English @ Trinity, Cambridge in 2020

Interview format

English Literature Admissions Test (ELAT); x2 interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: personal statement Interview 2: close analysis of unseen texts

Best preparation

x2 mock interviews reading around topics discussed on personal statement

Test preparation

past papers from the official ELAT website

Final thoughts

See it as an opportunity for academic discussion, rather than an interview

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: Roughly an hour
Length of interviews: 45 minutes
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

In the first interview, we went through my personal statement and had a very lovely chat about it. It was highly enjoyable, and I had a lot of fun as it was essentially just me rambling about the subject I love for 45 minutes. They also asked about which books I had been studying for A Levels. The second interview consisted of a short passage and a poem, for which I had to do some close analysis. It was a lot more intense than the first interview, but the two interviewers guided me towards formulating answers. It's helpful to really speak aloud your whole thought process in this interview, as this allows the interviewers to see how your mind works and processes things.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I read around my subject beforehand, as well as re-reading the books on my personal statement so I could have a lot of opportunities for interesting conversations, and I also had two mock interviews. I also tried doing some onthe spot daily poetry analysis to build up my close reading skills – which made the second interview easier.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

I used past papers from the ELAT website.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

I would say weirdly enough say to try and enjoy the interview; if you treat it less as an opportunity to get into Oxbridge and more of a way to get to talk to top scholars in your field, your passion will come across more greatly. They're looking to see if they'd like to work with you for the next three years, so just keep calm, and don't be afraid to show off what you know!