Table of Contents
Subject FAQs with Our Subject Reps (The sciences) 5
Psychological and Behavioural Sciences 12
Subject FAQs with Our Subject Reps ( Arts/ Humanities/Social Sciences) 13
Human, Social and Political Sciences 15
Human, Social and Political Sciences pt.2 16
BME-SPECIFIC SOCIETIES IN CAMBRIDGE 33
General Personal Statement Tips 34
BME OPEN DAY RESOURCE BANK
**Disclaimer: This resource booklet is crafted by students based on their personal experiences and is not official advice. Collated by Maro and Access officers
Life as a BME student +Access initiatives
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Widening Participation Schemes:
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Further information: https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/find-out-more/widening-participation https://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/study/access-and-outreach https://www.applytocambridge.com/camspire/apply/ https://www.insideuni.org/application-resources/bme-applicants/ | |||
Experience of BME students at Cambridge University: Experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Students at Cambridge University (watch link) | |||
Subject Interviews
Subject | Link |
This is a list of mock interviews that are available of the Cambridge University Youtube Channel and the Youtube channels of various Subject faculties: | |
General interview experience | |
Computer science | |
Engineering: | |
Medicine: | |
Medicine, Natural Sciences, Geography, Human, Social and Political Sciences | |
Natural Sciences: | |
Veterinary Medicine: | |
Law Interview: | |
History Interview: | |
Geography:https://youtu.be/UswgNAbbBqE | |
Economics: | |
Maths: | |
Bionatsci: | |
Subject FAQs with Our Subject Reps (The sciences) | |
Engineering | |
Q: What are your tips for making a personal statement? | |
I think the most important thing is to be honest in your personal statement - think about why you actually want to study engineering and try to keep what you write relevant to that. I wouldn't be worried if you haven't read hundreds of books as long as you can show your interest through other things you've done (maybe you've taken part in a robotics competition or done some work experience or something similar?). Lastly, and really this is a given, but don't lie! | |
Q: How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? | |
Online there are some past papers and specimen papers and I used these to help structure my preparation. I found timing the hardest parts of the admissions assessment so I tried to work on this by doing similar length A Level practice questions in timed conditions. Using the specification for the assessment to check what you'll be tested on, and match that up to your weaknesses can also be useful. | |
Q:Do you have any books or resources you'd recommend to anybody applying for your subject? | |
A: There's a great list of books recommended for people considering engineering, several of which can be downloaded for free, here: https://www.admissions.eng.cam.ac.uk/information/reading. I read one (very short) book from this list before I applied, but I'd recommend reading anything that looks interesting to you. A resource that I found more useful was https://i-want-to-study-engineering.org/. Here you can find a bank of questions of the standard of University interview questions, a bank of A Level questions, and some games that teach you engineering concepts. | |
Q: Any tips for preparing for interviews? | |
Most of the preparation I did for my interviews was using https://i-want-to-study-engineering.org/ . The questions can be challenging but there are lots of hints available for when you get stuck and they were of a similar standard to the questions I was asked (although, of course, that was just my experience). I'd also recommend reading through your personal statement before you go to an interview as it's easy to forget exactly what you've written. I think one important things to remember is that interviews are just one part of a larger process and often it's quite difficult to know how well you've really done, so it's best to try not to worry too much about them. |
Physical Natural Sciences | |
Q: Any tips for making a personal statement? | |
If you can, ask your subject teachers at school to have a look at your statement, they might have studied the same/a similar degree so they might be able to offer course-specific tips for your application. Also if you're mentioning books/articles/magazines & journals etc in your statement, consider talking about what you got from it and what you found interesting, don't just namerop the title. | |
Q: How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? | |
For the NSAA, I went through the specification and revised everything in it (and did some extra reading and research on things on the specification that I hadn't learnt at school yet). Past papers were also useful, also good to practise under timed conditions too. https://isaacphysics.org website was also useful to practise physics/maths problems. | |
Q: Are there any resources you’d recommend to people looking to study your subject? | |
Wider reading shows your interest, and there are certain books that are typical ones that a lot of people read and mention in their statement. While these books are still useful, consider going further than this and reading something less well-known (i.e. something that isn't on reading lists, that you've discovered yourself) to show that you've taken the time to search further. Libraries/the goodreads website/bookshops can be good places to look. In terms of resources, websites like isaacphysics.organd i-want-to-study-engineering.orgmight be useful to prepare for admission assessments and interviews. | |
Q: Any tips for preparing for interviews? | |
It might be useful to read back through your personal statement in case they ask you about something from it. In my experience, physical science interviews have mainly scientific content and there is less general chat about things like your personal statement and your interests etc, but the interviewers could still talk about it! Try and be comfortable, wear something you feel comfortable in. Try not to be put off by other interviewees you meet who might have a very different educational background to you, this doesn't matter! In the interview, don't be afraid to ask if you need any clarification of the question, think out loud, and be willing to take on board any extra information or hints they might give you. Also don't worry if you need hints to help get you through a problem they set you, many people do this.
