Natural Sciences (Biological) @ Jesus, Cambridge in 2018

Interview format

Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment (NSAA); 2x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: personal statement, subject-related and math questions; Interview 2: subject-related discussion

Best preparation

Practice papers, online resources

Advice in hindsight

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Final thoughts

Be familiar with your school syllabus

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: Natural Sciences Admissions Assessment (NSAA)

Number of interviews: 2

Skype interview: no

Time between interviews: 2 hours and 5 minutes

Length of first interview: 40 minutes; Length of second interview: 40 minutes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

In my first interview, I had an intro question about a project I'd mentioned on my personal statement (but it appeared that they didn't really care about the answer, they were just trying to relax me) we talked about basic cell function in the context of research.

I misunderstood one of the easier questions at the start which left me struggling in silence for a while - this was mainly because I was afraid to ask for clarification more than once (please don't be, your interviewers will understand if you've been taught a different question style and need some clarification).

We then talked about diseases and I was asked to derive some maths. I didn't feel very comfortable during this interview, I just got stuck a lot and didn't let myself enjoy it.

In between my interviews I walked through the college gardens with a friend I'd met at interview. This really helped me put things into perspective, and I decided to try to focus on enjoying my second interview. After all, interviews are a unique opportunity, and I'd say part of the purpose of the interviews is seeing whether you'd enjoy this kind of teaching. The uni tries to assess this, but so should you, to help you decide whether you'd actually like to study here.

My second interview was a lot more relaxed: my interviewers started the discussion off casually, asking about my hobbies and home city. They then asked me what I'd like to talk about: I chose enzymes and we talked a bit about lysosomes and we then moved on to other related topics. I felt like this interview was a lot more enjoyable and I got to show some creativity as well.

In general your attitude really determines how you will experience interviews. Try to realise that you have nothing to lose and having fun will not only be best for your enjoyment but also for your interviewers' impression of you. Speak your thoughts however stupid you think they are: interviewers are looking for flexible minds and not people who get everything right.

Good luck!!

How did you prepare?

For the test - practice papers, looking over the syllabus and using Khan Academy and BBC Bitesize to fill in any gaps.

I prepared for my interview by reading over my notes of the books I'd mentioned in my personal statement. I didn't end up using any of it, but it did make me feel more prepared.

What advice do you have for future applicants?

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

I'd say there is no other necessary form of prep other than what I mentioned earlier. As long as you're solid on your school syllabus up to that point in the year, they can't and won't assume any more knowledge. Demonstrating lots of knowledge in an interview is very much a case of luck with questions so I doubt interviewers would attach much meaning to that.