Test taken: History Admissions Assessment (HAA)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 2 hours
Length of interviews: 20 minutes
Online interview: No

In my first interview, there were two interviewers and we discussed my personal statement and my interests. They asked what I enjoyed about history, what I looked forward to, and then started asking me about a book I mentioned in my personal statement. They asked what I thought about it, and whether I agreed with the historian. They also asked a question which I think I got quite stuck answering, but they were quite encouraging and I came up with an answer eventually. I was nervous throughout, but it was quite clear that the interviewers wanted me to feel comfortable.

For my second interview, there were also two interviewers, and we spoke about a piece of reading I had done just before. The reading was about 5-10 pages I think, and we had a about an hour to read it in a conference room; for me, it was a transcript of a lecture. I annotated it with my ideas, and tried to think about who it was written by and why, as well as what it was saying. In the interview they asked what I thought about it in general, asked about specific lines and what I thought they meant, and they really focused on seeing whether I understood the reading and was able to form my own opinions about it. I remember that the piece was written by a man, so I commented that it was likely influenced by his experiences as a man and that someone with different gender experiences may have written it differently, which I remember them saying that they hadn’t considered and I think that it quite impressed them - so definitely think outside of the box. That being said, do make sure to actually answer their questions - don’t just go off on tangents because you want to try to impress them!

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to have a practice interview with a teacher at a nearby private school, where they gave me feedback about my answers and how I presented my self. This was somewhat useful just as practice, but the questions were nothing like my actual interview as it’s really hard to predict what they’ll ask. I also re-read my personal statement and went over the books I mentioned in it so that I would have that fresh in my mind on the day if they asked about them; I would 100% recommend this - the last thing you want is for them to ask you about your personal statement and you to say you can’t remember!

I was told by teachers that there was no way to prepare, so I didn’t!! Looking back, some practice papers may have been useful, but for the HAA there is no way you can “revise” as the content is always so different. Definitely practice writing essays and work on your critical thinking skills, but the work you do for A-Levels should be sufficient.

Don’t be afraid to take some time to think! Even just 30 seconds to consider what they have asked you will give you the time to calm any nerves and really think about what you want to say. Don’t be afraid to argue with them if they disagree on something you’ve said - for example you may have really enjoyed a book they hated! - but make sure to back up whatever you say (eg. I really liked the book because it covered a lot of detail, or because it was easy to read and more accessible to a younger student). Interviewers are looking for how you think, not so much what you know - they can teach you content, but they can’t as easily teach you to be critical and to think carefully. Try to show them that you are willing to consider all view points, but also able to form a conclusion of your own.