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First Year Maths | |
Q: Any tips for making a personal statement? | |
Your personal statement should be almost entirely focussed on maths and related subjects, rather than extra-curricular activities. If you have done UKMT challenges/Olympiads, definitely include them, even if you don’t score particularly highly. Talk about the skills you gained from doing these and how they helped to develop your interest in maths, rather than just stating the mark you got. I’d also recommend doing a bit of reading around. The Cambridge maths faculty have a reading list (https://www.maths.cam.ac.uk/documents/reading-list.pdf/) for some inspiration so you could choose a book from there and/or find an area of maths that particularly interests you. There are also plenty of lectures and podcasts to watch and listen to which can be really interesting. Remember to show your interest in maths, rather than just stating it. | |
Q: How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? | |
As STEP is taken at the same time as your A Levels (the June after you apply), you have quite a lot of time to prepare. However, STEP is hard work so definitely start your preparation early. I’d recommend looking at STEP 1 papers from the summer holidays after year 12 to get a feel for the questions, as well as working on some MAT and TMUA papers as these will help with your problem-solving skills. The STEP support programme (https://maths.org/step/welcome) is also really useful, especially at first when STEP 1 problems might seem impossible. This is completely free and has loads of assignments to help guide you through the different ideas you might be faced with. I’d recommend starting STEP 2 and 3 as soon as you get an offer and doing as many questions as you possibly can. The STEP database (https://stepdatabase.maths.org/) contains every question from the 1980s to last year, and The Student Room has unofficial solutions to quite a lot of questions. The official STEP website also has solutions, hints, mark schemes and examiners reports for the last couple of years, so there are plenty of resources available that are completely free to help. It may also be useful to talk to your current maths teachers as soon as possible to see what support they could offer you with STEP. Even if they don’t feel that they can help, ask them if they know of any other local teachers who might be more experienced with STEP. However, there are still plenty of resources available for you to succeed if nothing comes out of these discussions.
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Q: Do you have any resources you’d recommend for people looking to study maths? | |
If you have time, you might want to explore UKMT challenges and Olympiads to help stretch your knowledge. The Cambridge maths faculty has a reading list which offers plenty of book suggestions, but if you don’t know where to start, Ian Stewart has written plenty of accessible maths books which you may find interesting. I read ‘From Here to Infinity’ which was really good as it covered a large variety of topics within both pure and applied mathematics. | |
Q: Any tips for preparing for interviews? | |
Do as much maths as you can. STEP 1, MAT and TMUA papers are all useful preparation, especially STEP 1 (see question 2). I’d also recommend doing these questions whilst saying out loud what your thought process is, as if you are explaining to someone how to solve the question. This is really good practice as you need to be able to explain what you are thinking and doing during the interviews. |
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Medicine: | |
Q: Do you have any tips for making a personal statement? | |
I found getting the balance right for the different medical schools I was applying to hard, with Cambridge looking for a more academic personal statement, and other medical schools I applied to wanting more about extracurricular activities/work experience. I included a small section on extracurricular activities at the end, and tried to link some of the academic parts (such as books I’d read or my EPQ) to treating patients. Don’t just list what you’ve done, write about what you’ve learnt from it – this is particularly important when writing about work experience or any volunteering you may have done. Try and show your enthusiasm for the subject throughout! | |
Q:How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? | |
For the BMAT I used the bank of questions/past papers on Medify, going over everything at least once. I found Medify really helpful as it gave explanations at the end of questions, so I could see where I went wrong. Their BMAT guide was also really helpful and I felt it explained the topics well. | |
Q: Do you have any books or resources you'd recommend to anybody applying for your subject? | |
I would definitely recommend using Medify for BMAT. If you’re lacking ideas as to what to include in your personal statement, read some medical/science related books on topics you’re interested in, which you can then include – Gene eating (Giles yeo), The Body (Bill Bryson) or The Inflamed mind (Edward Bullmore) are some good books (or have a look at this list for other suggestions https://www.medsci.ox.ac.uk/study/medicine/pre-clinical/applying/reading). Books such as ‘This is going to hurt’ or ‘Your life in my hands’ are good for insights into life as a doctor. | |
Q: Any tips for preparing for interviews? | |
Before interviews I went over everything I had learnt for A levels so far – My interviewers asked me what topics I had learnt about recently, and only asked questions on what I’d been taught. I also kept up to date with the health news (mainly just by checking the health section on BBC news). The sixth form I went to offered quite a few practice Cambridge/Medicine interviews which I found really helpful, I would recommend signing up to any (and as many) practice interviews your sixth form offers. Some of my family members also found some Cambridge style medicine interview questions and helped me with some practice interviews at home. It’s probably also a good to have an answer to ‘why do you want to be a doctor?’ and some knowledge of the NHS core values for any of your med school interviews. |
Computer Science |
Q: What are your tips for making a personal statement? |
