Geography Admissions Assessment (GAA); 2x interviews
Interview 1: discussion of pre-reading and unseen images; Interview 2: more challenging questions on pre-reading
Stay up to date with news and current affairs
-
Take time to consider what the question is asking
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: Geography Admissions Assessment (GAA)
Number of interviews: 2
Skype interview: no
Time between interviews: 1 hours
Length of first interview: 20 minutes; Length of second interview: 30 minutes
The first interview was centred around an article I had been emailed as pre-reading, which made me comfortable as I was familiar with the material being discussed.. The interviewers also asked a little about why I wanted to study geography in general, which led to a discussion of my personal statement and some of the books I had mentioned. The atmosphere was really friendly and reassuring, as both interviewers really encouraging me to explore ideas aloud. Towards the end of the interview, I was shown an image and asked to speculate on it based on the content of the pre-reading article and my own knowledge. I was very unsure but it was clear that the process of attempting to understand this unfamiliar landscape was clearly the focus, not the specific knowledge.
The second interview felt more formal. We discussed some unseen images and once again I was asked to suggest ideas about what they might illustrate. This went really well and we had a really interesting discussion. We then moved on to discuss the second article I was set as pre-reading, which was a lot more challenging due to the complex terminology. I was asked to define several terms and this was really frustrating as I couldn't find the right way to phrase what I wanted to say. I tried to stay calm and speak my thought process aloud as much as possible. This really helped as the interviewers could see how I was attempting to solve the question with logical lines of reasoning. There were also periods in the interview where the room was silent as I was reading new material I had been given (I am dyslexic and so find this takes longer than most people) which felt awkward but allowed me to consider my responses. Don't feel like you have to rush - you are not wasting anyone's time.
I did a few admissions test practice papers and made sure I could complete them in timed conditions. I also tried to stay on top of the news and current affairs, which is always handy with Geography.
My advice would be to explain your thought process and give yourself time to think and consider what you are being asked. Do not feel like you are being grilled on specific details, but instead see each question as an opportunity to either demonstrate your knowledge, or tease out something that you could find out through other lines of enquiry.