Mathematics And Computer Science @ St Catherine's, Oxford in 2018

Interview format

4x 15-20 min interviews, over 3 days

Interview content

All technical questions; Interview 1: Computer Science focused

Best preparation

MAT papers, some STEP content

Advice in hindsight

-

Final thoughts

Reread personal statement; go over mathematical foundations; try to chill at interview.

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: MAT

Number of interviews: 4

Skype interview: No

Interview spread: 2 on one day, then 1 per day for next two days

Length of interviews: 15-20 minutes each

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

It was Maths and Computer Science, so the questions were all technical.

The first interview seemed more Computer Science focused than maths focused - I didn't have a great experience as I was nervous and didn't really understand the question to begin with.

The rest of the interviews over the next few days were much more chill (although in my last one I was being watched by like 5 guys so it felt reasonably high pressure).

How did you prepare?

I did MAT past papers, and learned some STEP content.

What advice do you have for future applicants?

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

Reread anything you mention in your personal statement. For maths at least, go over lots of "typical" interview-type questions, like graph sketching and using combinations and permutations. Basically, just be really solid on your foundations.

Advice I'd give myself - again, no Student Room nonsense with respect to predicting questions. Stay chill in the interview - the interviewers are trying to see what you know, not trick you.