University admissions interviews: What they’re for, what they’ll include and how to prepare for them!
Potentially one of the most intimidating parts of the whole university selection process is the admissions interview.
Most applicants won’t have to face an interview, but anyone applying to professional courses in health or education will probably have one, and anyone applying to Oxford and Cambridge. A good number of courses at the most competitive universities will interview (in particular Imperial and UCL), as will swathes of creative courses (some also including portfolio discussions and/or auditions).
Most advice I’ve seen on interviews tends to revolve around what questions you might be asked and what to wear. I’ll get to these a bit later, but I’ll start by looking a little deeper into why you are being interviewed, what structures the universities might use, who might be involved in these, and what impact it could have on your admissions. The more you know about this, the more sense the whole process will make, and the better you can prepare yourself.
A word of warning: This is a chunky article. That’s because interviews are challenging, and it’s so important for every student to be super-prepared. But please persevere and bookmark it so you can come back when it’s most relevant to you.
If you’d prefer a copy that you can download, print, share and read off-line, click right here:
Why do universities interview?
There are broadly speaking three main reasons why universities interview.
Firstly, to assess whether you are qualified and ready to take the course. In what is known as an assessment interview, the university wants to see if you have the required set of skills in order to take the course. You are not up against other candidates, just a set of criteria. These are often used for health related and other professional courses, but may also be used for creative courses (even courses that are not competitive).
Secondly, universities may want to select the best candidates. The purpose is to find the strongest candidates for the course. These will be used for high demand courses, and you are effectively being pitched against other applicants. In some cases, an interview might be a combination of both of these. E.g. in Medicine they will have minimum standards that they want to see, but there will also be a competitive element.
Finally, the university may be attempting to recruit the best students by having them visit the university, and discussing the course with the department. Recruitment interviews are not really interviews at all, but just conversations to see whether the course will suit you.
How will the interview affect your chance of admission?
Generally, the interview will be just one factor that will determine whether you get an offer of a place. It will be used alongside your academic grades (and predicted grades), your Personal Statement, your Reference, and any entrance tests you’ve taken.
What this means is that a great interview won’t guarantee you a place, and a weak interview won’t necessarily mean your chance has gone. Realistically though, a very poor interview will probably be bad news, while a blisteringly good interview can go a long way towards securing your place!
What formats do universities use for interviews?
Broadly speaking there are three main possibilities here too.
Most interviews that take place will be individual interviews - and I’ll be covering these in detail in this article. You will be interviewed individually by one, or sometimes two, people. They may have a highly structured script to work from or could have a set of subjects or themes to discuss with you. These interview could be in person, or on-line.
Some universities use group interviews and discussions. In these, a facilitator will ask questions and raise discussion topics with a group of students. Your interactions will be observed, usually by observers who are not involved in the conversation.
Finally, some courses have Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs) - especially for Medicine. You work your way around a number of individual stations, spending a short time at each being assessed for a particular skill. I’ll cover these in a future article, but for now, check out The Medic Portal.
What will the university tell you in advance?
As well as giving you all the practical information about where and when the interview will be, universities should also make clear which type of interview they use, the format, and how the outcome will be weighted against the rest of your application. If they don’t tell you this, don’t hesitate to ask for more detail by writing to their Admissions Office.
Interview structure
As we’ve read, interviews may be used to assess whether you are qualified and ready to study the course, or may be selective. Each type has different characteristics:
Interviews that are intended to see if you are qualified and ready will normally be highly structured and will ask the same questions to each candidate. Candidates are scored and those who meet a minimum score will be considered for entry.
Where an interview is selective, the interviewers will have a broad structure, but may move around the topics with a little more fluidity, exploring areas that are specific to you and responding to the way you answer. Candidates will still normally be scored, and the scores will be considered alongside other factors.
In both cases, you will be able to predict the type of thing that could be asked, but you will never know exactly what form the questions will take.
Who will interview?
There will always be at least one lead interviewer who is a genuine expert in the subject. They will be an academic, a member of the teaching team, and will be directly involved in the course you are applying for. Sometimes, there will be a second person on the panel. They could be another academic, or they could be members of the admin team. If you want to know more about the people who will be involved in the interview, check out Just who are admissions tutors anyway?
What are universities looking for in the interview?
The University of Cambridge has some pretty clear interview information on their website. It states “The purpose of this interview is to assess your understanding of your subject, and your potential for studying it at Cambridge”. While Cambridge will undoubtedly have some of the most challenging interviews in the country, I’d say that this statement pretty much sums it up for every university and every department who holds interviews.
