Test taken: Arts-Humanities Admissions Assessment (AHAA)
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 2.5 hours
Length of interviews: 30 minutes
Online interview: No

I had 2 hours of preparatory reading in the library before getting to my first interview. I had a 10-page article of a modern historian and 8 primary sources (in word format, not scans of actual parchments!). I had to answer a couple of questions to prepare for the interview. Advice: time is short, so don’t spend too much time on one document but be enough confident to ENGAGE critically with the thesis developed in the article, and the qualities and weaknesses of the sources. At the interview, I discussed the thesis of the article and engaged with it. The interviewers found counter-examples to lead me to re-think the question and the point I was making. I think they appreciated the way in which I was able to question my ideas and to learn quickly from them and make up my own mind shortly after. They tested my ability to make connections between topics. The two interviewers were very different: one was quite extroverted, smiling and welcoming person, who instantly made me comfortable; the other one was quite silent and seemed introverted, and made me quite uncomfortable.

My second interview was about my personal statement and everything I had mentioned in my application. I was firstly asked about my recent readings and to explain if I liked it, and why I had chosen it. Then, they asked me to make some comparisons between books I had read on the French Revolution and mentioned in my personal statement. They asked me to engage directly with some theses mentioned in a couple of books and push me forward to find some illustrative examples. They asked me questions about the essays I had submitted, especially on a couple of statements in my introduction and conclusion. They were quite nice, not as friendly as the interviewer at the first interview but they offered me some water and made me comfortable.

I cautiously reread my personal statement and made sure that I remembered enough about the books I’ve mentioned in it. I also read 'Apologie pour l’histoire ou le métier d’historien', a book on historiography by Marc Bloch, to have some fresh to talk about in my interview. I also went through my school notes to be able to talk about the topics I had previously listed on the SAQ. I didn’t get the chance to practice interview with my teachers but I practiced some quirky questions from https://oxbridgeapplications.com/ with my family.

I practiced with one past paper in limited time and read several others. I also read the reports of the adjudicators on the website page to prepare for the test.

Here is the advice I received and I really found helpful:

- Be yourself;

- Be a good listener, show that you are able and keen to learn from them (win/win), give the impression they are teaching you something;

- Think carefully before answering the questions and ask the interviewer to repeat the question if necessary, take your time;

- Lead the interviewers through your thinking process and say aloud how you come up with an idea/a conclusion;

- Don’t be pretentious and don’t give the impression you are pretentious;

- Give the best of yourself to not have regrets afterward;

- Before entering the room, calm and relax with low breathing exercises and then, de-dynamise yourself through dynamic breather and gestures. Say hello and good bye to both interviewers individually and don’t forget eye contact without being too intrusive either.