Modern And Medieval Languages @ Trinity, Cambridge in 2016

Interview format

2x interviews.

Interview content

Interview 1: discussion of unseen passage in target language; Interview 2: personal statement, discussion of unseen passage in target language.

Best preparation

Read around subject area; revised vocabulary.

Final thoughts

Read more widely for better context.

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: None
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 2 hours
Length of interviews: 1 hour
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

French: We discussed a poem by a famous Francophone poet and themes and trivia related to the poem.

Spanish ab initio: Generic questions like 'Why Spanish?' and 'Which is your favourite short story by [author on personal statement]?' Then discussion of a poem with an English translation.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I focused on French philosophy for French preparation. I revised vocabulary and literary theory for the interview and at-interview test.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

I would definitely have read more widely. Literature is a key part of the course and familiarity with authors and literary movements would have been very helpful.