Practise the Oxford or Cambridge interview out loud.

Practise with an AI interviewer that pushes back on what the student actually says, including on their own personal statement, with a mark scheme and model answer for each of over 500 questions.

Interview Pack with the AI Interviewer · one payment · Watch a mock interviewOr one AI mock interview, no pack needed: £19

  • Designed by a Cambridge economist
  • Three questions based on a real Cambridge interview
  • Economics, E&M, PPE, HSPS, Land Economy and History courses

AI Interviewer · Cambridge-styleExample session

InterviewerHere are five students and their friendships. Draw the network and work out each person’s utility.
Student, out loudLet me draw it first. Asha, Ben and Cara are a triangle, then Cara to Dev, and Dev to Eli…
InterviewerNow add 2 for every friend of a friend who isn’t already a friend. What changes?
Student, out loudDev jumps from 12 to 16, because he’s the bridge.
FeedbackGood: you drew the network before calculating. Next time, say why Dev gains most before giving the number.

Feel free to write notes or working on paper as you go. The AI interviewer can’t see your paper, so talk through what you’re doing as you write.

Practice that answers back

Tutors judge how a student thinks out loud. The AI Interviewer follows up on their answer the way a tutor would, so no two sessions run the same way.

Know what a tutor rewards

Every question comes with a mark scheme, the follow-ups a tutor might ask and the weak moves to avoid, so practice turns into improvement.

A method for any question

Seven techniques that work on questions the student has never seen: pin it down, narrate, start simple, assume out loud, take the hint, check it, land.

See an AI mock interview in action

A student answers a classic Oxbridge economics question out loud. The interviewer pushes back and tests the idea on new cases, then feedback appears within about a minute of the interview ending.

Demonstration: the student’s answers in this video are written by Econ Coaching.

Try a real interview question

Based on a real Cambridge Economics interview, reconstructed. Have a go on paper first, then open each part.

Cambridge Economics · puzzle

Five students, Asha, Ben, Cara, Dev and Eli, live in the same hall. Asha, Ben and Cara are all friends with each other: Asha and Ben each get 6 units of utility from their friendship, Ben and Cara 8 units each, and Asha and Cara 4 units each. Cara and Dev are friends, worth 5 units each, and Dev and Eli are friends, worth 7 units each. No other pairs are friends.

(a) Draw the network and work out each person’s utility from their friendships.

(b) Now suppose each person also gets 2 units from every friend of a friend who is not already their friend. Work out the new utilities. What changes, and what does it tell you?

(c) Asha and Eli could become friends, worth 3 units each directly, and keeping up any friendship costs each friend 4 units. Does the friendship form? Should it?

What the tutor is looking for. Whether the candidate can turn a verbal description into a network, add up utilities carefully, and spot the externality that friendships create for third parties.

How a strong candidate starts

They draw five points and join the pairs as they are read out, writing the value on each line. They check the drawing against the description before adding anything up, and say out loud that utility from separate friendships simply adds.

Part (a): the network and each person’s utility

The network is a triangle Asha–Ben–Cara with links 6, 8 and 4, plus Cara–Dev (5) and Dev–Eli (7). Direct utilities: Asha 6 + 4 = 10, Ben 6 + 8 = 14, Cara 8 + 4 + 5 = 17, Dev 5 + 7 = 12, Eli 7. The total, 60, is twice the sum of the links (30): a quick check.

Part (b): friends of friends

Friends of friends who are not already friends: Asha has Dev, Ben has Dev, Cara has Eli, Dev has Asha and Ben, Eli has Cara. Adding 2 each gives 12, 16, 19, 16 and 9 (total 72). Dev gains most because he is the bridge between the triangle and Eli; inside the triangle, mutual friends add nothing. Each friendship benefits people outside it: a positive externality.

Part (c): should Asha and Eli become friends?

Asha gains 3 (she already reaches Dev through Cara). Eli gains 3 + 2 for Ben = 5. Ben gains 2 from Eli joining his circle; Cara and Dev gain nothing. The group gains 10 against a total cost of 8, but Asha gains 3 against her cost of 4 and refuses, so an efficient friendship fails to form. A side payment from Eli or Ben could make it happen: individual choices leave too few links because Ben’s gain is not counted.

Follow-ups a tutor might ask
  • Which single new friendship would raise total utility most, if each were worth 3 to each friend? List the possible links, work out direct and friend-of-friend gains for each, and notice that links connecting Eli to the triangle create the most new indirect benefits.
  • Suppose friend-of-friend benefits fell to 0.5. Does (c) change? Asha still refuses (3 against 4); the group gain falls to 3 + 3.5 + 0.5 = 7, below the total cost of 8, so the link is no longer efficient either.
  • How could a hall make useful friendships more likely? Lower the cost of keeping them up (shared kitchens, societies, introductions), so more links pass each person’s own test. More links also cost time, so the best network is not everyone knowing everyone.

The Interview Pack has 488 questions written this way, each with a mark scheme and the follow-ups a tutor might ask. See the packs

Interview timeline, 2026–27

Oxford and Cambridge dates for this year’s applicants. The next one is highlighted.

