Test taken: None

Both of my interviews were 'subject interviews', i.e. they were specifically to do with geography and were both conducted by geographers. The first interview started with a discussion of my other A levels and their relationship with geography. We then discussed a novel I'd read as part of A level and what geographical ideas came up in the book. It was a nice way into the interview, they really tried to put you at ease and help you relax, and was a genuinely interesting discussion. We then discussed a film I'd been studying in another A level and the geographical issues in that. They then briefly turned to one of the sample essays I'd sent in. In the last five minutes or so they showed me two cartograms - they wanted me to talk aloud while I looked at them, trying to notice patterns and points of interest. While the aim of the task was to guess what the variable might be, they were far more interested in seeing how I thought and what I thought was interesting rather than if I got the right answer. This interview then ended by talking about interesting non-geographical books.

The second interview began with a discussion of how and why I had chosen to study geography. We then briefly discussed some relevant work experience I'd mentioned in my personal statement, and embarked upon a wide-ranging discussion over geographical methods, models and data. This felt very much like a chat, rather than a series of pre-set questions, the discussion flowed freely as the interviewers added to the discussion as well. 20 minutes before the second interview, I'd been given a short-ish passage from an article to read. We then moved on to discuss this. I'd never come across any of the material before, but they expected that and asked if I had any questions about it. I asked a question, which they explained, and then we discussed the topic and its links. Both interviews were much less scary than I'd thought, and I did actually really enjoy both of them! The interviewers were very friendly (I remember laughing with them at one point), and it felt more like an interesting chat than being grilled for answers.

The best thing I did to prepare was to read a few things beyond the A level course. There are so many short and accessible academic articles available free online, they really helped me think about things beyond A level. Something I also found really helpful was going to a few geography lectures at my local university; just go up to the lecturer, or the receptionist in the building if there is one, say you're a prospective student and ask if it would be ok to go and sit in on one of the lectures to see what the course would be like. When I went, they were absolutely delighted and were very friendly and keen for me to go and see. If possible, I'd recommend trying to go and see the first lecture in the lecture series, as this will be an introduction to the topic. You might need to try a few times to be there when a lecture is happening, and it gives you a taste of what a geography course could be like and helps introduce you to some more topics and ideas. Don't be put off if the lecture is not good or you don't understand it; I went to three lectures, and didn't understand any of the first two, but found the third one really interesting and helpful.

Looking back, I realised I worried about the interviews far more than I needed to. The interviewers are friendly and are just trying to have an interesting discussion - I actually enjoyed them in the end!