Your main goal with a personal statement should be to highlight that you are passionate about Computer Science and that you have explored the subject in your own time. You want to illustrate that you are a logical thinker, a problem-solver and have a strong mathematics foundation. It isn’t at all necessary to have any work experience in CS, but things like projects, summer courses, books, hackathons, conferences etc. are good to include. When structuring your personal statement, order paragraphs by a particular project or area you’ve found interesting. For example, if you find algorithmics particularly interesting, you might start by saying that you read a book/completed an online course on algorithm design, and then furthered your knowledge by implementing some of these algorithms efficiently as part of a wider project. This shows that you have thoroughly explored the topic, and have made it personal to you in an inventive way. As the Cambridge course is quite theoretical, try to mention covering some Computer Science theory or mathematics. This will highlight to admissions tutors that you aren’t just looking to follow defined methods and use ‘black-box’ ideas, but that you are willing to understand how and why things work the way they do, giving you a much better foundation for the course. Try and keep your personal statement personal – if looking up project ideas, try to add your own spin to them in a novel way, or extend them to have extra functionality. Tutors will see many generic projects, but simply adding a personal element will make yours stand out. Extracurriculars should form a very small part of your personal statement – perhaps only one or two sentences. If there are things you are struggling to fit in, you can always ask for them to be included in your reference. |
Q: How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? |
I sat the CSAT in 2018, which has now been partly replaced by the TMUA. The TMUA is a much shorter question-style, that relies on only A-level Maths knowledge. However, the TMUA is much more a test of speed and accuracy, so get practice in answering maths questions quickly and accurately. There are past papers available, but it may be best to save more recent ones until closer to October. I would recommend looking through the paper style and noting down topics that appear regularly, so that you can cover these in more detail in your revision. The best thing you can do to prepare is to make sure you have covered and are comfortable with all of the A-level pure maths content (this means if you haven’t learnt it at school yet, self-study) – challenge yourself with harder questions (which you can find on physicsandmathstutor and madasmaths) to test your understanding. Problem-solving papers like the Senior Maths Challenge or Senior Kangaroo (there are many past papers online for these) can also be beneficial. To improve on problem skills in a more targeted manner, the ‘Art of Problem-Solving’ books contain many tips and tricks that can prove useful for both the TMUA and the CSAT. For the CSAT itself, consider looking at matrices in addition to the A-level maths content, as this has come up on past papers. I would also recommend looking at STEP I papers, as these demand similar problem-solving skills to the CSAT. Don’t worry too much about the admissions tests – they are meant to be difficult and Cambridge tries to interview as many people as possible. Try your best to prepare, you aren’t expected to get full marks! |
Q: Do you have any resources you’d recommend to anybody applying for your subject? |
The internet is your oyster for resources – there is so much more out there than I can describe. However, I would recommend becoming comfortable with a programming language of your choice (common choices would be Python, Java, C#, JavaScript). If you have no programming experience at all, I would recommend the Udacity CS101 course (and the author, David Evans’s accompanying book) or edX’s CS50, which are all free. These will give you a good insight into programming structures and will hopefully equip you with enough knowledge to begin basic projects. I would recommend Robert Heaton’s “Programming Projects for Advanced Beginners” – these walk you through some projects and then give you ideas on how to improve them further. Otherwise: google, google, google – see what tutorials there are on YouTube, or which courses you’re interested in on Coursera or edX. Most of these courses are free and will hopefully help you to find inspiration. Reading is also underrated for Computer Science – common suggested texts are The New Turing Omnibus or the Code Book, but you will get far more out of reading a book on a topic you have a particular interest in. If you can convince your school to get you a subscription to Brilliant.org, this website is full of short courses that are specifically designed to improve your problem-solving. If not, try working through Project Euler problems – don’t be afraid to look up solutions, but always be looking to learn new problem-solving techniques along the way. |
Q: Any tips for preparing for interviews? |
Look up interview questions for Computer Science at Oxbridge, and try working through the problems yourself. Don’t worry if you often get stuck – in the actual interview, you’d have someone giving you pointers along the way. If you can, convince your teachers/friends studying maths or computer science to act as an interviewer to give you hints. Otherwise, all of the methods used for preparing for TMUA/CSAT will come in handy, so keep up all of the strategies you used for those. If you aren’t studying Further Maths, have a look over the Further Mathematics content (in particular, proof by induction). Even though you indicate which topics you’ve done on the SAQ, you might still be asked about something you haven’t covered at school yet. If you don’t study Computer Science at A-level, get accustomed with Computer Science basics, as this will not only show that you have spent time on the subject, but will hopefully make the interview go a lot smoother! Skimming through the theoretical topics in an A-level Computer Science textbook will give you a solid basis in this. Logic puzzles and brainteasers are also a good way to practise – for this, see braingle.com’s brain teasers, and filter by maths. Look to other subjects for past interview questions also, such as engineering (ignoring the physics) and maths. The more practice you get in working through problems while also talking through your thought process, the easier it will be for the interviewers to help you and understand your methods. It’s fine to ask questions of clarification, so don’t panic. Good luck! My interview was half maths and half logic questions. Familiarise yourself with logic formulas and gates. Practise logic puzzles |
Psychological and Behavioural Sciences |
Q: Do you have any tips for making a personal statement? |
My tips for making a personal statement is to keep it focused on your interest. For example, I am extremely interested in forensic psychology and the impact of social influence. To demonstrate this interest I mentioned differing viewpoints from podcasts I had listened to concerning the act of murder and whether it can purely be biological (I argued it couldn’t!) |
Q: How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? |
For the admissions assessment I had completed all of the available practice papers on the official Cambridge website so I could get used to the format of the exam and questions style. I also found that on some papers I performed well and others not so much, so please don’t get disheartened if some of the practice exams you do go well and the others don’t. The last practice exam I did before the actual assessment I performed my worst and still got in so don’t worry! |
Q: Do you have any books or resources you'd recommend to anybody applying for your subject? |
Regarding any books/resources I’d recommend for those applying for PBS, it would be a-level biology books/resources as I believe it would have helped immensely with my first term as someone who did not take a science A-level. |
