Natural Sciences (Physical) @ Magdalene, Cambridge in 2018

Interview format

Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment (NSAA); 2x interviews.

Interview content

Interviews 1 and 2: Chemistry/Physics problems based on graphs/equations

Best preparation

Use past papers for admissions tests.

Final thoughts

Focus more on problem-solving skills rather than knowledge.

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: 2 hours
Length of interviews: 30 minutes
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

Everything discussed in my interviews was academic - my personal statement was never mentioned! Instead, I had one focused on solving chemistry problems and one focused on physics. Generally, I was shown an equation or graph and asked numerous questions from there.

How did you prepare?

I used past admissions test papers from the website and looking at the topics on the specification. The best thing I did was ask my science teachers for mock interviews, which helped me to feel calmer under pressure.

Looking back, what advice would you give to your past self?

Looking back, my preparation could have been improved by trying to answer problem-solving questions rather than going over my A-Level specifications. You will inevitably get things wrong in interviews, but it doesn’t matter at all - the interviewers are looking for the way you think.