3x interviews, 1x test
First interview: friendly chat; Second interview: personal statement; Third interview: commenting on music; Test: on ideas
Re-read personal statement
You deserve to be there, so don't think you don't
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.
Three interviews and a
The first was not really an interview, more like a friendly meeting.
The second I was questioned on things I had mentioned in my personal statement, particularly my membership of feminist society in my sixth form. I felt
The third was one where they played two pieces of music and asked me to comment, I knew this was by an anthropology professor so I talked about the social bonding that music can bring and related it to the pieces played. After this one I felt a lot more reassured as the interviewers were very calming.
The final exam was on the most under-rated idea of our time. I wrote many paragraphs but in the end crossed out almost everything I had written, as I felt it was a flimsy point. I left thinking I would never get in, and was very pleased and surprised to get it!
Re-read my personal statement and
When I first got here I also felt like I had not earned it and had only scraped in. This is a common experience, called impostors syndrome, if you feel like this then please know that you're not alone in feeling this way, it's pretty common, but you do deserve it and you did earn it, and Cambridge has a lot of support systems that you can access (each college is different on this so look at your college website).