When I arrived at the college, I was asked to wait in the Common Room. Waiting was quite intense, as the room was full of other nervous applicants. I had an interview with three college fellows (who would later become my supervisors in politics, sociology, and anthropology) which lasted approximately 30-40 minutes. The interview was followed by a lunch break, after which we had to do a written test (45 minutes I think) which consisted of reading a text and answering three questions. It wasn't the kind of test you could prepare for - the main point was to show that you had understood the text and could write coherent answers to the questions asked.

I remember feeling very intimidated by the three fellows who interviewed me, although I know now that they are friendly and approachable. They asked me many questions, mostly about the books I had mentioned on my personal statement and the essays I had sent them. For example, I had sent them an essay I had written on identity formation and the internet in which I had argued that the internet allows teenagers to explore different identities and 'figure out who they are'. We then talked about my arguments and I had to defend some of my main arguments. The conversation continued like this; the questions were challenging, but they did not expect me to know everything (or anything, really) about social theory. What they wanted to know was whether or not I was able to think critically and engage with new ideas. At the end of the interview, we chatted more loosely - they asked me about education and politics in my home country and how it differed from the UK.

I basically had no preparation. As an international student, I had never met another person who had been interviewed by a university or written a personal statement in this way. I read a lot about it online, though, mostly on the Student Room and other similar pages. Most of it wasn't true.

Keep calm and remember to be friendly and polite.