Natural Sciences (Biological) @ St Catharine's, Cambridge in 2021

Interview format

Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment (NSAA); 2x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: Questions on personal statement, Speculating on and designing an experiment for a new topic; Interview 2: Specific questions on biology, chemistry, and maths

Best preparation

Read over notes; Went over personal statement; Completed a mock interview;

Test preparation

Completed NSAA past papers

Final thoughts

Show your thought process and reason out loud

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: 30 minutes
Length of interviews: 30 minutes
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

The first interview was very nice, I was given information on a topic and was then asked to speculate on it, and design an experiment... The interviewer guided me through it even when I wasn't sure or didn't give the answer they were looking for, and I found it quite relaxed. They also asked me about my EPQ, as I had written about it in my personal statement.

The next interview was harder, as I was asked specific biology, chemistry and maths questions, and I panicked momentarily. Still, I would recommend staying calm and trying to approach the questions from different angles, as the interviewers will try to guide you to the correct answer.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I read over all my year 12 notes to refresh the theory. I also did a mock interview at school, and looked up 'oxbridge' interview questions to see whether I could answer them. Finally, I reread my personal statement to be prepared to discuss any points, and thought about possible questions they could ask.

Overall, I think I stressed too much about reviewing the theory because I felt I didn't have enough time, so I would recommend to start preparing right after doing the NSAA instead of waiting to confirm your interview.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

I tried to complete timed NSAA past papers (found on the Cambridge website) and similar style questions (for example from the IB) & reviewed the syllabus for what was examined. Most important was starting to prepare with plenty of time.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

My advice is to try your best to answer the questions and to reason out loud to show your thinking process (which is what I think the interviewers are more interested in).

After the interview, I recommend to stop thinking about it, as it will only make you more stressed. Even if you think you did badly, it's probably not so!