Test taken: None
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 1 day
Length of interviews: 15 minutes for the first, 30 minutes for the second
Online interview: Yes

My first interview was based around a source sent to me half an hour before the interview, which was a newspaper article. If you know you will be given a source then maybe have a think about what's been in the news and in the public eye recently as it may well come up, or you could at least reference it in your answers.

The first half of the 15 minute interview was specific questions about the source, and the second half was more general questions on very broad/vague topics that were very open ended, so don't go in too closed minded, there could be a question where you can link knowledge you had prepared specifically for interview with stuff you just know randomly that happens to be relevant.

My second interview was based on the two essays I had submitted, and my personal statement, though they only actually asked like one question on the personal statement from lack of time. This style I found more difficult, as the questions basically took something I said in the essay, and applied to a broader context ie. they asked about one paragraphs point, and asked me to discuss that point but in a different time period or about a slightly different topic.

The essays were a starting point for more broad questions, which was harder than the first interview but also gave me more options to bring in stuff I knew that wasn't directly in the essay i.e. stuff from other parts of my A-Level courses and wider knowledge. I would say know the A level syllabus fairly well so you can link to stuff you put in the essay, and be creative with your answers! They aren't looking for you to regurgitate your essay, so know more about the topics you put in the essay than you actually wrote so you can have stuff to say. My interviews were online, and I felt fairly relaxed quite quickly because the conversation started to flow and some of the questions were genuinely interesting to answer: sometimes the interviewer would offer their own thoughts and pointers which made it feel more like a conversation and less like an interrogation, so don't think they will just remain silent the whole time they might jump in if they're interested or have their own point they want to add to steer the conversation in a certain way: you are allowed to take 10-15 seconds to think before you start speaking! However, if your like me, I didn't do this and just immediately started because I found the silence excruciating, and it meant I ummed and erred a bit at first but that's ok if you then find your main point. 

I had mock interviews set up by my history teacher/higher education coordinator (same person) with a teacher at another college and a former Cambridge student he knew, and this was very helpful in getting me used to the style of questions and general atmosphere of the interviews, and was a confidence booster in being told what I did wrong and right, I felt much less vulnerable going into the real thing. If you can set up mock interviews with someone, I would highly recommend.

I also made sure that I knew enough about my personal statement that I could pivot back to it if asked a difficult question. Keep previous drafts of your personal statement to hand because you may have written things that had to be cut for length but could be great to say in interview!

Keep previous drafts of your personal statement to hand because you may have written things that had to be cut for length but could be great to say in interview! Keep up with the news as you may want to bring in something contemporary that you have a good point on but don't just regurgitate something you saw in an article. Mention something you saw on the news if you have a good critique or counter to it, that makes you seem up to date and critical. If you aren't quite sure of a particular statistic or data point, either try to find a way to avoid it or perhaps just have a guess if you think you're close, you won't be slaughtered for a small mistake as long as it isn't crucial for your answer. They aren't looking for exact accuracy or even memory skills that much, they want critical analysis and the potential to engage with questions. It's better to take a risk with your answer than play it too safe and give a very standard/boring response, because everyone will say that. For example, if your source or line of questions is about a topic that is discussed a lot at the moment, i.e. climate change, covid etc. take an interesting line and try and steer the conversation towards something you know a lot about and link it all together: they like seeing you make connections between topics, they don't want standard responses, be creative, say something that others won't have said!

If you know you have a source then maybe have a think at what's been in the news and in the public eye recently as it may well come up, or you could at least reference it in your answers! Don't go in too closed minded with a list of set topics to discuss on their own, there could be a question where you can link knowledge you had prepared specifically for interview with stuff you just know randomly that happens to be relevant, or between different topics you had prepared, throw everything you know in response to questions as this makes it likely something you say will really stand out. If you have an interview based on submitted work, know the A-Level syllabus fairly well so you can link to stuff you put in the essay, and be creative with your answers! 

Research your interviewers, they all have information posts on the uni website, check what their specialism is or their main areas of research and try and stay away from discussing these, because they know far more about the topic than you do so they're more likely to catch a mistake or if you slip up and say something that isn't quite true: for me, because I submitted a history essay I had a history professor interviewing me, so they will try and match the interviewer to your submitted work. If you don't know the answer to the question, or you have a vague idea of an answer you could say but you aren't at all certain, it's better to give it a go than say you don't know. Never just refuse to answer a question because you aren't sure, always give it a shot because it can probably only benefit you, and they may pose the next question off the back of your response which works to your advantage