Test taken: Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment (NSAA)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: c.1hr 
Length of interviews: 30 mins
Online interview: Yes

My first interview was Chemistry and I think it went pretty well. The interviewers started very quickly with the questions and although I hadn’t really covered some of the content, I could reason my way through it with a few helpful pointers from the interviewers when I made mistakes. I think I had 2 distinct long questions with smaller individual parts (don’t worry if you get stuck on a part, the interviewer will probably just move on if the hints are helping and give you something else to try, I think separate parts were independent). The half-hour went by very fast and it was a very interesting experience.

Biology on the other hand I found more difficult. I got stuck after very few parts into each question and so the interviewers kept asking new ones more frequently until the half hour ran out. I think the best thing I did in that interview is persevere, just give it everything you’ve got and think out loud (so important!!). You’re also allowed to draw diagrams which I found very helpful. The questions were theory questions/problem-solving by extrapolating from your own knowledge. I think I did manage to relax into the Chemistry one but I was stressed in Biology because it felt like it was all going wrong. The interviewers were nice and very to-the-point (the 30 min go by very fast). And only a few awkward moments occurred due to it being in Zoom (e.g. people on different sides of the call end up talking at the same time accidentally). Although I was feeling quite down after the Biology interview, it would’ve been a great experience regardless of the result, the discussions were interesting.

I used Isaac Physics Chemistry questions and asked teachers what sort of questions they thought I might get, and practiced them. Certain teachers were happy to give mock interviews, which was helpful, although the nerves did get to me in the end and the questions were a different style. I was careful to reread my personal statement and review any topics mentioned and read a few articles on them, but nothing from my personal statement came up. I think the preparation was useful revision, and it was important to me because I felt I was working to make the most of this amazing opportunity. Remember it’s ok if the interview is not what you expect, just improvise and trust your knowledge and skills. The academics aren’t trying to embarrass you, they just want to see your approach to new material and how you tackle problems and use logical reasoning.

Lots of practice papers (there aren’t that many, so started doing them in September once school started again, I didn’t use past papers for other tests). I just googled the past papers and the answers and managed to find them. First I checked the syllabus to see what wasn’t covered in my A-levels and I tried to do the sections for every subject to see which one I did better in so I could choose that on the day of the exam. Mine was all multiple choice, so I just timed myself doing past papers, tried questions I got wrong again but this time open book and then asked teachers about questions I did not understand.

I didn’t have time for much else and I’m not sure how many more ways to prepare there are, but remember the tests are hard for everyone and they look at applications as a whole, not just the test score number (my test score was below average I think). And guessing can be useful, so if you can’t work out a question just guess!

The interview was more or less what I expected, except for it going by so fast and the interviewers being so direct (I talk lots when nervous). I think it’s better to gently start preparing for the interview as soon as you’ve done the admissions test e.g. by reading some scientific articles to reduce stress. Get a good night of sleep and regular meals during the run-up to the interview and also try problem-solving in a group by talking through the task out loud with other people to practice thinking out loud. And it’s not worth getting too nervous about, just try to be calm and clearheaded and persevere when the questions are weird. I can’t remember how well it worked but you could discuss your reasoning with the interviewers (this might get you some nice ideas).