Veterinary Medicine @ Gonville & Caius, Cambridge in 2016

Interview format

3x interviews (between 10 and 25 mins)

Interview content

First interview: general science; Second interview: subject-specific; Third interview: work/life balance

Best preparation

Talking to student helpers; previous interviews

Final thoughts

You can't know how it went; try to stay calm and logical

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 stayed at Caius accommodation the night before the interviews which in itself made me nervous. I then had three interviews in the morning the following day. We had breakfast as a group of interviewees and then went separate ways. The first and second interviews lasted 20-25 minutes, the last only around 10. Each was asking different things - academics, social and specific to my application.

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

The first interview consisted of more 'sciencey' questions testing my knowledge (or lack thereof) and pushing my thought processes to let them understand how I was thinking.

The second interview included more subject specific questions but similar process to the first.

The third asked about work/life balance, stresses etc. I was put at ease by the calmness of the interviews - no one rushed me etc.

How did you prepare?

Talking to current student helpers there on the day - after all they know what the interviewers are like themselves having gone through the same process. I had already done one interview at another University so the nerves had decreased slightly and I knew I just had to describe what I was thinking more than getting the correct answers.

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

It is hard to tell how you did at interview, after all you do not know how you compare to other students they have interviewed. Just keep calm and think things through logically.