Q: Any tips for preparing for interviews? |
When preparing for interviews, I used the interview video posted by the official Cambridge University as it gives a step by step guide through the interview process leaving you feeling more prepared. |
Subject FAQs with Our Subject Reps ( Arts/ Humanities/Social Sciences) | |
English | |
Q: Do you have any tips for making a personal statement? | |
A:I think the best way to go about a personal statement, specifically for Oxbridge, is to think of it as a summary of all the things you would be really excited to talk about if you were called to interview. For English especially, I would say that your personal statement should be primarily focused on the main texts and ideas that led to you wanting to continue with the subject at undergraduate level with ideally some sort of connection between how one interest evolved into another. Crucially, as tempting as it is to list every classic you’ve ever read, your personal statement should be a reflection of your genuine interests — it’s better to be really passionate about a book you think nobody else has ever read than to have read Bleak House But think nothing of it. | |
Q: How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? | |
A: For English, before you are called to interview you have to sit the ELAT. The ELAT takes the form of a singular essay written within 90 minutes comparing two unseen passages. To prepare for this, I looked at lots of unseen passages both in prose and verse as well as briefly reading into the different characteristics that defined the literature of each century. This took the form of reading prominent bits of literary criticism and trying to contextual how developed and respected mediums such as the novel or the play were at the time of writing. I also found the Cambridge Glossary of Literary Terms (found online at https://www.english.cam.ac.uk/classroom/terms.htm) really helpful in improving my literary analysis and trying to gauge what kinds of things the marker was looking for.
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Q: Do you have any books or resources you'd recommend to anybody applying for your subject? | |
A: I would recommend reading some literary criticism such as “The Death of the Author” by Roland Barthes or T. S. Eliot’s “Tradition and the Individual Talent”. Otherwise, reading criticism on the works featured in your personal statement is always helpful. This can be found online via JSTOR or more readily in the introductions included in the Penguin or Oxford World’s Classic editions of texts. The TLS (Times Literary Supplement) is also a great resource for wider contextual reading or to just generally see what is currently being discussed in the literary world. | |
Q: Any tips for preparing for interviews?
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When preparing for interviews, I found it useful to divide my preparations up into studying for the possibility of an unseen passage and just talking more broadly about literature. For the former, my preparations for the ELAT put me in good stead and for the latter I kept a journal of all the books, poems and plays that I had included in my personal statement or had read since, writing a page worth of quotes, themes or just general ideas for each. More importantly though, I think the old clichés of just try to be yourself and have fun do apply here. I remember really enjoying my interviews despite all the nerves so my main tip is just to think out loud and to not be afraid of saying the wrong thing! |
Human, Social and Political Sciences |
Q: Any tips for preparing a personal statement? |
The most important thing I think you need to get across is your passion for the subject. Whether it’s books you’ve read, extracurriculars or work experience – really emphasise why you’re interested in them, and how they link to your chosen subject. If you apply for HSPS, it’s important to remember that you don’t have to discuss every subject – I only wrote about politics in my personal statement. |
Q:How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? |
I did the past papers available for the HSPSAA, but I also practiced being able to write an essay in the time given. I would say it’s important to keep up with current events, and to read around, so that you are able to respond to the essay question in the assessment. Disclaimer: the tests and form of assessment has changed and you would need to check the official page for further details |
Q: Are there any resources you would recommend for people looking to study HSPS? |
Read around what interests you – for example, I was very interested in the Middle East, so I read a couple of books around the Syrian conflict. It’s also important to keep up with news and current affairs. I would really recommend David Runciman’s podcasts “Talking Politics” and “The History Of Ideas” – they discuss politics in a way that is easy to understand, but also very engaging, and I found it really useful. |
Q: Any tips for someone interviewing for HSPS? |
Try to enjoy it – you have the opportunity to engage with some brilliant academics about something you’re interested in. Treat it as an opportunity to learn, and engage in conversation – and definitely give yourself a moment to pause if you need it! |
Human, Social and Political Sciences pt.2 |
Q: Do you have any tips for making a personal statement? |
Write about something that you’re passionate about because if it is brought up in an interview, the passion would translate really well in your discussion with the interviewer. They wanted see sustained interest as well as proactivity ( extracurricular and activities that show how you have engaged in your interests) You do not need prior knowledge for HSPS. However, show curiosity by analysing topics through these 3 lenses as it shows the willingness to engage in all parts of the course:
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Q:How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? |
Practise writing an essay in timed condition. I also practised comprehension by using LNAT books etc and other competency based assessments. Whilst this isn’t going to be identical to the HSPSAA- it is working the same skills Disclaimer: There have been changes to the assessment for HSPS. Kindly check the faculty website for further details |
Q: Are there any resources you would recommend for people looking to study HSPS? |
Read the news regularly and listen to “ Talking Politics” podcast by David Runciman Books I recommend are: The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon The Racial contract by Charles W Mills Black feminist though by Patricia Hill Colliins Why I’m no longer talking to white people about race- Reni Eddo-Lodge Black and British- A forgotten history by David Olusuga The Class ceiling -why it pays to be privileged Why are all the black kids sitting together in the Cafeteria? And other conversations about race On Justice by John Rawls The Prince- Machiavelli |
Q: Any tips for someone interviewing for HSPS? |
Lastly, SMILE! It helps put both you and the interviewer at ease |
Law |
Q: Any tips for preparing a personal statement? |
