When you apply for university, part of the process involves preparing for possible interviews that you might have to do. Universities use interviews to get a better idea of the applicant and assess whether they would be suitable to attend the university. They are also a great way for you to learn more about the university, meet some of its staff members, and get a feel for whether the institution is the right place for you.

For many students, university interviews are often the first time they have had to do an interview. If this is true for you,  make sure to bookmark this page to come back to when you need interview tips.

Before applying, it’s impossible to know whether you’ll be asked to come in to interview for a university, as it often depends on the type of course you are applying for and/or the level of competitiveness for a particular degree. With that being said, the institutions that tend to interview more than others include; the University of Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London and University College London. The Imperial College London says that, “many of our courses require applicants to be interviewed as part of the application process” so it’s definitely better to be prepared for an interview than be caught off guard by it!

How to Answer these 6 University Interview Questions

There are a number of questions that can be generally expected when you go to an interview at a university. While it’s important to remember that the ones we go through in this blog are just a guide, it’s a good way to get you prepared for any questions or themes that might come up. 

What some students do in preparation for their university interviews is do some practice interviews with friends, family or teachers. It can be especially useful if the person who is ‘interviewing’ you in these practice runs has gone through this process themselves. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

This is a pretty obvious question that many interviews might start with - whether it’s a university interview or one for a job- interviewers will often start with an introductory question to try and get to know a bit more about you as an applicant. This is your opportunity in a university interview to talk about the highlights you put in your personal statement; what makes you stand out from everyone else? 

Be genuine from the very start, sharing personal details about your interests and hobbies and examples of how they integrate into your daily life. For example, if you’re an avid football player, you should let the university admissions team know that you go to practice once a week. This demonstrates more than just a highlight of your personality and the things that you enjoy; by discussing the impacts on your daily life that surround the hobby or interest, you’re also demonstrating your willingness to commit to things and stick with them over prolonged periods - a big tick in many admissions officer’s eyes.

Besides talking about you as a human, this opening question is also a great moment to start the conversation around your interests around the course you are applying for, to share your goals and aspirations for the future, after you finish your university studies; how will your degree help you go into your desired career? What work placements or volunteering have you done to help you get to this point and how has this affected you as an individual? 

If you have any good anecdotes for why you are applying to go to this university (maybe your parents met while they were students there), or taking this particular course (maybe you saved a hurt bird when you were younger and wanted to be a Vet ever since then) this is the time to include that! Don’t forget when answering this question; stay relevant and stay calm. You don’t want to spend the time talking at a hundred miles an hour about topics that are completely irrelevant to what they’re asking because you’re nervous.

Why did you choose this particular subject?

Of all the subjects you could have chosen to study, why did you choose this one? Is it because when you were 11 you got a chemistry set for your birthday and discovered how much you loved it? Is it because you want to study Law to go on and help less fortunate people in the legal system? Everyone has a reason as to why they are working towards a particular subject or job, so before your interview have a think about what yours is.

It can be good in interviews to use examples, this helps you paint a picture for the person interviewing you and give them a clearer idea of what type of candidate you are. With this in mind, spend some time before the interview thinking of examples that apply to your answers - did you really love learning about microbiology in year 11? How did your science teacher demonstrate the subject in an engaging way?

It’s important to prepare an answer that demonstrates a genuine passion or interest in the subject, especially for the more competitive university courses. Admissions officers will be looking for the most committed students to join their university; studying Finance because you have ambitions of learning lots of money one day won’t cut it (and on a separate note, might not even mean you enjoy doing your day job), so really think hard about what is it about the subject that captivates your interest?

Why did you choose this university?

This question is a very important one. The university wants to know why you have chosen them above the hundreds of other options. In preparing for this question it can be a good idea to do some research on the institution; have a look into any influential alumni that have attended the university, examples of the university making impressive headlines. 

Bringing up things like this in the interview will show the interviewer that you have done your research on the university and are dedicated to becoming a student there. This would also be a good opportunity to talk about the area the university is based in. Have you always wanted to go to the University of Edinburgh because you love the culture and architecture of the city? 

You can also use this moment to relate to your hobbies too. If you’re an avid sportsperson, you can mention the impressive sports facilities that the university campus has, or, if you’re someone who loves the arts, you could talk about your excitement to be involved in the university’s drama, music or creative writing societies.

What did you enjoy about your A-Levels?

In order to get a better understanding of your learning style, this university interview question is commonly used by admissions officers to provoke discussion around how your learning style will fit into the university-style of learning. 

Your A-Levels, most likely, will have been the first example you’ve experienced of having to really work to deadlines, work more independently, produce your best work and aim for a grade to get into your desired university. And the admissions officers want to know whether you found that style of learning challenging, or, relatively easy to sink into. Now, if you struggled with your A-Levels and found them really difficult, don’t worry because you definitely aren’t alone. 

A good trick in interviews is to switch the words you're using from a negative to positive. So, if you are thinking that “I hated my A-Levels and found them really hard”, try instead going with, “my A-Levels challenged me to work harder for my academic goals”. Again, it’s a good idea in this situation to include what you learned from this experience. It probably taught you how to be a more prepared and dedicated student, so make sure you get this across!

Even if you didn’t enjoy anything about your A-Levels, use the ‘negative to positive’ trick to come up with some ideas before the interview to help get across to the interviewer how hard you worked at your studies and managed to get your results despite it maybe not being the most enjoyable time.

What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?

A classic question to be asked in any type of interview revolves around your ability to deal with challenges and understand what personal success means to you.

This is always a hard question to answer, but please resist the temptation to say one of your biggest weaknesses is that you’re “too much of a perfectionist” or something equally cheesy. It’s okay to be honest when talking about your weaknesses and say that, for example, you sometimes need to take a step back and prioritise your work instead of trying to do everything at once. An important thing to remember here though is to still keep it relevant! Your interviewer doesn’t need to know that one of your biggest weaknesses is that you can never keep your room tidy. 

A lot of people find it difficult to show off and say good things about themselves in interview settings but don’t forget to include all the brilliant things about yourself! If you are a natural team leader, or always get your homework done on time then make sure they know this. Your interviewers are not mind-readers, so make sure you are your biggest (metaphorical) cheerleader for yourself. 

Like I mentioned earlier, going over strengths and weaknesses can be a really good opportunity to give examples. Has there ever been a time where you have had to work out of your comfort zone or something hasn’t gone to plan and you’ve had to adapt? Make sure you come to the interview prepared with a handful of examples to apply to the different questions they ask (this is also a good tip for job interviews!)

Do you have any questions for us?

Whether you’re in a university interview or a future job interview, chances are the interviewers will ask if you have any questions for them. So, it’s a good idea to always have one or two up your sleeve. It shows your dedication to going to the university, that you have been listening and engaging with the interview, and that you really care and want to know more. 

If you haven’t thought of any that you want to ask then come prepared with some. A good example of this is, “What have your previous graduates gone on to do?” This will give you a clearer idea of the career progression and opportunities that you could pursue after you finish your studies. 

You could also ask questions such as “how many students are in a class?” to get a better idea of what your learning environment will be like, again, giving you clarity over whether it’s the type of university you want to pursue your learning at.

We recommend that you take a look through the university website and social media sites to get an insight into the campus and subjects, then if you have any gaps and want to know more - make a note of them as questions to ask at your interview! 

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Our next intake will be in September 2022, fill out the form here to register your interest and a member of our team will be in touch with you or visit our website for more information on our other courses and subjects.