Chemistry @ St Anne's, Oxford in 2017

Interview format

4x 30 min interviews; 3-4 hrs apart; over 2 days

Interview content

3 interviews at first college: each on different branch of chemistry, all involved question sheets; 4th interview: mix of topics, questions provided

Best preparation

Practice papers

Advice in hindsight

-

Final thoughts

Read through notes before interviews if that helps you stay calm.

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: TSA

Number of interviews: 4

Skype interview: No

Interview spread: over 2 days; a few hours apart each on each day

Length of interview: 30 minutes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

I had three interviews at my college - one for each of the different branches of chemistry. During all of these interviews, I was given some questions on a piece of paper and asked to provide answers.

At my fourth interview (at a different college), it was a mix of the different branches of chemistry, but the format was the same - I was given some questions that were slightly behind the A-Level specification and asked to attempt them.

How did you prepare?

To prepare for the test, I did practice papers.

What advice do you have for future applicants?

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

Definitely read through your notes before interviews - making sure you’ve got all your knowledge in your head is really helpful for trying to stay calm.

Also don’t be afraid to ask questions - if you don’t know something because you haven’t covered it, just ask.

And if you haven’t covered something, just tell them. They don’t want to waste time, and it might make you look like you don’t understand the content. Just say that you haven’t covered it, and they’ll either try to guide you through it or move on to a different topic