Test taken: Psychological and Behavioural Sciences Admissions Assessment (PBSAA)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: An hour
Length of interviews: 40 minutes?
Online interview: No

In interview one:

- Talked about essays I’d done before the interview, talked about themes that were related to it and hypothetical questions that could very well serve as an essay question (mine were about neurotransmitters)

- Questions about personal statement, things I’d learned from the experienced I listed

- Very comfortable room, I was interviewed by two supervisors in an office that just screamed ‘dark academia’. Very friendly vibe, we shook hands, they made sure to ask if I needed anything (like water), we sat on sofas.

In interview two:

- Mention of personal statement again

- Mathematical questions about interpretation of data and graphs, had to design a hypothetical study!

- More of an interrogation vibe (mainly because I felt like I didn’t know as much in this interview as the other one)

- I knew I wanted to do optional philosophy papers, so I started reading ‘Sophie’s World’ by Jostein Gaardner for a fun introduction. I revised most of the psychology A Level content on senecalearning.com (that website will also save you in uni).

- Best thing I did was probably familiarising myself with the layout of the college - you will remove a lot of stress if you know where you are going!

- I had to submit two essays before my interview, we discussed some of the ideas there, and then they asked me questions that were relevant to topics I clearly knew and we slowly moved into territories that I had no knowledge about to see how I’d react and respond. It’s okay to take your time to answer, and it’s also okay not to know things!

- If you mention you read/did something on your personal statement, familiarise yourself with it again!! In fact just read your personal statement again, in both of my interviews, the supervisors referred to it!

Went on the PBS (Psychological and Behavioural Science) website, checked past papers and the guide that tells you how to answer the different types of questions! It also taught me the structure of the exam.

- Don’t research past interview questions. Every single question you’ll get is very context-dependent and tailored to the information you have given them; from your GCSES, A levels, personal statement. You can’t predict it. Don’t even stress about that.

- Some interviewers WILL be awkward. They are of course trying their best to make you feel comfortable, but that does not mean you will feel perfectly at ease five minutes in - or at all. It’s tempting to think of how much is at stake. But the supervisors are trained to see potential in you, and they WILL see it, as long as you keep going. This is not a place for ‘smart’ people, it’s a place for resilient people that will continue through something hard because they care and because they are committed. Yes, the interview will be intimidating, but what matters is that you kept going even if you felt like your answers weren’t good enough.

- Think out loud! Interviews are designed to be like a supervision: aka, you have a topic that you are passionate about that you can talk about with leading academics in the field. It’s a unique opportunity, and you will look back on it more happily if you know that you verbally contributed to the discussion! The supervisors really do care and what to hear what you have to say!

- The application process is hard. That is reflected most primarily in the interview, but that is only a small fragment of the challenges you will face when you come to do the actual degree. They want to make sure they have people that will not back off at the sight of extra work, and of difficulty. You have made it this far, you have nothing to lose.