Cambridge Interview Experience

My interview was in Taylor's College Subang Jaya and my TSA was in Sunway today. Last Thursday was the Interview Day. I was very nervous to meet the Chief Interviewer of Cambridge. Of all the interviewers, I was chosen to be interviewed by one of the senior lecturer who was basically in-charge of the entire interview process which made me more anxious to meet him. The other interviewers looked younger. I kept counting down the days, the hours, the minutes and when it struck 12.10, I wonder why he hasn't come out to call me in. After moments of anticipation, he came out and greeted me. We walked down a hall and he apologised for the delay and I think I was the last one before lunch break. The moment he opened the big wooden doors, I was petrified for a second..Yes Cambridge is ancient but I didn't expect the interview to be ancient as well. The moment I walked in those doors I felt like the time sand suddenly reversed and I was back in time and everything about that room made me feel like I just got an Express Ticket to Cambridge (Hogwarts).

I am not sure if I am too observant or too imaginative or did I read too many creepy stories about Cambridge interview in the 1970s where the interviewer was sitting on the floor (weird right?) but there was something odd about that room. It was a dim room with only the yellow lamp and a big, wooden meeting table and big, black chairs that was pushed slightly to the back, as if people were sitting on it. If nobody is sitting on it, its pushed in right? The big frames looked frightening giving dark shadows upon the dim light. Oh gosh why didn't anybody turn on the normal fluorescent light?? White light would have been a true blessing :) Ok o maybe I am a little too observant.

The WORST PART is that at each 30 seats had a full glass of water. Why would there be such a setting if he was the only person in the room? My rational mind was saying that the Professor drank a lot of water but all the cups were full..they wouldn't get a refill too quick right? The moment he entered and shut those wooden doors, the first thing he said was "Yes I know the room looks scary." Now he had to suggest that thought. When I was just going to convince myself that it was just normal, someone had to say my thoughts aloud....

And here's when the magical conversation begins:

Interview Questions:

1. Estimate the radius of a tiny circle in between 4 spherical crystals with radius = a where the edges meet. Use trigonometry method to solve this.

• What is square root of 2? 1.4222

2. Given C2H2X2, draw possible isomers. There are 3 due to Geometric isomerism.

• Why is there an angle for geometric isomers?
• Given X=50 and 52 in the ration 4:1 what is the possible molecular weight for each isomer? Once you find this, give me the proportion of each isomer and how you reached the final answer.
• What are possible elements for X? 

3. Two particles interact whereby m1 is moving at initial velocity = u and m2 is at rest. When they collide what is conserved? I asked him "Is it elastic or inelastic collision?" and he replied " I was expecting you to ask me that. It is impossible to know without knowing the nature of collision."

• If the two particles collided is it possible for m2 to remain stationary? How and why? 
• The answer is no due to conservation of energy and momentum. If m2 remained stationary then m1 will rebounce but if this happens m1 will have a negative momentum. Since momentum is a vector this is impossible as it is an elastic collision and momentum is suppose to be conserved. Energy would have a possibility of being conserved if this occurred as 1/2 mv2 has a v to the power of 2 so the direction of v doesn't matter and still will be positive.

4. Differentiate sin x to the power of -1. Ans: -cos x /sin^2x

5. How to know what is underneath Earth if we can't see it?

6. What are seismic waves?

7. Given a valley and a lake, how would you know where to drill?

8. When I mentioned Horizontal Drilling, he asked "Why and under what conditions would we need to use that method?"

Thinking Skill Assessment

• 50 MCQ Questions in 1.5 hours
• 30 minute essay question based on the course you are applying

Essay Question

1. Describe the principle of conservation and give examples.
2. What is the significance of the periodic table in Chemistry.
3. Greenhouse effect is good for us. Discuss.

If  you are selected for the interview, you are one of the 4/5 of the applicants who made it to this stage. The application process in my college has several filtering processes. First, you submit the internal application and the college will view your current results to see if you are eligible to proceed. When your lecturers send your forecast and reference letter, the administrator will once again advice you personally whether to continue or back off due to rational reasons like saving time, money (the online app is 30 pounds, interview 110 pounds) and prevent unnecessary stress. Yes it is stressful as you are competing with the best students worldwide. When I went through the whole application process, I could feel the vibe - the early application itself was giving people a hard time that students will just withdraw naturally due to the amount of pressure. I'm not trying to scare you but I'm being honest so that if you're a future applicant and you're reading this, you'll know what to expect. Well, I guess Cambridge is called the Top University in the Universe for a reason ;)

My interviewer told me that the course I was applying for is very popular in the UK and they currently have 50 students only. Which means really bad competition. 

Before I left, we had a short convo about the Science research in Cambridge and what he was currently doing. He told me he loved Physics. He also mentioned that " Its great to see that you are really interested in the Sciences. We certainly don't have many female scientists. I wish you the very best."

He also told me he would be seeing me the following Saturday ( today) and he said " I would definitely recognise you." I was surprised because i didn't know he would be there during my TSA test. That's when I made a mental note to snap a photo with him. Then he said  "Cheerio". I would not forget that last line ;)

Today's test was really hard and when I met him after the test, he asked me how it was. I honestly told him it was challenging and he said "I tried some of the questions and only got 8 correct so I know what you mean." 

I feel so drained out mentally today because the questions make you dig, eh no drill into your brain for the answers. And now the entire thing is over and I just got the email that they have listed me in Murray Edward if however the application proceeds.

If I have not applied the other day, I feel like I would have missed a lot a lot of interesting things that could never ever be experienced again. Yes the application is highly competitive but big achievements start from big sacrifices and things you enjoy. Although I'm sure there are many more smart, qualified,  and genius people out there, I'm glad to have had a chance to be a part of what you call a Cambridge Interview :)