Maths @ Sidney Sussex, Cambridge in 2017

Interview format

2x interviews (20 mins)

Interview content

1st interview: 2 long questions; 2nd interview: series of unrelated questions

Best preparation

Example questions e.g. from UK Maths Challenge & STEP

Final thoughts

Tell them if you're struggling

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

My interview was in the main December interview period. There was a free coffee voucher from the bar, and in due course students showed me around so I would know where to go when the time came.

There were two similar 20 minute interviews with a 10 minute break in-between, and no tests. Each had a Director of Studies and one PhD student.

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

There were no even vaguely personal questions, only maths ones.

First interview had 2 long questions which built upon similar ideas, the second interview had a series of unrelated questions.

No questions were necessarily related to the content of my application - mostly only basic knowledge was assumed. The interviewers had to make minor corrections but this was no issue. They would quickly offer guidance after I was struggling.

How did you prepare?

Trying example questions and explaining thought process in real time. Getting used to using precise vocabulary to describe problems. UK Maths Challenge questions, STEP I, or "past" interview questions are good sources.

Further reading was ignored.

Looking back, what advice would you give to your past self?

If you're struggling then best say so. At the very least you can move on to something you might fare better with.