Cambridge from the Inside

00:50 Why did you choose Medicine?

02:50 Staying in the NHS?

04:30 What’s the Medicine course like at Cambridge? And how it differs to other Medicine courses

06:30 How did you choose your universities?

09:45 Any favourite lecture courses?

11:00 What a day in the life looks like for a medic?

12:20 What is intercalation?

13:00 Louisa’s dissertation on climate anxiety

14:30 Studying History and Philosophy of Science during your intercalation year

16:20 What is second year like for Cambridge medics

18:45 Can you do many things alongside a Medicine degree, what’s the workload like?

24:20 Preparing for your medicine application to Cambridge

34:30 What preparation did you do for your Medicine interview?

37:50 What was your Cambridge interview like?

47:30 Did you ever think about studying Medicine at Oxford?

51:00 How similar are supervisions for Medicine to the Medicine interview?

53:20 What has clinical medicine been like for you so far?

Stay tuned for our new podcast with Dr. Michael Sutherland, who covers everything you need to know if you have an upcoming Cambridge interview in one of the science subjects.

00:00
01:45 How similar are Cambridge interviews to job interviews?
02:35 Does it matter what you wear to your interview? And what types of questions should you expect in a science interview at Cambridge?
04:30 What are the differences between science interviews and humanities interviews at Cambridge?
06:30 Example interview question for the sciences
10:50 Short summary of a science interview
11:45 How to prepare for a science interview at Cambridge
14:00 The importance of oracy in a Cambridge interview
16:20 What does a good science supervision look like?
17:00 How supervisions are similar to interviews
17:45 The biggest pitfalls students face in Cambridge science interviews
21:45 What does a good science interview look like?

Tune in to listen to Xanthe and Siam discuss Trinity Hall's You'll Fit In Programme, targeted towards Sixth Form College students.

Apply to the You’ll Fit In Programme at Trinity Hall using the link below:

🎙️ New Podcast Alert! Several subjects at Cambridge require you to submit 'Written Work' as part of your application. Marcus and Siam go through everything you need to know about your written work submissions, providing helpful advice, and going through how written work is assessed when choosing who to give offers to. Timestamps can be found below.

00:45 What is written work?

02:15 Do all colleges require you to submit written work?03:00 List of subjects for which Trinity Hall requires written work in the 2024/2025 application year

04:50 What to do if the subject you’re applying for is different from the A Levels you’re taking?

06:30 Can students applying post-A Level submit a more recent essay for their written work?

07:45 What are academics assessing when they review your written work?

10:00 What is being assessed for written work in the English undergraduate course?

13:30 How to use exam specifications to improve your understanding

18:00 Essay writing advice: defining any terms and noting any assumptions made

22:30 What is a portfolio? (for students applying for Architecture or Design)

25:00 Modern and Medieval Languages written work explained

26:00 How your written work can come up during your interview

30:00 Written work for Music explained

32:00 Submitted written work should be marked by a teacher

34:00 How is written work used when deciding who to offer places to?

🎙️ New Podcast Alert! Stay tuned to learn all about the different forms of teaching the University of Cambridge offers its students. Marcus and Siam go through what supervisions are, how supervisions work alongside lectures, student lifestyles, and much more! Timestamps can be found below.

01:10 How are students taught at Cambridge?

05:30 How much time does a student spend studying per week?

07:40 Does Cambridge allow students flexibility with their lifestyles and work schedules?

10:00 How studying can be a social activity

10:40 How many libraries are there at Cambridge?

12:00 Choosing a college based on its library

13:10 Study lifestyles

18:00 Working in groups

22:00 What are supervisions?

25:20 In what ways have you seen students benefit from supervisions?

28:00 How do supervisions differ between subjects?37:30 Is it true that supervisions help students learn to bluff and blag?

43:30 Are supervisions like debates?

46:30 What has teaching supervisions been like?

51:10 How do supervisions help students with life after Cambridge?

In this episode, Part 2 of our Admissions FAQs series, Siam and Marcus will go over the most frequently asked questions prospective students have about the Cambridge admissions process and what life is like at Cambridge.

00:00 Introduction 

01:00 How do I know if I’m good enough for Cambridge? 

04:20 How important are GCSE grades? 

09:00 How are predicted grades used when assessing applicants? 

11:40  Can I apply to Cambridge twice? 

12:30 Do all colleges assess their applicants in the same way?

16:00 Are there any ways Trinity Hall assess their applicants differently to

19:30 Top tips for writing a personal statement

23:10 What makes a good interview? 

29:00 How are the interviews similar to supervisions? 

32:10 What things not to do in an interview? 

35:50 What should I wear for an interview? 

39:20 What is the winter pool? How is it used to help assess

44:00 What is the summer pool and the august reconsideration pool? 

51:00 Applying again after an unsuccessful application 

53:00 Eligibility criteria for August Reconsideration pool

🎙️ New Podcast Alert! Stay tuned for expert tips on writing your personal statement. Marcus and Siam discuss what not to do, super-curricular activities, the MyCambridge application form, and much more!

00:00 Introductions

1:00 What are personal statements?

3:00 Cambridge and Oxford have an earlier date for personal statement submission

4:30 What kind of things should you include in your personal statement?

07:00 Should students avoid writing about cliched interests over niche interests?

11:00 What things should students not do in a personal statement?

14:00 How do we use the personal statement during assessment?

15:30 Will your personal statement come up during an interview?

19:00 Including topics that are not covered in your syllabus

20:25 What are super-curricular activities? And how are they different to extra-curricular activities?

27:30 Being found out during your interview

30:30 Should the personal statement be structured in a specific way?

33:00 Should the personal statement be academic based?

34:40 Should personal statements be written in a particular style?

37:10 What’s the My Cambridge Application?

46:30 Do Personal Statements get too much attention compared to the rest of the admissions process?

48:00 Prioritising exam preparation over personal statement prep

51:30 Personal Statements are changing from 2025/2026 application year and onwards

In this episode, Siam and Marcus, our Director of Admissions

Stay tuned if you want to learn more about the following

00:00 Introduction

01:15 What is the ideal candidate for Cambridge?

02:50 What's the work/life balance like at Cambridge?

07:25 When should students start thinking about applying to Cambridge?

11:40 How do A Level choices affect university course options?

15:30 How important is choosing the right course?

20:00 What's the admissions process for Cambridge?

24:55 What about post-A Level applications?

29:50 Is there one part of the admissions process that's more important than the others?

33:50 Should students take 3 or 4 A Levels?

37:20 How many students are there per course, per college?

44:05 Is there an age requirement for applying to Cambridge?

Cambridge from the Inside is a new podcast about Outreach and Admissions at the University of Cambridge, hosted by Trinity Hall. It discusses admissions advice and what life is like as a Cambridge student, featuring interviews with current students, admissions tutors, and academics. In our first episode, Siam, Outreach Communications Officer, and Marcus, Director of Admissions, give us an overview of what to expect from this new podcast.