Natural Sciences (Physical) @ Jesus, Cambridge in 2018

Interview format

Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment; 2x interviews

Interview content

Interviews 1 and 2: subject specific questions, problem solving.

Best preparation

Use questions from Isaac Physics.

Final thoughts

Use a variety of admission test questions (e.g. from the PAT).

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: 25 minutes
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

Neither interview focussed on my personal statement, instead I was given problems to solve. They weren’t straight forward but required me to think outside the box and to ‘think out loud’ to the interviewers. I had 4 questions over my 2 interviews, about maths, physics and chemistry - as expected for a student applying for physical natural sciences.

I was incredibly nervous for both interviews, but as soon as I got into it, the nerves reduced quite a bit. The interviewers are perfectly nice and want to help you as much as possible to help you solve a problem.

How did you prepare?

Prior to the admissions assessment, I completed questions on the Isaac Physics website to improve my problem solving skills. I had a few mock interviews at school from my physics and chemistry teachers - these definitely prepared me well, meaning I knew what it was like to have to problem solve under pressure.

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

I would recommend completing all the admissions test questions you can find, including those from similar admissions assessment questions such as the PAT.