Before the interview: submit two pieces of written work, by 5th November.
At your interview: you can expect one 20 minute general interview and one 30 minute subject interview.
Likely interview date: Thursday 10th or Friday 11th December 2020
What to expect at interview
The application process can be a little daunting, so knowing what to expect before, during, and after interviews is important. Below you can find information about what to expect from the 2021-22 Admissions Round. Please note that the information below is provisional and provided as a guide. We'll keep this page as up-to-date as we can, but please note that we cannot guarantee that your assessment/interviews will be exactly as described.
Note for candidates interviewing overseas: Most of the below applies to interviews in Cambridge only. If you are being interviewed overseas, you should contact the relevant administrator for more information. Please note that candidates attending overseas interview are still required to submit written work and complete paperwork (data protection declaration, fee status questionnaire etc.) and will still need to sit the admissions assessments.In the 2021-22 application cycle, all interviews will be held virtually, including those conducted by the Overseas Interview Scheme. For more information, please see the university website.
Types of interview
All interviews will be academic in nature. In some cases, you will be given some interview preparation immediately prior to your interview. This means that you will be given a passage to read or problem sheet to look at, which you will probably then discuss for part of the interview. The contents of the interview prep is deliberately supposed to be something you have not come across before so no preparation is necessary. It often helps to guide the interview such that it is more like an actual Cambridge supervision.
Interviewers may not bring up anything from your personal statement. Many candidates have answered questions like 'why do you want to study Law?' quite comprehensively in the personal statement and the interview is a chance to find out new information about you and your potential rather than re-tread the ground from your application. Also remember that there's no need to go overboard on revision - your current schoolwork is very important and we're anxious not to distract you from it. Interviews are designed to be something that you can't prepare for too much (aside from a wider and general interest in the subject) to allow all candidates from all backgrounds an equal chance.
There will always be two other people in your interview. In most cases, this will be two interviewers who will be playing an active role in your interview. However, in some cases, there will be a single interviewer and an observer from the Admissions Office. In such cases, we will explain who the additional person in the interview is and how the interview will work.
If you apply for a subject for which written work is requested in advance, this may be used as the starting point for discussion during the interview.
In some subjects, you will be asked to sit a written assessment or test (more details on this on the subject pages below). As interviews are virtual this year, Admissions Assessments which would normally take place at interview will be scheduled for slightly before the You can find much more information, including videos of mock interviews, on the University website. Specifications and sample papers for the written assessments can also be found on the University website. You can find likely interview dates, more detail on what to expect in interviews for your subject at Peterhouse, on the drop-down pages below.
Please note that interview/test/interview prep times will already be adjusted as appropriate for those who have submitted an Adjustment for Disability/Learning Difficulty form.
Subject Information
The drop-down menu below provides a rough outline of what you can expect as an applicant for your subject.
Important note: details like the number of interviews you will receive, running times of tests etc may change (you will receive full and final information in your 'invitation to interview' email) but the below is intended to give you an idea of how we typically assess candidates in each subject.
