Engineering @ Trinity, Cambridge in 2020

Interview format

Engineering Admissions Assessment (ENGAA); x2 interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: review of answers on additional Maths assessment delivered by Trinity; Interview 2; personal statement, answering maths problems

Best preparation

used 'I Want To Study Engineering' for past papers; revised A Level content; practiced graph drawing

Test preparation

past papers; practice questions from textbooks

Final thoughts

Make the most of past papers and practice questions.

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: Engineering Admissions Assessment (ENGAA)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 15 minutes
Length of interviews: 30 minutes
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

In the first interview I was asked to review material from the additional Maths assessment which Trinity requires applicants to complete. This included looking at the problems I hadn't managed to attempt in the alloted time and ones where my solutions were incorrect, with the interviewers asking me to try to correct/expand on my answers. The second interview tested my knowledge of the aspects of engineering I had expressed interest in in my personal statement, and I was also given a longer maths question to have a go at. 

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I used the website 'I Want to Study Engineering' to review practice questions, as well as using Trinity College's website to look over videos of example interviews. I also consolidated my knowledge of A Level Maths and Further Maths content by doing practice questions and practicing graph drawing. 

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

I used past papers and practice questions from textbooks.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Make sure you fully understand the key topics from A Level Maths and Further Maths (if you are taking it). Try to expand on the aspects of engineering which you talk about in your personal statement to deepen your knowledge and to ensure you know what you're talking about. 

It's also useful to practice the ENGAA to get used to the exam format, and being able to answer questions quickly. The best way to do this is to do as many past papers as possible and look for other practice materials online.