Law @ Peterhouse, Cambridge in 2020

Interview format

Cambridge Law Test, 2x interviews

Interview content

General law questions, and discussion of questions sent beforehand

Best preparation

Looking up relevant legal issues, A-level notes, law books, online courses

Test preparation

Looking at past questions

Final thoughts

Try to relax and show your genuine interest in the subject

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
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: an hour
Length of interviews: 20/30 minutes
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

I can’t remember much but they asked more general law questions to see your thought process. I tried to talk through my thoughts out loud rather than just the answer I came up with. They gave some questions about 10 minutes in advance and I attempted to prepare an argument for them.

The interviewers were online so the atmosphere was slightly weird. One of the interviewers seemed like he didn’t like what I was saying but I got an offer after it so I can’t have been that awful. It did feel like it went so badly though I really thought I hadn’t got in and cried after.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I looked up recent relevant legal issues & looked over my A Level notes in case I could bring in some outside knowledge and apply it to my interviews. I also read some law books suggested and looked at some of the professors and recent articles they had written. I did some law courses online using Coursera and tried to show that knowledge when answering questions.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

Looked up past questions online but didn’t really practice - Student Room was helpful. 

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Try and read relevant news/articles in your field so the interviewers know you have a genuine interest in the subject. It sounds difficult to do but try and relax because the interviewers do genuinely want to listen and it is hard to properly articulate your thoughts if you are really nervous. The interviewers want to hear your whole train of thought/how you got to the answer to make sure to speak everything out loud. Also, if your interviews are in person wear an outfit that you feel confident in!