Hi there. I don't go to Cambridge yet but I have received an offer and done the interview, so maybe I can help you a bit. Just remember that this advice is only based off my own experiences and that the interviews vary between colleges quite a lot. I would say that the one thing you should be aware of is that they can ask you a lot of data questions. They were constantly giving me graphs and tables of data and asking me to describe what the graph was showing and attempt to explain why it was happening. If you've done any science (preferably either biology or chemistry) this won't be too bad. They also asked me some methodology/ research methods questions ( such as what are the problems of this experiment, how can it be improved etc.) From this, they asked me some stats questions. Now, I hadn't done any stats in a level maths by this stage but it was still approachable. Nothing to bad but I would say at least be aware about the importance of stats in psychology and be proficient at gcse stats (mean, median, mode, range, quartiles etc.). There were also the discussion questions. These were your typical 'strange Oxbridge interview questions' that everyone hears about and either loves them or hates them. One of mine was "How would you diagnose a 15th century seer?" Now, to get better at these I would recommend trying to read as many psychology books as you can before the interview (Look up Sacks, Ramachandran, Pinker or Kahneman) I would also suggest googling past Oxbridge psychology questions to get a feel for what they may ask. And finally, your personal statement. Your personal statement is free game and can be a large section of your interview. Make sure you know exactly what you put down and don't lie and bullshit your way through because they will almost certainly be able to tell. To make sure that you are prepared, I would recommend reading every line and coming up with questions that you would ask if it was someone else's personal statement and you had to interview them. For example, if you've written about Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, questions you could ask are "What is CBT?", "Which structure/framework does it most align with in psychology?", "What conditions can it treat?", "Is it effective?" Etc. Do this for every line and you will feel properly prepared. Hope this helps and good luck 😊
Hi, I would love it if you gave advice on prospective applications for PBS, and the questions they may ask at Interview!
Thanks in advance.
Hi there. I don't go to Cambridge yet but I have received an offer and done the interview, so maybe I can help you a bit. Just remember that this advice is only based off my own experiences and that the interviews vary between colleges quite a lot. I would say that the one thing you should be aware of is that they can ask you a lot of data questions. They were constantly giving me graphs and tables of data and asking me to describe what the graph was showing and attempt to explain why it was happening. If you've done any science (preferably either biology or chemistry) this won't be too bad. They also asked me some methodology/ research methods questions ( such as what are the problems of this experiment, how can it be improved etc.) From this, they asked me some stats questions. Now, I hadn't done any stats in a level maths by this stage but it was still approachable. Nothing to bad but I would say at least be aware about the importance of stats in psychology and be proficient at gcse stats (mean, median, mode, range, quartiles etc.). There were also the discussion questions. These were your typical 'strange Oxbridge interview questions' that everyone hears about and either loves them or hates them. One of mine was "How would you diagnose a 15th century seer?" Now, to get better at these I would recommend trying to read as many psychology books as you can before the interview (Look up Sacks, Ramachandran, Pinker or Kahneman) I would also suggest googling past Oxbridge psychology questions to get a feel for what they may ask. And finally, your personal statement. Your personal statement is free game and can be a large section of your interview. Make sure you know exactly what you put down and don't lie and bullshit your way through because they will almost certainly be able to tell. To make sure that you are prepared, I would recommend reading every line and coming up with questions that you would ask if it was someone else's personal statement and you had to interview them. For example, if you've written about Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, questions you could ask are "What is CBT?", "Which structure/framework does it most align with in psychology?", "What conditions can it treat?", "Is it effective?" Etc. Do this for every line and you will feel properly prepared. Hope this helps and good luck 😊
Hi there! I assume you are already a PBS student now? How are you finding the course to be so far? :)
deanrocks1000 soooo helpful thank you!!
Hello which college did u apply to?
How is the psychology library like?