o Reading and Exploring § Find your interest, focus on it! § Law isn’t just Criminal Law – explore others too! o Demonstrate academicinterest and potential. § Depth not breadth. § Show don’t tell – engage with the material! § Avoid talking about your co-curriculars unless they’re relevant! o Weaponize your statement § If you can, write about something specifically of interest to you, in depth. § Interviewers will potentially ask you about it! § Since you’ll be more prepared in this regard, this will effectively allow you to partially control the interview. |
Q:How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? |
· Cambridge Law Test Tips o Familiarize and Practice § Start looking at the kind of questions asked: · https://www.ba.law.cam.ac.uk/applying/cambridge-law-test § Make use of the LNATs too as they’re quite similar · https://lnat.ac.uk/how-to-prepare/practice-test/ o Engage with Legal Thinking § As a short-cut, here are some ideas law students often engage with to think about: · ‘Autonomy of the individual’ · The ‘welfare’ principle · The ‘harm’ principle · Proportionality · Non-retroactivity, maximum certainty and the rule of law · Burdens of proof and the presumption of innocence · The principle of fair labelling |
Q: Do you have any books or resources you'd recommend to anybody applying for your subject? |
· Reading Lists o Don’t just focus on what the law is (otherwise just read statute books) o Focus on is what area of the law interests you. o Focus on getting an insight into legal thinking. o Helpful material: § Letters to a Law Student - Nick McBride · (THIS IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – it’s written by a Cambridge Law academic with a key focus on applying to Law at Cambridge and how to go about doing it, helped me a ton!) § What about Law? Studying Law at University - Barnard, Virgo and O’Sullivan § Is Eating People Wrong? Great Legal Cases and How they Shaped the World - Allan Hutchinson · Other resources (quick links so you don’t have to waste time looking everywhere!) o Legal Thinking § Justice with Michael Sandel (I personally used this in conjunction with Letters to a Law Student) to practice thinking more sharply. While not a course on law (this is on moral philosophy) he does explore some relevant ideas that will help get the ball rolling! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBdfcR-8hEY&list=PL30C13C91CFFEFEA6 o Should you study Law? § Why study a Law Degree?: https://www.ba.law.cam.ac.uk/why-study-law § Law at Cambridge: a guide for prospective undergraduate students https://issuu.com/uni_cambridge/docs/law_guide_for_students_single_page o Areas of Law § Law in Focus, a 28-Episodes Cambridge Law Miniseries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxuLiXDHCbI&list=PLy4oXRK6xgzHukYwMI806wyHrLBoL9K0v § Explore Constitutional Lawin plain English!: https://publiclawforeveryone.com/ § Useful resources for subject exploration, with notes explaining some key cases in different areas of law: https://www.myheplus.com/post-16/subjects/law o Admissions Process § Cambridge Law Interview, an example: https://medium.com/think-cambridge-law/a-cambridge-university-law-interview-an-example-3a1716767bea § Example Admissions Interview Video (done by my supervisor Ben, who’s lovely!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npEcenV-Y08 Rule of law (by Lord Bingham), Eve was framed (about feminism in law), Eating people is wrong (accessibly covers cases that cover some really interesting legal ideas). More perfect (a podcast about American Supreme Court decisions; so gripping I can’t recommend enough! Also do search up constitutional law podcasts in general; it’s a fairly accessible topic to get your head around as it has strong links to current politics) |
Q: Any tips for preparing for interviews? |
· Interview Tips o Possible questions § Being given a written prompt and discussing possible issues arising from the prompt § Being given a definition of something and arguing what it might mean § Being asked about your personal statement § Being given a hypothetical scenario and working your way through the legal implications o Leverage your personal statement § Follow the former point on weaponising your statement o Think aloud § Show them your thought process! o Balance your argument § You should always try to defend your stance – don’t flip-flop! § Consider counterarguments § However, know when to concede and shift your stance accordingly. |
Land Economy |
What are your tips for writing a personal statement? |
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How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? |
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Do you have any books or resources you’d recommend to anybody applying for your subject? |
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Any tips for preparing for interviews? |
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Economics |
What are your tips for writing a personal statement? |
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How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? |
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Do you have any books or resources you’d recommend to anybody applying for your subject? |
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Any tips for preparing for interviews? |
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Geography |
Q:Do you have any tips for making a personal statement? |
Talk about a variety of topics - don’t just focus on one thing - Geography is characterised by its broadness and the ability to see how different topics intersect e.g. economics and politics Mention both human and physical geography, even if its a sentence or two about the one you are less interested in Especially good to mention how human and physical geography are linked e.g. if you are talking about economics, could link to how climate change, a physical geography topic, interacts with economics and how it will change in the future Good to say why it is important to study both human and physical geography Talk about books and articles you have read, and WHY you find them interesting. Can also discuss any talks that you may have been to - again WHY was this interesting. |
Q:How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? |
How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? Practice papers! And keeping up to date with current affairs - read / watch the news! |
Q:Do you have any books or resources you'd recommend to anybody applying for your subject? |
Read whatever you are interested in - geography is so broad, try to branch out from topics that you just learn in school, and read a book about a topic which is new to you. |
Q: Any tips for preparing for interviews? |
