Test taken: TSA

Number of interviews: 5

Skype interview: No

Interview spread: 1st day: 1 interview in the morning, 1 in the afternoon; 2nd day: 1 morning; 3rd day: 2 interviews 5 minutes apart in morning

Length of interviews: 20-30 minutes each

All my interviews were pretty much just problem sheets (just went through questions as the tutor presented them). Each interview was done by two tutors, so was done half and half on each of their specialities (organic/maths/physical/inorganic), and I was given paper and a pen to jot down ideas, or draw them if that’s what was required.

In a couple of my interviews, the tutors put me at ease when I arrived by asking me about little bits I’d put on my personal statement, usually about extra curricular activities (asking me how I got into learning Mandarin, talking to me about my sewing/textiles, and whether I liked the Great British Sewing Bee)! I found the tutors at my interviews very encouraging, and if I came up with an idea, they sort of directed me towards the answer or something else to consider, without giving it to me. I think the thing that they liked (especially for science) is that you are willing to admit if you’re a little confused, or need them to clarify something, and to just say what you’re thinking, even if you’re pretty sure you’re wrong!

To prepare for the test, I used the practice papers

To prepare for the interview, I contacted the one person from my school that had gone on to do Chemistry at uni, and asked them what kind of questions they got asked and sort of worked through those. I also read through the A2 (2nd year A-level) textbook, however in hindsight I think that just stressed me out too much, leading me to believe there was so much I didn’t know.

My expectations of the interviews was that I was going to be absolutely grilled to the tutors, and that I would just be sat there with nothing to say. As well as thinking that I was going to be so out of place there because I don’t have the “typical Oxford” background (there isn’t really one fyi), and that the tutors were going to think I was a massive imposter. However, the tutors were nice, and helped me with questions I had about what they were asking me. And they really did put me at ease in the end.

What I would say that science tutors (particularly chemists) are looking for, are students that are open to new ideas, and can ask for (and accept) help if they need it; students that are willing to voice how they’d approach the problem aloud. Rather than just going into their shell, and saying “I don’t know”, they are looking instead for students that would say “I’m not entirely sure, but I would think about...I.e. how this molecule would interact with water...)