Interviews allow us to evaluate your commitment to your chosen course, your interest in new ideas, and your ability to apply your skills and knowledge in unfamiliar situations. The interviews replicate the Cambridge supervision system, of one-to-one teaching, so they are a way that we see if you are a good fit for this system. 

We try to interview all applicants who we think have a realistic chance of being offered a place on their chosen course at Cambridge - over 80% of those who apply. 

We try to make interviews as positive an experience as possible. We aim to discover your academic abilities and interests; we try to put you at your ease so that you can show us that you have the potential to thrive in your chosen course. We want to see our applicants at their best so there will definitely not be any “trick” questions. However, some questions will be challenging because they will require you to develop an argument, solve a theoretical problem, or think about an unfamiliar situation. 

Depending on your chosen course, you may be given something to read or look at before or during the interview, or a problem to complete or consider. 

Some top tips for preparing for your interview include: 

• Read over your application, and make sure you have a good knowledge of everything you wrote about in your application 
• Practice your skills - e.g. language skills, or mathematics skills 
• Read around your subject, and keep up with the news in your subject area

To learn more about preparing for interview, take a look at this video.

The interview is used alongside the other aspects of your application to come to a decision. This includes any admissions assessments, written work, and any other submitted information. 

Most applicants will have at least two interviews. There will always be at least one subject interview by someone knowledgeable in your chosen course. This could be a Fellow (an academic) at Robinson College, or another college in the university. Here, the aim is to find out what you know and how far you can use that knowledge. The nature of the interview depends on the course and could include questions on a piece of work you have sent in or involve solving theoretical problems in your subject. 

You will be told in advance the names of the people interviewing you, and the timings of your interviews.

You should wear whatever you feel most comfortable in. We are not assessing what you wear, but rather your passion and aptitude for your chosen subject. 

Interviews held in December 2024 at Robinson College will be online for all applicants. This may differ at other colleges in the university.