Law @ Fitzwilliam, Cambridge in 2019

Interview format

Cambridge Law Test (CLT); 2x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: personal statement, hypothetical questions; Interview 2: related a case and a statute

Best preparation

Read articles relating to personal statement

Final thoughts

Try to relate the questions to articles you have read to show off your knowledge

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: Cambridge Law Test (CLT)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 2 hours
Length of interviews: 40 mins
Online interview: No

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

In the first interview I was asked a couple of questions on my personal statement, one more personal about me and what I’d done, and one about the ideas I’d brought up in my personal statement. Then there were some quickfire hypothetical law questions and they very slightly changed the circumstances each time to how my answer changed.

In the second interview, I was given a case and statute and asked to relate them as a conversation starter.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I did a mock interview at a neighbouring school to mine (to make sure they didn’t know me), and I read a bunch of articles relating to the talking points in my personal statement - try to make them current! So that when they asked me to elaborate on my personal statement, then I would have stuff to fall back on. Also read all the books you put on the personal statement - there is a reasonable chance your interviewer might be the author!

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Focus on the presentation of your ideas rather than what you’ve done in the past. If you can relate a question to an article you’ve read, you’ll sound great and you’ve moved the conversation to something you should be comfortable with.