History @ Girton, Cambridge in 2022

Interview format

2x interviews

Interview content

Interview 1: discussion of pre-reading Interview 2: discussion of a visual source

Best preparation

Reading about a focused area, general reading on historiography, and practice talking about the subject/making a verbal argument

Final thoughts

Stand your ground when challenged but shift your mind and perspective with the flow of the discussion

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.

Interview Format

Test taken: None
Number of interviews: 2
Time between interviews: 40 minutes
Length of interviews: c.30 minutes 
Online interview: Yes

What happened in your interview? How did you feel?

The first interview was conducted by one of the History DoS and a Fellow and focussed on a pre-set piece of reading. It operated more as a discussion steered by the interviewers and guided by them too rather than just hard questions. We touched on areas of my personal statement, challenging my perspective. I would honestly counsel students to take a breath and take a moment before launching into answers as it can help to organise your thoughts and get over any bit of initial nervousness. 

My second interview was done with my current doS and a PhD student focussing on a visual source. It would be useful for interviewees to try to do a bit of practice before their interviews on how they would talk about unseen sources - nothing too intense but a little to make the whole activity less daunting. All of the interviewers were immensely friendly and gregarious, and the process itself operated as quite a fun academic discussion around something you love. At the end, you have an opportunity to ask questions which is lovely if you're curious about anything faculty/college related given that your interviewers will be generally familiar.

How did you prepare for your interviews?

I read quite widely but in a focussed area that interested me like early modern European religion. I would recommend a student take a topic that interests them personally rather than anything that is traditionally "impressive". I also proceeded to read some historiography like Elton and Carlyle which I found useful as it allowed me to think of the whole discipline in a more abstract way something which is of value when you are thinking of the whole course. I had a couple of interview preparation sessions with teachers which I found quite sharpening to the mind since it gets you to talking about your subject and how to make an argument verbally.

If you took a test, how did you prepare?

n/a

What advice would you give to future applicants?

I would recommend that candidates think broadly about their discipline and how it operates. They should try to verbalise their ideas and consider their strengths and weaknesses. Stand your ground when challenged but shift your mind and perspective with the flow of the discussion.