Guides · Updated 1 November 2026

What to expect at your Cambridge interview

A Cambridge interview is an academic conversation about your subject with two or three interviewers. For 2027 entry the main interview period is 7 to 18 December 2026, most applicants have one or two interviews lasting 35 minutes to an hour in total, and whether yours is online or in person depends on your College and course.

Cambridge says everyone who gets an offer will have been interviewed, though not everyone interviewed gets one. Below are the dates, the College-by-College format, what happens in the room and what Cambridge says it is assessing, all from the University's own pages.

When are Cambridge interviews?

Cambridge asks you to keep the whole interview period free. Interviews can only be rescheduled in exceptional circumstances, such as hospital appointments, illness, religious observance or exams, and if you don't attend you won't be considered. The timing of your invitation says nothing about how strong your application is.

Is the Cambridge interview online or in person?

It depends on the College assessing your application and, at some Colleges, on your course and where you live. You usually can't choose. For 2027 entry, Cambridge lists:

How many interviews will you have?

Most applicants have one or two interviews lasting 35 minutes to an hour in total. Some have three or four, depending on subject and College. You'll be told in advance how many to expect, and Cambridge says the number doesn't relate to how strong your application is.

What happens in a Cambridge interview?

Most people have at least one subject-specific interview, and some also have a general academic interview. In a subject interview, Cambridge says you're likely to:

• discuss topics with two or three interviewers
• apply what you know to new situations, materials, problems or scenarios
• explain your understanding of the vocational side of the course, if you've applied for Medicine, Veterinary Medicine or similar

You may also be asked why you want to study at Cambridge and why this course, about key issues in your subject, and about recent topics from school or your personal statement. For science and maths problems you may need to share your working. Some Colleges send reading to discuss. A general interview may be with academics from outside your subject and covers your other interests, plans and suitability for the course.

What are Cambridge interviewers looking for?

Cambridge says interviews help it assess:

• your understanding of your chosen subject area
• your readiness to study at a high academic level
• whether you'll thrive in the Cambridge learning environment
• your ability to think critically and independently
• your curiosity and openness to new ideas
• your enthusiasm for your subject

In practice that means they want to hear you think. Cambridge's own advice says interviewers are interested in how you work out your answers, that you can ask them to explain anything you don't understand, and that you don't need to say what you think they want to hear.

A worked example of the format

Cambridge publishes no list of interview questions, so this opener is our own example, in the style Cambridge describes (applying what you know to something new): "Here's a graph of a population over time. What might explain its shape?"

• What a strong answer does: describes what it sees before explaining, offers a first idea, then tests it out loud ("if it were food supply, I'd expect...").
• Weak answer: one confident guess, then silence.
• What usually comes next: the interviewer adds a fact that breaks your idea, to see how you adapt.

What to wear and what to bring

Cambridge says you can wear whatever you're comfortable in. For online interviews it suggests a quiet space, a charged device, a tested webcam, microphone and connection, pen and paper, the College's contact details, and (if your College says you'll need one for a science or maths course) practice with a stylus and tablet on a shared whiteboard. Some Colleges run a tech check.

After the interview: the winter pool

If your College is impressed but has no place, it can put you in the winter pool so other Colleges can consider you. Cambridge says around 18% of applications received in October 2025 were pooled, and in January 2026, 1,060 pooled applicants (around 1 in 4) were offered a place by a different College. A second interview from the pool is rare: 20 applicants were invited to one in January 2026. Everyone who applied in October hears in late January.

A note on paid preparation

Cambridge warns that companies offering paid interview preparation are not endorsed by the University and have no access to exclusive information. That's true of us too. AdmitMock uses Cambridge's published format and practice questions in that style; the value is in speaking your thinking out loud and getting feedback, which Cambridge itself recommends (it suggests a practice interview with a teacher or someone who doesn't know you well).

AdmitMock is an AI mock interview app for Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL and US college alumni interviews: an AI interviewer asks the questions out loud, follows up, and shows you what to fix.

AdmitMock is not affiliated with the University of Cambridge or any of its Colleges. We use Cambridge's published guidance and formats, not insider information.