So how do they assess understanding and potential?
They want to know that you have the basic academic knowledge required, so expect questions based on what you have studied already.
They want to see if you have really engaged with the material, so they will expect a discussion, not just one word answers.
They want to see your potential to apply your knowledge to areas that you haven’t encountered before, so they may ask you questions about things you don’t know.
They will want to test your motivation, so will ask questions to find out how much you really want to learn and develop your knowledge.
For professional courses, they also want to test your knowledge of the profession, and your motivation to enter it, so they may ask questions that look beyond your academic studies to establish this.
Possible interview questions
Clearly different subjects will involve very different questions, but there are a number of categories and themes that you will find come up in almost all interviews. These are:
So… why do you want to study x, y, z with us?
It’s pretty much certain that you will be asked this question in some form, and it’s a question that you should be 100% prepared for, and able to answer without hesitation. They will mainly be interested in why you want to study their subject, so remind yourself what you said in your Personal Statement, showing motivation, thorough research, and a confident decision. Prepare this so you can answer without thinking about it.
You should also prepare some reasons why you have chosen that specific university. The more specific the better, and the more relevant to the department, the better. E.g. “This Department has an excellent reputation for teaching in x, y and z”, would be better than “The University is top in league table x.”
The technical/academic question
Most highly competitive course interviews (especially at universities like Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL etc.) will have at least one challenging academic question (and often two). This will be something specific to your discipline, and will normally take the form of a previously unseen problem, text, image or scenario. There is literally no way to second guess the question. Depending on your subject, it could be anything from “How would you calculate the mass of the earth?” to “Look at this image and tell me what you see.” Sometimes they will give you something to read immediately before the interview in preparation.
So, how do you handle this type of question? Whatever the question is, and however hard it seems, don’t panic. Remember that the purpose of the question is to assess how well you are able to apply existing knowledge to a new problem, and to see what your thought process is. So do your thinking out loud.
First, describe the nature of the problem. Then explain what you already know about the subject area that might be applicable in the given scenario. Then move on to the problem in hand. How might your knowledge be applied?
In arts and social science questions, there will rarely be a right or wrong answer. But there are some ways to look at problems that are better than others. In general, they are looking for critical thinking skills, applied on top of your A-level (or equivalent) knowledge.
In sciences or maths there will probably be a right answer, but they don’t necessarily expect you to get that answer first time on your own. Mistakes are allowed, and what’s most important is how you react when those mistakes are pointed out.
So, at each stage, consider whether there is something that you don’t know or don’t understand? If so, explain these, and ask for clarification. The interviewer might give you some help, or some new information, and they’ll want to see your response, and whether it changes your thinking.
Professional knowledge, motivation and experience questions
In interviews for professional courses (such as health, architecture and teacher training), they will want to check your understanding of the profession you are entering.
For example, every interview for any health-related course in the UK will include something about the NHS values. They will assume you know these and could ask you to give a practical example of any one of these values.
So, be ready to answer questions about professional values, standards and ethics, by thoroughly researching the relevant professional organisations.
They will also want to see that you have gathered some practical insight into the profession, perhaps through volunteering, work experience, etc. You should be fully prepared with examples, including the skills and knowledge you have gained.
A question from your Personal Statement
One way interviewers may try to put you at ease is to ask you a question about your Personal Statement. If they do, it's a gift. Just listen carefully to what they are asking so that you understand why they might be asking it. Normally it’s because it’s important, and they’ll be looking for you to go deeper into the topic than you did in the statement. Always re-read your Personal Statement before going to an interview!
Questions to determine your motivation
A final type of question you could be asked will be to check your motivation and enthusiasm. This could be anything from “When did you know you wanted to be a teacher?” to “Who is your favourite contemporary architect?”. Given the breadth of possibilities here, there is, once again, no way to know in advance what the question might be. Just be confident that if you have a great reason for wanting to study the course, it is very likely that there will be something in the question that will bring out your enthusiasm.
Asking your own questions
Most interviews will include the chance to ask a question or two at the end. After all, this is a two-way process, and you have to decide whether to choose their course. So what can you ask, and what should you avoid asking?
For starters, avoid asking things that can easily be found on the universities website. It’ll just make you look like you haven’t done your research. Secondly, don’t ask them why you should choose their university over another. Interviewers are not salespeople, and will probably find it uncomfortable. And finally, don’t ask academic staff about practical things like student life or accommodation. They simply won’t know!
