History @ Newnham, Cambridge in 2019

Interview format

Arts-Humanities Admissions Assessment (AHAA); 2x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: source discussion, submitted essays; Interview 2: source discussion, personal statement

Best preparation

Read books on historiography

Test preparation

Practice papers

Final thoughts

The interviewers are looking for your ability to deal with new information

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: Arts-Humanities Admissions Assessment (AHAA)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 2 hours
Length of interviews: 30 mins
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

Both of my interviews followed the same formula: we discussed a source, talked about an essay I had submitted, and then talked about a part of my personal statement. All the interviewers I had were encouraging and helped me to develop my answers - I never felt like I'd said too little.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I read some books on historiography over the summer between year 12 and year 13. My teachers at school were really supportive of my application so I did a mock interview, which wasn't very helpful in terms of what the content of the interview would be but really helped my confidence on the day.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

I did the practice papers on the university website - I think the test might have changed recently but there were about three that I could do. I did two of them in my own time and then one roughly in exam conditions.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

I think it's important not to expect to know everything going in - some of what they're looking for is your ability to deal with new information.