Watch YouTube videos of Cambridge and Oxford interviews - it will show that interviews are not as scary as you think they might be, and they have specific Geography ones where they ask the exact questions which were asked to previous applicants Keep up to date with the current affairs Read over your PS and refresh your memory of everything in it e.g. books that you have mentioned. Anticipate the questions they will ask, based on your PS - this can make the interview less daunting For the books / articles / talks etc that you have mentioned in your PS, brainstorm your favourite parts / topics within them, and think about why you are interested in them - this will probably come up in the interview, in the form of ‘why did you read this book’? A geography interview is hard to prepare for due to its nature of being such a broad subject. Research your interviews by googling them and seeing what topics they do their work in, as the interview may have a leaning towards these topics. At the very minimum, if your interviewers are human geographers, for example, it is likely that your interview will be largely human-geography based, with less physical geography. |
Modern Languages ( MML) | |
Q:Do you have any tips for making a personal statement? | |
Try to do a half/half ratio for the two languages, but I think that the ab initio section can be a little shorter, if you are doing a language from scratch. • Be as niche as you want! Admissions tutors will love to see you dipping into both literature and film in the target language, no matter how known or unknown it is. For example, if you are a French applicant interested in Francophone culture, write about that! • Try to really convey your own voice and own opinion of why these texts interest you; admissions tutors will like to see a willingness to formulate your own critical analysis of pieces. • Try to be logical about your structure, and make sure that your sentences flow. | |
Q:How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? | |
• I did some practice papers in timed conditions. • My teacher also gave me some texts to discuss and analyse, so that I could improve my critical voice, and ability to think on the spot. You could print out, for example, a foreign language news article and try to analyse it yourself in the target language. • I went over key grammar points to make sure that my language would be accurate, and that I could avoid easy errors in the exam. • I revised some good essay fillers and the more sophisticated vocabulary that I had picked up during A-Levels. | |
Q:Do you have any books or resources you'd recommend to anybody applying for your subject? | |
• Try to dip into short stories, poetry, novels, or even films. I chose specific time periods that I wanted to discuss in my personal statement and interview (not necessary at all, you could also delve into random ones). I liked the sound of Enlightenment literature, so I wrote about Voltaire (Candideis accessible and funny) and Diderot. • I also was interested in film, so I watched films similar to the ones I studied at A-Level. | |
Q: Any tips for preparing for interviews? | |
• Be prepared to formulate responses on the spot. Interviewers do not expect in-depth knowledge, but an ability to be critical about texts by your own accord. • Treat it as an intellectual conversation, not a scary grilling. • Exude interest! Make sure that you showcase how fascinated you are by languages.
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History and Spanish |
Q:Do you have any tips for making a personal statement? |
I think there is a lot of fear when it comes to writing a personal statement for a joint honours degree. But what i would say is useful is finding a theme or foundational topic that pieces both history and spanish together. For example, I stressed on the revolution and how it transforms both society and language I would also suggest making it personal because many students tend to use the French Revolution or the Cold War but with no personal interest in them . Be unapologetic with what you say you are passionate about no matter how niche. For example, it is possible to relate a period of history and how it relates to where you are from . It is better to be authentic and in depth than trying to create a version of the historian/ linguist you think they want you to be |
Q:How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? |
Unlike A-levels, the history admissions test is not testing content knowledge, it’s all a game of analysis and critical thinking . The most important way to prepare is to just DO IT! Get used to completing past papers under the time conditions because the texts you are given are quite lengthy and it is important you are used to the rigid time constraints. For the essay section, I’d get teachers/,entors to give you random articles or photo sources and set you a question that enables you to practice analysis of the unknown content |
Q:Do you have any books or resources you'd recommend to anybody applying for your subject? |
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Q: Any tips for preparing for interviews? |
Get comfortable speaking. Therefore, I would advise setting up formal interviews with your teachers or recording yourself speaking. It is also important to also have mock interviews about topics you have never studied or do not know about as you would be able to practise the skill of obtaining new information, analysing and critiquing it and then forming solid arguments. If you are doing a language ab initio, you will most likely NOT have an interview in your chosen language. However, i’d really familiarise yourself with literature and culture. Read up on current affairs happening in the country and get used to discussing, potential looking at language used |
History | |
Q: Do you have any tips for making a personal statement? | |
A: I found it helpful to word-vomit everything I felt was important on to a page before trying to produce anything cohesive. Then, once I had some form of first draft with everything I wanted to include, I worked on narrowing it down to only the most important things (4000 characters is much shorter than I thought!). Make sure you try to expand and explain these important things, don't just brush over them in an attempt to list everything. If you read a book, explain what you thought about it and how that has impacted you wanting to do this subject - random statements about being passionate or having read x, aren't that helpful - prove why you love the subject and what that reading actually meant for you! | |
Q: How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? | |
I mostly just looked through past papers to get a feel for what it would be like, and practised reading through the passages to try and improve my reading compression. It was mostly about getting used to reading the types of texts in such a short period of time, as well as getting used to the practicalities of the paper (i.e. the kinds of questions and the fact a lot of it was multiple choice). | |
Q: Do you have any books or resources you'd recommend to anybody applying for your subject? | |
A: I found 'In Our Time' podcasts relatively easy to access, and not too much time commitment! | |
Q: Any tips for preparing for history interviews? | |
Try not to overthink it. They're often much more relaxed that you might first think - the interviewers really just want to see that you can discuss your subject and handle being given new information etc. Try to articulate your thought processes as you think through a problem and don't be afraid to disagree if the interviewer says something you disagree with! Think of it as an academic discussion, rather than a test.
