University Interview Questions and 8 Strong Sample Answers

By Mustafa Tarabya, founder of CVBooster · Published 2026-10-06 · Updated 2026-10-06

8 min read

University interview questions are mostly about your subject: why you want to study it, what you have read beyond school, and how you think through a problem you have not seen before. The constraint is that tutors are not marking a rehearsed speech; they want to watch you reason. The University of Oxford describes its interviews as "academic conversations about your chosen subject, similar to a short tutorial and designed to explore how you think and engage with new ideas." Below are eight common university interview questions with full sample answers, checked in October 2026, tagged for sixth-form applicants, medicine applicants and mature students, plus the lecturer job version. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, who hired for his own company, read every application himself and now writes CVBooster's guides.

You will be asked a question you cannot answer. That is not the interview going wrong. That is the interview starting.

1. Why do you want to study this subject?

Every interview opens with some version of this. The weak answer is a feeling ("I have always loved history"). The strong answer is a moment, a question it raised, and what you did about it.

Complete Sixth-form applicant: why history example, 103 words, laid out as it would sit in the application form

Sixth-form applicant: why history (103 words)

It started with a question I could not answer. In Year 12 we studied the 1930s, and our textbook said Britain chose appeasement because the public wanted peace. I wanted to know how anyone knew what the public wanted before opinion polls were common. So I read about Mass Observation, the project that paid ordinary people to keep diaries, and I spent a weekend reading digitised entries from 1938. They were far more divided than the textbook suggested. That is what I want to do for three years: take a confident sentence in a book and find out what the evidence actually says.

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2. Tell me about a book you mentioned in your personal statement

Tutors will pick something from your statement and push. Know what you wrote, and have one point where you disagree with the author.

Complete Sixth-form applicant: economics, a book from the personal statement example, 109 words, laid out as it would sit in the application form

Sixth-form applicant: economics, a book from the personal statement (109 words)

I wrote about Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. The idea that stayed with me is anchoring: people's estimates are pulled towards the first number they see, even a random one. I tried a small version with my sixth-form economics class, asking half of them to guess a price after seeing a high number and half after a low one, and the high group guessed higher. Where I am less convinced is how far it applies to markets. Professional traders see thousands of numbers a day, and I am not sure one anchor survives that. I would like to read the research on whether experience reduces the effect.

3. A problem you have not seen before

This is the question people fear. Oxford says interviews help tutors "see how you think, respond to new ideas and engage with material beyond your school or college syllabus." Think out loud, state assumptions, and change your mind openly when you spot a mistake.

Complete Sixth-form applicant: engineering, thinking aloud example, 130 words, laid out as it would sit in the application form

Sixth-form applicant: engineering, thinking aloud (130 words)

Question: how many litres of water would you need to fill this room?

I would start by estimating the room. It looks about five metres long, four wide and maybe three high, so roughly sixty cubic metres. A cubic metre is a thousand litres, so that is about sixty thousand litres. Actually, I should subtract the furniture, but the table and chairs are small compared with the room, so I will ignore them and say that adds maybe one or two percent of error. The bigger question is whether you mean the weight. Sixty thousand litres of water is about sixty tonnes, and I doubt this floor is designed for that. So my answer is about sixty thousand litres, and I would not recommend trying it on the second floor.

4. Medicine: an ethical scenario

Medical schools often use multiple mini interviews with ethics stations. Show that you see both sides, name the principles and reach a decision.

Complete Medicine applicant: ethics station, a patient refuses treatment example, 123 words, laid out as it would sit in the application form

Medicine applicant: ethics station, a patient refuses treatment (123 words)

Scenario: a competent adult refuses a blood transfusion for religious reasons.

The first thing I would check is capacity: does the patient understand the information, retain it, weigh it and communicate a decision? If they do, the principle of autonomy means a competent adult can refuse treatment, even if doctors think the refusal will harm them. I would want to make sure the refusal is informed, so I would explain the risks clearly, ask whether there is any alternative they would accept, such as medicines that reduce blood loss, and check they are not under pressure from anyone else. I would document everything and involve senior colleagues. If the patient still refuses, I would respect it, while continuing to offer every acceptable treatment.

5. Why this university?

Name one or two things specific to the course: a module, the teaching format, a research group. Do not talk about the city's nightlife.

Complete Sixth-form applicant: why this university, geography example, 88 words, laid out as it would sit in the application form

Sixth-form applicant: why this university, geography (88 words)

Two reasons. First, the course lets me take physical and human geography modules all the way through, and I do not want to choose yet because the topic I care about, flooding, is both. Second, the second-year fieldwork in the Netherlands looks at how a country lives below sea level, and that is exactly the question I wrote my extended project on. I also liked that teaching in the first year is in small groups, because I learn best when I have to explain my thinking to someone.

