Chemistry @ St Catherine's, Oxford in 2017

Interview format

2x 30 min interviews; same day

Interview content

Warm-up questions, questions on unfamiliar chemistry

Best preparation

Practice papers; start by answering what you're good at

Advice in hindsight

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Final thoughts

Work experience can help you decide what you're interested in (although isn't expected).

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: 2

Skype interview: No

Interview spread: all in one day

Length of interview: Around 30 minutes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

They asked me a variety of questions in no way related to my personal statement. All candidates were told that we were being asked the same questions. The interviews were split into organic chemistry and physical and inorganic chemistry.

Initially, they asked some easier questions related to the course as warm up (approximately 2 questions of informational recall). They then asked questions that were completely new to me but didn't really require any extra understanding of chemistry. Most of them were logic based questions on a topic that I was previously unfamiliar with, so was explained to me before I was asked to answer the question. The questions, in hindsight, were closely tied to the basics of the 1st year lecture courses.

The tutors were very helpful, and when I stumbled on a few of the easier parts they encouraged me by providing help and often giving candidates the benefit of the doubt. There were approximately 2 tutors per interview.

How did you prepare?

I did practice papers - approximately 2 or 3.

I read through questions and thought about how to answer them, whilst not actually checking through answers. Go through papers and work out which questions you're good at. Answer those first in the exam (for example, maths or nonverbal reasoning)

Try to talk to students in their first year of study at the college to which you're applying. Many colleges use the same topics, if not the exact same questions, in their interviews year to year, so 1st year students can be incredibly helpful.

I'm not entirely sure how instrumental my personal statement was in the decision making process. I would recommend external reading (look at university recommended reading lists), and familiarisation with 1st year topics would also be useful. These can be found on the Oxford Chemistry website.

What advice do you have for future applicants?

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

In your personal statement make sure to link everything you've done with how that has fuelled your interest for the subject. Work experience especially for Chemistry is by no means expected, but it can be useful for you to decide what you're interested in.