Land Economy @ Clare, Cambridge in 2019

Interview format

Section 1 of the Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA); 2x interviews.

Interview content

Interviews: SAQ and personal statement discussion; discussion of social, environmental and political issues.

Best preparation

Mock interviews, practicing answering questions on various issues, reading interesting books.

Final thoughts

Think out loud and explain your answers; don't worry too much and enjoy the 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: Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA) - section 1 only
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: A few hours
Length of interviews: Roughly 25/30 mins
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

There wasn’t much of a theme - my personal statement was picked up on briefly as was my SAQ, but not much at all. We spoke about social, environmental and political issues. My interviewers were really friendly - I was ill at the time and they were perfectly fine with me stopping to drink lots of water. It’s really nerve-wracking but they completely understand that so don’t worry!

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I had a practice interview at my Sixth form, but other than that I stayed up-to-date with the news and asked my friends/family to come up with questions relating to environmental issues, social issues, economic issues etc. so I could practise answering them! I read a few books I found interesting and made sure I knew about them! I also looked into my interviewers (not that this helped in the interview but it made me more comfortable).

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

I had a book of practise questions and did loads of practise papers

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Don’t worry too much! You have no idea what they’re looking for - if you have an interview, you are academically capable of completing the course. I thought my second interview went awfully but I still got an offer - make sure you think out loud and explain why you’ve provided certain answers. Other than that try and enjoy the experience - even if you don’t get a place it’s an amazing opportunity to have! Good luck :)