Biology @ The Queen's, Oxford in 2017

Interview format

2x interviews.

Interview content

Mostly subject focused progressing from simple to more complex ideas and asking for justification of answers.

Best preparation

Re-read subject notes; further reading; podcast listening; keeping up with scientific current affairs.

Final thoughts

Stay calm; think out loud if you get stuck; have fun while you are there.

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: about an hour and a half
Length of interviews: about 25 minutes
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

There was a tiny bit of time to talk about some of my lab experience but most of the interview time was dedicated to their subject questions. Most of the questions were about biology, and then the last one was a maths question about looking at different types of graphs and what you could infer from the various features. Each biology question generally started with something to look at or touch, a physical thing to start the discussion about, and it started with questions relating to it about the fundamentals, such as ideas about DNA sequence, surface area to volume ratios and so on. For each answer they would then ask why you thought something, or whether some other reason might better explain the phenomenon. For each answer they will ask you why, don't get panicked, that doesn't mean that your answer is wrong they just want to see how you think. 

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I read through some subject notes, just to make sure I had the basics down. I read a few sort of popular science books but those were more useful to just add to the personal statement. I listened to a lot of the Life Scientific podcast -- I felt like it was a really great way to get a brief insight into a whole range of topics. The podcast and just having a quick read of science headlines on the news were great for knowing some of the recent important advances as I felt like I was asked what recent scientific advances had really excited me.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Stay calm. remember to think aloud in the interview, they want to have an idea of what your thought process is like and whether the tutorial environment would suit you. If you don't known something don't panic -- let them know that you're not quite sure but then suggest what you think could be happening and why you think that. But most of all, I would say have fun. You get to sit and talk about a subject that you love for half an hour with some people who also really love it and know all sorts of amazing things. If you go into the situation and just consider it a chance to have a conversation then your love of the subject will come through more and you'll get to show them why you're brilliant.