My interview was in December, and when I arrived at the college I was greeted by a student helper in the Porter's lodge, who then showed me where my interviews would be taking place, before taking me to the main hall where other candidates were waiting. After recieving an envelope containing material in French and German that I was supposed to read and analyse for my target-language interview, I joined a group of fellow MML applicants and we all chatted nervously about our languages and hometowns while waiting outside the library for our written test.

The test itself lasted an hour, after which I waited with other applicants in the library for around 20 minutes, reading through the material I had been given, before going to my English-language interview on the other side of the college, which took about half an hour. After that I had a little bit of time to dash to the main hall and grab a drink before my target-language interview, which also took around half an hour, before leaving the college, very shaky but somewhat relieved.

In my written interview, I was given an article (in English) about pan-European feeling, that I then had to analyse and answer questions in one of my target languages (French or German, both post A-level). I'd expected the test to be difficult and confusing, so wasn't too worried and just tried to analyse the text to the best of my ability, knowing that I was intentionally being tested with something I wouldn't fully understand.

My English-language interview went very well - the interviewer was very friendly, and asked me questions about linguistics, philosophy, and translation, as I had listed those as interests in my personal statement. I was given a poem in an unkown language, that I then had to analyse, making guesses about language features - I specifically remember using the peculiarities of word order to justify one of my guesses! We discussed difficulties with translating certain types of text and variations in accent, as well as other questions.

My target-language interview went far worse - I forgot how to speak French and German almost entirely, and was left babbling as I was posed grammatical questions in French and German, discussed the prepared texts, as well as being quizzed on the books and films I'd studied for A-level, in addition to those I'd mentioned I'd read in my personal statement. Despite me forgetting basic words (like 'to take place' in German or the French word for 'window'!) the interviewers were very kind and helpful, and always kept things moving, never making me feel stupid.

Talking to current students, especially those doing my course, was extremely helpful in demystifying the interview process and relaxing me in preparation for my interview. Mock interviews were organised by my school, which were also very helpful for preparing me, and general revision of my subjects, as well as the information I'd put on my personal statement, was extremely useful. Researching my interviewers also helped to put me at ease, as it enabled me to pre-empt some of their examples, as well as allowing me to prepare questions for them specific to them and their interests.

They're not looking for superhumans, they're looking for students. No one's perfect and it's okay to make mistakes, messing up doesn't automatically mean that your application is doomed.

My best advice would simply be to relax, nerd out and enjoy it- you're getting the chance to discuss your favourite subject with Cambridge professors, how cool is that? Just take the opportunity to learn as much as you can, and show off your own learning too - I'm sure you know endless nerdy and utterly pointless facts about your subject, so feel free to drop them in!

Make sure not to stress too much, and when it's done, it's done, so put it behind you and try not to think about it (I didn't even check when we would get our offers!). Ultimately, Cambridge isn't everything, and even if you don't get in, to even get an offer means you're an amazing student, but equally don't ever forget that you are good enough for Cambridge and that you can do it.