Common University Interview Questions

Although interviews are a largely dreaded part of the UK university application process, for lots of courses it's also an incredibly essential one. Universities choose to interview applicants for a variety of reasons - for example, there may only be a limited number of places on a course in comparison to prospective applicants and the university therefore has to ensure they accept the best-suited students to their specific course. Alternatively, some courses (such as nursing, medicine or veterinary science) may involve high-pressure environments, and universities might want to check that applicants are capable of dealing with challenging, people-oriented scenarios.

Either way, it's important to remember that interviews aren't designed to ‘catch you out’ - rather, it's to see if you're well-suited to that specific course at that particular university. Having one bad interview doesn't mean every interview is going to be a disaster; and, if nothing else, every interview is great experience for future ones! :wink:

Common university interview questions include:
- Why do you want to study this subject?
- What achievement are you most proud of?
- Why should we offer you a place?
- Why did you choose this university?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- What initially made you interested in this subject/field?
- What are your long-term goals?
- Describe a scenario where you worked as part of a team to achieve a goal of yours.
- What do you want to do after you graduate?
- Why did you choose your specific A-Level subjects? How do you think they relate to your chosen field?

Remember that you're also likely to be asked some questions relating to your field of study - for example, humanities students might be asked to discuss any texts mentioned in their personal statement, and STEM students could be presented with a mathematical problem to work through alongside the interviewer. Don't worry about providing the ‘right’ answer - most interviewers are just looking to see your thought process and how you react and adapt to new information! :biggrin:

If you've already had a university interview, how did it go? Do you have any interviews coming up?

- Eve (Kingston Rep).

(edited 4 months ago)

Reply 1

PQ

Clearing and Applications Advisor

21

Do Kingston interviewers REALLY ask for demonstrations of leadership skills from 17 yr olds applying to degree courses?

Reply 2

McGinger

18

And what do Kingston interview for anyway?
Pharmacy maybe? Thats probably about it.

Not exactly a 'competitive' Uni.....

Reply 3

swanseajack1

19

Original post by McGinger

And what do Kingston interview for anyway?
Pharmacy maybe? Thats probably about it.

Not exactly a 'competitive' Uni.....

220 courses available including nutrition, sociology and sport science. They will only interview those with a requirement such as medical and teaching subjects.

Reply 4

McGinger

18

Quite. So not exactly a major concern - and btw most question will be specific to the course applied for.
All a bit silly, and making Kingston look a bit ...... desperate.

OP

Hi @McGinger and @PQ!

Most of this interview advice is for interviews at any university rather than Kingston specifically, although we do frequently receive questions about how to prepare for interviews for both our more medically-focused subjects and some of our courses at Kingston School of Art. When I was applying to university and interviewing for my course (Fine Art), these were some of the questions that seemed to come up quite a bit - but admittedly some universities may choose to focus on only subject specific ones. 🙂

Eve (Kingston Rep).

Reply 6

PQ

Clearing and Applications Advisor

21

Original post by Kingston Reps

Hi @McGinger and @PQ!

Most of this interview advice is for interviews at any university rather than Kingston specifically, although we do frequently receive questions about how to prepare for interviews for both our more medically-focused subjects and some of our courses at Kingston School of Art. When I was applying to university and interviewing for my course (Fine Art), these were some of the questions that seemed to come up quite a bit - but admittedly some universities may choose to focus on only subject specific ones. 🙂

Eve (Kingston Rep).

Hi Eve

I would be sceptical that any university is asking for demonstrations of leadership skills from applicants to undergraduate degree courses - even for vocational courses leadership skills aren't something that would be required from applicants to the course.

Questions about leadership skills would be more likely in a job interview for a role with management responsibility rather than a university degree interview.

OP

Original post by PQ

Hi Eve

I would be sceptical that any university is asking for demonstrations of leadership skills from applicants to undergraduate degree courses - even for vocational courses leadership skills aren't something that would be required from applicants to the course.

Questions about leadership skills would be more likely in a job interview for a role with management responsibility rather than a university degree interview.