Maths @ Trinity, Cambridge in 2021

Interview format

Sixth Term Examination Paper (STEP), 1x interview

Interview content

Solving problems on a whiteboard

Best preparation

Mock interview and small group practice

Test preparation

Practice papers

Final thoughts

Try not to stress, and make sure you show your thought process

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: 1
Length of interviews: About 40 minutes
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

It started very fast, like "Hi! So you will need to solve some problems in front of us, writing your thoughts up on the whiteboard, please show the area around you with your camera so we see you are not cheating. Here is your first problem, solve it please" and then they were hurrying me a lot, when I was stuck they helped me. The end was also fast: "Okay so this was your last problem, you will hear from us, thank you bye"

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I had a mock interview with someone who applied last year. I also had a former student teach 4 of us in group lessons.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

Practice papers, which were marked by a former Cambridge student, who also taught 4 of us applicants in group lessons.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Don't stress (easy to say I know, but you can learn this by e.g. going to competitions in your subject), say everything you think in your interview; they are interested in how you think, not in if you know the correct answer!