Computer Science @ Queens', Cambridge in 2017

Interview format

1x test (1hr 40mins); 2x interviews

Interview content

1st interview: personal statement & questions; 2nd interview: maths based

Best preparation

Mock interviews & practice questions online

Final thoughts

They're looking for willingness to learn

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

I had the CSAT (Computer Science Admissions Test) at around 10 in the morning. There were about 5 of us being interviewed that day so we all sat in the room doing the test together which lasted for 100 mins. After, we then had a good few hours to wait until our interviews but they gave us lunch vouchers for food and it gave us some time to chill out and last-minute prepare.

The first interview was half about my personal statement and things I said I had done on it (ie. projects etc) and in the second half, they gave me a computer science/logic related question to work through. The second interview was purely maths questions and I just had to work through the question they gave me and they kept giving new ones until the interview was over.

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

For me, it felt like the question in the first interview went quite badly because I thought I had the answer but I didn't get how they wanted me to convey it so there was an awkward minute or two of them re-explaining the question before they realised what I had done and I realised what I was actually supposed to do!

The maths questions in the second interview were okay but my best advice would be to not be afraid to ask for help if you get stuck. As long as you verbally communicate your thought process and show them how you're trying to approach the question, they will be happy to give you a nudge in the right direction when there's something you can't figure out or don't know.

How did you prepare?

Practice interviews so that you can practice communicating your thought process. Lots of interview question practice (I just Googled some!) as they can often be structured very similarly.

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

The interviews are scary but don't feel you have to know absolutely everything - you're coming to university to learn. In the interview, they're trying to identify the people who are willing to learn and can take on challenges, not someone who knows it all already.