Music @ Fitzwilliam, Cambridge in 2021

Interview format

2x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: analyising scores Interview 2: discussing an article

Best preparation

Preparing to talk about pre-reading material, going over personal statement

Final thoughts

Try to guess if you don't know something, and show your curiosity

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: 2
Time between interviews: About an hour
Length of interviews: About 20 minutes
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

In one interview we analysed some scores and in the other we discussed an article. I got asked a bit about my EPQ and a bit about my personal statement. There was also some unseen material.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I was sent the material a week in advance so I spent time going through that, analysing it and doing a bit of extra reading. I probably did too much to be honest because I was quite stressed about it. It's good to make sure that you have more to say about the things in your personal statement in case they ask you to elaborate.

What advice would you give to future applicants?

Interviewers are looking for potential, not a finished product. Try to give a guess instead of saying I don't know, but it's also ok if you don't know the answer, just show them that you're curious. Try not to get too stressed before hand.