Mathematics And Statistics @ St Catherine's, Oxford in 2018

Interview format

5x 20 min interviews, over 3 days

Interview content

Almost entirely maths problems

Best preparation

Practice papers, questions found online

Advice in hindsight

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Final thoughts

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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: 5

Skype interview: No

Interview spread: 2 day after arrival, 2 day after that, 1 the next day

Length of interviews: about 20 minutes each

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

In my 5 interviews, I was only asked 3 questions that weren’t actual maths problems, so it was very academic based - and I did not get asked a single question on my personal statement either! I felt at ease and the interviewers were really friendly and chatty, and understood that some of the questions I’d been asked hadn’t been covered at my school yet, which was unexpected for them.

How did you prepare?

I did loads and loads of practice papers, and then worked through them after using the mark scheme.

I don’t know any exact websites or anything, but I just searched for and did loads and loads of practice questions as interview questions are a very different style. I also spent loads of time going through all the stuff I wrote on my personal statement and making revision pages to ensure I knew it all on an expert level (which turned out to be a waste of time!).

What advice do you have for future applicants?

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

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