Test taken: ELAT 
Number of interviews: 1
Length of interviews: 10 mins prep time and about 40 mins interview
Online interview: Yes

I had two interviewers who each had a different specialism, who asked 3 main types of questions - on my personal statement, on the unseen poem I was given 10 minutes before and on my submitted essays. They were very nice, and often guided me towards points or pushed me for more detail to let myself expand on my thoughts and do myself justice (the main point being they want you to do well, they want to find people who are enthusiastic, respond well to new information and keep digging, rather than accept that something is unknow or solved). And they were very understanding when something went wrong, as my school's fire alarm went off 10 minutes before the interview was due to start meaning of course I was late, so luckily I was still able to continue at that time.

1. Read up on what you can find, starting with the official videos from Oxbridge, so you don't fall into the trap of fearing the unknown. Equally, it can be easy to obsess about other's experiences and exactly what they did. The interviews are looking at what you think and what you're passionate about, so there is definitely no right answer or approach, even if knowing the general idea of what they might say and in what structure can also be reassuring.

2. Write! This might not work for everyone, but for the way I think, it helped me to write out thoughts in a non-structured way to see how I phrased things in the moment and what examples I could add in where I might not have automatically. This is not learning answers off by heart, as I promise any answers that you say in the moment will always be more worthwhile and genuine even if they don't feel like it. We are not robots, after all, even Oxbridge students! So I had a think about some questions - such as expanding on points in my personal statement, expanding points from the essays I had submitted, talking about why I loved my subject and wanted to study it further, some things I had read recently, recent super-curricular activities and their benefit - and word vomited on my laptop to remind myself that yes, I do have thoughts and yes, I they are interesting.

3. Talk! A lot of advice I had read emphasised this, about talking through your ideas and passions with anyone who will listen, which is all well and good until you've been ranting at the dinner table and your sister is giving you a death glare because she has had enough of you talking about confessional poetry. Interested family members are great, as they can (sometimes!) be very willing and, importantly, comfortable faces to talk at and with. Getting used to formulating a coherent answer is the harder bit - the passion that you want to put across is the most important bit, but this does have to come across in a way and at a pace that is comprehensible. Next, a practice interview with a willing teacher is invaluable. Mine actually went quite badly, I mumbled and spoke in clichés and panicked a few times, but better to think about what you can do to make yourself feel less stressed in a leisurely way, not during your actual interview. So, don't worry if you have these moments, the vital thing is making yourself aware so that when the time comes your brain might just remember to say that instead of that, or you might just remember to breathe! I got my teacher to set me an unseen poem to talk through, and as stressful as it felt, it does make the actual process feel less new and daunting.

4. On that note, remember to breathe! Easy said than done, but taking the time to imagine yourself in the interview environment, taking a few deep breaths can help a lot - as well as smiling and reminding yourself that you deserve to be here! 

I completed some practice papers, not necessarily the whole thing in the whole time, but what was suitable at the time. I recommend easing into it, and being kind to yourself. For the ELAT, it is a recognisable format, as it's essentially unseen poetry/prose comparison, yet has much more to read in the same time frame, with dense and tricky texts to get through. Don't let this put you off though, as it can also feel super rewarding in between the nerves of a Cambridge admissions test. It is, essentially, some unseen literature that you can make your own, so start by writing plans and intros, and move on to paragraphs and whole essays in time conditions. I was fortunate enough that one of the heads of my sixth form was an Oxford English graduate and could mark my work having been familiar with the Oxbridge admissions process, so getting your English teacher to have a look if they can is very valuable. And more valuable, is writing down the feedback separately and doing another answer with it in mind!

In general, I would advise to keep checking in with yourself as it can get stressful and overwhelming. Being informed about the process does help, and so does the reminder that everyone who got in got through that process, so you really just don't know unless you try. And try your best is all you can do. Oxbridge is not the dusty, mysterious ivory tower in can sometimes be portrayed as (not helped my its beautiful but intimidating architecture!). They want people who love their subject, and will engage with the ways they like to teach said subject, so the whole application is basically a way to show off that passion, as scary as it might be.

For interviews, my practical advice especially for humanities is definitely to know your personal statement and essay texts well, as my interviewers asked lots of questions about those. This is not necessarily checking that you've read them and you know this person said this etc, but that you've read them critically, by engaging with the themes and not taking for granted what different ideas and symbols might mean. They care about what you think, so don't freak out if you don't think you've explained something in the most coherent way possible, as it is your passion that will come across regardless. The same interviewer who encouraged me to re-read a poem's rhyme scheme and talk about what I thought it meant is now the same Director of Studies who encourages me to look again at a passage in a supervision and re-evaluate what I originally thought.

No matter how many times people said to try and not get too stressed, or to enjoy the test and interview, I still found myself anxious in the moment. So recognising that feeling, that yes I do care about this but that I can do it, I am meant to be here, helps to deal with it in the moment, rather than dismissing it. At the end of the day, the personal statement is just an insight into what books you like, and the interview a conversation about those books (in a nutshell). Good luck, and look after yourself :)