From previous students, you should expect either one or two interviews. If you have two, you will typically face one more academic interview, with a particular list of questions designed to test your suitability for the course, while the other interview is more likely to be a more relaxed and free-flowing discussion. These interviews might take anywhere from fifteen minutes to half an hour each. Others report having only one interview of thirty minutes, focused on broad concepts like designing experiments, as well as problem solving questions and the infamous Oxbridge-type questions that are designed to make students think on their feet.
Some students report that their personal statement was the focus of one of their interviews, so you should prepare thoroughly and ensure that you know all the content covered in it, and have researched any recent developments or hot topics. Expect to cover general topics in psychology as well. When discussing general topics, you should be prepared for the tutors to make you ‘dig deep’ and think hard about them – they will pose follow-up questions and try to get you to consider new information. Through doing so, they simulate what a real tutorial would be like if you were to get into the college.
Other students report having a general interview as well – one that focuses on their desire to study at Cambridge, and their ability to study new information and discuss it. This information is unrelated to psychology – expect a philosophical or logical debate, in a friendly atmosphere.
Overall, it’s clear that there is no ‘typical’ Cambridge Psychology interview, and no two colleges or two years will be the same.