2x interviews (20 mins each with reading time before)
Interview 1: 20 mins, discussed pre-reading, theoretical and broad; Interview 2: 20 mins, personal statement
Reading books for my personal statement; reading about the course; talking a lot about the subject; dealing with being challenged on my opinion.
No
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.
My interviews were in early December. I had stayed overnight. My first interview was at 9:30am. Prior to the interview was some reading. I was taken by a student to the Disabilty Resource Centre (Editor's note: the Disability Resource Centre (DRC) provides a confidential and accessible service for disabled students and those staff supporting them) in the college where I was monitored in a room for the set time of the reading. I was then taken by another student to the interview itself, with two interviewers. The interview was entirely about the reading and questions triggered by the reading.
The second interview was at 3:30pm. There was a long time in between interviews to ensure that if I had a seizure (I have epilepsy) I would be recovered by the next interview, recommended by the Disability Resource Officer (Editor's note: person that works for the Disability Resource Centre who assesses individual needs). I was taken by a student to the interview room, which was very cosy. There were two interviewers and the interview was entirely based on my personal statement and the books I had read. It lasted about 20 minutes and felt very informal.
My first interview was a discussion of a 20 page paper in a journal discussing what type of history is important to study. It was very theoretical. The discussion began with me talking for a minute or two about my response to the paper. I was then asked very broad questions about my answers while the other interviewer took notes (they alternated asking questions). All the questions were about historiography and the study of history.
My second interview felt more informal but lasted a similar time. We discussed an opinion I had given on two books in my personal statement. The entire interview was going through my personal statement. We finished by discussing a couple of broader but related questions. I was asked if I had any questions at the end. Both interviews took about 20 minutes and were quite relaxed.
Reading books for my personal statement and reading about the course so I had a specific question to ask.
My school didn’t have any interview preparation but I was used to being encouraged to talking a lot and passionately about the subject and to dealing with being challenged on my opinion.
Don’t overthink about any embarrassing things you said or did.