Biochemistry @ St John's, Oxford in 2018

Interview format

2x 30 min interviews, 1 day apart

Interview content

Various

Best preparation

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Advice in hindsight

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Final thoughts

Read popular science books; don't worry about not knowing everything

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

Number of interviews: 2

Skype interview: No

Time between each interview: 1 day

Length of interviews: 30 minutes each

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

I was asked about amino acids, entropy, hydrophobic molecules, genetic pedigree diagrams, why I want to study biochemistry, my work experience, the essay I wrote for an essay competition, viruses, and ion channels.

How did you prepare?

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What advice do you have for future applicants?

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

Popular science books were very useful, and re-reading them was useful, but don't stress about memorising the book or knowing every specific detail.

The interviewer is looking for someone who is willing to answer questions they don't yet know the answer to - say whatever you think might be the answer, and what makes you think that. Many interviewers are very kind and welcoming, and your interview is much more like a conversation than I expected.