Maths @ Gonville & Caius, Cambridge in 2018

Interview format

Sixth Term Examination Paper (STEP); 2x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: problem-solving questions; Interview 2: problem-solving questions

Best preparation

Revised A Level Maths content

Test preparation

Practice papers

Final thoughts

Try not to freeze when you don't know the answer, but rather explain what you know and what steps need to be taken to reach an answer.

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: Sixth Term Examination Paper (STEP)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 1 hour
Length of interviews: 30 minutes
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

In Maths, interviews are almost exclusively based on solving maths problems with some guidance from the interviewers. In my experience, there was very little about the personal statement. The number of problems covered will vary and they'll just keep challenging you until you get a little stuck.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I managed to organise a couple of mock interviews (of varying quality and helpfulness!) I also made sure to read up on my A Level Maths content, particularly what I'd been given advanced notice to cover.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

Practice papers, plus various access schemes for state school applicants.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Prepare to think out loud and explain what you're trying. Particularly in Maths, it's common to get stuck. It's important that, when this happens, you don't freeze and go silent, but rather explain the ideas you're thinking about, and trying to talk about what you've noticed about the problem.