My Cambridge Engineering Interview Experience (Winter 2024/2025 entry)

Just wanted to document some of my thoughts/feelings, after the interview, before I forget. I applied for engineering at Queen's College, Cambridge.
Before the interview, I found it unusual that they asked us to prepare some personal projects to present (if you have any), as I haven't heard of this before at other colleges, so I printed pictures out, in order to show the professors through the zoom camera.
It was also unusual that they asked for paper and pen on hand - rather than using a digital whiteboard - especially after already testing my digital whiteboard with Queen's College in a meeting a few weeks prior. I ran the meeting on a touchscreen anyways just in case though. (Did indeed end up using the paper over the digital whiteboard)
Overall, the interview was very structured. The first 5 minutes was sectioned out for me to talk about my projects, where they asked questions about what I had done and to take closer looks. They were very friendly thoughout this interaction.
Then, we moved swiftly to questions. I won't be disclosing what these specifically were, but I will say that they were more discussion-based questions that consisted of minimal working/writing and just discussion over physicsideas in applied scenarios. They had very structured and designated timings for each question. And throughout, they took turns to ask each question so it was very much both of them involved rather than the expected observer-interviewer setup I was expecting.
At the end, after leaving the meeting, I didnt really know how to feel. They were very friendly and there wasn't much negative feedback, but also i felt the questions were unusually easy - was I not getting the hint? Did they dumb it down for me? No point overanalysing it tbf.
I would love to hear other people's experiences, and I wish the best of luck for all applicants on the 30th!!!

Queens college engineering interview specifically asks for the "project pitch" for a number of years now.It seems a great way to show your interest, practical skills and thought process.The structured nature of the interview and the friendly atmosphere you described sound encouraging. It’s not uncommon to feel unsure afterward, especially when the questions feel easier than expected. Sometimes, interviews are designed to test how you think and communicate rather than to trip you up with overly complex problems. The fact that they engaged in a discussion-based approach suggests they were more interested in your reasoning and understanding than in catching you out. Hope you all got the good news you want!

Queens college engineering interview specifically asks for the "project pitch" for a number of years now.It seems a great way to show your interest, practical skills and thought process.The structured nature of the interview and the friendly atmosphere you described sound encouraging. It’s not uncommon to feel unsure afterward, especially when the questions feel easier than expected. Sometimes, interviews are designed to test how you think and communicate rather than to trip you up with overly complex problems. The fact that they engaged in a discussion-based approach suggests they were more interested in your reasoning and understanding than in catching you out. Hope you all got the good news you want!