With University of Cambridge's undergraduate interview season underway, students across the world are preparing for one of the most competitive admissions stages in higher education. But those who have sat on both sides of the process say the real "secret" to performing well is far simpler than most imagine. Admissions tutors, liaison officers and current students stress that Cambridge interviews are not designed to trip applicants up, but to understand how they think, how they respond to new ideas, and how they engage with unfamiliar material under gentle academic pressure.
Current Cambridge students and admissions professionals offered a wide range of advice to help applicants approach their interviews with confidence.
Ruby Cardie, a third-year law student at the University of Cambridge, said, "The people interviewing you, they are just people as well. I tried to crack jokes for my interview. I tried to crack jokes for my interview. Did they necessarily land? No. But that doesn't matter. Just wear what you are comfortable in, they are not judging you on. How you look or where you come from, how you sound like. They just want to hear how you think."
Emily Lawson-Todd, Schools Liaison Officer at St Catharine's College, emphasised that the interview is only one part of the process. "The interview is only one part of a whole lot of things we use to judge and assess your application. It's not the be-all and end-all, even it feels like it is. So don't worry too much," she said.
Dr Marcus Tomalin, Director of Admissions at Trinity Hall, recommended simple, consistent practice with unfamiliar material.
"Any preparation for the interview, any practice for the interview, that involves the applicant, fairly frequently, you know, a few minutes, maybe each week looking at texts, they have never seen before and trying to make sense of them, and trying to interpret them, and explain and justify their interpretation of it. That's all going to be good practice. And again, I wouldn't suggest picking one text like that, and then analysing the same text again, and then the same, because again, that's how you become entrenched, make it a different text every time, so that you are always having to start from scratch every time."
Dr Christopher Burlinson, Admissions Tutor at Jesus College, said students should focus on thinking rather than delivering rehearsed answers. "We don't need long rehearsed speeches and we don't need you to agree with everything we say. We just need you to think."
He added, "So listen hard to what your interviewers ask you. Think hard about your response and don't worry if you have to change your mind, pause or ask for help. That shows us that you will be a good student."
Ellie, Schools Liaison Officer at King's College, encouraged applicants not to panic if they face unfamiliar questions. "Please also don't be afraid, if you don't know the answer to a question in an interview. There are going to be questions that you don't know. The answer to at first and that are designed to push you, you can absolutely ask for help or clarification from the interviewers to help guide you and give you a bit more context, and make sure to focus on what you do know. If there is an element of the question that you do understand or something that is familiar, you can talk about that and say, okay, so I understand this, but could you explain this a bit more or I might start from here and take it this way."
Rossie, an HPSC student at Churchill College, said the key is to make your reasoning visible. "Show your thought process. They are not kind of trying to trip you out. They just want to sort of see you the way you think. So explain what your thought process is, how you come to your decisions."
Naomi Walker-Pearl, Deputy Admissions Tutor at Corpus Christi College, underlined that interviews are not memory tests.
"Some students might think that their interview will be a test of their A level or equivalent knowledge, that it's a bit of a memory test of school content. That's not the case at all. You might find that your interviewers might start off with something you have learnt at school. But quite quickly ask you to apply that knowledge to new situations and push you outside the school curriculum. And if you come out of your interview feeling like you have learnt something and you feel quite challenged, then I would say that there's a good chance that interview has gone quite well."
On presentation, a university official noted, "There's no right way to look in your interview. You don't have to turn up in a suit, though you can if you want to. So just wear whatever makes you comfy and whatever you are going to feel good in on the day."
Ophelia, an HSPS student at Clare College, advised applicants to step back and relax before they enter the interview room.
"Take maybe 15 minutes and half an hour before the interview just to chill out, have a cup of tea, stop looking over your notes and trust the process rather than stressing yourself out for no reason," she said.