Preparing for the Oxbridge interview
- Fiona McKenzie
- Nov 17, 2015
- 2 min read
The excitement of being called for interview at Oxford or Cambridge is normally swiftly followed by a sense of impending terror!
It is worth bearing in mind that the number of candidates who are invited for interview varies considerably from course to course. For example Oxford interviewed all of the Classics and Modern Languages applicants in 2013 but only a quarter of those who applied for Economics and Management. However, if you are one of the lucky ones and you have that letter in your hand, it is time for the serious preparation to begin.
Oxbridge interviews are designed to test how you think and respond to questions that are not necessarily based on prior knowledge, so this can make them tricky to prepare for. But there are some key things you can do to give yourself the best possible chance and to feel as confident as you can when you walk into that room.
Make sure you arrange to have a mock interview with an experienced counsellor of teacher, this will give you a chance to practice your interview technique and to have an opportunity for some feedback.
Make sure you are thoroughly familiar with what you wrote on your personal statement all those weeks ago, that you have read the books or articles you mentioned, and that you are confident of backing up the views you have expressed in the application. This is also crucial if you have been asked to submit some written work – again make sure that you total recall of what you wrote and the sources that you used when you were researching around the subject.
It also makes sense to have prepared some material on a subject that you are comfortable with, so that you can default to this if necessary or if you are asked to choose a topic to discuss. Make sure you can back up your opinions – they will be challenged!
One of the best things about going up to the interviews is that it gives you a chance to experience a little taste of what life would be like as a student. At Oxford you will be invited to come and stay in your chosen college for at least one night and this is often the case with Cambridge if you are coming from some distance. The ‘dreaming spires” may be beautiful but this is your chance to work out if this is a place where you can live and study.
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