Guides · Updated 1 November 2026

The Oxford and Cambridge Chemistry interview

Oxford Chemistry has no admissions test and no written work. In the 2025 round, 690 of 1,015 applicants were shortlisted, and every shortlisted applicant had at least two online interviews at their first college; 242 also had an interview at a second college. 218 offers were made.

Interviews are problem-based and use a shared whiteboard with a stylus. At Cambridge, chemistry is part of Natural Sciences, which needs the ESAT. Below are the formats, the question Oxford's chemistry tutor published, a worked example and how to prepare.

Oxford Chemistry and Cambridge Natural Sciences compared

Oxford's Chemistry department says its shortlisting exists to guarantee every shortlisted applicant at least two interviews in the December window, that interviews are academic and graded against agreed descriptors, and that 103 shortlisted applicants were moved to a different college before interview in 2025 to even out the chances between colleges.

The question Oxford's chemistry tutor published

"How many different molecules can be made from six carbon atoms and twelve hydrogen atoms?" (source: University of Oxford, sample interview questions). The tutor says there is no simple, immediate answer and that it tests your familiarity with different kinds of molecules, your ability to picture and draw them in three dimensions, and whether you can tell when two drawings are the same molecule.

A worked example: six carbons, twelve hydrogens

• What a strong answer does: starts by drawing, saying aloud how many bonds each carbon and hydrogen makes, and quickly notices that C6H12 has one "spare" unit of unsaturation: either a double bond or a ring.
• The key move: organising the search (chains with a double bond, then rings of different sizes) and checking for duplicates rather than drawing at random.
• Weak answer: drawing a few structures, then guessing a number.
• What usually comes next, per the tutor: ideas you may not have met, such as chirality, cis-trans isomerism, ring strain or isotope effects, and perhaps "is a molecule only stable if all the carbons form four bonds?" The tutor says it's fine not to know them; they're watching how quickly you pick them up.

How to prepare for a Chemistry interview

1. Revise bonding and structure. Isomers, functional groups, intermolecular forces and shapes of molecules underpin most problems.
2. Draw molecules on a tablet. Chemistry is a tier 3 subject, so practise drawing structures and mechanisms with a stylus on a whiteboard app.
3. Practise systematic counting. Isomer problems reward a method. Practise listing structures in an order you can explain.
4. Respond to prompts. The published question says the tutor watches how you respond to prompting. Practise picking up a hint mid-problem.
5. Read a little beyond the syllabus. Not to show off, but so new terms like chirality don't throw you.

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 Oxford, the University of Cambridge or any of their colleges. We use published formats and questions, not insider information.