English @ Sidney Sussex, Cambridge in 2016

Interview format

2x interviews, 1x test

Interview content

First interview: previous reading and personal statement. Second interview: discussing unseen extracts

Best preparation

ELAT preparation; knowing texts on your personal statement

Final thoughts

Arrive early; don't stress about individual responses; remember that the interview isn't everything

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

My interview was in December. I was met by a student who took me the to JCR where other current students and interviewees were hanging out. I then went to my first interview, a chat about my personal statement/books I've read. Then I went for lunch in the College Hall before taking a test analysing unseen text. I then had a second interview where I discussed my test and also some other unseen works.

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

In my first interview I talked about some of the texts I'd read and other things I'd mentioned on my personal statement. I was quite nervous and definitely made some panicked answers but otherwise it went alright.

My test was ok, I was sure what were the "right" things to focus on but it was very open to your own interpretation and you could write about what you found interesting in the text.

The second interview I think went really well, we discussed some texts and whilst it felt pressured to analyse a (short) text in front of fellows they were really encouraging and it was thinking out loud rather than giving answers to questions.

How did you prepare?

Honestly I didn't do too much, I prepared lots for the ELATbefore interview but I had no idea what to expect and never even did a practice interview. Luckily I had a book I could talk about for hours on my personal statement quite heavily so that was easy to talk about. The unseen extracts couldn't really be prepared for so I just did my best to find things to talk about.

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

Leave yourself time to get there early, either to chill and talk to current students or to get lost and ask for directions a lot like I did! Also don't stress about answering one question weirdly, it's likely they don't remember and the interview isn't the only thing they assess you on anyway.