Test taken: ENGAA

Number of interviews: 2

Skype interview: no

Time between interviews: 2 hours

Length of first interview: 25 minutes; Length of second interview: 25 minutes

I had to take a pre-interview test (this varies from college to college, some do it after the interview and some during). Even though I couldn't answer all 6 questions, we only needed to answer 4 of them, and our best 4 answers would be taken into account. In my first interview, I worked through some maths and physics problems with my interviewer. The knowledge was mostly within my current course, and even when it went slightly beyond this, the interviewer was very patient and explained where the equations and principles I needed to use came from. They encouraged me to think out loud, which I did, so that they could better follow my thought process and understand what kind of a thinker and learner I am. I was also asked about my personal statement: I had an internship which was relevant to the course, and my interviewers picked up on it immediately. I was caught slightly off-guard at first, as I forgot some of the involved terminology, but in-between interviews I did some revision and was more prepared to talk in-depth the second time. Even though I was nervous, the tone of the interview was very similar to an interactive student-teacher experience, rather than a series of difficult questions under time pressure.

I had two interviewers for my second interview. In this one, we looked at an experiment involving an app, which gave some measurement readings I had to analyse and explain. It was a new and interesting way of approaching the topic that I had never thought of before. Both my interviewers were supportive, and asked guiding questions to help me structure my thought process and problem-solving line. Both interviewers made it a point to ask if I had any questions at the end [Editor's note: you are not assessed on any questions you choose/choose not to ask]

https://i-want-to-study-engineering.org has great practise questions. There are past papers on the Cambridge Engineering Department website, and experience with competitions like the UKMT helped as well. Before the interviews, I spoke to some past successful applicants from my school, and other people in the years above me that had gone through the application and interview process. The best thing I did was probably to do the past papers under timed conditions so that I could get a feel for the time pressure that I would experience. I think my preparation really helped me complete more problems in the time-constrained Admissions Assessment, as well as helping me think on my feet during my interviews.

At first I was worried that since I didn't take Further Maths, I would be at a disadvantage, but I found that my International Baccalaureate Higher Level Maths course served me well enough. alongisde my extra reading. If I were to repeat the process, I would definitely spend more time making sure that I knew my personal statement inside out, and could answer any questions about topics that I discussed in it.