Old Courts (Piano, antique furniture, fireplace etc. ...).
In the third, at Trinity Hall, I was given a bit of a text to translate on the spot: that was a train wreck. I can also remember distinctly the (Italian) interviewer telling me that Ovid's Metamorphoses isn't really an epic. This was not phrased as a question and, as such, I did not feel a response from me was warranted. With the benefit of hindsight, though, I should have made a case;
Knowing my personal statement inside out.
I eventually got into another college via the winter