Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment; 2x Interviews.
Interview 1: personal statement, biochemistry questions; Interview 2: EPQ discussion, maths and biology questions..
Re-read your personal statement and make sure you understand GCSE and A-level material. Preparing with a friend is helpful.
Do practice papers and revise AS/A-level content.
Revise your personal statement and think out loud during the interview!
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.
Test taken:
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: A few hours.
Length of interviews: 20 minutes.
Online interview: No
Interview 1: They asked about some stuff I mentioned in my personal statement. Then we had a discussion on the book I wrote about in my personal statement, which led to an open discussion about health in general and how to apply the knowledge from the book into our daily lives. Then they asked general questions on enzymes & biochemical properties, and applications (the whole process was done as a discussion and I was given a paper to write notes or scribble, and if they wanted to draw something to make the question clearer). Interview 2: Started out with asking about my EPQ and its progress, then they gave me some maths questions. Then we discussed a biological experiment and what we could conclude based on the data & its applications. Honestly, the interviews were great. The professors were all very laidback, friendly, and helped whenever I had any questions.
Re-read personal statement (very important as they might ask some specific questions from it. Break down each sentence and try to elaborate outside of what you said in your personal statement). I had a friend who was applying for Medicine, and since our subjects were quite similar, we practiced interviewing each other. I also re-read my notes for a biomedical book I read that I put in my personal statement. I would make sure you know the basics from GCSEs and thoroughly understand A-level materials. I also read up on upcoming A-level topics and my EPQ investigation (in case they asked about it).
Practice papers, AS & A level materials (the NSAA covers content beyond the AS- and A-level syllabi, so it really helps to read on A level topics & further.)
Understanding your own personal statement is very important because it's very likely they'll ask you to elaborate on a specific part of it. Don't worry if you make a mistake in the interview - just relax and have fun. They know we're just students and they understand if we can't answer some questions, just think out loud because they want to know how you tackle harder questions that you haven't come across before.