Computer Science @ Gonville & Caius, Cambridge in 2018

Interview content

First interview: general questions and problem questions; Second interview: multiple back-to-back problems

Best preparation

CSAT past papers

Advice in hindsight

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Final thoughts

Do past papers; be confident

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:CSAT

Number of interviews: 2

Skype interview: No

Time between interviews: N/A

Length of first interview: 25 minutes; Length of second interview: 25 minutes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

Both interviews were technical, with problems to solve, leading into discussion on the way I approached the problems.

The first interview started with some general questions about myself and continued with problem sheets. The atmosphere was relaxed and the interviewers were nice and calm.

The second one consisted in multiple problems back-to-back (as many as you can do in 30min). This was stressful and tiring, but the interviewers were patient and trying to help.

How did you prepare?

Practiced past papers

What advice do you have for future applicants?

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

Always say what you have in mind during the interview because the interviewers are trying to understand the way you think and approach problems rather than solving them. Do as many past papers and look for examples of interviews (though each one is different). It is very important to work hard and broaden the range of types of problems you can solve. Brilliant is a great app/website that helped me do that and practicing CSAT papers under time pressure was also useful. I expected my interviews to be different (the problems given surprised me because they were nonstandard) so it’s important not to panic when facing an unexpected situation (question, problem etc.), think quick and just say what you’re thinking of. Rest well before and be relaxed (to avoid brain freeze because of stress)!