Linguistics @ Clare, Cambridge in 2015

Interview format

2 interviews, 1 hour each, 2 interviewers

Interview content

2 interviews; personal statement, technical questions, discussion of texts; think aloud

Best preparation

Read some overviews, in-depth reading, mock interview

Final thoughts

You can only prepare so much, general reading, think about core issues

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

2 interviews, about an hour each, 2 interviewers, both a mix of “technical” and “competency” questions

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

I had two interviews. My personal statement was discussed a bit: we discussed a theory I had mentioned in my personal statement. I had a few “technical questions”, where I was given exercises to figure out on the spot. In another exercise, I had to discuss two texts.

Overall,the interviewers were very friendly and were ready to help me out if I was stuck somewhere, which is why it is so important to think aloud.

How did you prepare?

I read some overviews of linguistics, such as Pinker’s “The Language Instinct”. I also wrote my IB [Editor's Note: International Baccalaureate] extended essay on a linguistics topic, which “forced” me to do some more in-depth reading and thinking. I also had amock interview with a very kind linguistics PhD student at my local university - the questions I got in the interview ended up being very similar!

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

You can do some preparation for your interview, but there is a lot you just won’t be able to prepare for, as any topic could come up and Linguistics is so broad. Don’t worry about this! If you do some general reading and have a think about core issues in linguistics, you should do great.