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History part 2 |
Q: What are your tips for making a personal statement? |
When writing your personal statement, planning it and finishing a first draft before Year 13 starts is crucial. However, also remember that your end product will probably be quite different from your initial draft. For History applicants, I would recommend focusing on key themes rather than specific periods. For example, you might find nationalism interesting. To demonstrate this you will give examples from your a-levels and extracurriculars but the main focus should be historiographical rather than simply historical. If you find it hard identifying themes, try reading the work of some of the key historians from your a-level History modules. Overall, you also want to emphasise your desire to explore historiography and wider concepts in relation to the periods or figures you find most appealing.
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Q:How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? |
For the History admissions assessment, you should practice past papers and try to keep up to date with current affairs through various types of media. As there is a limited number of past papers, I would recommend spreading these out throughout the year so you can redo the same ones. When keeping up with current affairs, I would recommend watching the news, reading articles and watching documentaries. As the assessment is mainly focusing on your ability to extract key information, keeping up with current affairs in different ways will help you when analysing texts. |
Q. Do you have any books or resources you’d recommend to anybody applying for your subject? |
Any historiography books written before 1990 are largely dated but it is important that you are aware of their significance and arguments. For this, I would recommend ‘What is History?’ By E.H. Carr and/or The Idea of History by R.G. Collingwood and ‘Imagined Communities’ by Benedict Anderson. Considering that the historical discipline has heavily diversified in the 20th century, it is important for you to read or watch any recent books or documentaries by historians which are popular. This is where your specific interests can be demonstrated clearly. For example some recent works are:
Also scroll through BBC iPlayer to find any History documentaries you may find interesting. I really like ones presented by Lucy Worsley! |
Q. Any tips for preparing for interviews? |
When preparing for interviews, you should try to find out the research interests of your interviewer. These can be found on the college’s website or by simply googling their name. You should also familiarise yourself with all of the written work you sent in, as they may start a discussion based on your choice of words or argument. It is best to put yourself in the mind of the interviewer and think of things which they might pick up on and want to ask you more questions about. Once you know their research interests, these will be a lot easier to spot in your written work and personal statement. Most importantly, try doing practice interviews with your teachers or people you are not as friendly with to get yourself used to having conversations with strangers. |
History of Art |
Q: Do you have any tips for making a personal statement? |
As there are no specified subjects you have to take in order to study the History of Art it’s really important to show how the subjects you’ve chosen to study relate to the study of Art History. Also, explain exactly why you want to study History of Art in the first place. In terms of the topics you choose to talk about its completely up to you, choose things you are genuinely really interested in as your passion will come across naturally. Go really in depth with each topic rather than talk about lots of things briefly. |
Q: How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? |
The admissions test aims to test your visual analysis skills by asking you to compare and contrast two images. These kinds of essays are testing how you write about what you see in the given images rather than any factual knowledge so don’t stress too much about trying to learn everything there is to know about the History of Art. The focus of your essays should be suggesting why the images have been put together as a pair rather than just listing facts about each image individually. To prepare for this I found it really useful to find topics that I could apply to any image comparison so I would always have something to write about (e.g. colour palette, the subject, composition, the medium etc). After finding these topics I put together a bank of images from major areas of Art History and Architecture and wrote brief notes centred around each of my prompts. After that, I found it useful to write short practice essays first with my notes and then in exam conditions. |
Q:Do you have any books or resources you'd recommend to anybody applying for your subject? |
I think it is really useful to read a general overview of Western Art History and Architecture just to give you a little bit of background knowledge, it doesn’t have to be too in depth. Ones that I found particularly useful were Art History: A Very Short Introduction by Dana Arnold and The Story of Art by Gombrich. side from this, you should focus on reading in depth for the topics you choose to talk about in your personal statement. I would also recommend choosing a range of sources such as articles from journals and exhibition reviews alongside longer books. |
Q:Any tips for preparing for interviews? |
It is important to know your personal statement in depth for your interview. Make sure you are prepared to talk about anything you have included such as exhibitions, specific paintings that you have named, and the reading you have done. You may also be asked about the written work you have chosen to submit prior to the interview so think about the reasons why you chose to submit it and how it relates to your interest in Art History. Your interview will be mostly based on the topics you include in your personal statement but be prepared to go beyond that and talk more widely about Art History. For example, be prepared to talk about why you think the subject is important, why you want to study the History of Art, a recent exhibition you’ve attended, and your favourite artists. As with the admissions assessment, you will be tested on your visual analysis skills so practice talking about works of art out loud. My main tip would be to get as much practice as you can for possible interview questions and image analysis from friends, family members, or schoolteachers. Also, try to see as much art as possible in the time coming up to your interview. For every piece of art you see, think about what you could say about it in the context of an interview, this may seem difficult as first but keep going until it starts to feel more natural! |
