Test taken: None
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 1 day
Length of interviews: About 40-45 minutes
Online interview: Yes

For both of my interviews, as they were online, I had 10 minutes before to talk to some students already at the university which is great to make you less nervous and distract you - so definitely make the most of that! In my first interview, there were 2 interviewers and we went straight into chemistry questions - nothing about my personal statement or interests - they were very challenging and I didn’t really know where to start! But if you just say everything that you’re thinking about out loud and ask the interviewers specific questions about what it is you don’t understand, they will be able to help you and guide you to the answer! The first interview was based around organic chemistry and a bit on equilibrium which both required some basic as level knowledge so make sure you’re familiar! I made so many stupid mistakes (saying water was HO2 twice!!) and felt like I hadn’t answered anything right so don’t worry if you feel like this - as there’s no way of predicting how you’ve done! My second interview was the next day, I had convinced myself the first one was awful enough not to get a place so I wasn’t nervous for this one as I had nothing to lose! This one was a lot more physics and maths focused - but they give you any basic knowledge that you might need. Don’t be scared if they say you’re wrong - just tell them exactly what you’re stuck on so they can give you specific and precise help! Because I was less nervous, this one went better than the first one (in my opinion anyway!) so try to relax as much as possible when you’re in there! It feels more like a *very challenging* conversation with a chemistry teacher than an actual interview so just explain your thoughts and ask as many questions as possible to seem as engaged and interested as possible. Try to ask a question at the end to leave a good impression if possible, but don’t ask one for the sake of it! I asked a specific question about the structure of the course in my first interview, and then a question I had been struggling on in my chemistry homework in my second interview! So if it’s relevant and appropriate go for it! Don’t worry too much, it really is just a way of checking you’re ‘teachable’ and actually have an interest in chemistry - it’s not a knowledge test! A basic understanding of what you’ve learnt so far is more than enough to be able to attempt the questions they give you. Make sure you know your personal statement incase they ask you about it (they didn’t ask me in mine!!) but other than that just try to explain your thought processes as much as possible!

To prepare, the best thing I did was to make sure I fully understood everything I had been taught up to that point both in chemistry and maths. If they bring up a topic you haven’t covered yet in the interview, just tell them you’ve not done it yet and they’ll help you! I also made sure I had researched a couple of new chemistry developments that were in the news at the time so I could bring them up if needed! I know most people say that you don’t need to ask a question at the end of each interview however I would definitely have a few prepared just so you leave a good impression - as one of the most important things they’re looking for is passion and interest around your subject! Asking a question can make you seem more interested and inquisitive but don’t just ask one for the sake of it! To be honest, my interviews were entirely based on unfamiliar chemistry problems so the preparation didn’t necessarily help but it did make me feel more confident and it’s definitely necessary to have a good understanding of what you’ve learned so far so you can apply it to harder problems!

Looking back, the advice I’d give applicants is to make sure you vocalise everything - even if it seems stupid at the time. Also, ask questions if you’re stuck and don’t pretend you’ve learnt something if you haven’t - they can’t expect you to know everything! Also, it is impossible to tell how your interviews have gone - I thought both of mine were awful and there was no way I was getting in - especially as I wasn’t invited to another interview at a different college! So don’t read into that too much and don’t compare how your interviews went with other people as some colleges design their questions to be more challenging than others, or some decide to focus on personal statements more than others!