Natural Sciences (Physical) @ Sidney Sussex, Cambridge in 2017

Interview format

Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment; 3x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: Personal statement and extra-curricular activities; Interview 2: Subject specific questions; Interview 3: Subject specific questions and discussion.

Best preparation

Practice Questions

Advice in hindsight

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Final thoughts

Don't worry about how it went once it's over.

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: None, they were back to back

Length of first interview: Half an hour; Length of second interview: Half an hour; Length of third interview: Half an hour

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

In my tutorial interview I was asked some general questions about my extracurricular activities as well as some more specific questions about the books and activities I wrote about in my personal statement.

In my first subject interview I was asked an approximation question, as well as to draw some cross dot diagrams and discuss compounds. The questions were quite easy, but I made stupid mistakes due to being stressed - the interviewers were really nice about it and gave me clues. In the second one I had to analyse a diagram and then combine it with a mathematical formula to describe some ideas about global warming; as well as some further discussion. I didn't quite manage to get this, but I got a lot of clues and it wasn't that stressful because of it.

How did you prepare?

I did practice papers from previous years, ENGAA papers, as well as Mathematical Kangaroo and Isaac physics questions. I also had a Project Access mentor, which I would recommend to anyone [Editor's Note: Check out project access to see if you'd be eligible for a mentor]. I would also recommend doing a mock interview before, to get used to solving problems and thinking out loud, as well as describing the subject in English if it's not your first language.

What advice do you have for future applicants?

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

After my interviews I thought that I'd done quite badly, and I still got in, so I would really advise you to not worry about it too much afterwards.

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