Philosophy @ Sidney Sussex, Cambridge in 2015

Interview format

1x test (1 hour); 2x interviews (30 mins each; 1 general, 1 subject-specific)

Interview content

Interview 1: personal statement, philosophy in a wider context, general motivations; Interview 2: philosophical concepts

Best preparation

Know your personal statement; revise A-Level content; know the structure and timings of your at-interview tests

Final thoughts

Don't be put off by cold interviewers; you can't accurately tell what went well and what didn't

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

When I arrived at the college, a porter first showed me where each of my interview rooms were, and then showed me to a waiting room.

I had a 1 hour long test (20 minutes logical reasoning, 40 minute essay), then a 2 hour gap, followed by 2 consecutive interviews of 25/30 minutes each.

First interview had one interviewer and was more general, not with a philosophy academic. Second interview was subject specific with two interviewers, both philosophers.

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

First interview - my personal statement; why Philosophy; why Cambridge; my thoughts on the significance of philosophy on other aspects of society. It felt more relaxed.

Second interview - opened with questions that had definitive answers such as identifying logical structures. Then went on to questions about the nature of knowledge (interviewer stated that they were specifically aware this was something I did not cover at A-Level). These questions were much more discursive, with each of my answers being challenged by some counter-point or some possible objection.

How did you prepare?

I'm not really sure. My mock interview (which was organised by my local council and held at a local private school) was actually really off-putting: the interviewer was far more intimidating and combative than my actual interviews and put me really on edge.

The best prep I did was just making sure I could talk about the material in my personal statement confidently, making sure I knew my A-Level syllabus well, and having looked at the structure of the at-interview test (i.e. I knew it was split into multiple choice questions about logical reasoning, and then an essay.)

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

I thought my second interview went far worse than my first, but I was later informed by my DoS that it was because of that interview that she wanted to offer me a place. If your interviewer seems cold/unimpressed, it definitely doesn't mean that they are in reality.