Geography @ Girton, Cambridge in 2022

Interview format

2x interviews

Interview content

Questions on an object then further questions, including one on personal statement

Best preparation

Revising subject content, then practicing talking about it

Final thoughts

Practice talking about your subject, and show your passion

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

Test taken: None
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 4 hours
Length of interviews: 25 mins
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

There were two themes - physical geography and human geography, an object to start the conversation, then further questions on the conversation. There was only one question about my personal statement.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I read up on the subject, making sure to go over the key definitions of words and practice the topics that I struggled with in school. Then, I went on to do a series of practice interviews - making sure to practice talking myself out of a corner (even if the practice interview wasn't about the subject - it's about being comfortable and confident talking by yourself.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Practice talking about your subject. If you had to justify why your subject should be the only one studied well, then that's the subject for you - you need to be passionate and be able to demonstrate that