Materials Science @ St Catherine's, Oxford in 2017

Interview format

2x 40 min interviews, 2 hrs apart

Interview content

Personal statement, maths/physics problems

Best preparation

Use PAT revision as interview prep by talking through PAT answers with someone

Advice in hindsight

-

Final thoughts

Always explain your thoughts.

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: PAT

Number of interviews: 2

Skype interview: No

Time between each interview: 2 hours

Length of interviews: 40 minutes each

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

My interviews consisted of two things: these were personal statement based questions, and physics and maths questions for skill.

I felt stressed at the start, but soon relaxed into it as it became conversational.

How did you prepare?

I used practice past papers, physicsandmathstutor.com, and Isaac Physics.

I used my PAT revision as interview prep - I practised all the questions out loud and explained them to people who hadn’t done maths/physics.

Make sure you know all GCSE/A-level content, regardless of exam board.

What advice do you have for future applicants?

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

They are looking for your thinking process - always explain your thoughts.