Natural Sciences (Physical) @ Magdalene, Cambridge in 2018

Interview format

Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment; 1x Interview.

Interview content

Asked questions relating to physics and mathematics questions.

Best preparation

Practice past papers questions and relevant A-level questions.

Final thoughts

Don't have rigid expectations! The interview may be different to what you expect.

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: 1
Time between interviews: N/A
Length of interviews: 30 minutes
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

I was asked two general physics questions of A Level H2 standard and one Mathematics question on graph sketching of a function. I was nervous at the start and stumbled a bit, but soon relaxed into it as my interviewer was very friendly and encouraging. The atmosphere was rather chill.

How did you prepare?

Practice past year papers and sample papers which are available on the Cambridge website; practice A Levels H2 physics Multiple Choice Questions and try to complete to time to prepare for the NSAA paper 1. I revised all physics content taught in school as well as an enrichment module that I took outside of school, but honestly the latter was not helpful as only knowledge within the school syllabus was tested. I also borrowed compilations of Oxbridge interview questions from libraries. Furthermore, I consulted my Cambridge seniors for possible questions and question types. Truth be told, all of the preparation here was not that necessary as a good mastery of the school syllabus was sufficient. However, the preparation helped to boost my confidence during the interview.

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

I had expected harder questions which were more relevant to my personal statement (which are more commonly asked), but it turned out that the interview was more about testing whether the applicant can think in a logical way and whether they were able to make deductions or educated guesses from their knowledge on the subject. I wouldn’t do things differently if given a chance because the knowledge I gained through the intense preparation could always aid me in my future studies.