Natural Sciences (Physical) @ Gonville & Caius, Cambridge in 2017

Interview format

2x interviews (20-30 mins)

Interview content

1st: problems; 2nd: general then some problems

Best preparation

Know course material & have a plan for hard questions

Final thoughts

Keep calm

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

I had breakfast in college, then waited in JCR (Junior Common Room) with other applicants before / in between interviews. 2 interviews, first physics specific, second physics + chemistry, 20-30 min each. 2 interviewers in each interview. 1 interview was very physics + maths question, very technical. 2nd one included more general questions as well as some subject specific ones.

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

I 'messed up' an integration question, then had a very hard mechanics question I got about a quarter of the way through - first interview done.

2nd interview went a lot better. The more general interest questions went ok, then I got most of the other questions.

How did you prepare?

Contacting current students, knowing the course material very well, having a plan for really hard questions.

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

Being calm and composed as you can be on the interview was the most important thing I tried to do. I have a hunch I got my offer through the strength of the Pre-admissions test.