Geography @ St John's, Cambridge in 2022

Interview format

1x interview

Interview content

Questions about personal statement, then about sources sent 15 minutes before

Best preparation

Going over books read, practice talking about subject and unseen resources, keeping up with the news

Final thoughts

Remember you love the subject and see the interview as an opportunity to talk about it

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: None
Number of interviews: 1
Length of interviews: 40 mins
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

I had one online interview with two interviewers. It pretty much fell into two halves - one where they asked about parts of my personal statement (EPQ, books, work experience etc.) and the second half was source-based.

They sent the sources to me 15 minutes prior to the interview. The sources required reading graphs and maps and then linking this to my A-level learning. Often if I wasn't quite getting something they would ask leading questions until I did (trying to gauge teachability maybe?) which I was stressed about because I thought I was getting things wrong. Realistically they don't expect you to know everything and want to see how you think so don't be stressed if you can't immediately get specifics and think out loud!

How did you prepare for your interviews?

Making notes on the extra books I had read, familiarising myself with my personal statement and making sure I was confident elaborating on all of it. A local private school gave me a practice interview which was very helpful as they provided the type of unseen resources that they use in interviews. Actually talking about my subject with anyone and everyone who would listen was probably the most helpful (even if people thought I was very annoying for a month!). Keeping up with the news was also useful.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Remember that you applied because you love your subject and find it interesting. It can be easy to lose that feeling in the stress, but think of it as an amazing opportunity to talk to people as passionate as you. Don't let your interview be the first time you've talked out loud about your subject.