Biochemistry @ Corpus Christi, Oxford in 2019

Interview format

2x20 minute interviews over 2 days

Interview content

Variety of topics and experiment planning

Best preparation

Mock interviews and re-reading my personal statement

Final thoughts

Ask questions if you're unsure

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: None
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 1 day
Length of interviews: 30 minutes
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

We discussed basic chemistry, a maths question, and a DNA question in my first interview. In my second interview, we discussed my personal statement, planned an experiment and discussed advanced biology. the tutors were very welcoming and easy to talk to, I had no pre-reading for my interviews but some of the questions involved sheets that I looked at during the interview.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

Mock interviews with my school and re-reading my personal statement

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Don’t feel the need to over prepare, and don’t worry if you don’t know the answer - the interviewers are looking for someone who can think logically and critically about the information that has been given to them, and is inquisitive about their chosen subject, so ask questions if you're unsure!