Natural Sciences (Biological) @ Christ's, Cambridge in 2020

Interview format

Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment; 2x interviews

Interview content

Examining and interpreting diagrams, A-Level based content.

Best preparation

Read books mentioned in personal statement, practised thought process.

Test preparation

BMAT questions, biology and chemistry Olympiad.

Final thoughts

There is always more you can do to be better prepared.

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: Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment (NSAA)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 1 hour
Length of interviews: 20-30 minutes
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

Mostly A-Level content based, but involved working through problems and diagrams and seeing what I actually could understand from a diagram. 

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I read over all my A-Level content, I did a lot of further reading, I read all the books I mentioned in my personal statement and had lots of mock interviews with people at college and also did some of the medic practise interviews. I got people to ask me tough and random questions to practice my thought process. 

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

I completed past papers, revised content and bought a textbook with advice and extra questions. I also used biology Olympiad, chemistry Olympiad and BMAT questions.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

There is always more you can do to be better prepared.