How to prepare for Cambridge interview!
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How do you prepare for a Cambridge interview?
Check interview advice here from admissions tutor: • Cambridge Interview: A...
This advice will also be helpful for students applying to Oxford.
About 75% of applicants are interviewed, so you’ll probably get one if you apply. Interviews are usually in Cambridge, or if you are applying from a far away country then you might have to go somewhere else or it could be online.
Due to COVID-19, all interviews will be online, but this advice will still be valid.
🙋♂️ About me:
I'm a student at the University of Cambridge studying Natural Sciences, and I make videos that can help you with studying and applying to universities such as Oxbridge. I also offer tutoring for subjects including biology, chemistry, and maths (contact via website).
🌐 Get in touch: ilyacarey.com/contact
📷 Instagram: / ilyacambridge
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
0:12 Know the format
0:47 Memorise your application
1:26 Think out loud
2:57 Practise interviews
3:34 Read ahead on your courses
5:15 Revise what you've learnt
5:23 Read around your subject
6:01 Research your interviewers
6:52 Plan something to talk about
8:08 What to wear
8:34 Relax
9:49 Enjoy it
1: Know the format of the interview.
Usually you’ll have 2-3 interviews, 20-30 minutes each. An interview normally involves sitting with two academics and can be anything from a conversation about your interests to you solving problems while they try to help you. No two interviews are the same, and some subjects will give you something to go through just before your interview. You’ll be told the format of your interview beforehand.
2: Memorise your application.
Make sure you know exactly what is in your application, so then you know what they know about you and you’ll be prepared for anything they can ask you. Your school will write you a reference and if you can read it beforehand that’d be very helpful.
3: Think out loud.
Explain your thought process. Don’t sit there quietly, say what you’re thinking and don’t be afraid to ask for help. They’re there to test how you think and not whether you get the right answer. It’s not about getting the right answer, it’s about how you think. They’re there to find out whether Cambridge’s supervision style of teaching suits you.
4: Practise interviews.
Do practise interviews with whoever you can. This can be teachers, friends’ parents, or even friends. Any interview practise can help you, especially if it involves talking about your subject.
5: Read ahead on your course.
Reading ahead on the A-levels (or equivalent) which are relevant to your subject could help you with your interview. Try going through the whole of year 13 content before your interview. You don’t need to learn it all, but understanding it can be helpful.
6: Revise what you’ve learnt already.
Don’t just read ahead, but revise what you’ve learnt already.
7: Read around your subject.
Depending on your subject, this can mean many things. There will always be relevant books. If you’re applying for science, reading about the recent relevant Nobel prizes or scientific journals can be useful. If you’re applying for HSPS, keeping up to date with current affairs via the news can be useful.
8: Research your interviewers.
You’ll be told who your interviewers are beforehand, so you’ll have a chance to look them up online. Doing so means that you’ll know what they are experts in. You could potentially look at their research and talk about it during your interview, but this is a risky move because they might not like being told about their research by some teenager.
9: Plan something to talk about.
You might have the opportunity to talk about something you choose, so be prepared for that. You can talk super-curricular work or reading you’ve done which is relevant to your subject, or you could even bring something physical to show.
10: What to wear.
This isn’t that important, but you might want to know about this anyway. There is no dress-code so you could wear whatever, but most people go for something formal and I’d say that’s a reasonable thing to do.
11: Relax!
Being stressed will probably have a negative impact on your interview performance and experience, so try not to be. Everyone is going to be stressed to an extent, and not being stressed will help you.
12: Enjoy the experience.
Unfortunately, most people who get an interview won’t get in. Make sure to try to enjoy yourself while you’re there. You’ll meet plenty of interesting people who are in the same position as you, and you’ll get to spend a day or so in a beautiful college. Enjoy the food and try to have a look around Cambridge.
For official interview advice, see here: www.undergraduate.study.cam.a...
If you have any ideas or suggestions please feel free to comment!
Loving all the vids! Found the college flowchart super useful too, so thanks for that!
I have a HSPS Fitzwilliam interview next week
Hope to see you at Cambridge next year!
got my interview tomorrow morning! came back to this video as a last minute boost :)
How was it? Xxx
Thank you this was really helpful.
I've just received my interview for bio NatSci at Jesus and I was just wondering if much maths comes up in the interview that isn't necessarily directly related to biology? and if so what your tips would be for preparing for those kinds of questions.
Congratulations!
I mean it's hard to predict whether maths will come up. I didn't have any maths but there's other bionatsci applicants who were asked about maths. If you do get asked about maths, it will probably be about stuff you've covered at school already and relevant to biology, or maybe chemistry. It'll probably involve graph sketching, and it might be worth looking into equations that model population growth (like y=Pe^(rt), where y is population over time, P is the initial population, r is rate of growth, and t is time) because I've heard of them coming up.
