History @ Sidney Sussex, Cambridge in 2018

Interview format

History Admissions Assessment (HAA); 2x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: unseen sources; Interview 2: personal statement, submitted essays

Best preparation

Unseen source practice

Test preparation

Past papers

Final thoughts

Interviewers might push you to see how you can adapt

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: History Admissions Assessment (HAA)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 3 hours
Length of interviews: 20 minutes
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

In one interview, I was given two sources beforehand and then discussed my thoughts with two interviewers after. They prompt you and ask more questions and help you realise if you’re going down the wrong path.

The second interview was entirely based on my personal statement and submitted essays.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

Practice interviews with unseen source practice and making sure I knew about the things I’d mentioned on my personal statement.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

Past papers with a teacher discussing afterwards.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

If you feel attacked at the interviews that’s a good thing, as they’re putting effort into pushing you further!