Asking about someone's past with preterit or imperfect

Question

I had an oral exam in Spanish today and I have been thinking about one thing I said that I'm not sure of. I asked to my partner "Cuando eras en la universidad...". Is that right or should I have said "Cuando fuiste en la universidad..."? I have been thinking since the action of him being in university is completed that it should have been with perfect preterit but then I thought that I could have used "mientras" instead of cuando and that would imply the use of imperfect. I'm really not sure what to think. Can anyone explain this to me?

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Answer 1

Estar must be used. If it´s a simple question of "when were you in university" and the action is complete, then preterite can be used estuviste. If the time in university is when another action took place, then imperfect should be used estabas.

Answer 2

Both are incorrect.

You could say:

Cuando estabas en la universidad, ¿qué solías hacer?

Or

Cuando fuiste a la universidad, ¿qué hiciste?

Saludos!