Good luck!
@@IlyasCambridgeAdvice thank you so much!!!
I have my interview at St. John’s for HSPS next Monday, petrified 😂
Good luck! Check out my video with the HSPS student if you haven't already!
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4:30 what was your solution? I thought of mass spectrometry but again that’s pretty inefficient I suppose.
I said something about injecting the protein in a rabbit to raise antibodies against the protein, and then using those antibodies for an ELISA.
Mass spec would work, but I think what they wanted me to say is Western Blotting.
@@IlyasCambridgeAdvice did u already know what western blotting was? What is it?
@@Priv-rb3ow I vaguely knew about it already. It's a lab technique that lets you identify proteins, and involves running a gel to separate proteins and then using antibodies.
How early in advance did you get emailed your interviewers names and other details?
You'll hear a couple of weeks in advance. I heard mid-late November!
Excuse me Should we need submit the GRE/SAT ? by the way Now I'm still as a high school student, but I have a plan to pursue my Master Degree at Cambridge or any University but in UK. Thank you
If you want to apply for a Master's, you can look at the entrance requirements for each course here: www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses
@@IlyasCambridgeAdvice right thanks a lot, anway one more question, did you also apply a scholarship or self funding?, and how is your score for an IELTS test?
I didn't need to do IELTS because it's my native language. For my Master's I've applied for a funding scholarship.
@@IlyasCambridgeAdvice ah I see, so if I got my bachelor degree from a university that English is the main language, needn't we submit an IELTS? and if I got score for about 6.5-7.0, isn't that enough?, by the way what are you majoring in?. Sorry if I've been asked plenty of questions
@@fahrezacahyapahlevi7790 You can find out about IELTS requirements here: www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/international-students/english-language-requirements
I'm studying Natural Sciences, specialising in Zoology.
When researching interviewers, do we research them all? I have 2 interviewers per interview and so wouldnt it look kinda bad if I only talked to one of them? Because I’m guessing I wouldn’t have time to talk to the other one about their research
When I researched the interviewers, all I did was have a quick look at what they are experts in. You don't have to do that, and even if you extensively research an interviewer you might not get a chance to talk about what you found.
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I wait your answer to me😞😞😞
I am really interested in pursuing an electronic engineering course in uk. I am an Indian doing the IB. However, how is the work permit in uk. Will I be allowed to stay and work in uk, if not I feel like it will not be worth it.
Btw I came here because of Paige.
Hello! International students studying in the UK from autumn 2020 will have 2 years to find a job after they graduate with a post-study work (PSW) visa. More information here: www.study.eu/article/guide-uk-post-study-work-visa-for-graduates
In these two years, you can try to find any job you like. After the 2 years, you'll need to apply for a general work visa, though there are certain criteria to be eligible. Find out the criteria here: www.gov.uk/tier-2-general/eligibility
If you want to study electronic engineering as an undergraduate at Cambridge, you'll need to apply for engineering and then specialise into electrical in your later years. The course outline is here: www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/engineering
Let me know if you have any more questions!
Ilya's Cambridge Advice wow this is very helpful thank you. When I went through imperial college London’s course overview for electronic engineering, there was no general engineering. They specialise from year 1. Is that an advantage or a disadvantage?
@@rampranavnavendran8330 Both courses will be very good. If you're sure you want to specialise in electronic engineering, then both courses will be fine. If you end up changing your mind, then the Cambridge course might be better because you can specialise into something else later on. The Cambridge course might make you a more well-rounded engineer given that you specialise later on. Either way both are great courses.
Ilya's Cambridge Advice hmm that makes sense. In fact I was doing some research of my own and I found a course called electronic engineering with management. That seems to interest me a lot because I love economics and business. However, when I checked the Cambridge website they don’t have such a course... is it possible to do something like electronic engineering with management in Cambridge?
@@rampranavnavendran8330 You can specialise in electronic engineering and take some management modules along the way, but you will still be leaving with an electronic engineering. You could also take MET in your last two years, which applies engineering to a business context. Find out more here: www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/education/met/
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Originally you're from UK? You're name is Iranian😊❤
I'll be revealing where I'm from in a future video!
What do you mean by the "A" level of subjects?
A-levels are the exams that UK students take at the end of secondary school!
@@IlyasCambridgeAdvice what about international students, do they have to give it in UK or is it optional for Cambridge?
@@manishjadhav5776 You don't have to do A-levels (though it would be easier for them to understand your grades if you do). This video with an international student should help you: czcams.com/video/JDmifX71Yb8/video.html
@@IlyasCambridgeAdvice Thank you very much 👍👍😃😃
you sold a stick insect to my sister
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Hi there
I wait your answer to me😞😞😞