2x interviews (20 mins)
1st interiew: submitted essays & source; 2nd: pre-interview reading &personal statement
Mock interview; talking to teachers & family about reading
Don't overanalyse after; take confidence from getting an interview
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.
I had two interviews, one based around my personal statement & essays I submitted, the other on a text I had to read shortly beforehand & other parts of my statement. Both lasted around 20 minutes, were about an hour and a half apart & I had two interviewers for both.
In the interviews I was asked to make connections between different areas I’d studied, and push beyond what I’d focussed on in my submitted work & statement. At the time I didn’t feel the interviews went well: the best bits were when I forgot about the interview situation and just answered their questions! The first interview focussed on my submitted essays & the source I was given in the interview; the second on my personal statement and a text I was given before the interview.
I was really lucky & had a
Other than that, just talking with my teacher & my Dad about the things I had been reading.
Try and not overanalyse once the interview's over - it's not worth the energy,, and you never know. Also makes it awkward if you do get an offer & have told everyone it went badly! If you haven't had much support see it as a challenge & do your best rather than as a chip on the shoulder - you got an interview, so clearly have potential!