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Gap year applicant, style of interview

I’ve applied to Cambridge and Imperial and part of the admission process includes an interview for my course (comp sci). Since I am currently on a gap year, will I be asked advanced questions in the interview as I have finished my a levels in the relevant subjects ( Math and FM)?

For example, the interviewer could ask me problems involving A2 topics of maths or further maths, how likely is this?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Reply 1

Fndjdidisjb

Omg I’m in the exact same situation as you. I’m on a gap yr too, applied to Cambridge and Imperial for CS. And you’re right, it’s very likely that we’ll be asked A2 questions if we are fortunate enough to get an interview.
Honestly, after sitting the tmua, I don’t feel like I’d get an interview. How did u find it?

Reply 2

vectorking123

Original post by Fndjdidisjb

Nice to know someone else is in the same shoes as me! I wish you good luck in your application. :smile:

Regarding the TMUA, keep your head up! Remember that Cambridge tries its best to interview those who have a realistic chance of studying at Cambridge, which is usually 70% of applicants. Even if you don't think you did amazing in the TMUA then don't worry because you can prove your potential in the interview. I personally thought the TMUA wasn't as hard as some previous years, I certainly think paper 2 was difficult though.

Also, in another thread someone mentioned that it is quite likely we will be interviewed on A2 topics as asked in the MyCambridge application under the section "What modules have you studied?" Cambridge tries to interview their applicants fairly throughout so it would make sense to question us gap year students on A2 content, as testing us on AS content would make it unfair on the non-gap year applicants because we have had more time to get used to and improve on those topics. Always a good idea to polish up now while we wait to hear back, nothing to lose!

Reply 3

melancollege

I was a post-A2 applicant for Maths at Cambridge and in the application form they ask you which topics you've covered (obviously this is more suited for applicants who are yet to finish their studies) so it is entirely possible that they may do so. However, in mine, it just happened that they didn't really - I guess as it makes comparison between candidates more easy, but this is just speculation. I have, on the other hand, heard from students at other colleges that they ask questions on higher topics if you've mentioned them on your application - such as Groups from the PS - so it is perfectly possible that they may do. In other words, yes they may do but they may also choose not to.

Reply 4

Fndjdidisjb

As a gap year student for computer science interview at Cambridge, shall I just focus on the pure side of A2 or do I need to revise mechanics and stats too?

Reply 5

Fndjdidisjb

Original post by Fndjdidisjb

As a gap year student for computer science interview at Cambridge, shall I just focus on the pure side of A2 or do I need to revise mechanics and stats too?