History Of Art @ Clare, Cambridge in 2014

Interview format

2x interviews; 1x 'image test'

Interview content

Mostly related to personal statement, one unexpected question re the role of Maths in Art

Best preparation

Know your personal statement well, including examples of things you know well and like to talk about!

Final thoughts

Don't let other people intimidate you

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

Two interviews, both with 2 interviewers, and a 15 minute section which involved an 'image test' where I had to analyse an image (referring to date, medium, theme, etc.).

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

Most of the things which came up were in my personal statement, though I did have a bit of an unexpected question about the role of Maths in Art (but that's because I did Maths, Philosophy and Art at A level). I actually thought my first interview went terribly, as one of the interviewers tried to call me up on Roland Barthes, who I had mentioned but didn't know well. I wish I had just relaxed and enjoyed it more as when I did this for the second interview it went much better!

How did you prepare?

Making sure I knew everything on my personal statement and had examples of things I knew well and liked to talk about!

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

Don't let other people intimidate you. A lot of the really cocky people at my interview never got in and I haven't seen them since.