6. Mature student: why now?

Mature applicants are often asked why they are returning to education and how they will manage. Treat your work experience as evidence, not as an apology.

Complete Mature student: returning to study nursing at 34 example, 114 words, laid out as it would sit in the application form

Mature student: returning to study nursing at 34 (114 words)

I have worked as a healthcare assistant on a respiratory ward for six years. I chose to apply now because I have reached the edge of what I can do in my role. When a patient's oxygen levels drop, I can recognise it and call the nurse, but I want to understand the physiology well enough to make the decision myself. I completed an Access to Higher Education diploma last year while working, so I know I can manage study alongside other commitments. My family has planned for the placement hours, and I have already spoken to my manager about reducing my contract. I am not starting again; I am building on six years.

7. What do you do outside your studies?

This tests whether you can talk naturally. Pick one thing and show what it taught you, ideally linked to the course.

Complete Sixth-form applicant: law, interests outside school example, 93 words, laid out as it would sit in the application form

Sixth-form applicant: law, interests outside school (93 words)

I volunteer at a Saturday advice drop-in run by our local library. I do not give advice, but I help people fill in forms, mostly benefit and housing applications. What surprised me was how often a problem is not the law but the wording of the form. One man had been refused support because he ticked the wrong box in a question that two of us read differently. It made me interested in how law is written for the people who use it, which is part of why I want to study it.

8. Applying for a job at a university

Some searches are from people interviewing for university jobs, such as lecturer or research posts. The panel asks about teaching, research plans and contribution to the department.

Complete Academic job: lecturer interview, your teaching approach example, 109 words, laid out as it would sit in the application form

Academic job: lecturer interview, your teaching approach (109 words)

I teach by making students do the thinking in the room. In my seminars on public policy, I give a short case at the start, often a real government announcement, and ask small groups to decide what problem it is solving and what evidence it uses. Then we compare their answers with the policy literature. Last year I redesigned a second-year module this way, and in the module evaluation students said they understood how to use the reading in their essays. I would bring that approach to your core methods module, which your advert says needs refreshing, and I would be happy to lead it from my first year.

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What tutors are looking for

Oxford is direct about it: "Decisions are not based on your manners, appearance or background, but on your ability to think independently and to engage with new ideas beyond the scope of your school or college syllabus." The University of Cambridge says the same in fewer words: "Interviews at Cambridge are academic conversations about the subject you're interested in studying."

Three habits help in every subject. Think out loud, because a tutor cannot credit reasoning they cannot hear. Say when you are unsure, then make your best attempt anyway. And if you realise halfway through that you were wrong, say so and correct it; that is what tutorials are for.

For interview formats beyond Oxford and Cambridge, including medicine and teaching courses, UCAS explains what to expect after you apply.

How to prepare

Reread your personal statement and be ready to talk about every book, project and claim in it. Practise explaining a topic from your subject to someone who does not study it. Do a mock interview with a teacher who will ask follow-up questions, not just the first question. Prepare one question to ask at the end about the course itself.

If you are applying for jobs alongside study, the same reasoning helps in workplace interviews: see our common interview questions and answers, the STAR interview questions guide, and the personal statement examples for writing about yourself without sounding rehearsed.

Frequently asked questions

What questions are asked in a university interview?

Expect questions about why you chose the subject, books or projects from your personal statement, a problem or text you have not seen before, why this university, and your interests outside school. Medicine and other professional courses add ethics and motivation questions, often in a multiple mini interview format.

How do I prepare for a university interview?

Know your personal statement well, read beyond your school syllabus in your subject, practise thinking out loud with a teacher, and prepare a short answer to why this course and why this university. Do at least one mock interview where someone asks follow-up questions, because the follow-ups are where real interviews happen.

What happens at an Oxford or Cambridge interview?

Both universities describe their interviews as academic conversations about your subject, similar to a short tutorial. Tutors may give you a problem, a text or data you have not seen and ask you to work through it. They are assessing how you think and respond to new ideas, not testing memorised facts.

What should I say when I do not know the answer?

Say what you do know, state an assumption, and try. Tutors deliberately ask questions beyond school level, so not knowing is expected. What matters is how you reason towards an answer, whether you use hints, and whether you notice and correct your own mistakes.

What questions should I ask at the end of a university interview?

Ask about the course rather than things on the website: how teaching is organised in the first year, how much choice there is in later modules, or what a typical tutorial or seminar involves. One thoughtful question is enough. It is also fine to say your questions have been answered.

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