Human, Social And Political Science @ Downing, Cambridge in 2021

Interview format

No admissions assessment; 1 interview

Interview content

Questions based on submitted work and personal statement.

Best preparation

Completed mock interviews; Reviewed personal statement and submitted work

Test preparation

N/A (No test taken)

Final thoughts

Say what you actually think and be honest in an interview

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: 1
Length of interviews: 25 minutes
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

I did it in an office in my college as it was all on Zoom. The interview began by them showing me a picture and asking me what I thought about it (I think as a kind of warm-up). Then it moved into questions about my two essays, asking me what I thought about the issues brought up in them (House of Lords e.g. should it be abolished or replaced?).

They then asked me questions on points I had brought up in my personal statements and about the books I’d included (although I didn’t have to know any facts off by heart, as long as you’ve read everything you put in your PS you’ll be fine!!). At one point one of the interviewers criticised one of the points in my personal statement- I think the goal here was to see if I’d stick by my point which I did - so don’t be afraid to disagree with them, as long as you’ve got a point to make! and then finally they asked about research methods in social sciences, and what I was reading at the moment.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I had 4 mock interviews - 1 with my politics teacher, one with my sociology teacher, 1 with the Oxbridge application staff member helping me, and one with a Cambridge student who used to go to my college. This was definitely the best preparation, getting used to speaking my thought process out loud!

I also read over my personal statement and essays I had handed in lots so I had a good grasp on them. Finally, I kept up with the news on political and social issues, which was quite useful as current events did get linked to my questions

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Don’t be too nervous about it, and don’t overprepare, but definitely ask teachers to do mock interviews with you as this really helped ! and read over personal statements, and essays. Say what you actually think and be honest - don’t just agree with absolutely everything they say. Say everything you think so they can hear your thought process