interviews

why does cambridge interview prospective students?

We want to understand how you think, how you approach new ideas, and how you respond to challenging questions

At Cambridge, interviews are an important part of the admissions process — but they’re not something to fear. They’re designed to help us see your potential, not just your grades.

We want to understand how you think, how you approach new ideas, and how you respond to challenging questions. It’s an academic conversation, similar to the small-group teaching you’d experience here at St John's.

Interviews give us a chance to go beyond your personal statement, school grades, or test scores. They help us get a fuller picture of you — especially if you come from a background that’s underrepresented at university.

You don’t need to be polished or know all the answers. What matters most is your curiosity, your enthusiasm for your subject, and your willingness to think things through.

Your Interview

Interviews are an academic conversation about the subject you’re passionate about. They are designed to find out what you know, not what you don't

If you’re invited to interview, you’ll typically have your interview(s) in December.

Depending on the subject, St John's applicants have one or two interviews. Usually, an interview will have two or three interviewers per interview and a total interview time of between 35-50 minutes in length.

The panel usually includes the Director of Studies and College Fellows within the subject you've applied for. The aim of the panel is to learn more about your aptitude and interest for the course. The interviewers want to see how you think spontaneously, and where your interests and enthusiasms lie, particularly in relation to the course you are applying for. Our interviews are designed to find out what you do know, not what you don't.

We try to make the interviews as relaxed as possible, so if you are offered an interview and have any questions, do let us know in advance and we will do our best to help.

how to prepare

There are many things you can do in advance to help you feel prepared and confident

We don't expect or want you to be perfect, our interviewers at St John's want you to demonstrate genuine academic curiosity and your potential to thrive at Cambridge.

It’s helpful to:

• Explore your subject beyond what you’ve learnt at school. You can do this by reading books, watching films and documentaries and listening to podcasts
• Think about topics that are relevant to your subject that interest you and that you might like to talk about
• Read your personal statement again and any written work
• Talk about your subject with your friends, family or teachers
• Have a practice interview. Ideally ask a teacher or someone who doesn't know you well so that you can practise expressing your ideas and opinions. Alternatively you could ask yourself questions for half an hour. This will help you to get used to talking about yourself, your work and thinking in a critical way.

The University's guide to preparing for interviews gives general advice on preparation for Cambridge interviews.

If you’ve applied for an arts, humanities or social sciences course it’s also useful to:

• read more than the texts set by your school, sixth-form or college
• analyse what you’ve read and think critically about it

If you’ve applied for a maths or science course it’s useful to:

• practise problem solving
• think about how you might show or explain the way you worked out a problem
• read more about your subject and focus on parts that particularly interest you

The University's guide to preparing for interviews gives general advice on preparation for Cambridge interviews.

The St John's Admissions Office hosts information and guidance webinars to help our applicants prepare for their interviews - they are a great way to find out more and the aim is to help you feel at ease about the process.

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INTERVIEW FORMAT

You are welcome to have your interview either at home or at school, as long as you have a quiet room to yourself

For applicants applying in 2025, St John's will interview all applicants online using Zoom.

If you are an applicants for future years, check closer to the time to see what format interviews are being held in for the year you are applying.

For your interview you will need reliable wi-fi, a device with video and audio capability, and a room where you can be on your own. You are welcome to have your interview either at home or at school, as long as you have a quiet room to yourself.

Some subjects require you to use a Zoom whiteboard as part of the interview, which means you will need a tablet and stylus in addition to the device you are using for the interview.

If you have any trouble accessing one to use in your interview or for practice, please contact the Admissions Office at St John's and we will help.

The subjects that will require a whiteboard for applicants applying in 2025 are:

• Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology
• Economics
• Engineering
• Physical Natural Sciences.

Timings

If you’re invited to interview, it will usually takes place n December

Where possible, your interview(s) will typically take place within a small window on the same day. We try hard to minimise disruption to your schooling. Interviews can start as early as 8am, with the later ones finishing at 6.30pm UK time. It may not be possible to make any changes after you have been notified of your interview times. 

Any special arrangements for interviews in individual subjects will be communicated when you are notified of your interview date.

We endeavour to ensure candidates who are in different time zones to the UK will normally have their interviews scheduled at a reasonable time for them.

We are only able to change interview times due to exceptional circumstances, and requests are considered on a case-by-case basis. It is important that you:

• Where possible keep the advertised interviewing period free as much as you can
• Provide detailed information about your availability in your My Cambridge Application
• Notify us of any changes to your availability, and the reasons for these changes

Please avoid making other fixed commitments that might clash with interviews as we may not be able to re-arrange interview times assigned to you. St John's does not normally offer undergraduate places to candidates who are unavailable for interview.

If you are unable to attend an interview during this period, please contact the Admissions Office as soon as possible.