Cambridge interviews 2026: dates, college formats and a checklist
Cambridge's main interview period is 7 to 18 December 2026. Invitations usually arrive in November, sometimes in early December, and when yours arrives says nothing about your chances. Whether you interview online or in person depends on your college, and sometimes on your course and where you live: find your college below.
From invitation to decision
Invitation
Usually in November, sometimes in early December. Pembroke says every applicant will have an update by 27 November 2026.
Interviews
Mostly 7 to 18 December 2026. Some colleges use a wider window: Christ's 30 November to 16 December, Trinity Hall 4 to 18 December, Gonville & Caius 7 to 17 December.
Winter pool
Some applicants are pooled to another college. Pool interviews are around mid to late January 2027.
Mature January round
Applicants in the January round for mature colleges interview from mid-March to early April.
Online or in person, college by college
Cambridge's 2027-entry table, in plain words. "UK" means applicants based in the UK. Rules apply only where the college offers your course. Your invitation is the final word.
| College | Format |
|---|---|
| Christ's | Online |
| Churchill | In person |
| Clare | Online, except Medicine and Music: in person |
| Corpus Christi | UK: in person. Republic of Ireland: your choice. Elsewhere: online |
| Downing | Online |
| Emmanuel | In person |
| Fitzwilliam | Online |
| Girton | Online |
| Gonville & Caius | UK or Ireland: your choice. Elsewhere: online |
| Homerton | Online, except Mathematics and Music for UK applicants: your choice |
| Hughes Hall | Online |
| Jesus | Online, except UK applicants for Environment, Law, and Economics; Linguistics and Modern Languages; Mathematics; Medicine; Modern and Medieval Languages; Music; Natural Sciences (Physical); Philosophy; Veterinary Medicine: in person. History and Modern Languages, UK: History online, Languages in person |
| King's | In person |
| Lucy Cavendish | Online |
| Magdalene | Online |
| Murray Edwards | Online |
| Newnham | Online |
| Pembroke | UK: in person. Outside the UK: your choice |
| Peterhouse | UK: in person. Outside the UK: online |
| Queens' | Online |
| Robinson | UK: in person. Outside the UK: online |
| Selwyn | In person |
| Sidney Sussex | UK: in person. Outside the UK: online |
| St Catharine's | Online |
| St Edmund's | Online |
| St John's | Online |
| Trinity | UK: in person. Outside the UK: your choice |
| Trinity Hall | UK: in person. Outside the UK: online |
| Wolfson | Online |
What Cambridge says interviewers look for
How you think
Understanding of your subject, independent critical thought and willingness to engage with new ideas.
How you take a hint
For problem-based subjects: explain your working, accept hints and pause to think. Finishing every problem is not expected.
Interest in the subject
Curiosity and motivation for the course, often through discussion of your reading or an unfamiliar problem.
Your appointment checklist
- Check your college, date, time and whether it is online or in person in your invitation.
- In person: plan travel and arrival, and check whether the college offers accommodation.
- Online: test your camera, microphone and connection in the room you will use.
- Have plain paper and a pen ready in case you want to sketch or work something out.
- Find out whether your course sets a written assessment or reading on the day.
- Reread your personal statement and anything you have written about your subject.
- Practise thinking aloud on problems you have not seen.
Practise your subject
Interview-style problems answered out loud, with feedback on how your thinking comes across. One free problem in each subject.
Maths
Proofs, curve sketching and counting, worked out loud.
Maths problemsComputer Science
Puzzles and algorithms: find a method, then show it is the best.
Computer Science problemsEngineering
Forces, circuits and estimates from first principles.
Engineering problemsNatural Sciences (Physical)
Explain what happens and why, then put numbers on it.
Physics problemsEconomics
Markets, data and incentives, reasoned step by step.
Economics problemsLaw
Apply a rule to new facts, then test it on a harder case.
Law problemsPhilosophy
Take a position, meet the best objection, refine your view.
Philosophy problems
Rehearse out loud before December
Problems in your subject, answered out loud on the page. Take hints when stuck, answer the follow-ups, and see how your thinking comes across. Until 31 December 2026. No offer is promised.
Oxbridge Interview Rehearsal: two subjects
£199 once. No VAT is charged.
Rehearse every problem in two subjects you choose, with hints, follow-ups and Mia's marks, for 12 months.
- All 8 problems in each of your two subjects, chosen after you pay
- Hints when you are stuck, then the tutor's follow-up questions
- Mia's marks on up to 60 attempts a day, within a fair-use allowance for each interview season: thinking aloud, using hints, checking, reasoning
- Your next problem picked from your weakest skill
- Your latest 300 attempts saved, with re-attempts side by side
Access for 12 months, until 11 October 2027. Choose your subjects after paying. Full refund within 14 days, for any reason.
By paying you agree to our Terms and get access straight away, which ends your 14-day cancellation right.Oxbridge Interview Rehearsal: all subjects
£299 once. No VAT is charged.
Every problem in all seven subjects, for joint courses and for practising beyond your own subject.
- All 56 problems: Maths, Computer Science, Engineering, Physics, Economics, Law and PPE
- Hints when you are stuck, then the tutor's follow-up questions
- Mia's marks on up to 60 attempts a day, within a fair-use allowance for each interview season: thinking aloud, using hints, checking, reasoning
- Your next problem picked from your weakest skill
- Your latest 300 attempts saved, with re-attempts side by side
Access for 12 months, until 11 October 2027. Full refund within 14 days, for any reason.
By paying you agree to our Terms and get access straight away, which ends your 14-day cancellation right.More free help
Questions people ask
When are Cambridge interviews in 2026?
The main period is 7 to 18 December 2026. Some colleges start earlier or finish later, and winter-pool interviews are in mid to late January 2027.
When do Cambridge interview invitations come out?
Usually in November, sometimes in early December. Cambridge says the timing of an invitation does not indicate how strong an application is.
Are Cambridge interviews online or in person?
It depends on your college, and at some colleges on your course and whether you are based in the UK. Find your college in the table above, then check your invitation.
Do I need paid interview preparation?
No. Cambridge says it does not endorse commercial tutoring, which has no exclusive information, and that its own guidance is free. Practising thinking aloud on unfamiliar problems is the useful part.