Q: Anything else you would like to include? |
For History of Art it is not required to have relevant work experience however many art galleries often take on volunteers (even if they don’t advertise it, it’s best to ask!)This kind of experience can look really impressive on a personal statement and is a good talking point for your interview. |
Architecture |
Q: Do you have any tips for making a personal statement? |
In your personal statement, relate everything back to your desire to study architecture. Whether it’s an interest in sustainable architecture, social housing or the process of restoration, elaborate on that driving force whatever it may be. Discuss such passions in relation to specific architects, projects or theories that inspire you along with any relevant topics from the current subjects your studying. Attend design based workshops, exhibitions, masterclasses and discussions to develop your knowledge and understanding of principles in design. |
Q: How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? |
The admissions assessment is split into two segments, a writing skills assessment and a test on your graphic and spatial ability. In the written section, I prepared by exploring different perspectives on architectural issues through journals, articles and discussions. Familiarising myself with the language of architecture helped me form opinions and respond to thought provoking questions. It’s also useful to have a general understanding of key periods in architectural history along with significant theories, architects and urban planners. For the drawing section you can prepare by observing your everyday environment through a sketchbook. Ask questions about your surroundings, the buildings, the people and the spaces in between them. You’ll be expected to interpret a space visually so draw from life as much as possible! |
Q:Do you have any books or resources you'd recommend to anybody applying for your subject? |
Some books I’d recommend: The Poetics of Space, Gaston Bachelard, The Architecture of Happiness, Alain de Bottom and Towards a New Architecture, Le Corbusier. I also found journals, discussions, films and documentaries insightful. Journal/magazine recommendations: Dezeen, Architects’ Journal, ArchDaily, Architectural Digest and detail - follow these across all social media platforms to integrate design into your daily life, along with TED Talks, podcasts and any discussions exploring issues in the built environment. |
Q: Anything else you would like to include? |
.Preparation wise please don’t stress too much, you can never entirely prepare for an interview! I would say just get comfortable discussing and critiquing art and architecture with friends and family. It may be helpful going through your portfolio and explaining it to someone before the interview. Ensure there’s an interesting and diverse set of work in your portfolio with a wide range of media including three dimensional pieces.
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Music |
Q: Do you have any tips for making a personal statement? |
it’s important to try and balance between discussing their interests and things that are more related to the course. It’s easy to write about all the musical things they’ve done but a lot of it won’t matter too much because the course is mainly academic, so it’s good to read through the course description and write about more relevant things especially with only 4000 characters. |
Q: How did you prepare for your admissions assessment? |
I spent my first term of Year 13 doing Bach Chorale exercises with my teacher which is probably the test everyone will get but they should check with the DoS beforehand. Most of their teachers will probably tell them anyway, but playing/reading/listening to the Riemenschneider is really helpful for this |
Q:Do you have any books or resources you'd recommend to anybody applying for your subject? |
I think there’s a faculty reading list for interviews but it’s probably better to read about what interests you as this would enable you to talk about it properly, rather than trying to learn something specifically for the interview. That said, Music: A very short Introduction and a Guide to Musical Analysis by Nicholas Cook are both good to browse through, the second one is more complicated though and they definitely won’t expect them to understand all the concepts from that |
Q:Any tips for preparing for interviews? |
I found practice interviews really helpful so I’d recommend that for trying to prepare for the pressure as well as the content. Trying to do some background reading but not getting too hung up on it like I said, and yeah obviously not to stress about it too much ahah |
BME-SPECIFIC SOCIETIES IN CAMBRIDGE | |
CUSU BME Campaign | A political campaign for BME students which is part of the Cambridge Student Union. The campaign has two main goals: tackle racism through lobbying and being a point of consultation for BME students. |
CUSU International Societies | A list of International societies ranging from East Africa to South East Asia |
Cambridge African Caribbean Society | A cultural society for students of African and Caribbean heritage |
Black Cantabs project | This is a project run by student and alumni and to highlight the legacies of Black students |
FLY | A network and forum for women and non-binary students of colour |
FUSE | A network for LGBTQ+ people of colour |
SOAR | An intellectual forum to facilitate discussions with the BME men in Cambridge. |
Islamic Society ( iSOC) | The Islamic society and they also created subject guides here |
General Personal Statement Tips
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How to choose a college?There are 31 amazing colleges in Cambridge University but you can only apply to ONE so which one should you choose? Firstly, there are several factors to consider: | |
Size: Colleges vary in sizes | |
Location: College in the centre of town vs further out from the centre e.g Trinity Hall college is located in the centre of town | |
Gender: There are female-only colleges e.g Newnham, Murray Edwards | |
Appearance: Traditional architecture or more modern looking appearance | |
Feel and vibe: visit if you can |
