English @ Emmanuel, Cambridge in 2019

Interview format

English Literature Admissions Test (ELAT); 2x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: unseen poetry; Interview 2: submitted reading

Best preparation

Read critical opinions on books mentioned in personal statement

Test preparation

Wrote essays on unseen literature

Final thoughts

Interviewers want to see you engage and question things

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: English Literature Admissions Test (ELAT)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 2 hours
Length of interviews: 20 minutes
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

My first interview was about an unseen piece of poetry I was given - we spoke about the techniques, tone and theme of the piece for the whole interview.

My second interview was about the submitted reading list. We spoke about my opinions on certain books and theories. The roooms both times were like living room offices with sofas, super relaxed. I was wearing jeans and a jumper and acted like it was a supervision - asked questions and offered ideas. Both were beyond chilled out, the interviews were friendly, even when they told me I was wrong about something, they were encouraging and nice.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I had a mock interview at school, read other books by the authors I had mentioned in my personal statement and my submitted reading list. I read critics' opinions about the books and I brought these up at interview which the interviewers really liked. I memorised good talking points about each book and googled my interviewers to see what areas they specialized in - I got to talk about a poem I had read with a teacher who specialised in the themes brought up in it.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

Found past papers and wrote essays on unseen literature.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Don’t stress over the interview so much, I cried twice there because I was so stressed but it was unnecessary. For me, the personal statement was my strongest point - I underscored in the ELAT but still got in, so focus energy on the personal statement and the interview. Interviewers want to see you engage and question things like you would in a supervision - it’s about proving you would work well in a Cambridge environment.