Interview questions that actually get asked

Not every programme interviews.

When they do, the same small set of questions recurs — and each is probing something other than what it appears to ask.

“Tell me about yourself.” Not an invitation to narrate your life. They’re checking whether you can summarise your own trajectory coherently. Ninety seconds: what you’ve done, what you’re working toward, why this programme sits between them. Prepare it. Almost nobody does, and it’s the first thing asked.

“Why this programme?” Testing whether you researched or applied broadly. Post 16’s fit paragraph, said aloud. Named courses, named faculty, the gap it closes. A generic answer here undoes a good written application.

“Tell me about your project.” The most important one, and the one people under-prepare because they assume they know it. They’re testing depth: can you explain it to a non-specialist, do you know why you made your choices, and are you honest about limitations?

The trap is presenting it as a success story. A committee asking follow-up questions will find the weaknesses. Getting there first — “the main limitation was our dataset only covered one site” — reads as someone who understands their own work.

“What are your weaknesses?” / “Where do you see yourself in five years?” Checking self-awareness and plausibility. A real, specific, non-fatal weakness with what you’re doing about it. A five-year answer consistent with the programme you’re applying to — if the plan doesn’t need this degree, that’s a problem.

And: “Do you have questions for us?” Always yes. Not about deadlines or admission chances. Ask something that shows you’re thinking about actually being there — how projects are supervised, what recent graduates went on to do, whether a particular course runs every year.

One preparation rule: rehearse aloud, not in your head. The gap between knowing something and being able to say it under mild pressure is real, and it only closes by speaking.