Law @ St John's, Cambridge in 2019

Interview format

Cambridge Law Test; 2x interviews.

Interview content

Interview 1: personal statement, discussion of legal issues; Interview 2: discussion of a case (given before the interview).

Best preparation

Keep up-to-date with legal issues; reread your personal statement; look at Cambridge interview YouTube videos.

Final thoughts

Mock interviews; thinking critically about the current issues that you read about.

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: Cambridge Law Test (CLT)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 10 minutes
Length of interviews: 20 - 25 minutes
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

The first interview was a general one and I was asked about some of the things in my personal statement (i.e. thoughts on issues raised by the books I had mentioned). Then I was asked some law-specific questions about the debate around certain legal issues. The interviewers pushed me on certain points, and were interested to hear my reasoning process. It was quite a relaxed atmosphere, just like having a discussion!

For the second interview, I was given a case to read and was then asked questions about it. This was more about being able to pick out the relevant issues and arguments than having all the answers! This was slightly harder, but I was given time before the interview to read through the case and make some notes on it. Again, it was very relaxed, and they are genuinely interested in how you think about a case or legal issue!

How did you prepare for your interviews?

There are some helpful videos of Cambridge interviews on YouTube that help you to know what to expect.

I reread my personal statement and made sure I could talk about everything on there.

I also made sure I kept up to date about legal issues and thought critically about them. This was the most helpful thing to do, as it meant that I could engage well with some of the questions about the adequacy of the law.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

CLT practice papers. If you are doing the LNAT for other universities, that helps too!

What advice would you give to future applicants?

I would talk to more people who have been through the interview process, or ask to school to put on a mock interview. Though these may or may not closely resemble the real thing, they will help with your nerves!

I would also start to think critically about current issues - read some articles, books or listen to some lectures on a topic that you’re interested in. But don’t feel like you need to agree with everything - being able to disagree is fantastic if you can explain your reasoning clearly!