Translation test; 2x interviews
Interview 1: Text-based discussion, EPQ discussion; Interview 2: Interpretation questions, EPQ discussion
Past papers, JACT Summer School (bursaries available)
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Remember this advice isn't official. There is no guarantee it will reflect your experience because university applications can change between years. Check the official Cambridge and Oxford websites for more accurate information on this year's application format and the required tests.
Also, someone else's experience may not reflect your own. Most interviews are more like conversations than tests and like, any conversation, they are quite interactive.
Test taken: A translation test
Number of interviews: 2
Skype interview: no
Time between interviews: A few hours
Length of first interview: 30 minutes; Length of second interview: 30 minutes
For my first interview, I was emailed a passage about the art of translation a week before to prepare for discussion. We talked about this passage for the first few minutes of the interview. It was a relaxing way to start the interview because I had seen the material before.
In my second interview, I was shown a few images of an early form of writing in Greece, and I had to interpret them. In this way, both my interviews started with some material to interpret.
I spent a reasonable amount of time in both of my interviews discussing my EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) project, which was about the reception of the classical sculpture in the 20th century. I think this came up in both my interviews because it was a relatively original research project. Talking about this made me feel very at ease because it was a topic that my interviewers seemed to be genuinely interested in and, in some cases, seemed to know less about than I did.
In general, interviewers seemed to want to know what motivated me to study Classics - what texts, pieces of art excited me. And once I mentioned something, they would continue to press me for insights/answers on that particular artefact/author/school of thought, etc.
For the translation test, I looked at Oxford’s Classics Aptitude tests and A-Level Latin translation passages. I revised from the OCR (Oxford Cambridge and RSA) A-Level vocabulary list.
I was at a state school where I was not able to learn Ancient Greek. I attended the JACT Greek
There were significant bursaries available to fund me through the summer school every year I attended. At the summer school, there were daily lectures as well as Ancient Greek classes with very established professors and teachers. This was amazing preparation for Classics at Cambridge in general, as well as the interview process.
Nothing to add!