Engineering @ Fitzwilliam, Cambridge in 2022

Interview format

Engineering Admissions Assessment (ENGAA), 2x interviews

Interview content

Questions related to the subject, very similar to things studied at a-level

Best preparation

Practice discussing questions and personal statement

Test preparation

Timed practice then thorough corrections

Final thoughts

Clearly articulate what you think rather than sitting in silence, even when stuck

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: About 2 hours
Length of interviews: About 20 mins
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

In my first interview we almost immediately started talking about subject questions very similar to things I had done at A-level. I made a couple of small mistakes but the interviewers corrected me and put me on the right track. I was really nervous during my first interview and after it had ended I kept on thinking about the mistakes.

My second interview was very similar but I relaxed into it much more. Because I relaxed I was able to enjoy it and show how interested I was in the questions that they gave me. Both the interviews didn’t seem to be designed to trip me up and the interviewers seemed to want me to do well.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I made sure to discuss interesting questions with other people in my year - making sure I could think through the questions and express what I was thinking clearly. I also ensured I was 100% up-to-date with all the content I had done up until then. I also reread my personal statement and had my mum ‘quiz’ me on all the small details I had included to ensure I could elaborate on all of them.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

Practice ENGAA papers (under timed conditions), and then corrections until I understood the thought process/how an answer was reached. 

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Clearly articulate what you think - even if you’re stuck. If you can explain most of the solution but don’t understand the last bit then the interviewer will help you. The worst thing you can do if you don’t know is sit in silence because then you won’t get credit for the bits you do know. The interviews really want to see how you cope in a supervision-like environment, and so it’s supposed to be an environment in which you learn.