Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment (NSAA); 1 interview
Questions on personal statement and problem-solving with unfamiliar biology content
Revised A-level content; Practised explaining thought processes out loud
Revised A-Level & GCSE content; looked over past papers
Everyone has their own experience when applying. Make sure you know your personal statement.
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: 1
Length of interviews: 35 minutes
Online interview: Yes
My interview started with a question about my personal statement, and some of the things I had mentioned in it. I feel like this was a way to ease me into the harder questions.
The rest of the interview was a lot of biology questions, that tested my ability to problem-solve when approached with unfamiliar situations. It was certainly quite stressful! - but the interviewers do try to help you get to the answer.
After the interview, I felt like I had done quite badly, and kept thinking about the moments I said wrong answers. However, everyone feels like this, and often, if you think your interview went badly, you've likely done quite well!
The most important preparation for interviews was simply making sure I was comfortable with the content I had learned in my A-level subjects over the last year - this means you will have a solid foundation to approach the questions from.
I also practiced explaining biology to people I knew (like my friends or parents), and they would ask me questions so I could practice explaining my thought process out loud. Working through a maths problem out loud can also help you articulate your thoughts in the interview.
I would say not to rely on practice interviews too much - every person's experience at an Oxbridge interview is different, so you might find the actual interview is quite different from your practice ones.
For the assessment, I made sure I was confident with my AS biology, chemistry and maths content. I also ensured I was comfortable with topics that I covered at GCSE, but had not gone over since, such as genetics or photosynthesis. I found it helpful to look ahead at some second-year A-level content in biology as well.
Most importantly, I made sure I knew what I was expecting from the exam (especially since the NSAA has changed format in recent years), and I did every past paper available. Past papers were the most helpful preparation as it allowed me to work out how I'd approach the paper, organise my time in the exam, think about the questions and not get overwhelmed when I didn't immediately understand a question.
Don't be discouraged when you hear about other people's interview experiences that were very different from your own - everyone has very different experiences applying to Oxbridge.
The interviewers are looking for people who can think critically, rather than simply knowing a huge range of facts and figures. Also, if you mention a book or experience in your personal statement, the interviewers will expect that you actually have read that book or done that experience!