Cambridge Interview

[namechangeuniq]

Looking for advice please, have NC as it may be slightly outing.

DS hoping to apply for HSPS at Cambridge this year, but no clue where to start with interview prep. Has found interview qs online, read widely and practiced talking out loud but really looking for someone else to help. Is there anywhere to find a reasonably priced Tutor' or academic who would do interview prep with him? No help from school unfortunately, as first Oxbridge applicant and he has looked into free widening access options but does not qualify.

Any recommendations appreciated!

Should say, they were 'sample' interview Qs from a free website.

Look for Oxbridge grads on something like tutor hunt and get a few to give a one off interview. Can't guarantee quality but will give an inkling into process.

There will be many on here who say you don't need help, just show interest and don't give up in interviews however hard. It's true they want to see a thinking process probably.

My daughter had very little help. Found the interviews overwhelming. Got a place. Loves it there. Most of her C friends had lots of help.

Help is no guarantee, but it can't harm.

Best of luck.

Thank you both @Sunndowne @Mummyford , this is really helpful and valuable. I appreciate your helpful and informed responses. He's applying for Politics and IR for his other 4 options, so that is his main interest within the HSPS umbrella. We aren't able to get down to Cambridge unfortunately, but he's spent a long time scoping them out online (of course, it's not as useful as seeing it could have been.) He's leaning towards Lucy Cavendish College but was also looking at Homerton and Churchill.

DS didn't do any specific interview prep and although he was very nervous, he enjoyed his Cambridge interviews. (We often have family debates round the table and as DS is the youngest he probably learnt to defend his arguments quite early on!)
Your DS probably also already does stuff that develops skills in organising, talking about and defending his ideas - school politics/history etc debating societies, A Level class discussions. The EPQ has a presentation and Q&A component too although DS's came after his admission interviews. Your DS could ask one of his subject teachers to give him a "mock" interview if he wants to something more formal?
Good luck to your DS with his application.

Thank you @ofteninaspin yes he did an EPQ this year and similarly to you, we do have lots of heated passionate dining table debates! I think he just feels he's behind other applicants (specifically those at schools with a large Oxbridge Cohort/ history of Oxbridge applicant) even though from the messages so far, it looks like he's doing a lot of the recommendations. Do you think it's worth trying to find an undergrad to do a one off interview ?(he was conflicted as said it feels wrong ethically but at the same time he feels at a disadvantage)

I think it's worth trying to find an undergrad (possible cost) OR a teacher from another local school (free) who'd be willing to help. Don't ask don't get

I agree with gwilt

DD did have one practice interview with school but she said it was nothing like the actual interview (which of course was on zoom so probably a bit different from normal anyway). I would say she is reasonably quietly confident as a person and thought she would enjoy the process - and we had a lot of "chats" about her subject at home to try and improve her comfort talking about it - but she hated it. She absolutely thought she'd destroyed her chances but got picked out of the pool luckily.
I would say to try and find someone who's been through it to practice talking to.

Thanks, @Sunndowne. And agree with @Chilldonaldchill. It's much better practice if the interviewee has never even met the interviewer. Much more realistic.

Do you think it's worth trying to find an undergrad to do a one off interview ?

Rather than, or in addition to this, it might be better for him to find one or more people at the right level for his proposed subject with whom he could chat often - about and around the subject. It’s less about a one-off grilling and more about feeling at ease with thinking about and articulating one’s interest in a subject.

DS at Oxford here, doing a triple, so ended up doing 6 interviews, I'm not sure if Cambridge is the same. Both first choice and second choice colleges ran a separate interview for each subject. DS said that each of the interviews were pretty different. He enjoyed them all.

I think what the interviewer is looking for is creativity and engagement.

It will be an online interview again this year so I would practise getting the set up correct on his laptop. As regards the interview itself they may touch on his personal statement but may also ask more general questions. If anything it seems to be better if they don't appear too rehearsed. Just talk to him about current events. Ask him to articulate his views on matters on the news and so on so he gets used to thinking and speaking about what he thinks.

Is his school part of an academy? If yes, I'd definitely ask if there is anyone in the academy group that could help him prepare

Is there a nearby private school with a good Oxbridge track record? The Head may need to ask, but private schools are under pressure to support state, and a couple of teachers there might be willing to give practice interviews or read through the PS.

Lucy Cavendish used to take only "mature" women. They reduced the age to 18 for women from 2020, and men are starting for the first time this year. That means that the balance is still likely to be different for a year or two yet. They're also expanding quite a bit. I guess things like men's sports teams will be in their infancy...

Lucy Cavendish website says "Applicants are required to submit two school/college essays as examples of written work prior to interview. " I would expect them to use these pieces of work as part of the academic discussion in the interview so if you can find someone suitable to do a mock interview then maybe give them one of his essays in advance to do the same. I also thought Lucy Cavendish was only post grads but it looks like it is changing. He should think about whether he wants to be in the centre of town (close to lectures, shops, uni societies) or doesn't mind being further out - both Homerton and Churchill are on the edges of town. The more central colleges sometimes have to travel to their sports grounds whereas others have everything in one place. Some have rooms for all 3 years, for other colleges you need to move into a college house or into a modern college block which can be in a different location. What societies is he interested in and does the college have those? I think you can also find out how many students for his subject are at each college (don't be alarmed that they all seem like relatively small numbers!) which gives you a feel for what sort of subject group he might be a part of. Good luck.

Thank you everyone! Yes Lucy Cavendish has opened up to co-Ed 18/19 year old students in 2021. It seems like a really nice environment from what we've seen with a good Law Society (he wants to do post grad law.) Luckily he's not interested in sports etc but agree it will take some time for Cavendish to balance out in terms of the dynamic. I think with some of the others he was struggling to imagine himself there and found them a bit intimidating (like Kings for example) but Cavendish (and also Homerton but thinks it's too far out) was the only one that felt like 'him.' They take 10 ish HSPS students, and he was looking for a smaller cohort as coming from a tiny village. There is one nearby school we could ask, maybe closer to the time as I think they would only give one. Thank you for that suggestion as we wouldn't have thought of that. As a PP put it 'don't ask, don't get!'

@MigAndMog thank you! He doesn't do politics or sociology at A Level ( does History, English Lit and Geog) so would they necessarily use those essays at interview since they don't directly correlate to HSPS? However I know for Geography for example he does essays that are very much Politics based and could link in..

@Needmoresleep

Is there a nearby private school with a good Oxbridge track record? The Head may need to ask, but private schools are under pressure to support state, and a couple of teachers there might be willing to give practice interviews or read through the PS.

DS - not for Oxbridge but did have interviews at all his choices - asked his school about interview practice.

As they had nobody with experience of the type of course he was going to who wasnt already known to him, they contacted a local good independent, whose head of that subject cheerfully spent one lunchtime talking to him and doing a mock interview.

He found it really helpful.

DD got similar help through her school but they used alumni.

I would recommend looking at Fermi type questions. From DD's experience, they asked questions that required her to "think out loud" ie explain her thought-process. They weren't so bothered by the actual right answer as by listening to her articulating her thinking. However, that was NatSci rather than HSPS.