What you should ask about is anything that is of genuine importance to you, that is academic related, but is not clear on the website. So, for example, if you know that there are options available in year three, but there isn’t a published list, you could ask them what the typical options are. You could also ask them about their part in the course: what bits do they teach, and what are their favourite parts of the course? Or you could ask them what their top piece of advice would be for a student starting the course. The answers might give you real insight that you can’t find online.
Practice, practice, practice
Some of you will be at schools where they set up a mock interview for you. If so take every opportunity available! Most of you, however, will be at schools where they simply don’t have the resources, so you will have to look for opportunities yourself. Here are a few ideas.
Ask a subject teacher at school if they have ten minutes to do a short interview with you. Better still, ask your favourite teacher to find a teacher you don’t know to do the interview. It doesn’t matter what they ask you about; take the opportunity to practise analysing a question, taking the time to formulate an answer, clarifying anything that is unclear, and having a discussion about the answer.
Ask your parents if they have a friend who could do a mock interview. It’s not critical that they know anything about your subject. Just ask them to come up with two or three questions about a topic that you and they know a little bit about. Practise answering those questions using your critical thinking skills. What are they asking? What is the essential problem we are dealing with? What do I know about the topic already, and how can I apply this? What would I like to know more about and how could I find it? Do all your thinking out loud, and make it a two-way conversation.
Take every opportunity to have conversations like this with people you don’t really know, and you will come a long way towards being more and more comfortable in a formal interview.
Final preparation
A few things you should be doing in the days before the interview:
The practical stuff
Know exactly where you need to be, and when. Plan your travel meticulously and build in plenty of time for delays. The last thing you want is to be tired and stressed when you arrive.
If the interview is on-line, make sure you know which platform you’ll be using, how it works and make sure you are fully familiar with the laptop you’ll be using. Check the video and sound, and where to find the settings in case you need to change them during the interview.
Know exactly what you need to bring. Do you need to take a portfolio of work with you? Will you need a pen and paper?
Check exactly what is going to happen at the interview. Will there be a pre-interview test? Will the interview be individual, in a group, or an MMI?
If you haven’t been given all the information you need, get in touch to find out!
Prepare what you are going to wear (see below)
Interview preparation
Read ALL the interview guidance that the university has given on their website.
Read the course details thoroughly.
Read the websites of any relevant professional organisations.
Make notes about your motivation to study; reminding yourself why you were so keen to apply in the first place!
List out your relevant experience, your favourite aspects of the course/profession, and your knowledge of professional issues.
Remind yourself of things you’ve read that were helpful, and things you’ve done that have given you relevant skills.
Re-read your Personal Statement.
What to wear?
It’s 2023, and as far as I am concerned, the days of middle-aged men like me telling younger people like you what to wear should be well and truly behind us. There should be no rules about what you have to wear, as it has pretty much nothing to do with the purpose of the interview.
And yet, here I am, writing a short section about what to wear at university interviews, just in case you are worried and I have a few words that can help. For what it’s worth, these are my few words.
Wear something that reflects the dress culture of the department you are going to. In almost every case this will be smart casual. No need to wear a suit and tie; smart trousers or a skirt plus a shirt or blouse will generally be just fine.
Jeans? Only if they are smart and dark.
A hoodie? Probably OK. But plain, clean and new.
A T-shirt? Probably not.
Showing off your Calvin Klein boxer shorts? Please no.
Departments for creative disciplines will almost certainly have a more relaxed dress culture than others, while health-related departments are often more conservative. And if you might have to do something practical (such as an audition), it’s crucial that you wear something appropriate. Whatever you wear should be clean, ironed, and if possible, reasonably new. Within these constraints, just try to wear something that makes you comfortable and confident.
What next?
I hope this has been a useful introduction to university interviews. For some of you, if you are confident in your subject and the profession you are applying to enter, maybe this might be enough for you.
For most of you, however, you’ll now want to dig much deeper into the specific type of interview you’ll be attending. In the course of writing this, I’ve looked at countless websites and Youtube videos to give me insights beyond my own experience. Your task is to do the same, but specifically for your subject and your university shortlist.
I’d strongly suggest using Google to find lists of typical questions for your discipline. I found some great resources for teacher training, nursing, architecture, and the University of Oxford, some official and some unofficial.
Where Youtube comes in is when you want to see mock interviews showing how questions and discussions can play out; how the interviewer responds to the interviewee and vice-versa.
As always, be super-conscious of the source of anything you find. Information from universities is the gold standard, along with anything provided by professional organisations such as the NHS. Commercially produced information (e.g. produced by newspapers or companies who want to charge you for advice and support) can be hit and miss. Guidance from current or recent students can often be really simple and accessible, but can also lack depth and perspective, so beware.
