Free Interview Resources
Free practice questions, preparation advice, and expert insights for Engineering interviews at Cambridge.
Real Engineering interview questions in the style Cambridge asks. Try answering each one aloud before you reveal the hint.
Derive the relationship between capacitance, charge and potential difference for a simple capacitor.
Problem-Solving
Hint
Define each quantity first, then ask what ratio stays constant for a given capacitor.
Use Kirchhoff's law to derive the differential equation for a capacitor discharging through a resistor.
Problem-Solving
Hint
Write the voltage around the loop, then express current as the time derivative of charge.
Sketch the graph below and explain the main features of its shape.
Problem-Solving
Hint
First identify the domain, then think about the oscillation as ln(x) grows slowly.
Describe the velocity-time graph of a skydiver from the moment they jump to after the parachute opens.
Problem-Solving
Hint
Separate the motion into phases and compare weight with air resistance in each phase.
A ladder rests against a wall. What forces act on the ladder, and how would you find the condition for equilibrium?
Problem-Solving
Hint
Draw a free-body diagram, then take moments about a point that removes an unknown force.
Supervision-style interviews with problem-solving and academic discussion, often with two interviewers.
Cambridge interviews usually happen at your first-choice college. Most applicants have two interviews, with some subjects requiring a third at the pooled college. Cambridge interviews tend to involve two interviewers and may include a written assessment or pre-interview task sent on the day.
Interview Invitation
Late Nov
Arrival to Interview
Early Dec
Technical Question
Mid Dec
Decision
Early Jan
Interview Invitation
Late Nov
Arrival to Interview
Early Dec
Technical Question
Mid Dec
Decision
Early Jan
How would you calculate the thickness needed for the wall of a gravity dam?
hardHint
Start by modelling the water pressure as increasing with depth, then compare overturning and resisting moments.
Differentiate the expression below and explain each step.
midHint
Identify where product, quotient and chain rules are needed before expanding anything.
A sealed cylinder contains gas and is pushed down with a piston. How would the pressure change?
midHint
State whether you are assuming constant temperature, then use the relevant gas relationship.
How does a capacitor work?
entryHint
Start with charge separation between two plates, then connect that picture to energy storage in an electric field.
How does a fridge work?
midHint
Track energy transfer around the cycle rather than saying it simply 'makes things cold'.
What are voltage, electricity and power?
entryHint
Explain them using energy, charge and rate rather than giving isolated formulae.
Why are some bridges made of concrete while others are made of soil or other materials?
midHint
Compare compressive strength, tensile weakness, cost, foundations and the forces the structure must carry.
How do aeroplanes fly, and could an aeroplane fly upside down?
midHint
Separate lift generation from the exact shape of the wing, and consider angle of attack.
You mentioned lift generated on wings in your personal statement. Explain the idea as if the interviewer challenged the simplified school-level version.
midHint
Define the simplified account, then refine it using pressure difference, momentum change and angle of attack.
What is your proudest engineering-related achievement, and what did it teach you about solving technical problems?
entryHint
Choose an example where you can discuss design choices, setbacks and what you changed.
You wrote about work experience in your personal statement. Describe one technical problem you observed and how an engineer might improve the solution.
midHint
Identify the constraint first: cost, safety, efficiency, manufacturability or environmental impact.
You mentioned Galileo and cantilever beams in your personal statement. Where do the main forces act in a cantilever, and how would you explain the bending qualitatively?
midHint
Draw the fixed support, load, reaction force and reaction moment, then describe tension and compression across the beam.
Why do sausages split lengthways rather than around their circumference when they cook?
midHint
Think about pressure, skin tension and which direction of stress is larger in a thin cylinder.
If you drilled a hole through the Earth and jumped in, what would happen?
hardHint
Begin with a simplified model: uniform density Earth, no air resistance, and motion along a diameter.
You have 1 litre of pure orange juice and 1 litre of pure apple juice. You transfer 100 ml from the orange container to the apple container, mix it, then transfer 100 ml back. Is there more apple in the orange container or more orange in the apple container?
entryHint
Use conservation: whatever volume of apple ends up in the orange container must displace the same volume of orange.
12+ weeks
8-12 weeks
4-6 weeks
1-2 weeks
the week of
Unlock the full guide
Free Resource
The Complete Cambridge Engineering Interview Guide
Enter your email to unlock the full question bank, worked approaches, a week-by-week prep roadmap, and the mistakes that cost offers.
Practice with a Cambridge Engineering graduate who's been through it.
Book Mock Interview →Watch & Learn
Official College example for understanding the tone and problem-solving style.
Official overview of what Engineering interviewers are looking for.
Admissions-focused discussion useful for applicant expectations.
Course overview for understanding the broad Engineering Tripos structure.
Useful for practising structured think-aloud approaches; not an official source.
All videos are the property of their respective creators.
Further Reading
by J. E. Gordon
Accessible introduction to structural engineering, stress, strain and materials thinking.
by J. E. Gordon
Useful for developing materials intuition that can support interview discussion.
by David J. C. MacKay
Excellent for quantitative estimation, energy systems and order-of-magnitude engineering reasoning.
by Henry Petroski
Good for thinking about failure, design decisions and how engineers learn from constraints.
by Henry Petroski
Supports discussion of real engineering design evolution rather than abstract enthusiasm.
by Cambridge Engineering outreach project led by Prof Richard Prager
Free engineering-style mathematics and physics problems designed to widen access to preparation.
by UAT-UK
Primary preparation source for the current admissions test.
by University of Cambridge
Best source for current structure, entry requirements, ESAT modules and specialisation route.
by University of Cambridge
Authoritative guide to interview purpose, timing and format variation.
by Isaac Physics
Strong source for A level and extension physics problems requiring multi-step reasoning.