Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment (NSAA); 2x interviews
Series of questions on the different first-year modules
Preparing to answer questions on personal statement and EPQ
Practice questions
Remember that all the other applicants are in the same position as you!
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: 30 minutes
Length of interviews: 25 minutes
Online interview: No
I had separate interviews from academics in different subjects who asked me subject-related questions (ie Maths, Chemistry, Cell Biology, evolution to correspond to first year modules). They asked me a series of questions on one topic that built up to a main idea, generally related to things I had indicated interest in in my personal statement. They were very friendly and reassuring, and it wasn’t so scary once we started talking. They did ask difficult questions but if I was struggling they gave hints - they clearly wanted to get the best answers possible from me.
I had a
I did timed practice questions (past papers are on the website).
To try and stay calm in the interview and talk through your thought process out loud (you definitely don’t need the ‘right’ answer as long as you have a reason!) The interviewers just want to see your passion for the subject, so it’s helpful to mention things outside the school curriculum, like a book/article/documentary you found interesting. The process was less stressful than I expected once I started, and it’s helpful to know that all the other applicants are in the same position as you!