Natural Sciences (Biological) @ Christ's, Cambridge in 2016

Interview format

2 interviews, 30 mins each.

Interview content

Enthalpy and entropy for chemistry, and general biology and experiment technique for biology.

Best preparation

Oxbridge Applicants website (free section availible).

Final thoughts

Relax because it makes it so much more enjoyable.

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 early December. I went to the JCR following signs around the college. I waited there and then a student took me to my first interview room. My interview was with 2 fellows and it took around half an hour, which was simply the fellows taking turns in asking me different biology questions using diagrams or models, sometimes mainly focused around how to I'd run experiments. There was an hour break or so before I went to my second interview: 2 fellows and around 30 mins. The first interviewer discussed animal skeletons with me, and the other interviewer gave chemistry-based questions.

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

We discussed entropy and enthalpy for the chemistry questions. For the bio questions, we discussed lots of different stuff, and how i'd construct an experiment to test stuff given the conditions they gave. But I didn't remember everything and if I got a bit stuck it was okay to ask the interviewers more questions.

How did you prepare?

Oxbridge Applicants website [Editor's Note: Although a paid service, this website also offers useful free resources]. It gave some example interview questions and answers for some that I could use to practice

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

Being relaxed really makes the interview easier and more enjoyable, as you can just enjoy the challenge and experience rather than worry about your future.