  1. Most interview invitations arrive
  2. Main Cambridge interview period
  3. Oxford interviews, held online
  4. Oxford decisions
  5. Cambridge decisions

The Interview Pack

Mock interviews out loud, with feedback after each one and a mark scheme for every question.

Prices in

What each option includes

What you getInterview PackBasicOne AI mock
AI mock interviews, out loud or typed40 in the seasonNoneOne
Mocks on the student’s own personal statement✓ Included✗ Not included✓ Included
Feedback on technique and contentAfter every mock✗ Not included✓ Included
Over 500 questions with mark schemes and model answers✓ Included✓ Included✗ Not included
Lessons on the theory and maths each question needs✓ Included✓ Included✗ Not included
Parent progress reports and the Guide✓ Included✓ Included✗ Not included

Interview Pack Basic is the question pack without the AI Interviewer. It is under Other options below.

Other options

Just want the question pack without the AI Interviewer?

Interview Pack Basic, £89: the full question bank with mark schemes, the method, applicant reading, parent reports and the Guide. You can add the AI Interviewer later for £60.

Applying to LSE, UCL, Imperial or Warwick as well?

Add TMUA or TARA preparation for the January sitting (4–8 January; booking closes 21 December): see the TMUA and TARA packs, from £79.

Or the Applicant Pass, £219: the Interview Pack with the AI Interviewer, both test packs and the full Ceteris library, with access until 31 August 2028.

Mock interviews with a Cambridge economist

One to one, by video call, from . See the options

For a student under 18, we recommend a parent or guardian makes the purchase.

What this is, and what it isn’t

Both universities recommend practising before an interview. This is practice in reasoning out loud with follow-up questions, not scripted answers: tutors can tell a rehearsed answer, and our mark schemes reward thinking, not recall.

Published prices, no consultation call. One-to-one mock interview packages elsewhere typically start at around £595 for four.

Invitations arrive from mid to late November; interviews run in the first three weeks of December.

For parents. Written by a Cambridge economist. Online, at any hour, in any time zone. One payment; nothing renews. At checkout, enter the email address the student will sign in with: the pack opens on that account in Ceteris, Econ Coaching’s study app, straight after payment. A parent or guardian can pay with their own card, and if the student is under 18 we recommend they do. See the terms. Already bought? Sign in.

What the Interview Pack gives you

A question list tells a student what might be asked. It cannot show them how they sound answering it, and that is what tutors judge. The pack is built around practising out loud, then fixing what they hear.

Mocks on the student’s own personal statement

The AI Interviewer can open a mock from the student’s own statement and follow up on what they say about it. Interview Pack Basic cannot do this.

Practice spread where it is needed

The question picker serves the types the student has practised least, weighted to the mix reported for their course, at their level. Every question is marked green, amber or red for difficulty.

Feedback on technique and content

After each mock: a score out of 5 for reasoning, use of economics, handling new information, numeracy and communication, the mark scheme points reached and missed, the techniques used and missed, and a stronger answer.

The theory and maths, taught

Each question says what the student needs to know and links the Ceteris lesson that teaches it. Every maths question is worked step by step, with the technique named, so unfamiliar maths has a way in.

Set up for the student’s course

Economics, PPE, Economics and Management, HSPS and Land Economy, plus History and Economics and History and Politics. The interviewer and the marking follow the course the student chooses.

Designed by a Cambridge economist

The questions, mark schemes and method come from someone who prepares applicants for these interviews. Three questions are based on a real Cambridge Economics interview, reconstructed.

Mock interviews with a Cambridge economist

Live one-to-one mock interviews online, in the format your course uses: maths and graph sketching, article and data discussion, and questions on the personal statement. Book one hour, or a three- or five-hour package at a lower hourly rate.

From

See the options

Agree times before you book

Tell us the course, the college if known, and when the interview is likely to be, and we’ll suggest times before you pay.

Email us about times

Who we are. Econ Coaching was founded by a first-class Cambridge Economics graduate who has prepared applicants for six years. About us

Questions

Which courses is this for?

Oxford and Cambridge economics and related courses: Cambridge Economics, HSPS and Land Economy; Oxford Economics and Management, PPE, History and Economics, and History and Politics. The method and many of the questions also suit other interviews where economics comes up.

Are the interview questions real?

They are written in the style tutors ask. Three are based on a real Cambridge Economics interview, reconstructed. None are official university questions.

What does the AI Interviewer do?

It runs a mock interview on a question, replies to what the student says with follow-ups, and closes the interview when it has heard enough. Feedback appears straight away: a mark and four scores, coaching on the seven interview techniques, and the question’s mark scheme point by point. Students can answer out loud or type. It is in the Interview Pack and the Applicant Pass.

Feel free to write notes or working on paper as you go. The AI interviewer can’t see your paper, so talk through what you’re doing as you write.

We live outside the UK. Does that matter?

No. Everything is online, and packs can be paid in pounds, US dollars, Singapore dollars or Hong Kong dollars.

Can you guarantee an offer?

No one honestly can. The packs are practice and feedback; the decision is the university’s.

A year earlier? For parents of Year 12 students: the Year 12 Early Starter. Entering an essay competition: the Essay Competition Pack.