Academic questions during interview

I keep hearing people talking about questions during the interview where they actually ask you a question that you have to work out the answer to. How does this work? Do they actually just read an exam question off a bit of paper and expect you to tell them the answer? Or do they give you a question paper before you go in and you have to answer it and then it gets discussed during the interview? Or do they give you a question paper during the interview and then sit there watching you whilst you work it out? Are the questions like exam questions or logic type ones or maths ones or what? I'm applying for NatSci (Phys) at King's btw.

Reply 1

Manifest

Joe_87

I'm not quite sure but I think it varies. In a particular interview video I watched, the question asked was just straight off from the interviewers head. I.e sketch graph of logx, translate it by this, reflect it in line y=x or something like that and what will happen if you do this and that...that's the whole idea. (I don;t think they have the time to type/print out questions and even if they do, they can't be bothered marking your scripts)

Reply 2

Calvin

Some subjects and colleges to written tests prior to interview to discuss. But mostly it will be questions they'll throw at you in the interview. They are trying to evaulate potential after all. Generally they want to see how well you can think on your feet and deal with tough/interesting questions.

Reply 3

musicbloke

interviews are a dialogue - if something comes up then they'll ask you.

MB

Reply 4

random123

Sorry to bump this thread to the top, but I was wondering if anyone else had any ideas. Thanks for the replies so far.

The problem is I come from a school where very few people apply to oxbridge so I'm not getting much help from my school in terms of preparation. Will they ask any really difficult philosophical questions like "what is science?" and that kind of thing. And will they ask me to give explanations of complex ideas and theories from my A levels (or even from outside my alevels) like "explain quantum theory" or "explain the consequences of wave-particle duality"?

I have no idea whatsoever what kind of level to expect from the interview, obviously I know it will be difficult and there will be questions I can't answer, but I'm getting worried that it might all be way above me and I'll come out of it looking really stupid.

Reply 5

Robob

Joe_87

Will they ask any really difficult philosophical questions like "what is science?" and that kind of thing. And will they ask me to give explanations of complex ideas and theories from my A levels (or even from outside my alevels) like "explain quantum theory" or "explain the consequences of wave-particle duality"?

I hope i get those questions, my fav area :smile:

Reply 6

bob_54321

i have two interviews for maths, the first one im expecting them just to ask me questions on maths and the second one i have to look at a problem for half an hour before and then discuss it. they will almost certainly ask you questions which you should probably able to answer using a level knowledge, but in a different way to what you've done before. i dont think theyll ask things like "what is science?", thats more philisophical. if you expressed any interests in your personal statement they might ask you about them, so if you said you particularly enjoy quantum mechanics then they might ask you to explain it . . .

Reply 7

homoterror

Joe_87

Okey doke, your interview is going to be a *lot* more academic than you seem to expect it to be. They definitely will be asking you questions like this, they'll probably just come off the top of their heads, you may well have some paper to sketch something down on (a graph or a diagram of sorts). The question will probably throw you at first, you'll probably need to ask for a bit of guidance at some point. Just do your best, you're recommended to think about the question they ask you, think about where you think it might be going, and then either start talking about a solution, or if you can't see a solution then explain what you think the question is getting at and point out what you can work out. There will be awkward silence whilst you think and you should avoid the temptation to just blurt out the first thing that comes into your head.

I bet if you search this forum you can find some sample natsci questions.

Good luck! Alex

Reply 8

AlphaNumeric

http://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/show.php?dowid=7

Those are sample questions Trinity ask to NatSci applicants. Kings questions will be of a similar standard.

Reply 9

random123

Oh crap, looks like I better get revising.

Reply 10

naelse

It's not about what you know. The best preparation you can give yoursel for interview is to get a good night's sleep, don't get too nervous, and don't expect anything. Different interviewers have different styles. Ultimately they are just trying to get your best out of you. So swotting up on all this stuff will make no difference, because they will just push you further. They will want to see how you cope with new material too.