The Most Common University Interview Questions And Exactly How To Answer Them

06 Mar 2025, by Lydia Kah-Pavlou, min. read

How to smash your university interview and land your place on your dream course.

If you’re applying to universities and have been asked to attend an interview, you probably find the idea quite daunting. You might’ve written a flawless personal statement and have the right predicted grades, but often some universities will want to interview prospective students before offering you a conditional or unconditional offer.

If this applies to you, there’s no need to panic as we’ve put together a handy guide on university interview questions and exactly how to answer them and how you can prepare for your university interview.

In this article:

How to prepare for a university interview
Common university interview questions & how to answer them
Questions to ask at a university interview
What to wear to a university interview

How to prepare for a university interview

Trust us when we say that while any interview can be nerve-wracking, when it comes to university interviews it’s not a test, the admissions team will just want to know more about you and see your passion for the course you’re applying for.

Not every uni or course will require an interview, but it’s more common at universities such as Oxford or Cambridge or on creative courses where you might be asked to show your portfolio.

If you’ve been invited to a university interview, here are some things to think about ahead of your interview day:

Why you want to attend the specific university you’re interviewing at
Why you have applied for the course and where your career aspirations lie
Think of any current affairs or news related to your course that you can talk about in your interview

Some universities will invite you to do the interview in person while others might prefer to do it online. If you’re going in person, make sure you’ve researched your journey and will be there with plenty of time, this would be a great opportunity to get to know the university campus and find a coffee shop to run over your interview prep before it starts.

If you’re doing it virtually, make sure that you’ve got a stable internet connection and have somewhere quiet and private to do your interview. One advantage of a virtual interview is that you can have some notes in front of you, but you’ll need to make sure you’re not obviously looking at them and maintaining eye contact with your interviewer because in some cases, this can be more distracting than useful.

Remember, your interviewer isn’t there to catch you out, they’re just trying to get a feel of who you are and why you want a place on the course and if you know what questions to expect, you’ll easily breeze through the interview.

Common university interview questions and how to answer them

While you’ll never know exactly what you’ll be asked ahead of your interview, there are some common university interview questions you might be asked. It’s best to prepare yourself for anything, but also take a read over these questions as it’s almost certain a few of them will be asked in some way.

1. Tell us about yourself

How to answer: This is the easiest question because there’s not really a wrong answer, but if you think about it ahead of the interview you won’t be scrambling to think of every single thing that’s interesting about you.

This is your chance to introduce yourself, who you are and what your interests are. Of course, your interviewer won’t want to hear every single detail about your life so try and keep it concise and talk about things that are interesting, academically relevant and really describe who you are as a person.

2. Why did you choose this university?

How to answer: Make sure you’ve done your research, of course, you won’t have just applied for this uni, but you want to show them how much you want a place and why this particular university is your favourite.

For example, you could talk about how the university is in the top 5 in the UK for your specific course, how much you’re inspired by the course and how it will benefit you academically.

Or, you could mention how the university has a specific or unique society, sports team or volunteering project that you would really like to join, as this shows that you plan to become actively involved with university life.

3. Why do you want to study this course?

How to answer: This is your chance to talk about why you’ve applied for this course and why you chose this subject as your first choice. You can link this to your future career aspirations, or you can talk about why you’re interested in this specific field.

This is the question where you can really show your passion and interest for the course and convince the admissions team that you’re someone they should make an offer to. Do your research on the course so you can talk about specific modules you’re interested in and how much you’re looking forward to potentially being able to study at this university.

For example, “I want to study this course because I’ve always known I wanted to go into the medical field, and this course aligns perfectly with my career goals. I’m really interested in (insert module) on the course, as I hope to become a doctor and specialise in that field when I graduate and I believe this course will set me up for success academically and help me achieve all of my goals.”

4. What are your hobbies and interests/what do you like to do outside of school?

How to answer: This is your chance to show your interests, but also why you’d be amazing at the course you’re applying for. Of course, you can talk about any of your hobbies and interests that you enjoy, but it will be helpful to try and tie this back to your course as well if you can.

For example, if you’re an art student you could say “I love travelling because I like to look at galleries around the world, I recently visited (insert location here to see an art gallery)” or if you’re an English student “I love reading and I’ve set myself a challenge to read 60 new books this year, I’m currently reading (book name)” as this will give you an opportunity to easily discuss how your hobbies link to the course.

