3x interviews (as originally applied for History and Politics, then asked to switch to HML)
History: discussion of pre-reading, questions on historical methodology then on wider world historical events German: discussion of personal statement, then analysis of a German poem
Prepared to talk about pre-reading, generally being interested in the subject
Don't be afraid to ask questions
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: None
Number of interviews: 3
Time between interviews: a few hours (but my final interview was months later as I switched from History and Politics to HML)
Length of interviews: c. 20 minutes
Online interview: Yes
The atmosphere of the interview was very friendly yet certainly professional. In my history interview we talked briefly about the text I had been told to read beforehand, defined some terms and discussed my opinion on some of the text's assertions. There were also questions about historical methodology and basic research techniques and terms which I did not expect and was poorly equipped to answer! We ended by talking about some wider world historical events and their significance.
My politics interview revolved around questions asking my opinion on a political scenario ranging from voting rights to international affairs.
My interview to switch to German centred on why I wanted to change, some books I had talked about in my follow-up personal statement and finally we read and did some style analysing of a German poem.
I was lucky to receive some testimonies of past interviewees so I had some idea of the sorts of things that may be asked. I was given a 50-page historical academic article to read a week before my history interview which I did and wrote down any ideas I had about the text which interested me or linked to what I studied at A-Level. I looked up any of the key terms used that I didn't know which sounds so obvious but the first thing they asked in the interview was to define one of the more obscure concepts in the title so it helped!
I'm really not sure if there is much that you can actually do to prep for the interview, just really get firm in your mind why you want to study the subjects you've applied for and don't worry if you haven't had a practice interview or anything, I didn't and I think in the end it works because you don't come across as rehearsed just genuinely interested. Remember they are looking for real passion and also teachability! You can ask questions and clarifications it doesn't make you look dumb it makes you look thorough.
Read what the course actually contains at the university so you can prepare to answer questions that include this info e.g. the languages courses involve a lot of culture and literature. As I said before, don't be afraid to ask questions, it's better to come across as easy and eager to teach than a fount of all knowledge.