What are we looking for in an interview — an academic’s perspective
One of our talented Faculty members, Dr Andrew Sanger, sits down with our Schools Liaison Coordinator to give his perspective on the Law interview for prospective applicants.
First off, who are you and what do you do?
My name is Andrew. I am a teacher and researcher specialising in international law. I am at the Faculty of Law (where lectures and research takes place), a member of Corpus Christi College (one of the Colleges that make up Cambridge; a place where you live and socialise, and which provides supervisions), and a member of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law (a place where international lawyers in Cambridge meet to undertake research). As part of my role at Corpus, I am responsible — together with my colleagues — for admitting new undergraduates.
At the moment, my research is focused on the challenges that democracies face in regulating global digital platforms (e.g., companies like Facebook and Google) and in the role that international law plays in corporate responsibility more generally.
Why might a young person be interested in studying law at university?
At its core, law is about how we live together; it both shapes and reflects society, including its structures of power (social, political, economic, cultural). It can be a means of peaceful social change but also a tool for oppression. Understanding how the law works gives you a better understanding of the world in which we live but also a better appreciation of how it can be used to achieve change. It is alive, dynamic, and intellectually extremely interesting.
The idea of studying law at university may appear intimidating and it may not seem inclusive, but don’t be put off. If what I’ve said above sounds interesting and appealing to you, then you should apply. The future of the legal profession — of the law, and of the way we live — depends on people from all walks of life applying to study law and using their knowledge and experience. The law and the legal profession should represent everyone.
What are you looking for in an admissions interview?
The short answer is that we are looking to get a better understanding of who you are and how you think. We want to see if you enjoy thinking about the sorts of issues that law deals with, about how the law structures and governs our interactions with each other, with the state, and beyond and between states. We want to see if you can think about an issue from multiple perspectives, and whether you can reason through problems.
None of this requires any specialist knowledge (or really much knowledge at all). We are interested in seeing if you can think around and reason through problems and challenges; the problems can be anything, from working through difficult social situations to thinking about why people around you are treated differently.
What are online interviews like?
They are the same as interviews in-person, except that you don’t have to come to Cambridge! You will see both interviewers on the screen (in their own virtual boxes) and will be asked questions by each of them in turn. It does not matter where you are doing the interview or if there are any technical problems (when this happens, we work out a solution; the odd technical problem happens whenever we work online).
Do you have any advice on how to prepare for interviews?
The law is current and reflects what is going on in the world right now. So, my advice is just to read the news (wherever you find it!): engage with it and think critically about what you read.
Ask yourself: what issues are involved? Is the law involved and why? (If it is not involved, should it be?) What result is the law achieving? Who wins and who loses? Do you think the law should be changed? Or even: Is the author being truthful? What biases do they hold? What does the news tell you about who benefits and who doesn’t from the law?
For example, as a write this post, I have received news alerts to my phone reporting that 27 people have drowned crossing the English Channel in search of what I imagine they hoped would be a better life: seventeen men, seven women, one of whom was pregnant, and three children. You do not need to have any legal knowledge to think about what the issues are here and whether the law should be involved — and how — in preventing such tragedies? What are the human rights issues? Why might you need a legal system that facilitates cooperation between states to address issues of migration? What does this event tell you about the challenges that people face in the world?
In another news post, there is a discussion of a proposal to encourage the government to repeal the Vagrancy Act, which makes it a criminal offence to sleep rough in England and Wales. What are the issues involved here? Why do you think the law exists? What should those responsible for making law do?
You need not even be thinking about the news specifically. You can think about the sorts of issues I mentioned above in your daily activities. For example, when you buy something from a shop (what legal issues might be involved? What might be necessary to make ‘shopping’ possible?) or use your phone (does it matter that Facebook gets to decide what content should be removed from its network? Is it acceptable for tech platforms to track your activity online?)
The final thing to say is that you should be yourself at interview. What matters is how you think and whether you give the questions a go; you do not need to be anyone else to do that.
