2x tests (both less than an hour); 2x interviews (both 20-30 mins)
Interview 1: short maths questions; Interview 2: personal statement, general motivations, past CSAT question
Know your personal statement; practice past test questions
They look for the positives in each applicant, rather than focusing on the negatives
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 took
I took both tests in a building a while away from King’s, in a lecture theatre. Both were less than an hour and not very pressurised I felt.
I actually had a very tough day for unrelated reasons, and I spoke with the admissions tutors after my first test to ask about whether I could put it on record. They were very helpful, and I felt much better moving onto the next test, and then the interviews.
The interviews were in the centre of King’s, and most of the applicants were hanging out in the bar between events. I then had two interviews of 20-30 minutes over about an hour and a half.
The first was 20-30 minutes of short maths questions that were mostly just little bits of maths. It was fun I thought, and the interviewers made it a very smooth interview.
The second was more focused on my personal statement, and I was asked some short questions about my interest in computer science. After ten minutes, the interviewers gave me a question from a past
Making sure my personal statement was an honest reflection of my knowledge and feelings toward computer science.
Reading the past
I cannot stress how much I believe the college was looking for good things in each applicant, rather than applying a fine tooth comb to find reasons not to admit people.