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After Cambridge interview

I just finished my online Cambridge PhizNatSci interview in Trinity, and I’m very confused about my performance now…

I applied with Chem as my major NatSci subject so 1/2 of the questions is about Chem. I did all of them correctly and easily, have had a nice and relax communication with my interviewer but after that, I was told that I made mistakes in almost all questions on math and physics… I tried to correct a physical one with the hint and it didn't go smoothly at all. For a while, I was basically stuck. It wasn't until I got two or three hints from the interviewer that I managed to complete the question successfully. But the first interview ended there. I didn't even have the chance to discuss the remaining questions with the interviewer...

Also I’m really confused about my second interview, where I think I performed normally, didn’t make big mistakes but just run out of time when I was asked to sketch a graph of a specific function. Am I expected to finish it in the given time? Or it’s just normal like most of the applicants can’t finish this section?

Now, just thinking that there are still two months until the results are announced makes me very depressed. I once anxiously looked up a lot of data, do statistics for trying to calculate my chances of getting into Cambridge, but in the end, I found it was completely useless. Anyway, the interview is over, and I can relax for a while.
Original post
by Anonymous
I just finished my online Cambridge PhizNatSci interview in Trinity, and I’m very confused about my performance now…

I applied with Chem as my major NatSci subject so 1/2 of the questions is about Chem. I did all of them correctly and easily, have had a nice and relax communication with my interviewer but after that, I was told that I made mistakes in almost all questions on math and physics… I tried to correct a physical one with the hint and it didn't go smoothly at all. For a while, I was basically stuck. It wasn't until I got two or three hints from the interviewer that I managed to complete the question successfully. But the first interview ended there. I didn't even have the chance to discuss the remaining questions with the interviewer...

Also I’m really confused about my second interview, where I think I performed normally, didn’t make big mistakes but just run out of time when I was asked to sketch a graph of a specific function. Am I expected to finish it in the given time? Or it’s just normal like most of the applicants can’t finish this section?

Now, just thinking that there are still two months until the results are announced makes me very depressed. I once anxiously looked up a lot of data, do statistics for trying to calculate my chances of getting into Cambridge, but in the end, I found it was completely useless. Anyway, the interview is over, and I can relax for a while.


Don't worry, candidates are notoriously terrible at judging their interview performances; there is little correlation between how well candidates thought they did and how they actually did. Just relax now that you can :smile:

Reply 2

I think interviewers are looking for teachability, so being able to work through a hard question with hints is usually a good sign. Hardly anyone finishes every part perfectly.

Just curious how long did your interview end up taking? I’ve heard Trinity has longer interviews than other colleges.

Reply 3

Original post
by Winfreeeeeeee
I think interviewers are looking for teachability, so being able to work through a hard question with hints is usually a good sign. Hardly anyone finishes every part perfectly.
Just curious how long did your interview end up taking? I’ve heard Trinity has longer interviews than other colleges.


Thank you for comfort.

I have had 3 sections for my interview, 1h for Interview preparation paper, approximately 45min for interview part1 which include chemistry, physics with 2 interviewer and should have maths but I’ve finished most of maths question correctly so my interviewer did more physics with me, and about 25min for interview part2 which include a lot of maths and a little bit of physics with 1 interviewer. It indeed takes more time than I expected. Idk it’s more time than an interview from other colleges will take as well.

Reply 4

Original post
by Tsingyu_Feng
Thank you for comfort.
I have had 3 sections for my interview, 1h for Interview preparation paper, approximately 45min for interview part1 which include chemistry, physics with 2 interviewer and should have maths but I’ve finished most of maths question correctly so my interviewer did more physics with me, and about 25min for interview part2 which include a lot of maths and a little bit of physics with 1 interviewer. It indeed takes more time than I expected. Idk it’s more time than an interview from other colleges will take as well.

Get it. Thanks for the info!
All the best with your application!

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