Veterinary Medicine @ Murray Edwards, Cambridge in 2015

Interview format

BMAT; 2x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: maths and biology questions; Interview 2: general motivations

Best preparation

Used example BMAT questions

Advice in hindsight

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Final thoughts

Allow the interviewers to see how you reached your answers

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: BMAT

Number of interviews: 2

Skype interview: no

Time between interviews: 10 minutes

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

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

The first interview was a maths question, something about DNA, which I took ages to answer and led onto a biological question about DNA structure. I couldn’t remember one point initially, but thankfully I remembered it towards the end. At the end of this interview, we discussed pathology and disease. My second interview consisted of a long question about the function of the kidney, and I was also asked why I wanted to be a vet.

How did you prepare?

I prepared for the BMAT using a book I found on eBay, containing lots of practice questions with answers - I'd really recommend it! My headteacher also used to try and ‘tutor’ small amounts of students that wanted to apply to Oxbridge, but his preparation questions weren’t relevant to my subject.

What advice do you have for future applicants?

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

For Veterinary Medicine, I would advise having a quick look through your biology textbook and brush up on some current controversies in the veterinary world. The interviewers want to see your process for working towards an answer -- I made so many mistakes but I always asked ‘I’m not sure, could you explain it to me?’ instead of giving up. They just mainly want to see you’re keen to learn!