Interviews...2005 entry

{group hug}
I'm Acaila and I'm vewwy scared!

I'm Oran and am very scared too I was looking for my law sheets I was given at a Summer School when I went to at Cam... I've lost some they were useful too... life's a b****

Ooh- a lawyer! Which college are you applying for? Any useful information from the summer school would be useful.

I think law has to be one of the worst subjects- how much preparation should you do etc. etc.?

Selwyn... I'm yet to talk to ANYONE on here who actually goes or is applying to the "nice" college...
Plus (more ranting) it's difficult to 'read around' and show complete enthusiasm for a subject you don't know much about... grrrrrrrr

As for the Summer School we were just given a few pointers... the MOST important is to verbalise your thought process they need to know how you think

I shadowed a law student at Selwyn, and it really is a very nice college. The two law tutors are both very friendly, although Prof Spencer is quite old and eccentric. The DoS (Janet O Sullivan) is going on a sabbatical this year, but will still be interviewing. A very nice college.

I'm applying to Downing, but Selwyn was one of 3 other colleges I considered very carefully. The college is VERY different to the Cambridge stereotype; so few big heads and so many down to earth, hardworking people. Brilliant college.

Someone who like Selwyn... but let's not forget ur applying to Downing

I didn't know Janet O'Sullivan is going a sabbatical year how did u find that out? Who's taking her place?

Any students at Cam currently who can share some advice?

Don't judge me for applying to Downing! I just think Selwyn is a bit too isolated, as I would really want to get involved in university wide activities, which I think is a lot more encouraged at Downing. And Downing offers many advantages to an aspiring barrister

The student I shadowed (and then pestered for personal statement advice) told me that she will be having a sabbatical, but that she will still be interviewing. The downside of this is that Selwyn students will lose one of the best DoS for a whole year! Seriously though, if you want to be an MC solicitor Selwyn does very well on this front- 6 at Slaughter & May most years.

The degree I want to do (law and french law) would enable me to go work in France... which is what I intend to do after some post-grad study at Cam The work a Solicitor undertakes isn't interesting to me... advocacy is where I want to go.

Getting back to interviews... how do you think you'll handle/prepare for yours?

Well first of all- I can give you a juicy tidbit about Selwyn interviews. You are normally given a topical piece, i.e. one which most people would be able to talk about, e.g. Dianne Pretty. However, I must warn you that last year- as the standard of applicants rose considerably- the questions asked were meant to be much harder.

I've read several books and this is my main prepration for interview. Lol! I just want an understanding of the core areas, and then I should at least be able to answer questions. One of my friends works for OA so he is going to go through some practise interview for me.

What about you?
How r u preparing for LNAT?

Interview-wise I'll be reading over some stuff I got from the Summer School, alongside the law books I've read and newspaper articles (keeping on top of the current affairs). I'll probably have a mock interview with a teacher from school closer to the date but that's about it.

For the LNAT I'm not going to do much prep work. I've done the sample test on the website and a few of the LSAT tests too... bar that I'm not going to do anything different. I did well on the sample test and that was without preperation. The skills I've learned in History are near enough the skills you need for the LNAT. (Maybe some more newspaper reading to deconstruct the argument of the articles etc.)

Topical pieces can tend to be more difficult if you haven't heard of it before. However, many broadsheets tend to give some background law information aswell... maybe something on Charlotte Wyatt??? Would be nice

Well I think- personally- that you probably will get something about her, seeming as both the first and second year lawyers had medical law related topics at interview. If not, just bring it up!

What mark did you get on the LNAT practical?

And, you did 13 gcses!!!!

For the interview i can only offer a few pieces of advice really:

1. THINK OUT LOUD. Whatever you think you should do, I highly recommend you do this. Obviously dont say things like "Oh crap I have no idea" you say "Well hmm....I would think...that well you would start with..." and that type of stuff...it allows them to see your thought processes!

2. DONT GET COCKY. Getting something wrong...or being a bit confused is a good thing if it only happens a couple of times, it shows you aren't a god! Obviously if you know everything then that is good as well, but in that case you want to come across in a way which doesnt sound like you think you know it all...so always say "I think that"...rather than just blurting out the answer.

3. If you want to be sneaky....turn up early for your interview, and befriend people who are going in before you. When they come out, jump on them and find out all the questions - worked for me in a couple of cases!

4. Make them laugh....this seems a bit of a generalisation, but it's my opinion cambridge seem to like people with a bit of character (whereas oxons are boring as hell work-a-lots ). Show that you are still human, even if you are incredibly intelligent. I didn't mean to make them laugh when I asked a question at the end of the interview about how I couldnt find a bathroom to wash in in the morning (i stayed overnight)...so the lecturer replies "So...you're saying you haven't actually washed for over 24 hours?" and I reply "Well errr....yes....I wanted to get an idea of student living...but it's probably best if you wash your hands after this interview has finished to avoid contamination". They seemed to find that remotely amusing.

Err I really can't think of anything else. Obviously my advice isnt really strict advice, it's just something you might want to think about. But I'd still definitely advise the thinking out loud part!

I didn't mean to make them laugh when I asked a question at the end of the interview about how I couldnt find a bathroom to wash in in the morning (i stayed overnight)...so the lecturer replies "So...you're saying you haven't actually washed for over 24 hours?" and I reply "Well errr....yes....I wanted to get an idea of student living...but it's probably best if you wash your hands after this interview has finished to avoid contamination". They seemed to find that remotely amusing.

I'm hoping more go for Oxford this year.

I got 2 wrong in the multiple choice part of the paper which I thought was good... What about you?

I don't know why I took so much on in year 11... I'm sure I could have got better marks if I did less. I wanted to do French but due to the way it worked out for me I couldn't do it instead of German (wrong side of year group) so had to teach it to myself which was stressful in itself and had to do both French and German! The thing that took it out of me was the triple science which I had to do after school and hated it... hence no sciences at Alevel

The GNVQ ICT my school imposed on my year group was a total waste! They've stopped that now but it did contribute to my point score so I can't really complain.

I still think AS grades and UMS marks are more important when admissions staff look at it, and I wasn't 100% pleased with my AS grades...

I'm hoping that UMS are more important, personally as I had 300:297:293:283 in my AS. But we shall see...

{group hug}
I'm Acaila and I'm vewwy scared!