I had 2 interviews in one day, and I didn't stay overnight.

Before the interview, I had to send in two essays from A Level that had not been edited, and were not done under exam/coursework conditions.

When I arrived, the most scary thing for me was trying to get around the college (I've got a terrible sense of direction!) but there were plenty of lovely student volunteers who pointed me in the right direction - one of them literally took me to the door of one of my interviews because he could see how nervous I was. I had lunch in college before both the interviews, which meant I could meet some equally nervous interviewees (but this is completely optional - you can keep to yourself if you'd prefer!)

The first interview lasted about 20-25 minutes, and they explained that they were first going to ask me some random questions, then ask me about my personal statement.

We spoke about historical characters, and the challenges for future historians. As nervous as I was, I found these questions pretty interesting, and although they didn't give much back (as in, it was very much a question-answer format), it wasn't as daunting as I'd thought it would be. The only thing they asked me about from my personal statement was about this mock election thing I'd taken part in, despite the fact that I'd mentioned books and articles.

The second interview was where they discussed the essays I'd sent in, and this one was much more of a back-and-forth conversation, with the interviewers both discussing the essays and ideas with me pretty informally. It lasted a bit longer (maybe 30-40 mins), and was maybe a bit more daunting because they were actually looking at stuff I'd written, but both interviewers were lovely.

My school wasn't used to sending students to Oxbridge so there wasn't loads of prep - they did try and give me interview practice but this was more in the style of a job interview (i.e. asking me what I do in my spare time etc, which isn't at all what they'll do in an Oxbridge interview).

The best prep was reading through essays I'd done, going over everything I'd said I'd read in my personal statement, and reading some random articles (think I read something on oral history which ended up being very useful in a tricky question). However, I would advise against cramming loads of random stuff in before the interview - just read what you've said you've read, and trust yourself.

Interviews feel like the most nerve-racking thing in the world until you actually just step in the room and realise you are just three people, talking about a subject you all enjoy. I probably performed poorly in hindsight, because I rambled, but the interview is taken as a small part of the whole application process. I went to a comp school that had never had more than 1 successful applicant to Oxbridge before, so I'd fully convinced myself that I didn't stand a chance - the important thing is YOU DO. Just allow your mind to be as flexible as possible, and have a little bit of courage, and you really can do it. Whatever the outcome, even just going for the interview is an amazing achievement, and ultimately you'll be happy wherever you go! Good luck