Engineering @ Girton, Cambridge in 2018

Interview format

Engineering Admissions Assessment; 2x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: physics and maths problem solving; Interview 2: engineering problems

Best preparation

Mock interview at school

Advice in hindsight

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Final thoughts

Don't worry if you feel unprepared

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

Number of interviews: 2

Skype interview: no

Time between interviews: 20 minutes

Length of first interview: 15 minutes; Length of second interview: 15 minutes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

There was no questions on my personal statement - both interviews focused on physics, maths, engineering questions. We discussed methods of problem solving then attempted to solve the problem. It was a relaxed atmosphere.

How did you prepare?

I prepared for the admissions assessment by practising past papers and using questions from IWantToStudyEngineering.org. To prepare for the interview itself, I did a mock interview at school, and spoke to teachers for advice. This preparation mainly helped with my confidence, rather than my actual ability to answer questions.

What advice do you have for future applicants?

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

I think the interviews are designed so that the interviewers can gauge the ability of the candidate pretty accurately, regardless of what preparation the candidate has been able to do.