Natural Sciences (Physical) @ Selwyn, Cambridge in 2016

Interview format

Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment; 3x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: personal statement; Interview 2: subject questions; Interview 3: subject questions

Best preparation

Re-reading your personal statement

Advice in hindsight

-

Final thoughts

N/A

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: 3

Skype interview: no

Time between interviews: not provided

Length of first interview: 20 minutes; Length of second interview: 30 minutes; Length of third interview: 30 minutes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

One interview involved discussion of my personal statement. The other two interviews each were conducted by a pair of interviewers and each interviewer asked questions about their subject (maths, materials, chemistry, physics). Kind of like a 30 mins supo.

How did you prepare?

I prepared by doing lots of fully independent study - some past papers and looked over syllabus. Going over year 9 maths proved useful for some reason. I watched lots of Youtuber videos made by current students/alumni who talked about their interview experiences. Also did some Physics Olympiad questions. Also, re-reading your personal statement is a very good idea!

What advice do you have for future applicants?

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

Nothing to add!