2027 entry
How Cambridge interviews work this year
Cambridge holds its main interview period from 7 to 18 December 2026. Most applicants have one or two interviews, lasting 35 minutes to an hour in total, and Cambridge says applicants find out the outcome on 27 January 2027.
1
Interview invitation
Mostly November
2
College interviews
7 to 18 December 2026
3
Outcome
27 January 2027
- -The main interview period runs from 7 to 18 December 2026.
- -Most invitations are sent in November, though some go out in early December.
- -Most applicants have one or two interviews lasting a total of 35 minutes to an hour.
- -Each college decides whether its interviews are in person or online: Churchill, Emmanuel, King's and Selwyn interview everyone in person.
- -Cambridge says applicants find out the outcome of their application on 27 January 2027.
- -Winter pool interviews take place around mid to late January 2027.
Checked against official university sources on 26 October 2026: Cambridge: interviews, Cambridge: dates and deadlines. Your invitation email has the details for your own course and college.
Mock interviews
How our Cambridge mock interviews work
Real length, real questions and strict marking, with a rotating panel of Oxford and Cambridge interviewers, so the real interview is never the first time you face someone new.
01
Real conditions
Two interviews of 25 to 30 minutes in one hour, with a strict cut-off. Standard questions, unseen material and real past interview questions we keep for our mock interview students.
02
A rotating panel
On the day you meet people you have never seen before. So you meet a different interviewer each time, never more than four mocks with the same person, and nothing is asked twice.
03
Strict marking
Every interview is scored on the same three criteria and written up on a feedback sheet in your portal, so you can see exactly where you are improving and what to fix next.
What we mark
- 50%
Academic thinking
Breaking an unfamiliar problem down, testing ideas, using what you know in a new setting and spotting where an assumption fails.
- 30%
Communication
Thinking out loud, stating your assumptions, answering the question actually asked and making good use of a hint.
- 20%
Resilience under pressure
Not whether you are nervous, but whether you recover: after a correction, a dead end or a deliberately vague question.
How to start
- Tell us your course, your colleges and two or three times that suit you.
- We match you with an interviewer for your course and confirm who it is.
- You have two full interviews, live feedback, then the written sheet in your portal.
- Each next mock picks up where the last one left off.
Some of our Cambridge graduates on this year's panels
Graduates who came through the Cambridge interview themselves, many of them at or near the top of their year.
Engineering
Top 10 of the cohort
First in Chemical Engineering, Cambridge, top ten of the cohort
Medicine
Top 10% of the cohort
Medicine, Cambridge, top 10% of the cohort
Law
2nd of 216 first-year Law
Double First in History, Oxford, then ranked 2nd of 216 in his first year of Law at Cambridge, with the Deka Chambers prize
Hannah
History
1st of 169 in the year
Double Starred First in History, Cambridge, ranked 1st of 169
History
4th of 169 in the year
First in History, Cambridge, ranked 4th of 169
Mathematics
5th of 284 Part III
Part III with Distinction, Cambridge, ranked 5th of 284
English
1st of 183 in the year
Double Starred First in English, Cambridge, ranked 1st of 183
English
2nd of 182 final year
Double First in English, Cambridge, ranked 2nd of 182 in the final year
Interviewers are confirmed with you before each session. Oxbridge Mentors is not affiliated with the University of Oxford or the University of Cambridge.
Cambridge interview questions by subject
One question from each subject guide. Try answering aloud, then open the guide for more questions with hints.
Economics
Sketch the graph below for positive c, explaining turning points and limiting behaviour.
Cambridge Economics questions →Education
Discuss this statement on education.
Cambridge Education questions →Engineering
Derive the relationship between capacitance, charge and potential difference for a simple capacitor.
Cambridge Engineering questions →English
Read and date this short, anonymous poem. Comment on the use of imagery and its effect.
Cambridge English questions →Geography
Here is a hydrograph for a small upland catchment before and after an area of it was afforested. The post-afforestation curve has a lower, later peak. Talk me through why the shape has changed.
Cambridge Geography questions →HSPS
Read this paragraph from a political speech. What assumptions about citizens does it make?
Cambridge HSPS questions →History
From what sort of work might this passage have been extracted?
Cambridge History questions →History and Modern Languages
Look at this short primary source. What is the first thing you would want to know before using it as historical evidence?
Cambridge History and Modern Languages questions →History and Politics
Read this short primary source and identify the author’s main claim before interpreting its purpose.
Cambridge History and Politics questions →History of Art
You are shown an unfamiliar painting. What do you notice first, and what might that suggest about the artist’s choices?
Cambridge History of Art questions →Land Economy
A city introduces a congestion charge in its centre. Who is likely to benefit, who may lose out, and what evidence would you want before judging the policy?
Cambridge Land Economy questions →Law
A statute defines murder as intentionally causing another person's death. Someone plants a bomb on an aeroplane to claim insurance, foreseeing that passengers will die. Should the passenger deaths count as intentional?
Cambridge Law questions →
Find your Cambridge subject
- Cambridge Economics interview
- Cambridge Education interview
- Cambridge Engineering interview
- Cambridge English interview
- Cambridge Geography interview
- Cambridge HSPS interview
- Cambridge History interview
- Cambridge History and Modern Languages interview
- Cambridge History and Politics interview
- Cambridge History of Art interview
- Cambridge Land Economy interview
- Cambridge Law interview
- Cambridge Linguistics interview
- Cambridge Linguistics and Modern Languages interview
- Cambridge Mathematics interview
- Cambridge Medicine interview
- Cambridge Medicine (Graduate Course) interview
- Cambridge Modern and Medieval Languages interview
- Cambridge Music interview
- Cambridge Natural Sciences interview
- Cambridge Philosophy interview
- Cambridge Psychological and Behavioural Sciences interview
- Cambridge Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion interview
- Cambridge Veterinary Medicine interview
Questions families ask
When are Cambridge interviews in 2026?
The main interview period runs from 7 to 18 December 2026. Most invitations are sent in November, though some go out in early December.
Are Cambridge interviews in person or online?
Each college decides. Churchill, Emmanuel, King's and Selwyn interview everyone in person; your invitation says how your own interview runs.
How long is a Cambridge interview?
Most applicants have one or two interviews lasting a total of 35 minutes to an hour.
When are Cambridge decisions?
Cambridge says applicants find out the outcome of their application on 27 January 2027. Winter pool interviews take place around mid to late January 2027.
How do your Cambridge mock interviews work?
Each session is one hour with two interviews of 25 to 30 minutes, at the real length and with a strict cut-off, then live feedback and a written feedback sheet in your portal. You meet a different interviewer from your subject each time.
Who are the interviewers?
Oxford and Cambridge graduates matched to your course, many of them at or near the top of their year. Interviewers are confirmed with you before each session.
How much do mock interviews cost?
Our admin team explains the options and prices on a short free call, along with a plan that fits your interview dates.