Human, Social And Political Science @ Corpus Christi, Cambridge in 2016

Interview format

2x interviews

Interview content

Scenario questions

Best preparation

Reading around philosophy and politics

Final thoughts

The interviewers are looking to see how you deal with problems or dilemmas

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: 30 minutes
Length of interviews: 45 minutes
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

I found it very nerve wracking and stressful to start with, worrying if I’d be able to give the correct answers to the questions. As it turned out, I didn’t need to worry, because they aren’t interested in what you think or say, but more about how you came to that conclusion, and what your thought process was. They gave me several scenarios and asked me what I would do, I then had to talk through the issues involved and think about the benefits of possible plans. One of my interviewers challenged me on everything I said, which was a little intimidating, but really, he was just trying to help me demonstrate that I’d thought about the topic thoroughly.

How did you prepare?

I did a bit of reading into philosophers and political texts to get an idea of political argument, but none of it was stuff I specifically needed for my interview.

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

The interviewers are looking to see how you think and how you deal with problems or dilemmas. They want you to show what issues are involved and what implications may arise from different actions. It’s not about what you say, but why you say it!