History @ King's, Cambridge in 2015

Interview format

2x interviews

Interview content

Questions on pre-submitted essays; talked about SAQ answers; museums and how we write history

Best preparation

It was useful to have examples of my interest in the subject

Final thoughts

Cambridge is not the bee-all and there are plenty of other good places

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

2 interviews

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

I was delivered to my interview by a history student. The first started with a simple question about any book I had read. The rest was mainly based on the essays I had sent in, but not the factual contents, more the issues they raised. I was nervous and not very eloquent, and got the impression the interviewers hadn’t warmed to me. I was more relaxed for the second and it felt more like a chat. It was more on my SAQ answers and what I had said there, but also asked about museums and how we write history.

How did you prepare?

Having some work experience in an archive I could talk about (literally only a week). It allowed me to talk about records and sources as well as written history.

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

Cambridge is not the bee-all and there is no simple algorithm that means the cleverest get in. It’s about whether the system will suit you & how your interests fit with a particular college/course/academic at any given time. If you don’t get in, it probably means you will be happier in another place!