5. What are your strengths and weaknesses?

How to answer: Alright, we know this sounds like an especially scary one, but the best way to answer this is to identify a weakness that could be improved during your time at university.

For example, “I sometimes struggle with speaking confidently in front of big groups, I hope to work on this during my time at university while completing group coursework, and I plan to get involved with societies and volunteering projects (giving examples) to help improve my confidence.”

This shows that you’ve recognised something you could improve on and that you’ll be using your time at university to help you.

However, while your interviewer does want you to identify a weakness, try and avoid saying something that could put a question mark above your academic abilities, for example, organisation or time management, even if it’s true. After all, you want them to offer you a place on the course!

For strengths, try and identify things that will show you’ll be a good student, such as hard-working, driven and organised. The interviewer will want to see you being self-aware and analytical, so don’t overthink it and try to give 1-2 strengths and then elaborate on your weakness.

6. What achievements are you most proud of?

How to answer: While there’s no right or wrong answer to this question, it’s best to link this to an academic achievement that relates to your course.

However, you can also talk about things you’ve done in your spare time, for example, a side hustle or business, or a music or sporting achievement that isn’t directly related to your course but still shows that you’re ambitious and hardworking.

7. Tell us something you’ve learnt recently?

How to answer: This is your chance to impress your interviewer, so really try and think about this ahead of the interview!

This could be something you’re working on at school or college, or it could be something you’ve seen in the news or read about. Ahead of your interview, it’s a good idea to read some non-fiction works or academic magazines that you might be interested in to show your interviewer that you’re always learning and improving your knowledge without being asked to.

8. What are your career aspirations/what do you want to do after you graduate?

How to answer: You might not know exactly what you want to do as a career yet, but the key to impressing your interviewer is really thinking about your answer to this.

If you want to study a course that could lead to multiple different career paths, think about what you would really like to be doing in a dream scenario and go from there. You can also link this back to what you hope to learn more about on the course when it comes to choosing your modules.

For example, if you’re studying English you could say something like “My dream is to become an early education teacher and work with children. I hope that during the course I can undertake the module on children’s literature, and I would like to further my education by doing a masters after I graduate.”

You could also talk about how you would plan to use your degree practically after graduation, without tying it straight to a job. For example, “I would like to travel after I’ve graduated and teach English as a foreign language while I’m exploring more of the world.”

Another way to impress your interviewer is to think big and show that you have future goals, for example, if you’re a law student you could say something like “My goal is to become a criminal rights lawyer focusing on defending those in marginalised groups, and I’d like to open my own firm by the time I’m 35″ as this shows you have ambition and have genuinely thought about your future.

One more thing to be aware of is that they might ask you about current affairs related to your course, for example politics or new scientific research. So, it’s best to keep up with anything that’s going on in the news and make sure you’re clued up just in case.

Questions to ask at a university interview

One of the best ways to impress your interviewer is to ask them questions as often as you can. This shows that you’re genuinely interested in learning more about the university and the course, and it’s also a great way to find out more about what you can expect from attending the university.

Here are some things you could ask during your university interview:

What teaching methods are used on the course?
How can I prepare for the course over the summer?
What job industries do students who complete this course commonly go into?
What books would you recommend adding to my reading list?

You might find that once the interview has started and the conversation is flowing nicely, you’ll think of more questions as you go. For example, if you’re talking about your favourite book or poem, you could ask the interviewer what their favourite is, which could help further the discussion and show just how passionate your are about the subject.

What to wear to a university interview

While you’re attending an interview and want to make a good impression, you don’t have to overthink what you wear as the university isn’t assessing you on your appearance.

You don’t have to wear a suit, but it’s best to still appear semi-professional and dress on the smarter side, so avoid jeans and trainers or slogan t-shirts.

You could wear:

A smart blouse or shirt
Linen trousers
Black work trousers
Smart flat shoes or boots

At the end of the day, your outfit isn’t the most important thing for a uni interview, so just make sure you wear something you feel comfortable in.

A university interview can definitely be scary, but it’s great practice for job interviews in the future, and is a really good opportunity for you to get to know more about what you can expect from uni life. Hopefully, you now feel more prepared and ready to approach your interview confidently to land a place on your dream course.

For more uni advice check out our guide on university clearing and guide to UCAS tariff points.

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